protest & last day in Copenhagen

Our last day in Copenhagen was certainly one of the most action-packed. We got up early to join the 'Reclaim Power' protest, aiming to join activists inside and outside the Bella Center in a people's assembly to make faster decisions on climate change solutions. The Bella Center, it turns out, is quite far from the city center and the special 'COP15' buses are for badged persons only. Well la-di-da. We finally unite with the march of a couple thousand people shouting about frustrations with the negotiations and capitalism in general ("a ti, a ti, a ti capitalista!") Here was student activism at its finest, in the most global cause of them all. So global, in fact, that there were many different motives for the march being conveyed. But at the heart of it was this urgency for solutions to a problem not being properly addressed at these conferences.

The protest was met by the most politi (police) that I have ever seen in my life. I heard that about 75% of the Danish police force and army were in Copenhagen for the conference. As activists linked arms and tried to push through over fences and police cars, the patrol became violent and used pepper spray to deter the nonviolent demonstrators. Activist first aid teams were in place, as people came staggering over blinded by the pepper spray or hurt by other acts of brutality. About 250 people were arrested this day, and the NGOs who particpated inside the Bella Center, attempting to get out, were banished from the negotiations for the next few days. As I learned later that day from my friend Frederik, the protest lasted until after dark, but ultimately no one was able to enter the center.

While I am certainly an advocate of non-violence, this issue requires a kind of urgency that is very difficult to convey. Protests, marches, hunger strikes and photo petitions all certainly help the cause and attract new advocates; but we need a kind of demonstration that is can be furthered on a day to day basis. The basic valuation of our future existence is at stake for shorter term political and economic goals that will seem miniscule very soon to the Tuvalus and Maldives of the world. We're down to the last straws in this conference, and even if miraculously the 'high-level' officials and diplomats arriving to Copenhagen in the next 24 hours decide to set a binding emissions target (or the Governator will be back), its going to come down to the people. These talks have exposed a greater public to the urgency of addressing climate change for nations already needing to make adaptations, as well as general exposure for global interest in the issue. So thank you, Copenhagen and your many pseudonyms of the last few weeks, for raising the world's awareness and engaging a global population in one of the most consequential challenges of our time.