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Dickinson to Durban » Archive

The “Yutes”

Sam Parker ’12 Vinny Gambini: It is possible that the two yutes…  Judge Chamberlain Haller: …Ah, the two what? Uh… uh, what was that word?  Vinny Gambini: Uh… what word?  Judge Chamberlain Haller: Two what?  Vinny Gambini: What?  Judge Chamberlain Haller: Uh… did you say ‘yutes’?  Vinny Gambini: Yeah, two yutes.  Judge Chamberlain Haller: What is a yute?  Vinny Gambini: [beat] Oh, excuse me, your honor…  [exaggerated]  Vinny Gambini: Two YOUTHS.  My Cousin Vinny (1992) Yesterday I was able to solidify my focus for this conference, the “yutes”.  Within the COP conferences there are many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), these NGOs are then divided into smaller groups one of which being the YOUNGOs or youth NGOs.  These are some of the most interesting people to talk with.  They are some of the most driven, opinionated and knowledgeable.  They know what they are talking about … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

Disney or Durban? First Day Reflections

By: Emily Bowie ’14 I feel like I’m at Disney. The flora is pretty much the same, it’s hot and sticky, I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get to interesting events on time, there’s people everywhere talking in languages I don’t know, and I’m fenced in an area that is beautifully constructed and impeccably clean. There are a few important differences of course, there are no children, everyone is dressed up and important, and there are screens at every corner playing loud and live footage of the internal conference that we cannot attend. It’s the first day and I’ve already been swept off my feet. This is amazing. There are more events to go to than I have time for, there are so many important … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues, Student Research

Monday, November 28th in Durban, South Africa

It’s 1:30 and I’ve grabbed a few minutes this afternoon to post on my initial reactions to the conference. For one: I am very overwhelmed. We arrived at the center this morning around 9:30 after a stressful check-in/security. We then entered the ICC building and received incredibly long addendum and programs for the days events. Immediately, I wanted to attend every event—my focus however is on energy and emissions of urban areas and sustainable development, so I knew that in general I should attend events in that vein. I went with a small group of Dickinson students to just such event presented by the organization Helio International, a group “focusing on methodology and a series of indicators that can be used to check how well national energy policies are contributing … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change

Day One, Quick Morning Update

We’re blogging live at the conference! Quick update: We’re currently interviewing the current chairperson of IPCC Working Group 2. Meanwhile, the UNFCCC Plenary meeting is underway, and our students are trying to get their bearings. I’ll be following AOSIS around. If you’ve got any updates about their whereabouts, negotiating positions or statements, etc, comment here or email dickinsoncop17@gmail.com! … Read entire article »

Filed under: Carbon Markets, Climate Change, Conservation, Consumption, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Featured, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research, Weather