http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/ Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:20:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57768 R Margolis Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:38:58 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57768 It is truly amazing the scale of energy demand the developing world needs. Even if they can function on a quarter of the US per capita electricity (and that is half of the per capita of efficiency stalwarts such as Switzerland), we are talking about an increase of electric capacity on the order of 2-3 times the currenct US electric capacity. It is no wonder that many experts want carbon sequestration and nuclear at least in the discussion. It is truly amazing the scale of energy demand the developing world needs. Even if they can function on a quarter of the US per capita electricity (and that is half of the per capita of efficiency stalwarts such as Switzerland), we are talking about an increase of electric capacity on the order of 2-3 times the currenct US electric capacity. It is no wonder that many experts want carbon sequestration and nuclear at least in the discussion.

]]> http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57746 raakshas Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:38:05 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57746 "Aren’t the climate warriors the political, scientific and activist leaders — in the developing and the developed world — who are coming up with innovative strategies and technologies to combat climate change? ". You don't see that many of the developed countries are trying to use the issue of climate change to contain the growth of developing countries. India has almost 250 million poor people. Without rapid growth in the economy, these people will die of hunger by the time global warming is brought under control (Probably hypocritical Westerners will be happy to get rid of so many people). Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, all the western countries have been emitting unproportionate amounts of green house gases and polluting the environment. They will HAVE TO pay the price for that. Instead of doing that, they are trying to put all the blame on the developing countries. BTW, if you knew how people in the developing countries live, you wouldn't have asked them to reduce their emissions. In most of the cities people have no electricity for many hours of the day. They get water for 1-2 hours a day (they have to collect water and use it for the whole day). How much emission can these people reduce? There is no common ground for developed countries and developing countries. It is the fundamental right of the developing countries to improve the lives of their people!!!! “Aren’t the climate warriors the political, scientific and activist leaders — in the developing and the developed world — who are coming up with innovative strategies and technologies to combat climate change? “. You don’t see that many of the developed countries are trying to use the issue of climate change to contain the growth of developing countries. India has almost 250 million poor people. Without rapid growth in the economy, these people will die of hunger by the time global warming is brought under control (Probably hypocritical Westerners will be happy to get rid of so many people). Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, all the western countries have been emitting unproportionate amounts of green house gases and polluting the environment. They will HAVE TO pay the price for that. Instead of doing that, they are trying to put all the blame on the developing countries.
BTW, if you knew how people in the developing countries live, you wouldn’t have asked them to reduce their emissions. In most of the cities people have no electricity for many hours of the day. They get water for 1-2 hours a day (they have to collect water and use it for the whole day). How much emission can these people reduce?
There is no common ground for developed countries and developing countries. It is the fundamental right of the developing countries to improve the lives of their people!!!!

]]> http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57728 Alex Krogh-Grabbe Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:33:10 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/12/05/viewing-the-battle-from-a-homefront/#comment-57728 It's true that issues such as melting and extinction and rising sea levels should be high in delegates' minds at Bali, but the truth is that, in these rapidly developing nations like India and China (as well as in the US) there is a strong short-term economic focus. We need to try to get our leaders to look to the long-term as well, but we also have to meet them where they are. David Roberts is finishing up a several-part post sequence on that topic over at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/12/3/22320/8954. It is counterproductive to say "But why aren't you moved by these awful consequences in the future?" It's important to keep those concerns prominently on the radar, but they've not shown themselves to be very good at winning over people not already in the choir. We need to show India, China, and the US how adopting really good climate measures can help them in the short term economically, or at the very least extremely concrete ways such measures can help them economically in the long term. This is the only way we're going to get the kind of change we need out of India and China and other developing nations. It’s true that issues such as melting and extinction and rising sea levels should be high in delegates’ minds at Bali, but the truth is that, in these rapidly developing nations like India and China (as well as in the US) there is a strong short-term economic focus. We need to try to get our leaders to look to the long-term as well, but we also have to meet them where they are. David Roberts is finishing up a several-part post sequence on that topic over at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/12/3/22320/8954. It is counterproductive to say “But why aren’t you moved by these awful consequences in the future?” It’s important to keep those concerns prominently on the radar, but they’ve not shown themselves to be very good at winning over people not already in the choir. We need to show India, China, and the US how adopting really good climate measures can help them in the short term economically, or at the very least extremely concrete ways such measures can help them economically in the long term. This is the only way we’re going to get the kind of change we need out of India and China and other developing nations.

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