Durban:
So I got online today all ready to do some research and went to check some news. I found a ton of information about occupy Durban- information that just makes me sit here for a minute and wonder. For those who don't know the United Nations Climate Change Conference has been going on in Durban for the last few weeks. It's aim is to set policies and make an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas and pollution. Youth delegates are protesting because they feel like action isn't being taken. Here are some quotes:


"Even if the fund is established this week, then practical realities will likely limit its impact for a number of years... It will take at least 12 months to set up and the appraisal process means it will probably not be spending until 2015" -Nick Robins, climate change analyst at HSBC
 ----- fun fact: climate change is predicted to be irreversible by 2015

"Tossing out any remote possibility of a U.N. global warming treaty is one of the most important things we can do for the economy... I’m making this announcement from Washington, D.C., where I am confident that the only person left talking about global warming is me. The message from the Washington to the U.N. delegates in South Africa is this, this week, could not be any clearer: you are being ignored." Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma

When it comes to politics I get that we need to compromise. I understand the need for debates and multiple opinions. On issues like abortion, government spending, ect I will agree to disagree with others- I get that we all have different opinions, I really do. But when it comes to things like this it isn't politics. It is a common interest not only for humans but for all living beings and our very earth. Do we understand the vastness of that statement? No, I don't think we do. I don't think we can until it is too late. But we can't wait until it's too late. I just have to sit here and wonder HOW this is even in question. How can having a dry place to live, food eat, and water to drink NOT be at the top of our priority lists? I support the youth that are protesting but HOW is it that at a conference on climate change they need to protest?
I know there are answers to these questions, but there shouldn't be. If a person has a basic since of self preservation climate change is not a "hot topic" or a headline, it is a very real threat to life as we know it. I am just puzzled as to why such an important issues could be pushed aside by governments, including the U.S., all over the world. This isn't about profit or policy, if you are a politician or a banker, a single mother or a laborer, a middle-class family doing "okay" or a displaced indigenous person you need a earth to live in. Climate change isn't political or economic, it's our futures and our earth's future. Can't we just put aside our back room deals, our money, our power for a second and see how massive a issue we are letting slip through our fingers because of "practical realities???"


Here is a video of the speech that Anjali Appadurai gave. Go youth go!