2010年3月2日

Beauty in Remembering 2009

Two friends deserve special credit for laying down there thoughts on the the climate movement last year, and you all deserve to check out the wonderful ways in which they're telling their stori

Two friends deserve special credit for laying down there thoughts on the the climate movement last year, and you all deserve to check out the wonderful ways in which they're telling their stories.

Robert Van Waarden, a photographer and longtime documenter of the climate movement, gave me shivers when I watched his photo compilation on youtube this morning.  The title?  '2009: The Explosion of the Climate Change Movement.'  There's hope for you, and it's amazing to watch.  Along with many of our 350 friends, watch for the good work that so many allies did in other campaigns last year as well – the incredible organizing that went into last year and which will help carry us forward this year.

After that, click through to read a poem by our friend Deepa Gupta, cofounder of the Indian Youth Climate Movement, on what she will remember most from 2009.  If you start getting sad/frustrated in the opening stanzas, read on.

Robert's Compilation:

Deepa's Poem:

The morning that followed
Our message was echoed.
A failure! A failure!
My heart in despair.
 
The science lost, funding tossed,
No commitment in sight.
A stench of injustice,
The result: A failed plight.
 
“What more did you expect?”
Accusing voices chimed,
“Your efforts are a waste
Of carbon, cash and time”.
 
Is it a failure?
Were we mistaken?
How will we remember
Copenhagen?
 
How will we remember
Copenhagen?
 
 
I will remember the:
 
Forming of three fifty
In hundreds of states.
The Hundred thousand
Who marched till late.
Millions worldwide that stood,
And more that signed
In protest for the rights
For all Human Kind.
 
I will remember the:
 
Largest mobilisation
In world’s history.
Working in unity.
Despite culture or country.
Rising above divisions
In the “social order”;
Be religion, gender
Or a political border.
 
I will remember the:
 
Youth in the negotiations
Who brought heart and tears.
A champion for the voices,
The leaders needed to hear.
The Indigenous people
In the justice fight,
For our Mother’s Land to
Which we have equal right.
 
I will remember the:
 
Largest gathering
Of Heads in one room.
Of countries pleading,
To save them from doom.
Prayer to protect nations.
Have you seen such heart?
In a Global affair, it
Is a hopeful start.
 
 
But a start is all it is.
 
Do not ignore the Truth.
Two degrees is death to
Africa, the islands,
And our generation.
In our success there still
Remains a challenge,
A long way to go, it
Needs our dedication
 
 
It will take:
 
One goal.
Seven continents.
A hundred paths.
Thousands of leaders.
Millions of voices and
Billions of hearts.
To arrive at our
Destination.
 
 
Many may call this vision naive.
But perhaps naivety is all we have?
As long as there is love in the world,
We are on the right track.
 
Where there is love,
There is hope.
Where there is hope,
There is inspiration.
Where there is inspiration,
There is change.
And if there is change,
We can stop climate change.