Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The COP15 Dilemma

Copenhagen has been in the news these days for all the right and wrong reasons.... but to summarize some of the points that bring out the dilemma are:

1) For starters its going to host the summit to decide what are the next steps to save the earth from global warming.
2) Question: Is there a global warming, some critics ask? the earth is too large to be affected by our curtailing of fossil fuels and hence the carbon footprints. The ice is melting at the Artic, is it having the same effect at the other end... was this effect there in the last 1000 years... are the world temperature data being manipulated to show a face that some of the influential countries want to show the rest of the world.
3) Well the fossil fuels are going to last for only 5o more years, is this a bid for the Renewable energy companies to make a hoopla to shift to alternate sources, if yes is it the clean energy companies or is it the bio-fuel companies who will benefit the most? Should be the bio fuel one... cos the market are in already in place for the bio fuel to be used as an alternative... but the downside is:
3.1) Bio fuel need vast areas of plantation's to grow and rain forests are being cut to make way for these plantations on one end which effects the world Eco balance and will hurt earth in a larger way...
3.2) On the other end if the bio fuel occupies the existing arable land used for cultivation of food grains and vegetables, then it would create a shortage of world food and in turn effect many under-developed and developing countries as it will food grain prices up leading to wide spread inflation and the poorer countries will be the most affected.
4) One suggestion to reduce your carbon footprint is to "Turn Vegetarian" well the logic goes is if an "X" amount of arable land can feed 100 vegetarian it can only feed 30 non Vegetarians and also increase your carbon emissions in the process... Turning vegetarian will probably increase the woes to point number 3.2 and further fuel inflation...

Above all this, human beings still manage to hold its sense of humor intact and the most hilarious situation comes straight from COP15... the Mayor has requested all COP15 members not to pay prostitutes for their services, probably to avoid further increase in diplomatic temperatures... But the sex workers moved a step ahead... they are offering free sex to the delegates who will show them both, their delegate passes and the card circulated by the mayor... Now this might put some of the delegates into a real dilemma...

Which ever way the discussion is going it seems to be affecting the under privileged countries...