November 2008
A year since our first newsletter hit the air(web)waves, Otesha's monthly musings are now littering hundreds of inboxes every month. Whoop!
Turn On Turn Off
Aviation emissions get in on the act Rwanda and the DRC practically
forgotten whilst Ross and Brand get
column inches for losing airtime
Off to see the UN
Once upon a time, a little Canadian in red slippers moved to the UK and realised that unlike the Canadian youth, who'd been swanning about at UN climate change conferences for a couple of years, young people in the UK were yet to get involved. Our little Canadian happened upon some friends at the UK Youth Climate Coalition who also thought it was high time the UK youth had a voice at the UN. And so the first ever UK Youth Delegation was born. In a few short weeks, 15 of the UK's bright young minds will board their bright young selves onto trains and buses and head overland to Poland. There they shall combine forces with around 500 young people from all over the globe to convince our governments to take urgent action to address our generation's biggest challenge.
Here's the technical bit: we'll be attending COP 14 (The 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), along with the 4th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol), which will take place on 1 - 12 December 2008 in Poznań, Poland.
Climate change isn't just about the environment. And at these negotiations, the choice we're faced with isn't between economic growth and environmental protection, or people versus polar bears. Instead, we get to choose how history will remember us. Our generation is stepping up and taking action in our own lives, and we are demanding that our leaders do the same. In Poland this December the EU must take the opportunity to propel the world forwards toward a sustainable economy and a stable climate. The UK's Climate Bill demonstrates that the UK can lead the world in talking the talk. We're here to make sure they walk the walk.
Only by building a strong, bold post-2012 climate agreement, to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, can we ensure a sustainable economy with green jobs for ourselves and justice for those most impacted by climate change. Which is why we'll be right there, demanding that our government push for ambitious targets. We'll also share important developments with you back home. You should see what we can do with a policy briefing, a press release and a polar bear hat.
Let us float your boat at the UN
We're asking people to tell the UK government what you want from them during these negotiations. And we want to you do this by making origami boats. This may seem like a frivolous response to a serious event, but (polar) bear with us for a minute. We're going to collect your messages and pack them up to take with us to Poland. We'd have your messages in a bottle, but it'd weigh us down too much, so instead to help us on our journey we'd like you to build us an arc.
Follow these instructions to make an origami boat. On your boat write a message to the UK government telling them what you want from these negotiations. Finally, send your construction to us, UKYD Arc c/o Otesha, The Hub, 5 Torrens Street, London ECIV 1NQ. And hey presto- you're part of the political process!
We'll gather as many boats as we can find people to make them and take them with us to the UN. Where we'll do our best to float your boat, at the very least we'll give it to the UK delegation to remind them of those they're representing. The more boats we get, the stronger a message they're getting. Origami may yet change the world.
The best thing to do in London on a Saturday night
Will most definitely be our party on Saturday 22nd November at the Hub Kings Cross. We'll be raising money to send the UK Youth Delegation to the UN Climate Change negotiations. We'll also be proudly introducing London's first ever Bicycle Burlesque troop, featuring Miss Penny Farthing, Miss Vicious Cycle, Spokes and Miss Wheeley Good Times. Come join us for a mere 7 squids and be entertained by bands, djs, a spoken word artist and the aforementioned bicycle burlesque troop, all whilst enjoying fine organic beverages and helping us fight (and dance) for a strong international climate agreement.
The Otesha UK Handbook- the wet chapter
The last of 8 chapters that we've published one by one over the last year. Each chapter is available to download for free. We've written and ranted about Food, Fashion, Trade, Money, Media, Transport, Energy and finally Water. This month our friends and volunteers helped us put this chapter together, which is essential reading for anyone who's ever wondered what percentage of the world's water is safe to drink, how many people in the world have access to clean drinking water and what wonderful ways we can save it (hence the hippo).
And finally
This month at Otesha, we have mostly been preparing for Poznan, pining for Polar bears and pinning our hopes on the US polls.
Jo, Liz & Hanna
The Otesha Project UK
www.otesha.org.uk