Day 2: We got in!

While it's kind of dark, we finally made it past the police line - little did we know that we still had 2 1/2 hours of waiting!!!

There is quite a bit to share for today, so I split it up in two sections. This one talks about the time in line, the people we met, and some of the fun things on the inside. The next one talks about the conference itself, what people are saying, and my own reflections on it.

So, after 7 1/2 hours in line (it snowed today) we finally got accredited and our badges!! It was once again contained chaos, but we met lots of wonderful people - a Dutch scientist (who had to miss his presentation because the line took so long), a Scottish delegate, a Spanish lobbyist, an Israeli film-maker, a Slovakian artist, a Canadian businesswoman, and many, many more.

Some funny one-liners I heard while waiting the 13 1/2 hours to get in:

One of my roommates in the massive crowd, "Wow, I knew we were rooming together but I didn't know we'd be spooning!"

Random man from Hawaii, "Next year I'm bringing Depends."
At one point, a large group about 20 behind us began chanting, "We want heat! We want heat!"

However, it was all worth it once we got in. We were able to get our badges and begin exploring. The conference center was set up in different halls, with the delegations in one section, media building in another, NGO exhibits in another, food and press area in another.

I was able to chat with several of the NGOs, two of particular interest were Global Climate Justice and Gender CC. Global Climate Justice is based in Brazil and is an organization that shares stories and empowers young people to learn about and advocate for climate change and social justice. I spoke with the founder, Miriam Dualibi, and her colleague, Dawn Bazely of York University. They are both excited about the explosive growth and momentum of their new organization. June 2010 is the first international climate change conference exclusively for youth.



Me with Dawn Bazely (center) and Miriam Dualibi, both from Global Climate Justice.

Gender CC - Women for Climate Justice is a network of women and gender activists that was started in preparation for the COP 14 in Milan, 2004. They advocate for women's and children's rights in regard to the disproportionate harm done to them because of climate change. Women are having to walk farther in areas plagued by draught. Women are having to learn new methods of farming and weed control because exotic species are taking over their land. I spoke with a woman from Romania who has been part of this organization for three years working with the impoverished women in her area. She has seen firsthand how lack of electricity and water in their community is adversely effecting the level of education and productivity which in turn effects their income.

While I was listening to a speech (more on that in the next post) there was a march and protest that went through the center. Marchers were made up of indigenous people in their traditional dress calling for the 'developed' countries to compromise and do their part to combat climate change.

Even with the wait, it was a good, exciting day! Until next time...