It’s Getting Hot In Here

The one thing I have really learned to appreciate during this process at Bali is the importance of a country’s leaders. The leaders alone make the decisions here. Despite help and advice from NGO’s and youth, it is the leaders who decide whether to send a delegation with a constructive message, the leaders who choose to partner with other countries, or the leaders who choose to completely impede progress. It is imperative to have good national leadership to make progress at these international negotiations.
The world cannot handle anymore leaders who are not going to work for climate change mitigation, and I can’t handle another leader who is willing to be so wholly destructive during international attempts to unite in the face of a global challenge. So, what next? Vote? That just isn’t enough. A good point was made to me today. If I want to see improved leadership in the White House come 2008, I need to be willing to work for it beyond just voting. Candidates need to be supported by volunteers who canvass, fundraise, and dedicate their time to working toward getting them elected.
It is imperative that we have domestic support for any international initiative we undertake, and what better way to do that then have a strong national leader? When we met with the US delegation last week, their argument against our views was that foreign policy follows domestic policy. It sounds like an excuse at first, but it is a bitter pill that we will have to swallow. So we need to get someone in office who will support domestic action, in a way that will facilitate the US getting involved at an international scale. I encourage youth everywhere, a powerful demographic in terms of initiating change, to support whichever candidate you want to see in office. If you want to see change, act for it.