from David Hodgkinson <d.hodgkinson@hodgkinsongroup.com> Wed, Aug 18, 2010 Proposal for a convention for persons displaced by climate change – frequently asked questions.

We are engaged in a project which seeks to address the problem of climate change displacement.
The focus of our project is a proposal for a convention for persons displaced by climate change.

Please find attached a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about our climate change displacement convention.
The FAQs can also be found at the ‘Documents’ page of our project website – www.ccdpconvention.com.

Our proposed convention would largely operate prospectively; assistance to climate change displaced persons would be based on an assessment of whether their environment was likely to become uninhabitable due to events consistent with anthropogenic climate change such that resettlement measures and assistance were necessary.  In other words, displacement is viewed as a form of adaptation that creates particular vulnerabilities requiring protection as well as assistance through international cooperation.

If you have any questions about the paper please contact me at d.hodgkinson@hodgkinsongroup.com or on +61 402 824 832.

Best wishes
David

___________________________

David Hodgkinson

The Hodgkinson Group

+61 402 824 832 (international)

0402 824 832 (within Australia)

www.hodgkinsongroup.com

www.ecocarbon.org.au

www.ccdpconvention.com

19 July 2010

How We Will Turn the Gulf Catastrophe into Positive Change.

by Jan Lundberg

19 July 2010 Our Posting is in effect an amalgam of Jan Lundberg’s article at Culture Change http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/666/68/ and an older version that reached us earlier. We all want to really make it right in the Gulf. Will BP and the government handle it well enough? That’s in doubt. It’s actually up to us all. We need urgent environmental action especially involving energy consumption: let us cut oil use. – The grassroots coalition World Oil Reduction for the Gulf (WORG) has as its initial objective the promulgation and propagation of a powerful Resolution for immediate global remediation of the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. –

We all want to really make it right in the Gulf. Will BP and the government handle it well enough? That’s in doubt. It’s actually up to us all. We need urgent environmental action especially involving energy consumption: let us cut oil use.The grassroots coalition World Oil Reduction for the Gulf (WORG) has as its initial objective the promulgation and propagation of a powerful Resolution for immediate global remediation of the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. A sensible approach is to go after the low-hanging fruit, which WORG and many other advocates have identified. World Oil Reduction for the Gulf’s first purpose is to ecologically and numerically counteract the unprcedented millions of barrels of toxic oil and methane spewing into the Gulf waters and the atmosphere. The crisis may seem to abate, but it may not be possible to fully describe the long-term ecological and economic consequences with words, numbers and images. To act you need not go further than to read and distribute the WORG Resolution. See the document on our new webpage at www.WorldOilReduction.org. As specified, relatively simple measures can begin to bring U.S. oil consumption under control, if we move toward achieving a reduction commensurate with the near hundreds of millions of gallons of oil and unknown number of cubic feet of methane released by the Deepwater Horizon (Macondo) gusher. We cannot stop there. The Gulf disaster has opened the eyes of millions of people to the threat that oil poses to all aspects of life on our small planet. The crisis in the Gulf cannot “go away” any time soon, but some citizens may want to believe it — will they miss the opportunity to do something about the overall problem? Will ecological degradation reach the killing point world-wide, to finally wake people up when it is too late? If enough people begin to push their city councils to act — ordinances to follow the Resolution — we can achieve action also on the State level, finally causing the federal government to act in confirmation of a national movement. It seems obvious that for first states, Louisiana and Florida should be logical candidates, despite any anti-oil green tinge from cutting oil consumption: the “pain” of reducing oil use across the board would be distributed mainly beyond the Gulf. For a progressive proposal such as WORG to fly, it may have to be that a state like Vermont takes the plunge first. We invite you to join us in our attempt to have the U.S. finally address its oil and energy gluttony. This can affect positively other nations and the global economy. The standing of the U.S. today as most wasteful consumer can improve by offsetting the Gulf disaster on a barrel-to-barrel basis, by cutting petroleum use. The U.S. uses twice the energy of affluent West European countries per capita, largely due to massive pro-oil subsidies in the U.S. It is high time that the profligate U.S. cuts back now, when the planet is taking a big hit from greedy BP and from those tied to its fortunes (you and me?). WORG offers a choice of various kinds of cutbacks in oil use for communities to undertake. These cutbacks, requiring “sacrifice,” would in the aggregate potentially make up for the entire Gulf oil gusher — past, present and future — in a short time if they were even modestly implemented. They will be clearly set out: a Washington, D.C. think tank is preparing for WORG a special graph of U.S. oil consumption that shows some of the many ways to reduce oil consumption. They won’t all be on the pie chart, but these ways include: lessening car dependence through enhancing mass transit, bicycling, and car-pooling; purchasing less food shipped from thousands of miles away; banning some disposable plastics; adjusting thermostats; banning leaf blowers and discouraging power mowers; shutting BP’s unsafe refineries, and — last but not least — ending the wars for oil. Plugging the damaged well and cleanup are only the first step. President Obama has offered no leadership towards slashing oil use – except for calling for a clean energy future. We need action now, rather than waiting for results from long-term investment and faith in the free market and government. As an independent oil industry analyst I have been trying to do everything possible to bring culture change to the forefront. We stand a good chance now to do that through WORG. I hope you share our goals and will get involved. We have the WORG coalition counts as its members: Center for Biological Diversity RealitySandwich.com Population Press Hope Dance Culture Change and Dr. Brent Blackwelder, president emeritus of Friends of the Earth – U.S. ——————————————– To join WORG (no membership fee), consider the Resolution that we hope your city council and state will adopt. It is at www.WorldOilReduction.org. Let us know if you and your organization can be listed as a member or endorser of WORG. Your involvement in this cause as a WORG coalition member is most welcome. Very soon the website will be further developed for maximum participation and speedy actions for WORG participants. Besides signing up more groups and individuals, the task at hand requires networking, research, travel, and publicity. The present WORG coalition members will do their part. Meanwhile, prior to rapid deployment for our first city-council Resolution for world oil reduction for the Gulf, Culture Change is now the organization making the big initial push. So your generous donation to Culture Change today will support the early, rapid development of WORG. Please go to our donation page at culturechange.org/donate.html Thank you, Jan Lundberg independent oil industry analyst Publisher, Editor and Founder, Culture Change P.O. Box 4347, Arcata, CA 95518  http://www.culturechange.org Committee Against Oil Exploration (CAOE, pronounced K-O). www.WorldOilReduction.org jan “at” culturechange.org Further reading: On oil subsidies and more: “New thinking on BP spill: Declare a holiday!” by Brent Blackwelder,The Daly News: Energy Bulletin

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy & International Affairs David Sandalow.

TOPIC:              Upcoming Clean Energy Ministerial July 19-20^th

This is written on the basis of a US Department of State Press Conference  – Thursday, July 15, 2010.

————

This article follows our posting of July 14, 2010:

The Major 17 Economies were joined by Bangladesh, Denmark, Barbados, Ethiopia, Singapore and the UAE at the recent Rome meeting – to be followed by a July 19-20, 2010 Washington DC Meeting on Clean Energy – all this to build a program for Cancun.  Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on July 14th, 2010 by Pincas Jawetz ( PJ at SustainabiliTank.com)

We said at the time that the July 19 – 20, 2010  Washington DC Ministerial meeting will be a sequel – now we are convonced that is actually a different kind of meeting and I do not think that its eyes will be towards Cancun.

———–

The Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, David Sandalow, gave a background briefing and answered questions on the web regarding the importance of the upcoming Washington DC – Clean Energy Ministerial meeting. He discussed Energy Secretary Chu’s hopes on what will be accomplished.

The following countries will be represented:  Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Norway, the Russian Federation, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, the U.A.E. and the U.K.

This list excludes Indonesia from the Major Economies Forum which are 16 + The EU and then at their Rome meeting of June 30 – July 1, 2010, added on Ministers from a variety of representative smaller economies: Bangladesh, Denmark, Barbados, Ethiopia, Singapore, UAE.

This list includes in addition to the EU also all The Scandinavian States: Denmark, Norway, Spain and Sweden. As well it includes Belgium and Spain. It does not include Bangladesh, Barbados, Ethiopia, Singapore which were part of the meeting of June 30 – July 1, 2010 but it does include from that meeting Denmark that was a participant because of its hosting the Copenhagen meeting, and the UAE that seemingly represents the oil exporting countries.

The Washington meeting includes also Belgium because by now they have become the half year Presidents of the EU for July 1 till  December 31, 2010, and it retains Spain that held this position during the first half of 2010. To top this there is also an actual EU delegation at the table besides the temporary Presidents. We assume that this delegation is there because Malta, Cyprus and other EU delegations are not there. Place was also found for all major four Scandinavian Countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden – surely nice people all of them.

I write all of this in order to say that some better way has to be found on how to treat the EU and the World, when the Obama Administration wants indeed to show that it is serious about climate change by inviting just the large emitters that total 80% of the global emissions, or, if intent to bring in also some small representation of the small countries, that do not have substantial emissions, but proportionately are going to bear a major part of the suffering, the Rome initiative of having present also Bangladesh, Barbados and Ethiopia would have been just fine – and the total figure would have been then 16 + 1 (the EU) + 3 (this for Bangladesh, Barbados, Ethiopia) and it obviously would have included as part of the 16 also Indonesia.

For more information, the link to the website is:   http://cleanenergyministerial.org/

——————-

At question time I asked from Mr. Sandalow why is Indonesia not at the meeting, and why was the symbolic, but important participation of the small number of really very small economies dropped?

The answer was that Indonesia said they are not coming because they participate at that time at a South  Asia meeting. The fact that the small economies were dropped is “because this is for the large energy markets – for 80% of the ENERGY MARKET  and not for the whole world.”  THE IDEA IS COME UP WITH ACTIONS TO PROMOTE CLEAN ENERGY, he said.

It would have been easier to accept that answer had the US also kept out the additional 6 EU States that were not among the original 16 + EU. We also would like to ask why UAE – though we think that they clearly are a better choice then Saudi Arabia – but still not exactly your ideal partner when you try to disengage from oil even though they do in effect – as holders of serious financial reserves – also participate in the financial benefits from looking for a cleaner future.

The above, because after Copenhagen we hoped for the involvement of business interests in order to create the working alternative to the Kyoto process – the interest of business in going green. For this to be effective one must have at the table mainly the real big emitters who indeed coincide with the biggest economies.

We thought that amounted to the maximum of 16 and – under EU conditions – just one more chair for the EU. Now there will be 23 chairs at the Washington table. The higher number decreasing the chance for success.

Monday, July 19, 2010 at 9am there will be an open press conference when the meeting starts.

BIDR Homepage | Albert Katz International School of Desert Studies | Drylands, Deserts and Desertification 2010

Drylands, Deserts and Desertification:The Route to Restoration.

The Third International Conference on Drylands, Deserts and Desertification: The Route to Restoration November 8-11, 2010 Sede Boqer Campus, Israel www.desertification.bgu.ac.il

from: Teshome Hunduma Mulesa <Teshome@utviklingsfondet.no> to African SD Policy Makers <africasd-l@lists.iisd.ca> date Wed, Jul 7, 2010

Invitation to global consultations on Farmers’ Rights.

We herewith invite you to participate in global consultations on Farmers’ Rights as these are addressed in Article 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (also called the Plant Treaty; see www.planttreaty.org). The background for these consultations is a decision made by the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty at its third session (Resolution 6/2009). Here the Governing Body recalls the importance of fully implementing Farmers’ Rights, and, among other things, requests the Secretariat to convene regional workshops on Farmers’ Rights to discuss relevant national experiences. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (www.fni.no) in Norway is assisting the Secretariat in carrying out this task. Funding is limited, so we begin by carrying out consultations via e-mail, in order to involve as many stakeholders as possible, in all parts of the world. The e-mail consultations have been made possible thanks to support from SwedBio of Sweden and the Development Fund, Norway. We are still trying to raise the funds necessary to hold a consultation conference towards the end of the year, which will then be global, with regional components. The results of the global consultation process will be presented to the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty at its Fourth Session in 2011, as a basis for its deliberations on promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights at the national level.

The following questionnaire is designed to obtain information in the context of Resolution 6/2009 of the Governing Body and to facilitate discussions at the consultation conference. The Secretariat will follow this process and provide information to Contracting Parties accordingly.

We hope that you can distribute this questionnaire to organizations and individuals engaged in plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and farmers’ rights – in your own country and abroad. We would also be grateful if all those who are working with farmers take this opportunity to distribute the questionnaire among them, or to convene group consultations among farmers to complete the questionnaire collectively, if appropriate, and send it to us.

We sincerely hope that you will take the time to complete this questionnaire to the best of your capacity, and return it to us.

The final deadline for submission of this questionnaire is 31 August 2010.
Please e-mail the questionnaire to tow@fni.no or as fax to (+47) 67 11 19 10.

We will publish the results of this e-mail based part of the consultation by the beginning of November 2010 in the form of a report, with the responses presented region-wise. For more information please visit the website of the Farmers’ Rights Project of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute at (www.farmersrights.org) or contact Tone Winge (tow@fni.no).

Engelsk: http://www.farmersrights.org/about/fr_in_itpgrfa_7.html
Fransk: http://www.farmersrights.org/FR/concernant_traite4.html
Spansk: http://www.farmersrights.org/ES/acerca_tratado4.html
Thank you for all your help in making these important global consultations a success!

Oslo, Norway 6 July 2010
Sincerely yours,
(sign.)
Regine Andersen,
Senior Research Fellow and
Director of the Farmers’ Rights Project
Fridtjof Nansen Institute

Fareed mentioned that on this day, nine years ago, he took the Oath of Naturalization and became a US citizen – clearly a tremendous gain for the US.

He mentioned this while showing 57 military personnel serving with the US forces in Afghanistan who took today their oath of Naturalization right there in Afghanistan swearing that they will be ready to take up arms in the defense of the United States – this please note while they are already fighting on behalf of US Government even though they were not yet US citizens.

This might have been an expressive thing that caught my eye on the CNN/GPS  program – sort of corollary to the main meat of the program that dealt with the G-20 meeting on the World Economy and the US position on the conclusions of the meeting.

Our clear decision watching the program is that the US is far from being united and one. In effect it is divided in two, and it was Fareed Zakaria – the newest American – who tried to bind the two parts into one. But what is even worse, the two opposing parts – both of them – are not purely American – but rather still beholden to the British outreach – this after all of these 234 years.

So, as Fareed would say – “let us see:”

The G-20 decided (that is except for Japan) that we must start decreasing debt because otherwise the cost of borrowing money increases prohibitively. Today is Greece – tomorrow it’s us.

The stakes are the future of US and Global Prosperity and the two opposing points of view are:

(A) As presented by Paul Krugman – an American steeped in Keynesian (English) economics – said that our reaction today is like it was in the 30s and we will face similar consequences – a similar large depression which he calls The Coming Third Depression.

We need increased stimulus now – a la Keynes – and he told us so earlier that the $800 Billion were just not enough. He does not want to see unemployment keeping  workers out of a job for 3-4 years as it becomes harder for them to return ever to a job. They will be lost into a structured unemployment reality.

Also, people will be afraid to spend enough to keep the economy going. In uncertainty they will hold on to their money as this will seem the right thing to do, but it will cause drop in prices and deflation.

So, if we do not increase spending now – in the next 1-2 years – in the short term – we drift into The Third Depression.

A trillion dollars spending now will cause $26 Billion in interest per year but this is not so much.

(B) On the other side was Niall Ferguson, himself British of Glasgow, and we do not know if he ever started steps to become American.

He points a finger at the US debt and says the US must start to decrease spending and have also some increase in taxes if it wants to get back some credibility in the world. He said the financial crisis is already happening – right now – and we will not have a Keynesian answer of stimulus in the future.

The US Treasuries are safe heaven like Pearl Harbor was until something happened. Imagine something happening – then what?

Ferguson talks of a rationalized new tax structure that is a serious option. He was reminded by Fareed that this is the Republican approach that was presented by Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, and was told that in the Meeting with him, there were two more Congressmen present. So, what we are talking here is a Policy Change but Fareed is skeptical. If we cannot even raise the retiremment age by one year, how will we achieve radical change?

The answer was that when an international Bond market crisis hits – there wil be a radical restructure of policy. It seems that the Republican answer to Keynes is to create first a total collapse that will radicalize the wealth divide before readiness to do anything at all. That smells of the 30s all-right.

Fareed added that American companies have a lot of cash at hand from earnings that they do not spend – to which Ferguson reacted that confidence is low. if you look at China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, growing very fast and you sit on money at a US company, so what are you to do?

The Chinese had it very well when keeping out of a Western Crisis, but they over-heated and have wage unrest as a consequence. If we do the right thing – they will do the right thing – he said.

(C) The Fareed Zakaria Unifier Proposal:
That seems easy – Go for a second stimulus coupled with an announced 10 year program or what we say all the time – do now what should have been done then – Give money to companies only so that they work with you on betterment and problem solving – not as giveaway and bailouts.

Clearly he says – the US never had a problem borrowing money – this until we will!

Further – the issue is not Small Government or Big Government – But Smart Government.

———————–

Back to Afghanistan, Fareed Zakaria noted that having been told that the number of Al Qaeda men in Afghanistan is 100, and the yearly expenditure on the war by the US is $100 Billion – this comes to $1 Billion/Al Qaeda man/year. At the same time -  legally, at Afghan airports, $2.7 Million declared money leaves daily, and this is by far much more then all the taxes that the Afghan Government collects. The illegal exit of money is obviously much much higher – so what is the US doing there?

———————-

Also, today, July 4, 2010 is DAY 76 of the BP oil-spill and the TV showed a huge ship called “A WHALE” that was refitted specifically for the purpose of collecting water and oil mixtures in order to retrieve the oil from the water. This does not yet make the US independent of its oil industry strongmen.

VENICE, La., July 4 (UPI) — The world’s largest skimming vessel, A Whale, could play a crucial role in oil cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico if tests succeed, maritime experts say.

The tanker, which can skim about 21 million gallons of oil a day by taking in water with oil and separating it, was conducting tests in a 5-square-mile area north of the underwater spill Sunday, CNN reported.

The ship is capable of skimming at least 250 times the amount of oil that modified fishing vessels now in the gulf are able to contain, said Taiwanese shipping company TMT, the ship’s owner.

Initial test results could be available Monday, TMT spokesman Bob Grantham said. A Whale arrived in the gulf Wednesday and was waiting approval to join in cleanup operations.

A Whale is a Liberian flagged oil tanker built in 2010 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan, South Korea. She was refitted and converted in Portugal into a so-called “super skimmer” to assist in the clean up of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A Whale arrived in the Gulf of Mexico on 30 June 2010, while financial agreements were yet pending.

The “WHALE” is thus capable to retrieve some of the oil – clearly a financial gain for BP.

June 8, 2010 – The Second UN Celebration of The World Ocean’s Day and a Look At The UN Law Of The Sea. Was There A Review of the Effects of Stealing From The Global Commons and The Rape of the Environment as We Witness Now Perpetually on our TV Screens? There Is A UN Law Of The Sea They Say! In 2001 Our “Promptbook” was Published on These Topics.

THESE DAYS  THE WHOLE WORLD WATCHES THE US LOSING THE GOLF OF MEXICO ENVIRONMENT TO THE GREED OF MINING FOR OIL AT UNBELIEVABLE DEPTH WITHOUT HAVING BEEN PREPARED TO AN EVENTUALITY OF A MISHAP.

THIS MINING FOR OIL GOES ON IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF SOVEREIGNTY CLAIMS OF ANYONE – IN EFFECT THIS HAPPENS AKIN TO PIRACY AT HIGH SEA – ROBBERY FROM THE GLOBAL COMMONS AS WE CLAIMED IN OUR PROMPTBOOK TO THE JOHANNEBURG SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WHICH YOU CAN READ RIGHT HERE ON www.SustainabiliTank.info.

THE UN IS CELEBRATING TODAY “THE WORLD OCEAN’S DAY” AND WE WOULD HAVE WANTED TO BE PRESENT AND POSE SOME RELATED QUESTIONS – BUT THE UN Department of Public Information, even now, after the Departure of UN Official Ahmad Fawzi, IS STILL LEARY OF HAVING PRESENT JOURNALISTS THAT ARE NOT UNDER THEIR CONTROL.

WE PROMISE NEVERTHELESS TO FOLLOW THE SUBJECT AND FIND OUT IF THERE WAS ANYTHING BUT PLATITUDES AT THAT PRESS CONFERENCE.

8 JUNE 2010, 11:00 am    Dag. Ham. Auditorium

Press Conference: by the Department of Public Information about World Ocean’s Day.

Participants: Professor David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence, George Washington University;

Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Georgraphic Explorer-in-Residence and Adviser to Disneynature on the film “Ocean”;

and H.E. Mrs. Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations.

Related Link: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_fi…

8 June -  World Oceans Day

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171).  Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

——————

8 June 2009 – The first observance of World Oceans Day allows us to highlight the many ways in which oceans contribute to society. The UN Secretary General declared:  “It is also an opportunity to recognize the considerable challenges we face in maintaining their capacity to regulate the global climate, supply essential ecosystem services and provide sustainable livelihoods and safe recreation.”

Indeed, human activities are taking a terrible toll on the world’s oceans and seas.

Vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as corals, and important fisheries are being damaged by over-exploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing practices, invasive alien species and marine pollution, especially from land-based sources. Increased sea temperatures, sea-level rise and ocean acidification caused by climate change pose a further threat to marine life, coastal and island communities and national economies.

Oceans are also affected by criminal activity.  Piracy and armed robbery against ships threaten the lives of seafarers and the safety of international shipping, which transports 90 per cent of the world’s goods.  Smuggling of illegal drugs and the trafficking of persons by sea are further examples of how criminal activities threaten lives and the peace and security of the oceans.

Several international instruments drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations address these numerous challenges.  At their centre lies the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It provides the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, and is the basis for international cooperation at all levels.  In addition to aiming at universal participation, the world must do more to implement this Convention and to uphold the rule of law on the seas and oceans.

The theme of World Oceans Day, “Our oceans, our responsibility”, emphasizes our individual and collective duty to protect the marine environment and carefully manage its resources.  Safe, healthy and productive seas and oceans are integral to human well-being, economic security and sustainable development.

————

8 June 2010 – Programme Second observance of World Oceans Day

“Our oceans: opportunities and challenges”
Observance at United Nations Headquarters:
i. Message by the Secretary-General
ii. Press Conference
(DH Auditorium at 11:00) with:
-Prof. David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law and
Jurisprudence, George Washington University;
-H.E. Mrs. Isabelle PICCO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the
Principality of Monaco to the United Nations; and
-Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and Adviser to
Disneynature on the film “Oceans”
iii. Roundtable discussion on “UNCLOS 15 years after its entry into force”,
sponsored by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of
Legal Affairs (Conference Room 1 at NLB, 15:00 – 17:30)
1. How effectively is UNCLOS operating, as the legal framework for the
oceans and seas?
Focusing on:
The right of States to establish Maritime Zones under UNCLOS
- Prof. Bernard H. Oxman, Richard A. Hausler Professor of Law,
University of Miami
Combating piracy, in particular the case of piracy off the coast of Somalia

-  Prof. Robert Beckman, Director, Centre for International Law, National
University of Singapore
The conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, including MGRs

-  Ms. Emma Romano Sarne, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of
the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations
2. UNCLOS into the 21st century
Focusing on:
How to enhance the implementation of UNCLOS at the national level
- Professor Ted L. McDorman, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
Is regional cooperation a way to enhance ocean governance?

-  Prof. Lucia Fanning, Director of Marine Affairs Programme, Dalhousie
University

Moderator
- Prof. David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law
and Jurisprudence, George Washington University

—-
iv. Screening of the Disneynature feature “Oceans”, co-sponsored by the
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, and
the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations (18:00 – 20:00)
(General Assembly Hall)

—-
Observance outside United Nations Headquarters:

v. Empire State Building in New York City (Lighting, from white, blue to purple to
signify the entirety of the oceans from the shallows to the darker depths, to
mark the observance of World Oceans Day by the United Nations)

That is a time we will spend rather at the:

Oil Spill Forum, Tuesday, June 8, 2010

fromMRM <moothedathramanathan@gmail.com>

“Conserving energy is cheaper and smarter than building power plants” (Dr. Arthur Rosenfeld).

The watt. The volt. The ohm. All electrical terms are named after famous engineers and physicists from the 18th and 19th century. Now, an acclaimed 20th century scientist is lending his name to a new unit of energy savings – the ‘Rosenfeld.’

The proposed term – a ‘Rosenfeld’ – would represent the electricity savings of 3 billion kilowatt-hours per year — the annual output of an existing 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant – and avoid generating three million metric tons of CO2 emissions. The new energy-savings measurement term was authored by 54 scientists from 26 research institutions and announced in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters.

For your leisure time reading – a clean energy monthly E-zine from India          E_mag_June_2010.pdf

MRM says:  We shall be pleased if you could send us your views/comments/suggestions to make our publication more informative and useful.

——————–

“The Rosenfeld” Named After California’s Godfather of Energy Efficiency.

With a decades-long career in energy analysis and standards, Rosenfeld is often credited with being personally responsible for billions of dollars in energy savings.

How to cut energy use, carbon? Do it – One “Rosenfeld” at a time.

Arthur Rosenfeld, who recently retired at the age of 83 after two five-year terms on the California Energy Commission, led the way in helping the state set its first-ever energy standards for household appliances and buildings. His mission as an energy-efficiency evangelist was launched in 1973 during the OPEC oil embargo … rather than rail on the oil producers, he reasoned, wouldn’t it be better if the US could find ways to stop wasting so much energy?

His impact on California’s per capita electricity consumption, which has remained flat since the mid-’70s, has long been dubbed the “Rosenfeld effect.” And he himself coined “Rosenfeld’s Law,” which asserts that the amount of energy required to produce one dollar of economic output has decreased by about 1 per cent per year since 1845.

Eighty Year Old Saved Us $800 Billion - 

Ode to Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Doctor Efficiency - 

Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Ph.D. was originally appointed to the California Energy Commission by Governor Gray Davis in April 2000. The Commissioner was reappointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger January 26, 2005. The five members of the Energy Commission are appointed by the Governor to staggered five-year terms and requires Senate confirmation. By law, four of the five members of the Energy Commission have professional training in specific areas – engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, law, and one commissioner from the public-at-large. Commissioner Rosenfeld filled the physical science position until his retirement in January 2010.

Commissioner Rosenfeld was presiding member of the Research, Development and Demonstration Committee and the Dynamic Pricing Committee (Ad Hoc Committee); and was the second member of the Energy Efficiency Committee.

Art Rosenfeld received his Ph.D. in Physics in 1954 at the University of Chicago under Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi, and then joined the Department of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley. There he joined, and eventually oversaw, the Nobel prize-winning particle physics group of Luis Alvarez at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) until 1974. At that time, he changed his research focus to the efficient use of energy, formed the Center for Building Science at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and led it until 1994.
 http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-storie…

 http://www.energy.ca.gov/commissioners/r…

 http://www.greenbang.com/how-to-cut-ener…

 http://earth2tech.com/2010/03/15/how-do-…

Ligeti’s “Le Grand Macabre” of gluttonous Breughelland, explains the Louisiana suffering and Washington’s long standing lack of care. Amazing indeed!

“Le Grand Macabre by Gyorgy Ligeti” landed in Breughelland right here at the New York Philharmonic Hall. Was it all about Fossil Fuel gluttony and Washington? Prescient Louisiana? We are flabbergasted because we realized we saw it all there and decided on presenting it to you – our readers – with the hope to reach out to even a larger circle of wise folks.

We did not add an additional word to the libretto, we just shortened it by condensing it in order to bring out the flavor we were seeking. You will see clearly the obvious premonitions that there will be an environmental catastrophe and that “Ministers” will push a monarch in an administration that has good intentions but is weak on actions.

“Le Grand Macabre” was heard and shown by the New York Philharmonic May 27 -29, 2010, thanks to a bravado by new Philharmonic Music Director, Mr. Alan Gilbert who coincidentally is the first native New Yorker to hold this post. Mr. Gilbert is a Harvard graduate and of the Curtis Institute and The Julliard Schools of Music. Before coming to the Philharmonic he was the chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra that made him conductor laureate at the end of his stay there. “Le Grand Macabre” comes at the end of Mr. Gilbert’s Inaugural Season at the New York Philharmonic. We hope that the Members of the Board will not reprimand him for this daring performance. It must be noted further that this Opera had the World Premiere of its original version in Stockholm, April 12, 1978, at the Royal Swedish Opera with Elgar Horwarth conducting. The revised and shortened version was first performed July 28, 1997 in Salzburg in a Peter Sellars production with Esa-Pekka Salonen Conducting.

It is based on on a Michel de Ghelderode play “La Balade du Grand Macabre” and the libretto resulted from a cooperation of Gyorgy Ligeti with Michael Menschke, as Ligeti decided he wanted to create an Opera from that original play. and what Ligeti was trying to answer was the question: “If you knew that the end of the world was imminent, that a comet was about to crash into our planet and obliterate it forever, how would you chose to spend your final hours?”

His answer was, supposedly, “People will spend their final moments doing pretty much whatever they have done before. They’ll jockey for power, they’ll revel in stupidity, they”ll pursue love, they”ll engage in posturing, they’ll get drunk. It is essentially an absurdist treatment in which Ligeti manages to make the unthinkable approachable by rendering it comical.” The notes say that Ligeti told a broadcast interviewer “The threat of collective death is always present – but we try to eliminate it from our consciousness and enjoy to the maximum the days that are left to us.”

The theatrical approach of the script as shaped by Ligeti belongs to the Absurdist school of Alfred Jarry and Eugene Ioneco – the latter also Romanian who lived in Paris like Ligeti. Characters from their plays could have just walked throug Ligeti’s work and cartoonist Saul Steinberg would have found himself at home there either. This is no coincidence and it is rooted in the survivalist background of someone who, born into a family in Transylvania and a history of suffering from Nazism and Stalinism, the self defense is absurdism.

The US audience did not exactly know what to make out either from the music, nor the content, but having this absurd element in it we found it great and are ready to forgive the critics that had hard time of finding their footing, or the busloads of folks that left at intermission. We loved it and had no difficulty seeing in it what we wanted to see in it. How can we miss it when it starts indeed with CAR HORNS! I saw my way from the first Car Horn Prelude – and did not miss the sequence. After all, the TVs these days are all about Louisiana and the ineptitude of Washington stretching back for generations – the Washington dominated by Oil & Car interests that made devil-deals that felled  land, water, and air.

Then who can miss the concept of BREUGHELLAND?

Just see Breughel’s Icarus http://faculty.smu.edu/tmayo/icarus.jpg for link to Ligheti, but there is more to it – Brueghel, Bruegel or Breughel (Dutch pronunciation: [?b?ø???l]) was the name of several Dutch/Flemish painters from the same family line.
To us the most interesting is Pieter Brueghel (1525-69), usually known as Pieter Brueghel the Elder to distinguish him from his elder son, was the first in this family of Flemish painters. You’ll often find his name spelled as Bruegel (Pieter spelled it like that from 1559 onwards), but just as well Breugel or Breughel – the latter as in our case here.

Pieter was born in Breda in the Duchy of Brabant, which is now part of The Netherlands but back then part of the Flanders.

His paintings are full of images of eating and feasting and being merry – plain gluttony and success. this is the image of a world that sees no limits – the world that later was built on the promisse of oil. And this is my point – Breughelland is to me gluttony-land – and this is the give away of this opera – to me – in my interpretation – these days of the Gulf of Mexico blow-out.
{Note: Flanders or Vlaanderen and the Netherlands (aka known as Holland) or Nederland share the same language. It’s called Flemish, or “Vlaams” in Belgium and Dutch, or “Nederlands” in The Netherlands. And the name Holland, although it’s often taken to mean the whole of the Netherlands, is really part of that country only, the area of the provinces called Zuid Holland and Noord Holland (South and North Holland). }

———————————

WORK IN PROGRESS.

——————————-

CAR HORN PRELUDE – SCENE ONE:

PIET THE POT:               O golden Breughelland,
that never knows a care,
fill all your children with delight!
O long lost paradise, where are you now?

NEKROTZAR – from the burial chamber, distant as from the underworld
Perish, but not for bliss!

PIET:                                 Oh my!
All these heavenly twists and turnings!
Such curvings!

AMANDO:                       Miserable scoundrel! That for the worm!

PIET:                                 Mercy, lord! I spoke no word!
It came from above, so who spoke?
The Almighty!

NEKROTZAR:                 Shut up!
And rejoice to be still alive!

PIET:                                You spoke of death, not punishment!
Hey, friend! You go too far!
Hey! Look out!

NEKROTZAR:                Piet the Pot, your time runs out;
so hear the bitter words of these tidings:
that all, all men on earth, must perish!

PIET:                                Any fool knows that!

NEKROTZAR:                 But no one knows the hour.

CHORUS OF SPIRITS – off-stage during Nekrotzar’s declamation:
Destruction soon draws nigh,
thou art in peril great,
for death will be thy fate.

NEKROTZAR                 The will of the Almighty

PIET:                                Oh, please,
spare the people of Breughelland!
Oh please, oh please!

PIET:                                Oh, Breughelland!

CHORUS OF SPIRITS: Destruction soon draws nigh,
though art in peril great,
for death will be thy fate!
Take warning now,
at midnight thou shalt die!

Nekrotzar – mounts Piet, who serves as a horse, with difficulty:
Make room! Room for the Great Macabre!
The end of time has come!
The world! The world will meet its doom!
Gee-up, horse!

—- —- —-

SECOND CAR HORN PRELUDE – SCENE TWO – DANCE:

ASTRADAMORS:         Oh my dreary nights, dark with bitterness!
I could strangle her!
Could choke her, could stab her,
could crush her or throttle her,

brain her or drown her or knife her or hang her,
murder, slay her, kill, behead her,
hang and slaughter, impale, butcher,
poison her drink and destroy her!
Immolate, massacre, put -

PIET:                               Friend Astradamors! it’s you?

ASTRADAMORS:         Friend Piet the Pot! It’s you?

NEKROTZAR:              Fire and death I bring,
burning and shriveling!

NEKROTZAR, PIET & ASTRADAMORS: Thousands of men will die
hearing my battle cry!

NEKROTZAR:             Yes I am but a loyal
and zealous destroyer!

PIET & ASTRADAMORS:                            Death is his employer!

NEKROTZAR:                   My duty here is past When all have breathed their last!

NEKROTZAR:                   Earthquakes will soon arrive, leave not a soul alive!

NEKROTZAR:                   I am powerful!
‘Neath me ye shall cower!

NEKROTZAR:             I am the slayer,
Satan’s purveyor!

PIET & ASTRADAMORS: For we shall expire!

NEKROTZAR, PIET & ASTRADAMOR: No living thing remains!

PIET: Cock-a-doodle-doo!

—– —– —–

SCENE THREE – DOORBELL PRELUDE:

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:  Tweedledum!

THE WHITE MINISTER UNROLLS A WHITE DOCUMENT WITH BLACK LETTERING AND GESTICULATES WILDLY WITH IT UNDER THE BLACK MINISTER’S NOSE:    Here Black party skunk, my resignation!

THE BLACK MINISTER UNROLLS A BLACK DOCUMENT WITH WHITE LETTERING AND GESTICULATES WITH IT UNDER THE WHITE MINISTER’S NOSE:         Here white party polecat, my resignation!

PRINCE GO-GO – appears in front of the curtain:  Gentlemen, I beg you!
You should put the interests of the nation . . .

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:              … above mere selfish egoism?
Prince Go-Go, if you insist!
Appeasement, appeasement!

GO-GO:                                                                           Yes!

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:            All right, then, Highness, the riding lesson!
Mount your steed!

THE TWO MINISTERS LIFT PRINCE GO-GO BY FORCE ON TO THE ROCKING-HORSE:  Gee-up!

GO-GO:                                          We’re feeling giddy!

WHITE MINISTER:                    Gallop!
But keep the reins loose!

BLACK MINISTER:                    Now keep the reins tight!

WHITE MINISTER:                   Cavalry charge …

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:        … as in war!

GO-GO:                             Never war!
Stop it! We surrender!

GO-GO:                            We make a protest!
It’s laid down in our constitution …

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:  Constitution?
Ha, ha …

GO-GO:                          Enough! Enough! Enough!
Forgive me! beg your pardon!

BLACK MINISTER PRODUCES A BLACK SCROLL WITH WHITE LETTERING: Now memorize this speech!

WHITE MINISTER PRODUCES WHITE SCROLL WITH BLACK LETTERING:    My speech – here! Black on white!

BLACK MINISTER:                        White on Black!

GO-GO:                                              Gentleman, I beg you!
Our dear nation!

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER: Forgive me!

GO-GO:                                             What’s that?

BLACK MINISTER:                       Well, a … hm …
A decree raising the value-added tax
by one hundred-and-only percent.

GO-GO:                                            Not one cent!
Your tax, say, is much too high!

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:   Highness! I shall resign!

MYSTERIOUS ENTRANCE OF THE GEPOPO CHIEF:  Pssst!

GO-GO:    Ha! Head of my secret service! What a leisure!
You turn up just at the proper time!
Well, what new intelligence message do you
bring us now?

GEPOPO:                      Cococoding Zero, Zero:
highest security grade!

GEPOPO:                      Birds on the wing!

GEPOPO:                     Double-you see!
Snakes in the grass!
Rabble. rabble, rabble!
Riot, riot!
Unlawful assemblies!
Communal insurrection!
Mutinous masses!
Turbulence!
Panic! Panic!
Groundless! Groundless!
Phobia! Wide of the matk!
Right of the track!
Hypopochondria!

GO-GO:                        What did you say?

GEPOPO:                     Password – Go-Go-lash!
Demonstrations, ha!
Protest actions, ha!
Much discretion!
Close observations!
That’s all!
Not a squeak!
Confidential!
One more thing:
Bear in mind:
silence is golden!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND:  Our great leader!
Our great leader!
Our Great leader!
The people’s friend!

Go-Go:                                                          Come, now let me do it!

GO-GO, ON THE BALCONY, RECEIVES THE ACCLAIM OF THE PEOPLE. THEN HE TALKS TO THE PEOPLE. HIS VOICE REMAINS INAUDIBLE; ONLY HIS GESTURES CAN BE SEEN.

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:      I shall resign!

GO-GO:                                                                     To hell with your resignations!
You will stay!

GEPOPO:                                                                  Stern measures!

GO-GO!                                                                     Stern measures!

GEPOPO & GO-GO:                                               Stern measures!

WHITE MINISTER & BLACK MINISTER:      Stern measures?
How come?
Against what?

THE HANGMEN AND DETECTIVES PRESENT THE GEPOPO CHIEF WITH ANOTHER DISPATCH. HE READS IT.

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND – mixed chorus, off stage:       Hear us, Prince, oh, hear us!
Dread and fright do sear us!
Great our alarm, yet fear no harm
if thou be ever near us!

GEPOPO:                                                            Kukuriku!  Kikeriki!
He’s coming!

GO-GO:                                                               Who’s coming?

GEPOPO:                                                            Coming!

GO-GO:                                                               What is this Macabre?

GEPOPO:                                                            Coming! Coming!
Look there! There! There! There!
He’s getting in! He’s getting in! He’s getting in!
He’s in!
The guard! The Guard! The guard!
Call the guard!

THE GEPOPO CHIEF AND HIS ATTENDANTS FLEE IN PANIC. INSTEAD OF THE EXPECTED DISASTER, ASTRADAMORS SUDDENLY STORMS ON TO THE STAGE.

ASTRADAMORS:                                           Hurray, hurray!

GO-GO:                                                             Hurray, hurray!
My two Ministers have fled!

ASTRADAMORS:                                            My Prince!

GO-GO:                                                              My worthy sage!

GO-GO & ASTRADAMORS:                         Huzza, huzza!
For all is now in order!
Huzza!
Huzzarazazaza!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND – mixed chorus in the stalls:          Oh! Prince Hear us!

GO-GO:                                                             But tell me, my good friend, I pray:

what is this cloak you wear today?

ASTRADAMORS:                                       A funeral kind of mantilla,
ready for the Dies illa!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND:    Prince! Hear what we say!

GO-GO: Quiet down there!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND: Prince! Help us!
Please save us!

GO-GO: Yes, yes, I’m coming …
What do you want dear people?

Wailing siren: Prince Go-Go is completely intimidated; clings to Astradamors.
Help! Help me! Save me!

ASTRADAMORS: Under the table, quick, and not a sound!

Grandiose entrance of Nekrotzar with scythe and trumpet, riding on Piet’s back, together with his fiendish entourage.

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND: Hear us!

NEKROTZAR: For the day of wrath and retribution has come!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND: O mighty Macabre!
Have pity!
Strike us not dead!

NEKROTZAR: Now will searing, scorching heat!
glow and burn as from a thousand suns,
and the waters of the oceans turn into vapor,
and loudly the mountains split asunder,
and the bodies of men will be singed,
and all will be turned into charred corpses
and shrink like shriveled heads!

THE PEOPLE OF BREUGHELLAND: But me, me, me, let me go on living:
pity take on me, me, me!
No, me, me, just me!
Punish all the rest,
but not me, me me;
do not kill me!
Not me! Not me! Not me!

ASTRADAMORS: There is no need to fear:
there is still some time to spare …

PIET & ASTRADAMORS;                     To our great and singular macabre colleague
Nekro, alias Tsar,
the inexorable reaper-man!

NEKROTZAR:                                       To arms now! Rise!
Time to set to work on my holy task!
But first let me sip this chalice
fill’d with human blood!
And may the pressed-out juices of my victims
serve to strengthen and sustain me
before, alas, my necessary deed begins!
Up!

PIET & ASTRADAMORS – fill Nekrotzar’s glass again:       He drinks! Hurrah!
Cheers, Nekro!
Bottoms up!

NEKROTZAR:                                       Blood tastes good!

NEROTZAR:                                          More there!
Ah yes … What was I saying?
Ah! … I’m weak and old …
My flesh is cold, so cold!
So much have I destroyed,
the world so oft made void!
Sodom, Gomorrah rent!
The great deluge sent! …
… Caligula!
Thoderich!
Genghis Khan!
Ivan the Terrible!
Napole-poleon Bonaparte!

Prince Go-Go, Piet & Astradamors, fully drunk, carry Nekrotzar with great difficulty to the rocking-horse and seat him on it.

NEKROTZAR:                                      The command comes from on high that sun,
moon, and stars
shall now be extinguished!

Suddenly semi-darkness: pale, celestial light.

Yes, it’s done! It’s done! All is done! …

– — – — – –

SCENE FOUR (EPILOGUE)

In the lovely country of Breugelland, Piet and Astradamors are floating freely above the ground, they are dreaming that they are in heaven.

PIET:                                                     Ghost Astradamors, are you dead?
See we are floating to Paradise:

ASTRADAMORS:                               We’re floating higher.

GO-GO:                                                 Is no one there?
Anyone there?
Are they all dad?

All of them, every single one dead?
Only me alive? I alone? Forgotten?

RUFFIACK, SCHOBIACK & SCHABERNACK:    Ha, we are three soldiers,
risen from the grave,
sharing all the booty
which the good God gave!

RUFFIACK:                                      Halt! A civilian!

GO-GO:                                            Oh, but no, gentleman all,
we are Prince Go-Go, the prople’s friend,
your sov’reign!

SCHABERNACK:                            You’re dead too, baby! Understand?

GO-GO:                                            You can call me baby” if you want to
At times like this we all should be good
comrades, right?
We’ll give you high decorations, silver and gold,
and relieve you of the oficial duti -

NEKROTZAR:                                Your highnes still alive?
Have I not just laid to waste the entire
goddamned world?
My scythe! My trumpet! Horse! Come!

GO-GO:                                            Later, my friend …

suddenly addressing the three ruffians –    And you! Attention! Stomach in, chest out!
to Nekrotzar:                                               –    Tell me now: who are you?

NEKROTZAR:                                  Which … where is my grave?

MESCALINA:                                   Ashtaroth! Behemoth!

NEKROTZAR:                                  Damnation!

MESCALINA:                                   Beelzebub!

NEKROTZAR:                                  Oh, save me!

Mescalina has caught Nekrotzar; she holds him firmly and about to plunge the spit into his chest.

GO-GO:                                              You there! Seize hold of that fury!

The three ruffians suddenly fling themselves on Mescalina.
to Schabernack -                             Hey you! You run and fetch a rope!

Schabernack reappears. He is dragging behind him the two Ministers, tied up with a long rope.

BLACK MINISTER & WHITE MINISTER:         Innocent! Innocuous! Virtuous! Decorous!
Altruist! Humanist! Humanitarian!
Mercy!

MESCALINA:                               Highness! These I know too!
And am ready to expose them!

WHITE MINISTER:                   Highness, it was she who thought up those infamous taxes!

MESCALINA:                               Oh ho, sweetheart, and who was it
wanted to overthrow the Prince?

BLACK MINISTER:                    Highness, the Inquisition was her idea!

MESCALINA:                               Oh, ho, dearie, and who wanted to be a tyrant and -

WHITE MINISTER:                    Who invented mass graves?

MESCALINA, BLACK MINISTER & WHITE MINISTER:  Who?

MESCALINA:                                He! You! They!

WHITE MINISTER:                    She! You! They!

BLACK MINISTER:                    You! She! They!

GO-GO:                                          Soldiers! Do your Stuff!

——————————

If no hint was clear, just think of President Obama, The Democrats, The Republicans, BP but not just BP – it is all oil and car and other power brokers. It is about fire and water and earthquakes and tremors, the military, the farmers, the engineers, the scientists – it is about you and me.

FRANZ FISCHLER: ZU WENIG UND ZU VIEL ZU ESSEN. PARADOXIEN DER INTERNATIONALEN LANDWIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK

Einladung Kreisky Forum

from Einladung Kreisky Forum <einladung.kreiskyforum@kreisky.org> to Kreisky Forum <kreiskyforum@kreisky.org> date Fri, May 28, 2010 at 5:06 AM subject FRANZ FISCHLER: ZU WENIG UND ZU VIEL ZU ESSEN. PARADOXIEN DER INTERNATIONALEN LANDWIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK

Sehr geehrte Damen, sehr geehrte Herren,

im Rahmen der Reihe Food & Politics (Kurator: Michael Freund) laden wir  Sie sehr herzlich zur folgenden Veranstaltung am kommenden

Montag,  31. Mai 2010, 19.00 Uhr, ein:

FRANZ FISCHLER
Präsident des Ökosozialen Forums (seit 2005), 1989 bis 1994 österreichischer Land- und Forstwirtschaftsminister, 1995 bis 2004 EU-Landwirtschaftskommissar.

ZU WENIG UND ZU VIEL ZU ESSEN
PARADOXIEN DER INTERNATIONALEN LANDWIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK.

How to feed the world?

Es ist eine traurige Tatsache, dass entgegen den Millenniumszielen der FAO die Zahl der Hungernden bis 2015 nicht halbiert sein wird. Im Gegenteil, es leben jetzt mehr als eine Milliarde Menschen unter ständigem Hunger. Die vordringlichste Frage bleibt, wie man damit umgehen kann und soll. Es geht in einem neuen FAO-Gipfel um global food security. Was spielt da mit? Wie und wo soll Nahrung produziert, wie soll sie verteilt werden? Damit zusammenhängend wird nun in der EU diskutiert, wie sinnvoll es ist, mit Milliardenunterstützung eine Landwirtschaft zu subventionieren, die unter anderem dem globalen „Süden“ die eigene Produktion und erst recht den Export erschwert: Braucht die EU überhaupt eine Landwirtschaft? Und brauchen die Mitgliedsstaaten eine gemeinsame Agrarpolitik?

Franz Fischler ist mit den bisher genannten Themen seit langem vertraut. Zugleich befasst er sich mit den gegenteiligen Ausflüssen des Komplexes Ernährung: dass nämlich in unseren Breitengraden immer mehr und immer ungesünder gegessen wird. Wie eine von ihm geleitete Arbeitsgemeinschaft feststellte, reicht es nicht, Ernährungsfragen nur von der Seite landwirtschaftlicher Interessen, d.h. von der Angebotsseite zu erörtern. Hier sollten Forschung, Erziehung ab dem frühesten Schulalter und Aufklärung mit Kampagnencharakter eine Rolle spielen. Das Phänomen der Übersättigung und des falschen Essens ist nur die Kehrseite einer generell ungenügenden Beschäftigung mit Ernährung und Politik. Fischler beleuchtet in seinem Vortrag den Zusammenhang zwischen regionalen Initiativen und internationalen Entwicklungen.

Begrüßung: Franz Vranitzky,

Ehrenpräsident des Bruno Kreisky Forums, ehem. österreichischer Bundeskanzler

Einleitung und Moderation: Michael Freund,

Leiter des Media Communications Department an der Webster University Vienna,

Redakteur der Tageszeitung Der Standard.

Anmeldungen unter:

Bruno Kreisky Forum für internationalen Dialog | Armbrustergasse 15 | 1190 Wien

Tel.: 3188260/20 | Fax: 318 82 60/10 | e-mail: einladung.kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

Melitta Campostrini
Bruno Kreisky Forum
for International Dialogue
Armbrustergasse 15
A-1190 Vienna
tel.: ++43 1 3188260/11
fax: ++43 1 3188260/10
e-mail: kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

www.kreisky-forum.org

 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/11/15…

Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT.

The Miami Herald’s Andres Oppenheimer shares his opinion on Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva’s consideration to run for secretary general of the UN.

BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
 AOPPENHEIMER at MIAMIHERALD.COM
A short news item in Brazil’s news magazine Veja this week suggested that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is considering running for United Nations secretary general after he leaves office at the end of this year. If true, that would explain a lot of things.

Until now, the conventional wisdom was that Brazil’s recent foreign policy of open support to the world’s most ruthless dictatorships – IRAN – is tied to the country’s emergence as a new power in the world economy, and its desire to flex its muscle as a new — and fiercely independent — player in international affairs.

That’s probably true. But the Veja report — stating that Lula “has been sounded out by more than one person to be a candidate for U.N. Secretary General in 2011” — is adding a new element to the puzzle of what’s behind Brazil’s foreign policy. The Brazilian government says it will not comment on the magazine’s report.

Diego Arria, a former chairman of the U.N. Security Council, told me that “Lula would be a very strong candidate because of Brazil’s weight as an increasingly independent power, and because of his international prestige.” He added that Lula may be catering to an anti-U.S. climate at the United Nations “to position himself as a strong candidate for Secretary General.”

In recent days, Lula has made some shocking statements that are hard to understand coming from a former union leader who opposed military dictatorships. In an interview with The Associated Press, he compared Cuba’s peaceful oppositionists who are waging hunger strikes with “bandits.”

Lula, who recently visited Cuba and posed smiling with that country’s military dictator Gen. Raúl Castro shortly after political prisoner Orlando Zapata died from a hunger strike, said that hunger strikes should not be used “as a pretext” to defend human rights. Lula added, “Imagine if all bandits who are imprisoned in Sao Paulo went on a hunger strike and demanded freedom.”

Days earlier, Lula had reiterated his decision to visit Iran in May, despite international efforts to impose sanctions on that country amid growing evidence that its regime is building nuclear weapons in defiance of international rules.

Lula gave Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a much-needed propaganda boost late last year, when he gave him a red-carpet welcome in Brasília only months after the Iranian autocrat had proclaimed himself winner of highly controversial elections in Iran.

In addition, Brazil is increasingly using its vote at the United Nations “to protect countries with appalling human rights records,” such as North Korea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka, according to a report by Human Rights Watch last year.

Does Lula have a chance of becoming U.N. Secretary General? Most diplomats say current Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean diplomat whose term expires Dec. 31, 2011, is expected to run for reelection. Most of the recent U.N. chiefs serve two consecutive terms.

“Lula’s name would be an honor to Latin America, but it’s a tradition for Secretary Generals to run for reelection, and I don’t see a reason why Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would not go for a second term,” Chile’s U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz told me.

Others noted that, if for some reason Ban decided not to run, Asian countries may want to have one of their own diplomats at the job for another five years, in keeping with the tradition that each region gets a two-term mandate. And many point out that Lula doesn’t speak English or French, a major obstacle for a candidate to the top U.N. job.

My Opinion: Most likely, Ban will get a second term, even if many countries would want a higher-profile U.N. chief. Lula is more likely to be offered the job of head of the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, whose current director Jacques Diouf of Senegal has been on the job since 1994 and is on his way out.

Lula would be a perfect candidate for that position because of his successful “Bolsa Familia” anti-hunger program in Brazil and the international recognition it has given him. In addition, the FAO has never had a Latin American chief.

Granted, Lula may find that job too small, but — considering his awful human rights stands — it would be the perfect place for him.

———————-

Matthew Russell Lee of The Inner City Press at the UN points out another interesting angle that might explain the Munoz position:

“Meanwhile, press in Latin America and even Chilean Ambassador to the UN Munoz have been speaking of Brazil’s Lula as a possible UN Secretary General in 2012. While many in the UN might wish that this would happen, it is considered impolitic for Munoz, currently seeking an Assistant Secretary General post from Ban Ki-moon, to talk up a competing Lula candidacy.

Others say “ah ha” about the Lula story, thinking this might explain Lula’s schmoozing with Iran and other non favored regimes. What’s next, Lula praising Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa and his blood bath on the beach? Pro Rajapaksa Sri Lankans are expected to demonstrate Friday at noon in front of the UN, echoing the Non Aligned Movements letter claiming that the UN has no human rights mandate.”

———————

Interesting stuff – the Miami Cubans might not like the idea so they try to preemt the trial baloon that was lauched by the Brazilian Veja – and then, if there is a change at the UN in 2012, it can be assumed that the Asians will claim a repeat of what happened when the US has helped ease out Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was elected as an African, and brought in then Kofi Annan for a full two terms for Africa. If the UN decides that the MENA group – North Africa and Arab Asia – is indeed a separate region – so above example is not precedent – then there would be no opposition to a prominent Latin American to get the nod. The former East European UN region has pretty much dissolved, so the new MENA or OIC structure will be able to put forward its candidate in due time.

——————

Also, what will be the Obama Administration’s position?

For one thing, the March 21, 2010 trip of the US President to Indonesia and Australia might produce a US backing for an Indonesian to head the UNFCCC – the present opening for Dirctor General under the Climate Change Convention. As of now, the countries that have voiced they will put forward their candidates are South Africa, India, and Indonesia. Brazil has not done so – and above information may indeed allow for this more complicated play with Lula getting in the New York picture later.

Ihsanoglu calls for direct relations between the OIC General Secretariat and OIC Funds

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu expressed his satisfaction over the OIC Funds’ oriented action, which has made a tangible impact, and hoped for direct relations between the Funds and the OIC General Secretariat at the level of the Islamic Conference Humanitarian Affairs Department (ICHAD) and other related departments. Ihsanoglu, in his statement at the 3rd meeting of the OIC Funds in Doha, Qatar, on 9 March 2010, urged the Funds to work under the supervision of the OIC General Secretariat’s Finance and Administration Department using the new “financial system under which the Funds will operate in line with the OIC Financial rules and regulations, hence, rendering more transparency to their operations, which will also benefit the Funds.” Taking into consideration the various constraints the Funds may have faced, he assured them of mobilizing all OIC resources to launch a “strong campaign to secure more financial resources for the Funds’ activities.” The Secretary General concluded his statement by thanking His Highness Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thani, Chairman of the Council of Funds, and the various donors, especially the State of Qatar for the tremendous efforts and dedication to convene the meeting.

OIC Chief commends the results of the Third Conference of Humanitarian Organizations

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stated that the positive results of the Third Conference of Humanitarian Organizations held in Doha, Qatar, on 8 March 2010, will have a clear effect on the promotion of cooperative relations between the OIC and humanitarian organizations in the OIC Member States. This will help elaborate clear policies to address disasters and development issues in the Islamic world. Ihsanoglu made this statement at the closing session of the two-day Conference attended by over seventy relief organizations from around the Islamic world. The Secretary General emphasized that these results testify to the importance of the resolution adopted by the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah at the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, which called for the promotion of cooperation and coordination relations between the General Secretariat and NGOs as a central development partner. Ihsanoglu added that over forty OIC Member States suffer today from different disasters and conflicts, especially with the aggravation of climate change and its various negative implications. He maintained that these phenomena led to the defragmentation of societies and to the deterioration of relief services and development infrastructures in many parts of the Islamic world. The Secretary General called for a new approach to address development and humanitarian assistance issues based on the coordination of efforts among governments, NGOs and the private sector. He highlighted the fact that supporting this tripartite process is a necessity at this critical stage in order to build peace and accelerate the development movement in our countries. The Secretary General concluded his address stating that work in this field will be carried out in close coordination and cooperation with all international organizations and institutions working in the field of humanitarian development, in particular UN institutions which are doing an important work in the Islamic world.

The problem was the 51 cents/gallon of ethanol from sugar-cane tariff, the US imposes against imports from international producers of bioethanol – so they do not compete with US agro-ethanol.

We are cynics by nature and wonder if the release today has anything to do with Shell Oil Company having announced last weekend that they will invest over a billion dollars in the production of sugar-cane ethanol in Brazil. So, did we have to wait until an oil company steps heavily into this area – so we finally allow US door to be opened to a non-petroleum liquid fuel?

WE ARE VERY PARTIAL TO THIS TOPIC BECAUSE BACK IN 1978 AT UNIDO IN VIENNA, AND IN 1979 IN NEW ORLEANS, I WAS PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN BRINGING THIS SUBJECT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE LIQUID FUEL HUNGRY WESTERN WORLD. IN VIENNA WE SHOWED THE CUBAN EXPERIENCE AT A UN – AUSTRIA – SWEDEN EVENT. IN NEW ORLEANS THIS WAS “THE FIRST INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY” THAT I HELPED ORGANIZE. OBVIOUSLY – TO LOUISIANA WE COULD NOT BRING THE CUBANS – BUT BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND MANY OTHERS WERE PRESENT UNDER THE FRIENDLY EYES OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE. ETHANOL BECAME A RECOGNIZED FUEL, BUT US AGRICULTURE MADE SURE IT WILL BE US CORN AS FEEDSTOCK. WE COULD NOT EVEN GET PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR IMPORTS FROM FRIENDLY COUNTRIES BECAUSE OIL AND AGRICULTURE – SOME OF THE STRONGEST LOBBIES IN WASHINGTON – WOULD NOT ALLOW IT , EVEN AFTER THE INTERVENTION OF US REPUBLICAN SENATORS LIKE FRANK CHURCH, JACOB JAVITS, CHARLES PERCY – SO WHAT WILL IT BE NOW? WILL THOSE TARIFFS COME OFF?

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EPA Reaffirms Sugarcane Biofuel is Advanced Renewable Fuel with 61% Less Emissions than Gasoline.
Brazil Sugarcane Update – Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Welcomes U.S. EPA’s Renewable Fuels Rules.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed that ethanol made from sugarcane is a low carbon renewable fuel, which can contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As part of today’s announcement finalizing regulations for the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), the EPA designated sugarcane ethanol as an advanced biofuel that lowers GHG emissions by more than 50%.

“The EPA’s decision underscores the many environmental benefits of sugarcane ethanol and reaffirms how this low carbon, advanced renewable fuel can help the world mitigate against climate change while diversifying America’s energy resources,” said Joel Velasco, Chief Representative in Washington for the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA).

Sugarcane ethanol is a renewable fuel refined from cane that grows typically in tropical climates. Compared to other types of ethanol available today, using sugarcane ethanol to power cars and trucks yields greater reductions in greenhouse gases and is usually much cheaper for drivers to purchase. Brazil has replaced more than half of its fuel needs with sugarcane ethanol – making gasoline the alternative fuel in that country and ethanol the standard.  Many observers point to sugarcane ethanol as a good option for diversifying U.S. energy supplies, increasing healthy competition among biofuel manufacturers and improving America’s energy security.

The RFS2 will help the United States meet energy security and greenhouse gas reduction goals sought by the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007 (EISA). The new regulations establish minimum biofuels consumption in the U.S. of more than 12 billion gallons (45 billion liters) in 2010, rising to 36 billion gallons (136 billion liters) in 2022, of which 21 billion gallons per year would have to be one of three types of advanced biofuels: cellulosic, biomass diesel, and “other advanced,” that meet required GHG reduction thresholds as determined by the EPA.

Today, EPA affirmed that sugarcane ethanol meets the “other advanced” category in the RFS2, although with a GHG reduction level that exceeds the requirement for all categories as well.  Specifically, EPA’s calculations show that sugarcane ethanol from Brazil reduces GHG emissions compared to gasoline by 61%, using a 30-year payback for indirect land use change (iLUC) emissions.

“We are pleased that EPA took the time to improve the regulations, particularly by more accurately quantifying the full lifecycle greenhouse emission reductions of biofuels. EPA’s reaffirmation of sugarcane ethanol’s superior GHG reduction confirms that sustainably-produced biofuels can play a important role in climate mitigation. Perhaps this recognition will sway those who have sought to raise trade barriers against clean energy here in the U.S. and around the world. Sugarcane ethanol is a first generation biofuel with third generation performance,” noted Velasco.

Last year, UNICA submitted comments to EPA with abundant scientifically credible evidence showing that – even including indirect emissions – sugarcane ethanol has a reduction of GHG emissions of 73-82% compared with gasoline, on a 30- or 100-year time horizon respectively. The RFS2 requires the use of at least 4 billion gallons (over 15 billion liters) of “other advanced” renewable fuels a year by 2022. In 2010, the RFS requires 200 million gallons of this type of advanced renewable fuels.

“While we are reviewing the final rule, it is clear that EPA has incorporated many of the comments that UNICA and other stakeholders made during the public process. EPA should be congratulated for the way it upheld the Obama’s goals of transparency and scientific integrity in the environmental rulemaking. And we hope that other governments should take note of the manner that EPA has handled this process,” concluded Velasco.

Brazil is a leader in the production of sugarcane ethanol, which is widely considered as the most efficient biofuel available today. In 2009, Brazil produced over 7 billion gallons of sugarcane ethanol, most of which is used in Brazil in flex fuel vehicles. As a result of Brazil’s innovative use of sugarcane ethanol in transportation and biomass for cogeneration, sugarcane is the leading source of renewable energy in the nation, representing 16% of the country’s total energy needs. In fact, gasoline has become the alternative in Brazil, reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels lowering emissions. A recent study in the November 2009 edition of the journal Energy Policy indicated that since 1975, over 600 million tons of CO2 emissions have been avoided thanks to the use of ethanol in Brazil.

———

ABOUT UNICA. The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) represents the
top producers of sugar and ethanol in the country’s South-Central region, especially the
state of Sao Paulo, which accounts for about 50% of the country’s sugarcane harvest
and 60% of total ethanol production. UNICA develops position papers, statistics and
specific research in support of Brazil’s sugar, ethanol and bioelectricity sectors. In 2008,
Brazil produced an estimated 565 million metric tons of sugarcane, which yielded 31.3
million tons of sugar and 25.7 billion liters (6.8 billion gallons) of ethanol, making it the
number-one sugarcane grower and sugar producer in the world, and the second-largest
ethanol producer on the planet, behind the United States.

—————-

Brazil Hopes Shell-Cosan Can Boost Ethanol Exports

Date: 04-Feb-10, Reuters from Brazil
Author: Inae Riveras – Analysis

SAO PAULO – Brazil’s ethanol industry, which invested heavily to boost output of the cane-based biofuel, is counting on a tie-up between sugar and ethanol producer Cosan and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to revive its prospects after exports fell short of expectations.

The $21-billion-a-year ethanol joint venture announced by the two companies on Monday will enable Cosan, Brazil’s biggest ethanol maker, to move product more efficiently thanks to Shell’s global fuel distribution and retail system.

Cosan views the venture as a way to make Brazil’s ethanol a global commodity.

But whether that happens will depend largely on outside factors: whether oil is costly enough to make ethanol competitive; whether Brazil’s mills can provide a steady stream of biofuel; and whether key markets such as the United States will be more open to ethanol imports.

“Shell chose ethanol as the renewable fuel they want to be in and it chose Brazil. Whether this will mean more exports will depend on a series of circumstances beyond the companies’ control,” said ethanol expert Eduardo Pereira de Carvalho.

The slow rate of growth for ethanol exports has disappointed Brazil, where more than 450 mills joined the ethanol sector’s expansion drive in recent years.

Some analysts say any growth in ethanol exports will depend on oil prices more than other factor.

“The deal itself does not raise or reduce the economic viability of blending anhydrous ethanol in gasoline. This will be determined by the oil market,” said sugar and ethanol analyst Julio Maria Borges, director at Job Economia.

In 2008, when oil prices reached record highs of $147 per barrel, Brazil exported 5.1 billion liters of ethanol, up sharply from 3.5 billion liters the previous year. Countries simply bought more of the fuel to replace gasoline.

High oil prices together with environmental woes were then feeding discussions about a broader adoption of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.

But oil prices tumbled as the global credit crisis intensified, and there was a similar decline in foreign interest for the cane-based fuel. Brazilian ethanol exports in 2009 slipped to 3.3 billion liters despite extremely low prices on the Brazilian market.

STEADY SUPPLIES, TARIFFS

If ethanol is economically viable compared to oil, however, Brazilian ethanol exports should benefit from Shell’s global infrastructure, commercial relationships and know-how.

Shell, with distribution centers and 45,000 filling stations around the world, will have access to annual supplies of 2 billion liters of Cosan ethanol.

“Shell will be able to strike long-term deals with clients around the world, something that currently hardly exists, as it will be backed by a big provider,” Borges said.

But the lack of steady supplies from Brazil, which produces 26 billion liters of ethanol a year that are mostly consumed domestically, may trouble potential long-term buyers.

Futures markets for ethanol have been incapable of minimizing producers’ risks. Deals are largely done on a spot basis — both in and outside Brazil. This makes it difficult for buyers and sellers to hedge against market volatility.

Brazil’s government has worked on ways of softening this problem by providing financing to mills to build stocks, which also smoothes out local prices over the year. But the system remains stubbornly inefficient.

“The same old problem will continue. Mills say they will expand production if there’s demand but demand will only be created if there’s the certainty of stable supplies,” said an ethanol expert based in the United States.

A U.S. tariff on imports of cane-derived ethanol is another roadblock to Brazil’s expansion goals. Some in the industry have suggested Shell’s entry into ethanol production in Brazil could mean extra pressure for removal of the tariff.

But it is not clear whether there could be a move in that direction.

“The oil industry was always against the U.S. tariff. The news is that it is now seeing a solution in cane,” said Joel Velasco, the North American representative for Brazil’s Sugarcane Industry Association, Unica.

But the announcement that the biggest-ever foray into biofuels by an oil major would happen in Brazil was a clear sign of preference for the fuel over other options.

“It’s difficult to predict (when exports could rise)… but the strategic meaning of a company the size of Shell to invest here is the most important point,” Carvalho said.

The Concept of Tenure & Ecology as an aid on the way to Sustainable Development.

Stable land management is closely linked to secure land tenure systems.
Urban Ecology studies ecosystems including humans living in cities and urbanizing landscapes.

We found people that study the interactions between Planet Earth, systems of land tenure and urban ecosystems, to facilitatemore harmonious management of these systems, and as a result, promote more sustainable human settlement patterns.

This is clearly extremely important to achieve in an environmentally sustainable way the Millennium Development Goals.

For further information please look for Francisco Bozzano-Barnes at  http://www.tenureecology.com/

Considering the large number of clicks on our postings about the Haiti catastrophe we decided to continue monitoring the situation from pure humanitarian angles – but true to our website we will look also at what the world must learn from its reaction to the goings-on in this stricken half of the Hispaniola Island and about the ways this reflects on the UN, the US, Brazil and the ALBA States. Will we realize that even without seeing any connection between this earthquake and climate change, though we did see connections between the Asian plates tectonic rim and the melting of the Antarctic ice cap, we do not see this here. But we see the denuding of the island from trees – this in order to have created the sugar cane and other plantations, as a clear contributing factor to global warming that caused the enhancement and increased frequency of the Hurricanes.

We know that the interest in our postings has to do also with our suggestion that Haiti is now the chance for Brazil to prove that they have arrived to the point that they should be considered as members of the small club of Nations that willl make a difference in the 21st century.

Brazil, that joined the powers that were on the winning side of WWII only close to the end, was nevertheless recognized by being posted as first speakers at the yearly UN General Assembly meeting. It was clear that the size of the country, and its tremendous potential, will bring it to the forefront of the new developing, post-war, world. OK – it took 60 years – but now they are there. Their history of colonizers in the Caribbeans is zero, but their background started with lots of similarities and to its advantage, it was distance wise very remote from Europe so it could breeze easier. Big Brazil and small Haiti have both much to owe to African culture and Europe induced agriculture. Yes – sugar cane, coffee, black slaves, sunny weather and so on. There was a time that in both countries life was easy as the Gershwins sing in Porgy and Bess. But Haiti fell behind.

Haiti is the world’s pits. An island South East of Puerto Rico, with a tremendous history of having been the second independent state of the Western Hemisphere, and the only one created by a rebellion of black slaves, with a French culture and lots of Voodoo, and some sons and daughters that did very well outside the country at times the country fell under local dictatorship or US invasions, has never become, just  like Cuba, a working US dependency. Perhaps this is thanks to the Americans not being able to stomach this entrenched different culture mix and the realization that it could “dilute” the white protestant US culture. While the top layer of sugar-cane growers did very well, denuded the western part of the Hispaniola island of trees and increased their bank-holdings on the back of their brothers that spiralled into abject poverty – to the dishonor of being the only western hemisphere State  that is on the UN list of the 50 least prosperous countries in the world. Actually – they are on the bottom of that list and even have the added disadvantage of being battered by natural disasters – one after another – in this last decade – three major Hurricanes and this last major Earthquake with its 7.0 epicenter just 10 miles from their capital.

Now, does the world owe them rescue? As a humanitarian obligation the answer is obviously a very strong YES. From the climate change / environmental angle – sure a clear YES with a but. Now, let us write about the BUT.

- THE NEW YORK TIMES January 17, 2010, QUOTATION OF THE DAY -

“Their priorities are to secure the country, ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync.”
- JARRY EMMANUEL, the air logistics officer for the World Food Program, after his group’s planes were diverted so the United States could land planes with troops and equipment.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — As the focus on Saturday turned away from
Haitians lost to those trying to survive, a sprawling assembly of
international officials and aid workers struggled to fix a troubled
relief effort after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake.

While countries and relief agencies showered aid on Haiti, only a
small part of it was reaching increasingly desperate Haitians without
food, water or shelter. “We see all the commotion, but we still have
nothing to drink,” said Joel Querette, 23, a college student camped
out in a park. “The trucks are going by.”

Hunger drove many to swarm places where food was being given out.
Reports of isolated looting and violence intensified as night
approached, and there were reports of Haitians streaming out of the
capital.

Still, recovery and aid efforts were widening. And even the
distribution problems in the country stemmed in part from good
intentions, aid officials said: Countries around the world were
responding to Haiti’s call for help as never before. And they are
flooding the country with supplies and relief workers that its
collapsed infrastructure and nonfunctioning government are in no
position to handle.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Port-au-Prince,
met with President René Préval for an hour and assured Haitians that
the United States “will be here today, tomorrow and for the time
ahead.” And in Washington, President Obama stood with former
Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who will lead a national
drive to raise money to help the survivors.

But with Haitian officials relying so heavily on the United States,
the United Nations and many different aid groups, coordination was
posing a critical challenge. An airport hobbled by only one runway, a
ruined port whose main pier splintered into the ocean, roads blocked
by rubble, widespread fuel shortages and a lack of drivers to move the
aid into the city are compounding the problems.

About 1,700 people camped on the grass in front of the prime
minister’s office compound in the Pétionville neighborhood, pleading
for biscuits and water-purification tablets distributed by aid groups.
A sign on one fallen building in Nazon, one of many hillside
communities destroyed by the quake, read: “Welcome U.S. Marines. We
need help. Dead Bodies Inside!”

Haitian officials said the bodies of tens of thousands of victims had
already been recovered and that hundreds of thousands of people were
living on the streets. A preliminary Red Cross estimate put the total
number of affected people at 3.5 million.

The United Nations also confirmed the death of three of its most
senior officials in the quake: the secretary general’s special
representative for Haiti, Hédi Annabi; his deputy, Luiz Carlos da
Costa; and the acting police commissioner for the peacekeeping force,
Doug Coates of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They were meeting
with eight members of a Chinese police delegation in the agency’s
headquarters, the Christopher Hotel, when it collapsed on Tuesday.

Even as the United States took a leading role in aid efforts, some aid
officials were describing misplaced priorities, accusing United States
officials of focusing their efforts on getting their people and troops
installed and lifting their citizens out. Under agreement with Haiti,
the United States is now managing air traffic control at the airport,
helicopters are flying relief missions from warships off the coast and
9,000 to 10,000 troops are expected to arrive by Monday to help with
the relief effort.

The World Food Program finally was able to land flights of food,
medicine and water on Saturday, after failing on Thursday and Friday,
an official with the agency said. Those flights had been diverted so
that the United States could land troops and equipment, and lift
Americans and other foreigners to safety.

“There are 200 flights going in and out every day, which is an
incredible amount for a country like Haiti,” said Jarry Emmanuel, the
air logistics officer for the agency’s Haiti effort. “But most of
those flights are for the United States military.

He added: “Their priorities are to secure the country. Ours are to
feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync.”

American officials said they were making substantial progress. Mrs.
Clinton said the military was beginning to use a container port in Cap
Haitien, in northern Haiti, which should increase the flow of aid.

The United States Agency for International Development was helping
choose sites and clear roads for 14 centers for the distribution of
food and water. Rajiv Shah, the agency’s administrator, said the
United States had moved $48 million of food supplies from Texas since
the quake and distributed 600,000 packaged meals. It has also
installed three water-purification systems capable of purifying
100,000 liters a day.

Yet problems remain. American officials said that 180 tons of relief
supplies had been delivered to the airport, but much was still waiting
for delivery. While the military has cleared other landing sites for
helicopters around the capital, they are thronged by people looking
for help, making landings hazardous.

Fuel shortages were mounting. At several gas stations around
Port-au-Prince, attendants or customers said that even though the
stations had fuel left in their tanks, there was no electricity to
work the pumps.

Some aid workers were critical of the United Nations, as well, arguing
that the agency had the most on-the-ground experience in Haiti and
should be directing efforts better.

But many United Nations employees were killed in the earthquake. And
Stephanie Bunker, the spokeswoman for the United Nations humanitarian
relief effort, said Saturday that a United Nations logistics team was
trying to coordinate with other agencies, and that the peacekeeping
forces were trying to clear roads.

Criticism of the United Nations “may reflect people’s frustrations
with the entire effort because it is such a grueling effort,” she
said. “It takes a long time for all this stuff to be cleared up and
fixed.” She noted that all modes of transportation — air, road and sea
— were still limited. A shortage of trucks remained a problem.

Michel Chancy, appointed by Mr. Préval to coordinate relief, said that
much of the aid to Haiti was coming to a government that was itself
under siege.

“The palace fell,” he said. “Ministries fell. And not only that, the
homes of many ministers fell. The police were not coming to work.
Relief agencies collapsed. The U.N. collapsed. It was hard to get
ourselves in a place where we could help others.”

At the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince, American rescue teams
continued to roll out of the gate. Most of their equipment had
arrived, and at any given time, the teams were working on several
different piles of rubble throughout the city.

“People need to get the message, we’re out, we’re doing stuff,” said
Craig Luecke, a coordinator with the search and rescue team from
Fairfax County, Va., who has been tracking American efforts in advance
of Mrs. Clinton’s arrival here. “My Google Earth map is filled with
American activity.”

Though the numbers are fluid, he said four American teams had helped
pulled nearly two dozen survivors from the rubble. The State
Department said 15 Americans were confirmed dead in the earthquake.

Some airplanes, after circling the capital’s airport, have been
turning back or landing in Santo Domingo, in the neighboring Dominican
Republic. Its airfield was growing ever more crowded with diverted
flights.

“We’re all going crazy,” said Nan Buzard, senior director of
international response and programs for the American Red Cross. “You
don’t have any kind of orderly distributions of food, water, shelter,
clothing. The planes are in the air, the materials are purchased. It
remains a profoundly frustrating situation for everyone.”

Among the aid groups avoiding the logjam in Port-au-Prince by entering
Haiti from the Dominican Republic was International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

A caravan of eight trucks from the federation was creeping toward the
Haitian border on Saturday morning, carrying medical equipment and aid
workers.

The group had originally planned to touch down in Haiti, but the
delays at the airport forced them to divert to Santo Domingo, delaying
their arrival in Haiti by about 12 hours, said Paul Conneally, a Red
Cross spokesman who was traveling with the convoy.

“Every minute counts, I know that, but we cannot be on standby to land
at Port-au-Prince because it may not be for two or three days,” he
said. “It’s problematic to go across roads, but it’s a small price to
pay.”

Mr. Préval, speaking at the airport, now the effective seat of the
Haitian government, urged patience. He showed a map covered with red
dots, indicating the worst-hit areas. When the earthquake struck, he
said, “We in Haiti thought it was the end of the world.”

Mr. Préval said he was making food, water, medical supplies and the
re-establishment of communication the priorities for his government.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Finally a second shoe comes of at the UN Department of Public Information that services the Ban Ki-moon UN Administration. After the replacement of the officer in charge of Media Accreditation, now also a new Spokesperson.

November 30, 2009 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is getting a new Spokesperson – a real professional – Martin Nesirky – that will hail from Vienna where he was not just spokesman for over three years at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) but was also Head of Press and Public Information.

Nesirky will replace Michele Montas of Haiti who served since the beginning of the term of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, January 1, 2007, till now, November 30, 2009, thus leaving one month ahead of the end of a three years contract. Ms. Montas is retiring from the UN.

Mr. Nesirky came to OSCE from Reuters where he served over two decades as an international correspondent and editor. He covered issues the like of  the fall of the  Berlin Wall, events in the Balkans, and nuclear non-proliferation issues. Further, he had a stint as the Moscow Bureau Chief of Reuters with responsibility for coverage of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and as senior editor in London handling political stories, including the Middle East and Africa. He has been posted in Berlin, The Hague, and Seoul, though it is not known if he also speaks Korean, the language of the current UN Secretary- General – the subject of a question from one of the correspondents that remained unanswered.

More recently Mr. Nesirky in his Spokesman capacity at OSCE was instrumental in navigating the Russia backed OSCE Chairmanship for Kazakhstan for 2010. At the UN he may find his personal talents helpful in creating a new persona for the UN Secretary-General whose popularity with parts of the UN have hit a low, at a time that his reelection for a second term will be put on the table.

Ms. Montas whom he replaces had none of such credentials. Prior to her appointment, Montas headed the French unit of UN Radio. From 2003 to 2004, she served as the Spokesperson for UN General Assembly President Julian Robert Hunte, of Saint Lucia, soon after she fled to New York from Haiti. In Haiti, she and her husband were also radio journalists and activists. Her husband was killed in Haiti, and she escaped to New York. We can vouch that in her first several months in the job Mr. Ban Ki-moon set her up, she had no understanding or patience for subjects of climate change – not even when the subject was raised in connection to killings going on in Africa, or the dangers to Small Island Member States of the UN. Not even in matters of the Middle East – she seemed as a fish out of water and effectively harming  positions that the SG might have been more forthcoming. In press conferences of the SG she allowed only questions that she thought he would be interested in while guarding him from such questions as climate change.

The real question is now if Mr. Martin Nesirky will find it acceptable to fit in her shoes and submit to further layers of UN functionaries in a UN Department of Public Information where the Director of News and Media Division is Mr. Ahmad Fawzi who acts as a factotum on Press Accreditation and also whenever there is the need to talk to the press upon fighting in the Middle East. We feel that Mr. Nesirky may be inclined to become his own man in those areas while serving the needs of the Secretary-General.

The announcement about the new Spokesperson was made by Mr. Farhan Haq, of Pakistan, an Associated Spokesperson, third in the ranking below Mr. Nesirky (The second ranking Spokesperson is the Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe of Japan). Farhan started the announcement by saying: “And finally, a message that you’ve been waiting for some time. The Secretary-General today has named Martin Nesirky of the United Kingdom as the new Spokesperson for the Secretary-General,” but when asked by a correspondent if there will be in parallel an appointment for a position called Strategic Communications, he also gave no answer and showed impatience by mentioning that “our guests are here.”

Another correspondent asked nevertheless about the Small Pacific Developing Island States that called upon the Security Council to take up the issue of climate change “as a matter of security, because they say that their islands, their countries, could potentially disappear together for the first time in history, and they’re looking for the Council to develop enforceable emission targets. What does the SG think of this call to the SC to take up the Climate Change issue?”

The anemic answer was: “As you know, the SG has been encouraging all of the relevant bodies to deal with climate change and its effects across a variety of fields.At this stage, however, what the SG is concerned with is making sure that Member states and leaders at the highest level will come to Copenhagen to deal precisely with all of the challenges of climate change and seal a deal that can help resolve all the various problems that member States face.” That was quite a lame answer from the source of “Hopenhagen” and a clear show why finally the UN deserves a professional Spokesperson it was denied during the first three years of the Ban Ki-moon Administration of the UN.

The Correspondent continued with his insistence for an answer:
“There is nothing about the council taking up this matter?”

Final answer from the Associate Spokesperson: “It’s always up to the Security Council which matters it chooses to take up under rubric of peace and security issues.”

From our point of view, will Mr. Martin Nersirky accompany Mr. Ban Ki-moon to Copenhagen, or will it be Marie Okabe?

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N.B. - to be fair to Michele Montas -
Montas was one of the producers of Jonathan Demme’s documentary, The Agronomist, which depicted the life and death of her husband Jean Dominique and his career at Radio Haiti-Inter, the radio station that he founded. She was also involved with MINUTASH – the UN mission to Haiti. Montas worked  as a journalist at that Radio-station and has been  a human rights activist in Haiti and later a consistent international lecturer on Haiti – but the subject matter of the UN extends beyond Haiti and the Aristide government interests. We do not imply that Montas was a negative person as such, only that she was not the right person for her job which allowed Mr. Ahmad Fawzi of Egypt to take over some of the responsibilitires that were hers, and the Under Secretary-General for the UN DPI, Mr. Kyotaka Akasaka, another strange appointment in the Ban Ki-moon cabinet, could really not care less.

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P.S. – On November 23, 2009 Martin Nesirky met the media correspondents to the UN and said:

A couple of things I just wanted to mention.  First of all, I’m really looking forward to working with all of you; getting to know you.  This is a huge challenge, of course, and I’m very keen to try to get to know you so I can help you the best that I can.  That’s the first thing.

The second thing is that, needless to say, I do read what’s being written.  And I think there are a couple of things I’d like to make absolutely clear and very straight at the beginning.  My language skills: I speak German, I speak Russian, I speak English after a fashion, I speak a little bit of Korean and an even smaller amount of French.  I realize that it’s very, very important to be able to speak French. I’m going to be doing as the Secretary-General has done, which is to take extra French classes to improve on that. And that’s really all I wanted to say on that matter.

The other is that I really believe that coming from outside the UN has advantages and disadvantages.  You will have to bear with me as I get to know the system that you, many of you, know far better than I probably will ever do.  But I am very keen to work with you so that you can help me to help you to have the stories that you need to write.

Also, it seems that the UN expects Mr. Nesirky to start his work at the UN on only December 7th, which is coincidentally the day the Copenhagen Conference opens officially, does it mean that he will be there, or it means that Marie Okabe will be there and he will be in New York? We shall see!

Stevensonian Democratic Internationalist, Professor Richard N. Gardner, among the best that try to help the UN, and with Internationalist Environmental Credentials as well, says Copenhagen will be the stage where individual Nations will declare what they are ready to do to decrease their impact on climate change – just that and no-more at this stage.

Professor and Ambassador Richard N. Gardner, with Columbia University since 1957, is Professor of Law and International Organizations at the Law School. He was also US Ambassador to Italy and Spain.

Professor Gardner was appointed by President Kennedy as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in 1961, a position he held until 1965, when he served also as a senior adviser to Adlai Stevenson II, the John F, Kennedy appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Further, after a year with the U.N., he served as a member of the President’s Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy from 1970 to 1971. He served also in various advisory positions in the U.N.

He served as a special adviser to the United Nations at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio as he did in 1972 to the UN Conference on the Human Environment. From 1982 to 1993 he was cochairman of the Aspen Institute Program on the United States and the World Economy.

I remember Professor Gardner from the ’92 UNCED and from lectures at Columbia University. He is a convinced internationalist – as good as the believers in a UN system can get.

He was a principle adviser to Adlai Stevenson who himself, since the San Francisco 1945 Conference that created the UN, was a strong believer in the good the UN can do – even when it was just the place where the US and the USSR could meet to talk in order to tone down the Cuban missile crisis. So, it was not surprising that Professor Gardner was a speaker at the UN memorial to Senator, Governor, Ambassador, Adlai Stevenson.

The November 3, 2009 meeting in the ECOSOC room at the UN, was opened by US Ambassador Alejandro Wolf, moderated by former US Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering, and populated UN stars – some going back to time of the creation – like Brian Urquhart who served under all UNSGs todate, went on well over time.

I will not elaborate here on what was said and on the only question (from the Ambassador from Botswana) – because of the over-time – that was allowed at the end, but will go directly to my little after-the-meeting exchange with Ambassador Gardner.

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Gardner, a US Stevensonian Internationalist Democrat, even past member of The Trilateral Commission 1957 – 2005, and International Environmentalist, was my target for questions about “the Hopenhagen.”  I wanted to know what he thinks the UN can expect realistically from Copenhagen?  And he did not disappoint me.

Gardner said that the situation is not ready for an across the board agreement – just only for individual countries stating what they will do to reduce their emissions.

On my question about bi-lateral agreements – like US-China, US-India, China-India, Brazil-China etc. this sort of agreements that are economic and environmental at the same time and could create the network on which some day an international agreement might be based. He completely accepted this approach and offered that the upcoming President Obama trip to China is extremely important to a climate agreement.

I did not ask him about the possibility of an EU internal agreement so it could speak with one voice, but I mentioned having seen the home-made passport (leather parchment and eagle feather) that Thomas Banyaka, the spokesman for the Hopi Nation, used to enter and leave Sweden for his participation at the 1972 Conference on the Environment. The Hopi being an Environment-friendly Nation with no UN status.

FIVE NEW  SIGNATORIES  TO A UN INITIATIVE TO TACKLE DEFORESTATION.

Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador, Nepal and Sri Lanka each asked to participate in the initiative, known as UN-REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), adding to the initial nine member countries.

The five countries said they wanted to benefit from the expertise generated by UN-REDD and its activities, particularly concerning improved consultations with indigenous peoples and civil society, according to a press release issued by the programme today in Nairobi.

UN-REDD, which is a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), hopes to eventually generate up to $30 billion a year of financial flows from rich countries to poor nations to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The initiative targets deforestation and forest degradation as related activities such as agricultural expansion, the conversion of forests to pasture land, infrastructure development, destructive logging and fires account for almost 20 per cent of global emissions of greenhouse gases.

In its first year of operations UN-REDD has approved more than $37 million in funding for the national anti-deforestation programmes of countries, including Panama, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Viet Nam. The programme says another 20 countries have voiced interest in joining.

Denmark also announced today that it is become the second country donor to the programme after Norway.

 

Climate Change Adaptation: It’s about Water! 
— Global Water Partnership’s contribution to the climate change dialogue

Water is central to the world’s development challenges. Whether it is food security, poverty reduction, economic growth, human health—water is the nexus. Climate change is the spoiler. No matter how successful mitigation efforts might be, people will experience the impacts of climate change through water.

The Global Water Partnership is participating in ‘Water Day’ at the climate change negotiations in Barcelona. GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki will be the lead speaker on water and transboundary issues on Tuesday, November 3. The venue is the Fira Congress Hotel, opposite the conference centre. The opening session starts at 9 am and lunch will be provided.

Recently, the GWP’s Technical Committee released its 14th Background Paper: “Water Management, Water Security and Climate Change Adaptation.” It argues that investments in water are investments in adaptation. The paper can be downloaded on www.gwpforum.org or ordered free at gwp@gwpforum.org.

Climate Change: How can we Adapt? – a one-pager about GWP’s key messages on this subject – is available here: http://www.gwpforum.org/gwp/library/GWP_Briefingnote_climatechange.pdf.

GWP has been accepted as an Inter-Governmental Organisation with Observer Status at  COP 15 in Copenhagen in December and has submitted an article to the delegate publication. But more information on that will follow later. 

More resources about climate change and water and more information on GWP’s involvement in the global dialogue on climate change is available on this page: http://www.gwpforum.org/servlet/PSP?iNodeID=205&itemId=442.

 

——————————————————–Steven DowneyHead of CommunicationsGlobal Water Partnership (GWP)Drottninggatan 33SE-111 51 Stockholm, SWEDENPhone:   +46 8 522 126 52Fax:      + 46 8 522 126 31E-mail: steven.downey@gwpforum.orgWebsite: www.gwpforum.org
A water secure world – the mission of the Global Water Partnership is to support the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels.