Last Report from Cancun By MA Chapter Energy Chair

Saturday Morning Dec. 11^th 3:54 AM

UPDATE- 3:45 PM and heading home.... For you that read the first musing.... I asked the married couple next to me on the plane if they were happily married. They thought it was a kind of peculiar first question, until I told them the story.... I'm glad to report 40 years of marriage and coming back from Cancun celebrating their anniversary.... More of a comfortable flight this time...

Comments below are from the 3:54 musings and I've had a chance to read a bit of the results from Cancun and don't feel like changing anything below...... Finally got to catch up with SSC Joseph Manning at the airport. Really enjoyed our conversation.

And I will be coming home today. And as I sit in bed, beginning to hear the sounds of morning, there are many delegates who are finishing all-nighters trying to put together a document that may have relevancy but probably not..... Not that what has been learned and shared may help their country prepare and start to deal with climate change impact. Just having this type of exercise is good for all.

One thing that surprised and AMAZED me is that the world has one language and it is English. Very few of the speakers, official and unofficial representatives needed headphones or translators to convey very detailed thought. That alone gives me great hope.

I'm not having a change of heart on whether I think the UN's efforts through this type of structure will bear lasting fruit.... It probably won't, but maybe the UN COP / MOP / BEBOP structure will be like the League of Nations .... Both as single entities, failures, but had to happen to create something that could work.

Some fundamental deadly flaws that can NOT be overcome in making the current structure a success...... Probably the most important is that the presumption that you can't trust your neighbor to do the right thing. Thinking not what we can do to help but how can I get the most out of this situation. Getting not Giving.... Also, an inherent flaw is that the problem is literally too amorphous..... Here we are 16 years down the road and some of the basic stuff they are JUST talking about (not doing) is stuff that was defined and clear to the participants 16 years ago in COP 1....... And the Earth is a hell of a lot different now, climate wise, CO2 release wise, population wise, etc. The fundamental climate problem is accelerating so it's impossible, with the tools they are currently using to hit this moving target. Another deadly flaw is Money. The Haves and the Have Nots..... Fossil fuels are not necessarily bad, just when used in excess. And the Haves (Developed Countries) and the Have Nots (Undeveloped Countries) are really defined by their use of the properties of a bunch of long ago dead and decayed plants and animals that allow us to increase “productivity”. If these Have Nots want to be like us then I pity them immensely. Sure we all need clean water, breathable air, shelter, the basics. But good god, do you want to have 3 cars in your driveway, 5 high def TV's scattered around your house? What has that have to do with quality of life.... In other words, don't chase our addiction, pursue something better.

One of the real joys of this trip were the random conversations.... the Dutch rep who lives in eastern Germany who is an official delegate for Belarus, sharing his knowledge on peat land, or Gebremedhine from Ethiopia explaining his perspective on lack of US will, or Pema from Bhutan telling me what they are now doing to reduce their CO2 footprint or the many young people, like Laura from South Africa, who have hope and yet are here getting an education on trying to make enviro sausage.... All are wonderful, interesting people.

The problem is obvious, the solution is simple. Just hard to do.

Ernie