Author: Kristina Haddad

Day 2 was depressing.  Today was the day we got the interviews we had expected to get.

Interviews with folks that are severely impacted by the spill. Interviews with folks that you have seen on TV – a charter-fishing operator named Captain John,  Danny the crabber who now has to work for BP on the clean up because he has to keep food on the table — and then there was Diane, the make shift therapist for the community.

Sunday was Day One for our organization’s (Seventh Generation Advisors) Lives Per Gallon Story Project.  My colleague Andria and I were dispatched to the Gulf Coast to give the victims of the BP oil spill a voice; a venue to express how they are being impacted; and a way to connect with those who want to help. 

In the streets, cafes and restaurants of Copenhagen candles are lit everywhere.

It is truly one of the things that distinguish this city from others. You can enter a sporting goods store and a candle is there to greet you at the entrance. 

A story that has not been widely reported by the media is that nearly all of the NGO groups and observers are no longer able to access the Bella Center where the negotiations are underway at COP15.  Why does that matter? 

Today things started out feeling dismal – like they were unraveling.

Over the weekend we got word that the many thousands of people gathered here to participate in the conference will not have access to the conference center because they are massively overbooked.   

There are a lot of images that are swimming in my head.

It’s a bitter cold day and I’m tired.  Though there were some developments today (the EU pledged big sums of money to developing countries to fight climate change and called for 30% reduction of emissions by 2020), I’ve also heard that the Bella Center, where the negotiations are being conducted, has turned into a cesspool of rumors — mostly negative — about what kind of deal could emerge out of Copenhagen.

Today I was baptized into the world of COP 15.

I stood amongst the many activists – flyers in hand – attempting to deliver our message. 

Today was the launch of our “side events,” or briefings, that are conducted to inform COP15 attendees of our message. 

Our message being that though it may seem that the last 8 years the U.S. has been absent in terms of climate change action – the truth is that at the state level bold action is being taken.  

I love cold weather. I feel good in cold weather. But not too cold. So as I prepared to go to Copenhagen in December I was warned.