Visit my YouTube page at Lonely_UN_13...

Just a quick follow-up from the conference post yesterday...
The UN must be feeling a little emo because they now have a blog. Actually, it's a fairly interesting space that updates far more than I do, giving a daily rundown all the UN activities your heart desires. Chris Crocker even submitted a compelling video exclaiming, "Leave Darfur Alone!"

Check out the UN blog HERE.

***

In other news: Bah Humbug.

I'm going to put on a helmet and lock myself in my house until January 2nd. I'm done with the holidays...

If I see on more inflatable-PVC-snow-blown-Santa-in-a-snow-globe tied down like an S&M submissive in Stepford, I'm going to buy an inflatable knife and go MSNBC Lockdown on it.

The trend astounds me! It started with plastic crap, grew to inflatable crap, and has degenerated in to a Walmartpalooza of inflatable crap FILLED with inflatable crap. It's a plastic Turducken.

Luckily, there's a website that feels my pain...

Tacky Christmas Yards!

Kat from The Burb Blog --like my wife-- emigrated from Orange County to the Midwest. As she states on her About page, she is now affectionately stuck here with her husband and dog. I myself, a replant to the Midwest, understand all too well what the word stuck means. The situation may vary, but the term of endearment (I swear) inevitably explains the sentiment.

Stuck is my wife yearning for Santa Ana winds on the 43rd day of Ohio snowfall/rain mush mix....Stuck is commuting to and from work in a state without carpool lanes or concepts of fast lanes/slow lanes....Stuck is seeing a very, very large Sam's club shopper load a pallet of Mountain Dew (diet) in to the back of their Nascar-inspired Monte Carlo....Stuck is having your cousin go to Cancun for Spring Break and exclaim that she's been "overseas."

And most importantly, Stuck is trying to figure out why more and more people are blowing (literally) umpteen bazillion-thousand dollars on tacky yard decorations.

Honestly, while I admit that I saw my fair share of plastic fantastic last week in Huntington and Laguna (in the bars AND in the yards), I'll bet a size XXXXL Member's Mark sweater that the Midwest has more Christmas kitsch per capita than any other region in the United States. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned trip to Southern California, Rachel and I won't be able to afford travel for the next decade or two, so my hypothesis will have to wait. However, thanks to Kat, I can now take in the best of the best user-submitted blech.

And although she doesn't give locations, I think I used to live next to 65% of these people.

I ain't signin' nuttin....

Ouch.

Bravo, but definitely, definitely an ouch...

We seek your leadership. But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way.

-Kevin Conrad, a Papua New Guinea delegate addressing the Unites States
delegation at the end of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali.

Well it ain't Kyoto, but it's a start. The United States has grudgingly accepted a compromise to agree to negotiate over the next two years (when worded like that, it doesn't sound like much of a start, now does it?).

In U-turn, U.S. agrees to global warming deal

BALI, Indonesia (CNN) -- In a dramatic reversal Saturday, the United States rejected and then accepted a compromise to set the stage for intense negotiations in the next two years aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

The White House, however, said in a statement that it still has "serious concerns" about the agreement.

"The negotiations must proceed on the view that the problem of climate change cannot be adequately addressed through commitments for emissions cuts by developed countries alone. Major developing economies must likewise act," the White House said.

Under the global warming pact, negotiating rounds would end in 2009.

The head of the U.S. delegation, Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs, announced the United States was rejecting the plan. Her comments were met by booing from other delegations.

The White House said the negotiations must "clearly differentiate" and link responsibility with the level of emissions, size of the economy and energy use among developing countries.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

When will the US jump to the front of the parade? Well, just so you have an idea how ridiculously extreme our non-participatory attitude can be, here's an interesting infographic that shows Kyoto ratification. Sing it with me, "One of these things is not like the other."

Green means Signed and Ratified
Gold means Signed, Ratification Pending
Red means Signed, Ratification Denied
Silver means No Position

Some fun facts:

The United States was, as of 2005, the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed by a 95–0 vote the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98), which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States."

Although Bush won't sign it because he's unsure of the reality of climate change, Clinton is just as guilty for never submitting the protocol to the Senate for ratification. At least our idiocy is non-partisan.

The United States has, however, signed the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate; a similar (but non-enforceable) pact. The pact vows to reduce the US carbon intensity by 18% before 2012. Ironically, 18% is actually an increase in carbon intensity.

As of this year, the following states actively participate in state-level cap and trade emissions programs similar to the Kyoto Protocol: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Rhode Island actively observe the protocol, and California has signed their own Global Warming Solutions Act. That means 26% of the US is already observing the treaty (just 2% points shy of Bush's October approval rating).

Even individual cities are participating: Albany, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Alexandria, Virginia; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Arlington, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Berkeley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Fairfield, Connecticut; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Hartford, Connecticut; Honolulu, Hawaii; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jersey City, New Jersey; Lansing, Michigan; Las Vegas, Nevada; Lawrence, Kansas; Lexington, Kentucky; Lincoln, Nebraska; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Madison, Wisconsin; Miami, Florida; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; Oakland, California; Omaha, Nebraska; Pasadena, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Providence, Rhode Island; Richmond, Virginia; Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Seattle, Washington; Sioux City, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri; Tacoma, Washington; Tallahassee, Florida; Tampa, Florida; Topeka, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Vancouver, Washington; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; West Palm Beach, Florida; Wilmington, North Carolina.

Here's another infographic to get you going...


Note the asterisk. That's WITH 673 smaller cities unlisted.

So why haven't we ratified?

International Politico...

In honor of October 24th's United Nation's Day (and my busy schedule last week), I'm paying homage to all things baby blue.

Yikes!
UN independent rights expert calls for five-year freeze on biofuel production. HERE

Viva!
The Cuban capital Havana has won a United Nations prize for restoring its architecture to its former colonial glory. HERE

Evolution!
The creation of a new economy. HERE

Tasty!
UNEP Community Cooker in Nairobi, converting garbage and waste into an heating element for cooking. HERE

Fertilized!
UNEP Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign. HERE

驚奇!
2008 Beijing Olympic Games are environmentally impressive, says UN Environment Programme Report. HERE

Passive!
UN even takes a slightly neutral stance on smoking in their press room. HERE

Scary!
UN's Latest Global Environment Outlook report, in pictures. HERE

Crowded!
UNFPA State of World Population Report 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth. HERE.

Pious!
Is a religious version of the UN really such a bad idea? HERE

Intervention Necessary!
Photo slide show of Burma from 1989, date of the last uprising. HERE

It's go time...

Seeing as my son's first birthday party kicks-off at dawn (Oktoberfiesta), I'm still slacking on posts. So here's an article to tide you over till Monday.

UN issues 'final wake-up call' on population and environment

By James Kanter
Published: October 25, 2007

PARIS: The human population is living far beyond its means and inflicting damage on the environment that could pass points of no return, according to a major report issued Thursday by the United Nations.

Climate change, the rate of extinction of species and the challenge of feeding a growing population are among the threats putting humanity at risk, the UN Environment Program said in its fourth Global Environmental Outlook since 1997.

"The human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available at current consumption patterns," Achim Steiner, the executive director of the program, said in a telephone interview. Efficient use of resources and reducing waste now are "among the greatest challenges at the beginning of 21st century," he said.

The program described its report, which is prepared by 388 experts and scientists, as the broadest and deepest of those that the UN issues on the environment and called it "the final wake-up call to the international community."

Over the past two decades the world population has increased by almost 34 percent to 6.7 billion from 5 billion; similarly, the financial wealth of the planet has soared by about a third. But the land available to each person on earth had shrunk by 2005 to 2.02 hectares, or 5 acres, from 7.91 hectares in 1900 and was projected to drop to 1.63 hectares for each person by 2050, the report said.

Read more HERE.