As the final days of the climate talks in Copenhagen tick by, heads of state begin to arrive at the summit, and the energy in and around the Bella Center has reached an all-time high. Inside the Center, NGOs and possibly some delegates have walked out of talks. Outside, thousands of protestors marching for climate justice for developing countries are attempting to turn negotiations into a "people's assembly", chanting "Reclaim Power" --a term coined by the leaders of Climate Justice Action, a coalition of global climate justice groups. Police have arrested hundreds more today, and have even resorted to physical force, using batons and pepper spray to hold back crowds. Watch a full report on the protest scene from Democracy Now!

Accedited activists and NGOs, including Avaaz, Tck Tck Tck, and Friends of the Earth, have now been denied access to the conference center without stated cause, further inflaming protestors in the area, and resulting in a sit-in in the center lobby.

In other news, Conference of the Parties (COP 15) President Connie Hedegaard has resigned her position, to be replaced by Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, reportedly because of the unprecedented number of heads of state and government who have begun to arrive at the conference.

Stay tuned for more updates from Copenhagen, and in the meantime, check out this Earth Focus interview with Oxfam's Gawain Kripke who has a firm grasp on the effects of climate change on developing countries, particularly as it pertains to food security:

The weekend was anything but quiet around Copenhagen's Bella Center and in the world at large, with protestors and activists taking to the streets from Sydney to San Francisco demanding a real deal on climate change. The mass action, which prompted hundreds of arrests, included marches, vigils and church bell ringing by groups like Oxfam and 350.org.

At the negotiations, aggressive action took place as well. Tuvalu's negotiator reached out in an emotional plea to the UN, the U.S. Senate and President Obama, asserting that the survival of his country and other small island nations depends on decisions made this week. Meanwhile, Bolivia's UN Ambassador issued a bold response to the U.S. refusal to pay any "climate debt" by saying, "We are not assigning guilt, merely responsibility. As they say in the U.S., if you break it, you buy it."  And today, African countries of the G77 have walked out of negotiations, temporarily suspending talks, in a move to protect gains made through the Kyoto Protocol.

All of this and more, as always, is continuously covered on our LIVE page, Copenhagen 24/7, so stay tuned for more up-to-the-minute news straight from the source. I'll leave you with our latest spot from Link TV's Climate Change Hits Home series, which discusses the impending impacts of a warming world on recreation in the U.S. Some of America's favorite (and most prosperous!) pastimes are in danger of disappearing:

Today, with the start of climate negotiations in Copehagen, Link TV has teamed up with OneClimate.net and Justin.tv to launch the pioneering Copenhagen 24/7, a live webstream of breaking news, press conferences, and pre-recorded crowd-sourced video, straight from the frontlines of the summit. Follow summit events as they unfold and participate in a live chat with the millions of other viewers expected to tune in December 7-19, 2009.

While up to 200 global leaders, officials, and ministers are expected to participate in the historic negotiations to determine parameters of the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol, many are skeptical that parties will actually be able to deliver a comprehensive international agreement, and protestors have already begun to mobilize. Many developing nations have even stated that they are prepared to walk out of negotiations if fair and binding terms, that address their needs specifically, are not reached. Adaptation funding, clean technology transfer, and emission reduction targets are just a few of the issues that will undoubtedly present challenges for both developed and developing countries to consent on.

Midway through negotiations, on December 12th, people all over the world will be taking action to ensure participating parties heading into the final days of negotiations are prepared to deliver a real deal that safeguards the future of citizens worldwide.

So be sure to tune in to Copenhagen 24/7 to follow these exciting events, and up-to-the-minute news straight from the source. And follow Link's Action Alerts on Twitter for more updates on Climate Change, and to find out what you can do!

All around the world today people are coming together to call for international action against climate change. The focus has been on the number 350, which is the parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that scientists, including the UN's top climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, believe we need to stay below in order to avert disaster. 350.org has organized a series of events around the world calling attention to the target, and they're giving visitors and participants alike some real time gratification through Twitter feeds and Flickr slideshows. We've blogged about Maldivian officials holding a cabinet meeting underwater to raise awareness of rising oceans, and now the Divers Association of the Maldives is hosting an underwater rally with the goal of having 350 divers stay underwater in teams for 24 hours. You can find out what's going on near you at 350.org.

At Link TV we've been exploring how climate change is already having an impact in the US and elsewhere through a series of short videos called Climate Change Hits Home.

For World Food Day 2009 (which is tomorrow, October 16th!), Link TV is helping to promote a campaign called Stand Up, Take Action, a movement now four years in the running. As part of the framework for the UN Millennium Development Goals adopted by global leaders in the year 2000, worldwide hunger and poverty must be eradicated by the year 2015. A lofty endeavor, you say? Maybe. But millions of global citizens are demanding that this promise be kept, or at the very least, kept a priority. Each year, through events organized by Stand Up, Take Action, attention is called to this ongoing issue, and the movement is growing. Last year, it broke its own Guinness World Record for the largest mobilization around a single cause in recorded history. Click here for events taking place this weekend in your area.

Watch this video and join the countdown to World Food Day!



Link TV has a lot of great food and hunger related programming, that can be found on our ISSUE: Food page, like a new Michael Pollan special called “Deep Agriculture”, and more. Also, learn about the coffee industry and Fair Trade practices that are effecting small farmers in poor countries around the world from Dean Cycon, Founder and CEO of Dean’s Beans.