A Date With History (script) English and Spanish version

This script was writen by a group of us for a video context in preparation to the Rio+20 conference. by Anjali Appadurai, Nimisha Bastedo, Anyuri Betegon, Graham Reeder, Nathan Thanki, Julian Velez, and Trudi Zundel. The video can be seen here. We are Earth in Brackets and the future we want requires radical change. Radical: Favoring drastic political, economic, and social reforms. Radical:...

Analysis of the most recent suggested text on food security

By Anna Odell, Clara de Iturbe and Lara Shirley We have read the Zero Order Draft, the latest version of the amended text for food security, and the co-chair's suggested text that followed it. Overall, we have found that the Co-Chairs’ suggested text is a combination of acutely incompatible and different opinions. While inevitable to a certain extent, in this case the views expressed differ to...

The United States’ Unique Situations with Education, Loans, and Rio +20

By Bogdan Zymka In the United States, there seems to be some hope of economic recovery looming as unemployment slowly falls and the election cycle brings about at least some sort of national discussion about critical issues. However, Rio is still far from making headlines in mainstream media in the United States and by the time it makes it there, it might be too late to discuss the elephant the...

The dreadful details: a blow by blow account of how COP17 ended

by nathan thanki A week later and everyone has returned to their respective homes, readying themselves for the festive season. The mainstream media has been content with the narrative of 'it was close but we saved the regime, and eventually we'll save the world' and has moved on to supposedly bigger concerns such as the Eurozone crisis, and what the best recipe for preparing the Christmas turkey...

A new era of Carbon Colonialism

by Graham Reeder Say goodbye to equity. That was the sour taste we were left with as the COP president gavelled through 'agreement' after 'agreement' at 5am on Sunday morning. I will let others describe the scene on that night, what I want to focus on is what I see as a new step in contemporary colonialism. The UNFCCC laid out several core principles when it was first written,...