William L Hallmark's Blog (7)

As we struggle to stay connected with the process going on here (the crowds are massive and the real work is going on behind the scenes), we find ourselves reflecting on the situation confronting us. For starters, it is clear that whatever decisions are made here, we are going to experience dramatic climate change. The question is whether we will see a 1.5 degree centigrade rise in temperature, a 2 degree rise, or something larger than 2 degrees. The science is pretty clear that at 1.5 degrees t… Continue

As many of you know, COP 15 (the climate change conference in Copenhagen) encompasses two meetings: (1) the conference of the parties under the convention (Convention) and (2) the meeting of the parties under the Kyoto Protocol (KP). The Convention is a binding treaty entered into after the Rio Earth Summit. 194 countries are now parties to this treaty including the US. The KP is a later treaty which the US signed but never ratified. No one expects the US Senate will ratify the KP and therefore… Continue

In the last few decades as I watched General Motors ignore the signs of the times and go forward determined to bend the world to fit its image of itself, I expected that cause and effect would eventually force General Motors to face facts. Imagine my shock when I learned that we taxpayers must rescue General Motors from its own folly. In retrospect, I can see that we were the problem. We kept playing General Motors’ game even though reality was clearly telling us it was foolish to continue. We w… Continue

As we left Cuenca (east of Madrid) traveling north into the Basque Country, we crossed La Mancha. This is a vast area of broad plains interrupted by low lying but rugged mountains and ravines. As we traveled we could not help but think of the Man from La Mancha, Don Quixote, and his penchant for tilting at windmills. We decided that if Don Quixote were alive today he would not dare leave his house. When he peeked out his window, no matter which way he looked he would see that his short squat ene… Continue

The one week conference in Barcelona is now over. It has been stimulating, discouraging, overwhelming and fascinating. We came here wishing to be a fly on the wall but left feeling more like a beetle on the hallway floor trying to grasp strands of information as the delegates ran by. The entire five days has been a battle between the developing countries trying to pin down the developed counties on their commitments to reduce emissions and the developed countries trying equally hard to appear to… Continue

Greetings from Barcelona. This beautiful Mediterranean city is hosting the last meeting of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) prior to the COP15 (Conference of the Parties 15) meeting in Copenhagen in December. We are enjoying beautiful weather and VIP treatment. The conference is at the Fira Gran Via conference center which is enormous (you can walk a mile without leaving the building) and state of the art. Following the opening day meetings we attended a recepti… Continue

What was your first response when you heard the news? http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/home/announce-2009/ When the world learned that President Barack Obama had been selected to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize many were surprised including Obama himself. We were immediately inundated with a variety of reactions, some downright hostile, and others suggesting that while Obama is a good person he has not yet done anything that would warrant his receiving the award. And yet, the esteemed… Continue