The top five foolproof ways to stop climate change (according to people/things on the street in Copenhagen today):

1) Stop launching spacecrafts. Launching spacecrafts punches holes in our atmosphere which makes it warmer and rain more. If we stop launching them all our climate problems will disappear.

2) Be Vegan. The quote for this one was something like “Here read this easy guide it’s all you need to do to stop climate change”

3) Stop trusting business (dude!), they never respond to anything but money!

4) Go back to using horses, we don’t actually need to travel like we do anyways.

5) This one really caught me by surprise, and yet I think it might be the solution I like the most:

It’s been an interesting experience to say the least, absolutely incredible, educational, inspiring and humbling. My first stop today was the Belle Center, I had to really see if they were checking credentials to get in (it’s worth a shot right?) and sadly they were. I decided my odds of making it past the 6,500 (seriously) police officers probably weren’t very good, so I headed downtown.

I decided to take the scenic route to city center, and took my time exploring old sections of town, and looking through several churches on the way. You really can tell a lot about a culture from its churches. Every church here had a model of a ship in it, a reminder of Denmark’s naval prowess during the colonial era. At the recommendation of Tue (he and Agnette have been overwhelmingly generous and hospitable in opening their home to me for these days in Copenhagen) I wandered through the Christiansholm, an old military complex turned hippy compound. Though I didn’t actually enter the compound itself, I must say the culture and people in this part of Copenhagen were noticeably different than in other parts.

Once I got to the Kings Quarter, my focus shifted, pretty much starting with seeing the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise tied to the pier in downtown in the Kings Quarter. Here the city was living and breathing COP 15. On nearly every plaza, tents, booths, art displays, and information centers were set up. Some, like the 100 places to see before they disappear exhibit was brought in by the government to augment the COP15 conference. Others, like the WWF tent were set up by organizations to hold speeches, seminars, concerts, movies, and information about climate change, sustainability, and policy. Siemens even went to the effort to rent a whole square for themselves (the Hopenhagen square) which was a great demonstration of some technology crucial for new people-focused cities and smart energy grids. But it was clearly a concerted marketing effort complete with a demonstration electric motorcycle that weighs a mere 750 pounds (good luck taking a corner on that).

Though I can’t speak for what’s going on inside the conference, it’s clear the focus here is environmental challenges facing us today. Those challenges are epic and certainly worthy of a conference of global leaders, but I hope their discussions also include the enormous challenge our world faces with regard to social sustainability. These challenges are inextricably linked. One cannot hope to solve environmental issues such as deforestation without raising the standard of education and living in those countries still using carbon based natural resources for mere survival. Furthermore, those of us in developed nations cannot expect our neighbors to care about environmental issues until their human needs are met; and despite our incredible lists of false-satisfiers, many people in our very own nations are not meeting their needs.

For me, this conference highlights the challenges those of us working towards complete, systematic sustainability face. There is often an under-valuing of social sustainability by the environmental side, and an under-valuing of environmental sustainability by the socially interested groups. In my humble opinion, they must come together, which makes the issue all the more complex. However, solving one will only highlight issues in the other, and make the first harder to solve.

My time in Copenhagen has been a great experience in self-awareness and the culture of activism. Though I don’t consider myself an activist, I certainly understand how my deep commitment to sustainability can be perceived as such. The environmental evangelism that caught me by surprise today is good reminder to always remember there is some level of validity in all serious arguments. While I don’t believe becoming vegan will save the world, I do understand that meat, particularly beef, is a high CO2 impact food, so I must exercise moderation. And with the exception of Brad Pit saving the world and halting all Space Travel (an atmosphere is not a shell, you can’t punch holes in it, nor do rockets make it rain) the earth saving ultimatums I heard today do contain some element of truth. It’s a great reminder to reflect on our passions, to ensure we’re not becoming so enthusiastic that we’ve lost sight of the facts, even if those facts dispute your point of view. Everyone is entitled to their view, but when it comes to forming policy that affects great numbers of people, facts, not opinion and emotion, should shape the debate.

After such an eventful day, I was ready for some time in a chair. I headed to a book release by Adam Kahane where he discussed the interplay between morality and power (what he refers to as love and power). It was an interesting talk, filled with anecdotes of his time working to create cohesive movements and overcome barriers in developing and changing countries. I am looking forward to reading the book (everyone who attended received a free copy of Power and Love) and hearing more about his theory.

Now if only we could get Brad Pitt to stop the space program, and our environmental power and love would be in perfect harmony.

So tonight I leave you with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., one used by Mr. Kahane in his presentation “power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic."

When I get home I'll post more pictures of the conference. Ciao for now!