Copenhagen .... uhh....

As I observe the climate change talks in Copenhagen, I feel confused, frightened, and at times, optimistic. Perhaps that optimism is completely Pollyana-ish, or perhaps it is based on the fact that so many seem to be participating with serious concern.

Unfortunately, here in the suburbs, it is shocking how many are clueless. I was at work, and mentioned to a colleague I was reading a newspaper article with my students about the climate talks... this was to both inform my students about Copenhagen but also for a reading response. My school is all about anchor charts and word walls these days, completely ridiculous, in my opinion; however, I am obliged to participate as we are having some sort of weird district review as mandated by the Ministry of Eduction. Ugh.

This very fine woman, who I quite like, and has been somewhat political in the past, had not heard of the conference. I was surprised.

And I suppose that is why a global response, and co-ordinated global effort to fight climate change, is necessary. People are a bit clueless, myself included, and are swamped with ridiculous goals and desires that really are, in the grand scheme of things, completely contrived.

Regardless, I heard an interesting interview on CBC's The Current this morning, with James Hansen, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at Columbia. He argues that it would be better to not have global treaty at Copenhagen as it would be a cap and trade system. This would serve to not reduce global fossil fuel emissions but merely shift them around. He instead argued for a carbon tax, which would tax carbon emissions at the source and then redistribute that money to people so they could retrofit their homes and do other meaningful climate reducing things. I thought that was a profoundly interesting idea, and never really understood the value of such a system as opposed to cap and trade. So, in a way, if the Copenhagen talks fail, and it looks as they may, we may be better off. And I guess that - in a kind of bizarre and backwards fashion - made me feel sort of optimistic. In addition to confused and frightened, key emotions for the first decade of the 21st century.