(ITN News: 1030 PST, February 25, 2011) Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has addressed his supporters in Green Square, Tripoli.
(Associated Press: 0957 PST, February 25, 2011) Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has told a crowd of his supporters massed in a central Tripoli square to fight back against protesters and "defend the nation."
(Associated Press: 0730 PST, February 22, 2011) Libyan forces were reportedly cracking down on anti-government protesters in the capital overnight, while elsewhere in the Middle East demonstrations were continuing in Bahrain and Yemen.
Jamie Henn from 350.org stated in an interview on Tuesday with OneClimate.net that he believes there are two difference strategies by which one could approach the UNFCCC climate talks in Cancun and other Conferences of the Parties (COPs). He says the first and most prevalent strategy is to try and make small steps of progress each year towards building a larger treaty. The other and more important strategy, in Henn's opinion, is to use the COPs as opportunities to create "outrage" on the lack of progress that are made at these negotiations by key countries who aren't "stepping up to the plate."
Today, on the final day of formal negotiations of COP16, Greenpeace and TckTckTck, along with volunteers from several other NGOs, showed their support for the latter strategy by carrying out an extravagant stunt on the beach outside the Crown Paradise Club resort in Cancun. Well over a hundred people showed up to participate and cover the event, which involved creating a bird's eye image (using the help of renowned human banner aerial artist John Quigley) of climate negotiators being rescued from the sea by a giant inflated life ring.
The stunt venue was a nice departure from the cold, civilized rooms of the Cancunmesse and Moon Palace, and quite possibly the first time many of the hard working attendees had set foot on the beach during their time in Cancun. 
Dozens of barefoot volunteers were given suits and business attire to put on for their roles as negotiators, and then were marched out to sea to start treading water. The remaining participants wearing green and blue shirts represented the civil society and used their bodies to spell out the word "HOPE?" on the sand. Then, the civil society leaped up to drag an enormous orange life ring (15 meters in diameter) into the water where the negotiators were floundering and simulating drowning. Fortunately, no one actually drowned (though their acting was very convincing!), because the civil society came to the rescue and pulled all of the flailing negotiators onto the ring and back to shore.
The symbolism of the event was very clear: Negotiators aren't making sufficient strides towards effectively mitigating green house gases and helping vulnerable communities who are already being impacted by climate change. Today is their last chance at this COP to make crucial compromises and commitments, and the civil society is here to help them do it.
Speaking after the stunt with some of the sandy, dripping wet participants, the tone of reactions was one of hope in these final hours. Local NGOs and folks from all over the world had come to the beach to join together and send a clear message to negotiators who once again hold the fate of the world in their hands. The act was not subtle, or forgiving, but it showed the great responsibility of COP16 participants to come to an agreement, and the urgency to do so. As talks wrap up today, we will find out if this outrage was heard.
It's only day three of negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and the climate change roller coaster is quickly gaining momentum, with new urgency to release a draft climate agreement before the weekend. On Monday, the U.S. took strides towards regulating emissions when the Environmental Protection Agency announced the dangers of greenhouse gases on human health -- an important step towards setting tougher national emissions standards. But shortly thereafter, the U.S. and others took a hit with the leak of the "Danish Text", a controversial proposal by several parties, such as Denmark, the U.S., and the U.K., that attempts to give regulatory control to rich nations instead of the UN in setting international emissions standards, and drastically reduces CO2 targets for rich countries. This has no doubt infuriated many developing countries who are seeking to hold these very countries accountable for the emissions they produce.
Africa, for example, is demanding reparations for the devastating impact of heavy-emitting countries on their continent's natural resources and environment. Learn more about this from the latest episode of Link's Global Pulse, Africa: Cash for Climate Change?, and then have your say on whether or not you agree. Also, we hear so much about the melting glaciers of the Arctic, but we rarely hear about the lives of the people there, and how they are being impacted by rising temperatures and changes to the environment. This week, Link TV is airing explore: Arctic - Change at the Top of the World for a look at one of the most fragile and remote parts of the world.
Watch more about the effects of global warming on developing countries on Link's Climate Change Video page. One video from the remote Republic of Kiribati, while dated by its title, holds particular relevance due to the emotional presence of tiny island nations making their plea during negotiations this week.
To follow along with the events of the summit in Copenhagen, don't forget to tune in LIVE with Copenhagen 24/7, Link's continuous streaming video of the conference. Get by-the-minute updates through interviews, press conferences, and full coverage of the protests and actions taken on site. Join the live chat, too!
The industrialization of the U.S. food system is multiplying rates of obesity and preventable illness. Our planet is suffering as well: the massive amounts of oil, coal and natural gas needed to produce, distribute and refrigerate our food is putting further strain on the planet's limited resources. I recently heard that a grocery chain that touts themselves as "green" flies their salmon to Japan to be filleted, then flies it back to the U.S. for sale in their stores! Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, says: "When we eat from the modern industrial food system," Pollan says, "we are eating fossil fuel and spewing greenhouse gas."
Though this situation seems abysmal, Pollan offers real alternatives to our current system; alternatives and solutions for a healthier, safer and more environmentally-friendly food supply. Watch the premiere of Michael Pollan: Deep Agriculture tonight at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific: click here for more information.
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