Beyond Copenhagen: When Local Trumps Global

by Christopher Bartlett

The verdict is finally in. Last week, we saw data that would allow us to judge whether the Copenhagen Climate Summit was a failure or just a disappointment. Last December 20, after years of preparation and weeks of negotiation, the 15,000 delegates from 183 countries – supplemented by 115 highly visible heads of state – finally “noted” rather than “ratified” an agreement. Sadly, its most remarkable feature was a big gap in the appendix where national commitments should have been listed.
Still, there was hope. While the accord was considerably scaled back from an early target of 50% reduction in emissions by 2050, at least it contained an agreement to limit warming to 2°C (3.6°F). (Bear in mind that in the last half of the 20th century, temperatures have already risen more than 1°F.)

Now the January 31 deadline for countries to make public their voluntary goals and actions has passed, and an independent analysis has been completed of the commitments made by all 91 countries (representing 80.5% of global emissions) reporting by the deadline. The alarming bottom-line conclusion was that these actions would set the world on a path towards a disastrous 3°C (5.4°F) temperature rise.

So the verdict is clear. Copenhagen was a failure. And despite all their grand statements and big promises, our world leaders turned out to be what one environmentalist called "all tip and no iceberg.”

So what now? Do we throw up our hands? Do we say we tried our best, and pass the problem to future generations? Or is this the time for leadership to emerge from a groundswell of individual actions?  Is this a chance for determined and committed grassroots initiatives to send a strong message to those in power?

Over the weeks leading up to Earth Day on April 22, Sustainable Woodstock wants to focus on the collective and cumulative power of individual action. We want to offer challenges, suggest actions, provide support, and celebrate achievements. In short, we hope to make Woodstock a model of what can be done when communities unite and individuals rally.

We kick off at our Sustainable Woodstock/Pentangle Winter Film Series next Thursday, February 18, at 7:30 PM, at the Woodstock Town Hall Theater. with No Impact Man, a fascinating and entertaining 2009 documentary that has received widespread critical acclaim. For a year, it follows the life of a New York writer who decides to make zero environmental impact during that time – using no electricity, generating no waste, walking everywhere, and eating only local food. It tracks the challenges he faces, not the least of which is convincing his consumerist wife to join the effort.

Come and enjoy the movie. It documents an intriguing experiment more than a viable lifestyle, but it may just inspire you. And who knows? Strong, enduring individual commitments might eventually convince our leaders to heed the philosophy of Benjamin Disraeli who famously said, “I must follow the people, for I am their leader!”

For more information, visit our site, contact us at spm@sustainablewoodstock.com, or call 457-2911.