The fall has been so full of climate change-related seminars that I earlier forgot to write up this one: a day on The Health Impacts of Climate Change at Stockholm's prestigious Karolinska Institute (Oct 11, 2011). (Here I must reveal that my wife works at the Institute, Sweden's leading medical training and research center, as … Continue reading Climate and Health: Side Issue, or the Bottom Line?
Global Warming and Climate Change
Wailing on the Road to Cancún
"It's so bleak, it's very depressing. But we are activists. When things are bleak, we don't give up. We get busy." So said Meena Raman of the Malaysia-based activist group Third World Network at a small seminar on climate change held in Stockholm this week. For me, it was an excellent opportunity to get updated … Continue reading Wailing on the Road to Cancún
On Being an American Troubadour at the Swedish Climate Change Conference
This is the third and last installment on my series of posts from the Climate Existence 2010 conference, organized by my friends and colleagues at Uppsala University's Center for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS). To read the posts in order: 1. Bill McKibben 2. David Abrams I am on the 5:23 morning bus, leaving the … Continue reading On Being an American Troubadour at the Swedish Climate Change Conference
David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
This is the second in my series of posts from the conference "Climate Existence 2010." The series began with a post on Bill McKibben's opening keynote. This one covers the afternoon keynote and the workshop I went to, which awakened some memories ... "We don't live on the Earth. We live in the Earth. Or … Continue reading David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
Bill McKibben on Climate Change: The Depressing Bad News, and the Amazing Power of People to Create Good News
I'm attending a conference in Sweden called Climate Existence. I'm here not as a speaker, for once; I'm here as a musician, scheduled to perform this evening. I'll blog some of the highlights over the course of the day. Here is what was happening just as I walked in (late) to the event, in Sigtuna, … Continue reading Bill McKibben on Climate Change: The Depressing Bad News, and the Amazing Power of People to Create Good News
Can a Glass of Orange Juice in Sweden be “Climate Smart”?
Sometimes you just wince. I’m complicit, of course. I bought the juice. I like the juice. And of course, I routinely wonder at the general sustainability of shipping orange juice (and a lot of other stuff) around the planet, using fossil fuels. It doesn’t seem quite right. There are a lot of things that “don’t … Continue reading Can a Glass of Orange Juice in Sweden be “Climate Smart”?
Eco-House, Normal House
A Little Weblog Essay about Our New House, and its Various Environmental and Sustainable Features and Benefits This week my family moves into a new house that we have just finished building -- or rather, that the builders have just finished building, financed by the proceeds on the sale of our previous apartment (we sold … Continue reading Eco-House, Normal House
The Earthquake in Copenhagen: Reflections on CoP-15 and its Aftermath
After attending CoP-15 (as a UN Observer, on temporary assignment to the Division for Sustainable Development, though of course I write entirely in my individual capacity), talking to numerous delegates and observers and NGO activists during the event, and reading over a hundred articles on the process and the outcome, I have come to an … Continue reading The Earthquake in Copenhagen: Reflections on CoP-15 and its Aftermath
How I Got Lost at the United Nations
In twenty-one years of work on sustainability, I have never before attended a UN meeting. Even when the big sustainability conferences happened (Rio '92, Johannesburg '02), I stayed home, content to keep working on projects that were more specific, less global. In fact, even though I lived in New York for years, on two occasions, … Continue reading How I Got Lost at the United Nations
Letter from Sweden: The State of the End of the World
The Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm is always a good place to spend a seminar morning on a beautiful Spring day, even when the topic is far from cheery. This is the day, called Valborg, when Swedes, in their several millions, gather around great bonfires to celebrate the coming of Spring. Male choruses sing … Continue reading Letter from Sweden: The State of the End of the World
Alan AtKisson 