A change in US policy on the disposal of retired Navy vessels signals a movement in the right direction. But we’ve still got miles to go.
Author: Aaron Reuben
A new smart phone app seeks to hold climate negotiators accountable
This week negotiators from around the world will meet in Doha, Qatar to once again hem and haw their way through an international climate conference. Though we can expect the usual commitment dodging and grandstanding from the world’s leaders, assembled onlookers hoping to hold their representatives accountable will have a new tool in their arsenal this year: a smart phone […]
Three reasons America should ratify the Law of the Sea right now
For three decades the United States has shamefully failed to ratify the UN’s Law of the Sea. Now more than ever, it’s time for America to get with the program.
Review: The Whale
arrived at the theater a little early. There were good seats left at the front, and the crowd – an older, calmer population than I am used to – was chatting and milling about contentedly. I expected this to be a routine assignment: show up, watch a movie, write a digestible review. What I didn’t know then, as I settled […]
A Dandy in the Woods: photos from the Yale archives
He is alone amongst the trees. Obscured by them. A solitary well-buffed young man. A forester. A Yalie.
Photos from the final day – is agreement coming?
It’s Friday, December 9th – the last day, ostensibly, of the COP17. Is a new legally-binding instrument between all major emitters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions forthcoming? Will there be agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol into a second commitment period? Will countries increase their emission reduction ambitions? Most people you ask say no. There’s a lot of consternation in […]
Bridging the Emissions Gap – The Clock Is Ticking!
new and timely synthesis report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was formally launched at COP17 today, giving those concerned with our world’s future both new reason for hope and a new mandate for action. The report regards the gap between existing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and the actual reductions that are needed to achieve the UNFCCC’s goal […]
Occupy COP17 & the Women’s Rural Assembly
Protestors have gathered outside the fenced perimeter of the massive COP17 conference center to encourage world leaders to keep the Kyoto Protocol alive and, in the words of one sign, “keep the coal in the hole.” Today the Women’s Rural Assembly arrived to support the protest. At least a hundred smiling women marched in to the familiar drone of vuvuzelas, […]
South Africa and the Climate Conference accelerator
The Yale student delegation is staying in a hotel as far away from Durban, and the COP17 conference center, as physically possible. A muddy trek up a hill, past hasty developments of car dealerships and construction supply companies, brings you to the COP17 “shuttle” pickup – aka the parking lot of a bustling BP gas station. An hour and a […]
COP17: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Climate Change
What can we expect from this year’s climate conference? With well more then 15,000 delegates likely to be in attendance (COP15 had more then 24,000!) we can expect a lot, at least on the discussion side of things. At the risk of missing something, I will say only that two of the main issues on everyone’s mind will be: 1) […]
COP17: On the Ground for the Latest Round of Climate Talks
It’s that time of the year again. Leaves are changing. Warm jackets are emerging from attic closets. Forgotten winter boots reappear in mudrooms. And diplomats, from all corners of the globe, are gathering, as they do this time every year, to contemplate the future of our planet and, quite possibly, engineer a solution to the greatest crisis our world has […]
Audacious Hope: An Interview with Environmental Activist Sharon Smith
Author, activist, and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies student Sharon Smith knows a thing or two about organizing.