I spent eight weeks traveling Europe with a group of 13 AVAAZ climate activists from five different continents, organizing for a better Copenhagen.  For the past three days I’ve been trying to make sense of what happened in the final moments of that journey.

The story of Copenhagen began in Bali, Indonesia two years ago. After an intensive two weeks of negotiations, 192 countries, including the Bush Administration, signed on to the Bali Roadmap, a plan to complete a binding global climate treaty in Copenhagen. The Bali Roadmap was a political agreement acknowledging that the evidence for the planet warming is “unequivocal”, and that further delays in reducing emissions would further increase the risks of “severe climate change impacts.”

Deepa Gupta speaks to a crowd of onlookers during a global hunger strike for climate justice event in Copenhagen

Fast forward to 2009 – after two years of high level negotiations and new peer-reviewed scientific findings warning that climate change is accelerating faster than previously anticipated, the stakes had been raised for Copenhagen. In the first week and a half of the negotiations, leaders from small island states like the Maldives and Tuvalu and from African countries already being thrust into water-related conflicts from extreme drought resisted threats and bribes from developed countries as they insisted on an ambitious and fair legal treaty committed to containing warming below 1.5 degrees C. Tensions ran high and the talks were deadlocked as rich nations and emerging economies blamed each other and the most vulnerable.

After nine hours of direct negotiations from world leaders on the final day, a weak agreement was reached by a diverse group of interests. The three-page Copenhagen Accord is by all accounts far short of the ambitious and fair legal treaty promised in Bali. While it does finally tie emerging economies like China and India in with the United States under the same climate agreement, it also punts most of the hard decisions down the road another year.

At most the Copenhagen Accord can be called another baby step forward, when the world needed a bold leap. The reason for this colossal failure of leadership was a No Ambition Coalition of the United States and China. Held hostage by fossil fuel lobbyists and an addiction to a 20th century growth paradigm, China held out against a legally-binding outcome and international verification of emission targets while the United States refused to budge from their weak emission targets.

The most important measure to judge the outcome of Copenhagen is scientific. Early analysis shows that emission targets from countries within the Copenhagen Accord would put the world on track for 3.9 degrees C of warming by 2100. Scientists have warned that exceeding even 1.5C of warming would lead to the displacement of low-lying nations, extreme droughts throughout Africa, and risk reaching irreversible climate tipping points.

There is cause for hope coming out of Copenhagen. Firstly, 133 Heads of State, having traveled to Copenhagen to reach a deal, are now directly accountable for achieving significant action on climate change. Secondly, the international climate movement showed up like never before in Copenhagen and around the world.

The Climate Movement Has Arrived

We saw the world’s largest demonstrations on climate change – 100,000 in the streets of Copenhagen on December 12th, 90,000 across Australia on the same day, and 3000 events around the world. We saw one of the largest petitions in history – 15 million for a fair, ambitious, and binding global treaty. We saw a spirit of collaboration amongst NGOs unlike any seen before within the climate movement.

350.org, Avaaz.org, and TckTckTck pulled off three international days of climate action in the course of three months, with more than 10,000 total events in 181 different countries. Thursday December 17th marked a “Hunger for Survival” global fast for climate justice where over 10,000 people worldwide gave up food in solidarity with three people who had consumed nothing but water and salt for 43 days to call attention to the urgency of climate action. Despite all but 300 individuals getting kicked out of the Bella Center for the two day Heads of State Summit, the presence of civil society in the negotiations remained powerful.

How the U.S. and China Ruined Copenhagen

The coal and oil lobbies have a stranglehold on national politics in China and India. The U.S. is by far the largest historic emitter of CO2. The average U.S. citizen emits four times as much CO2 as the average Chinese person. However, a couple years ago China overtook the U.S. as the largest national emitter of CO2. China now builds two new power stations every week.

For months before Copenhagen, President Obama and his top negotiators warned that the U.S. wasn’t going to offer anything stronger than the emission targets being debated in the U.S. Senate of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 (4% below 1990 levels). These targets pale in comparison to targets from other developed countries like Japan (25% below 1990 levels by 2020) and the EU (20%). However, they do represent the first time the U.S. has had real emission targets to offer at an international climate conference. U.S. negotiators also warned a month before Copenhagen that a legally binding outcome would not be possible in time for this conference and that long-term finance for developing countries was off the table.

A month ago China committed to voluntarily reduce its ‘carbon intensity’ 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020. This figure is less than it sounds like. Carbon intensity means emissions relative to economic growth. China warned that they were not willing to give up national sovereignty to have their targets monitored by an international body unless the developed world (read: United States) did more to reduce their own emissions and finance technology transfer and climate adaptation in the developing world. China remained strongly opposed to the calls of the developing world for a legally binding treaty that would bind all nations to common but differentiated emission targets.

In Copenhagen, backed sometimes by India, China ultimately ended up opposing a global peak year for emission reductions and vetoing a goal of reducing emissions 50% by 2050 for all nations and 80% by 2050 for developed nations (even though this wouldn’t apply to China in today’s framework).

China, the U.S. and the rest of the world were playing a game of chicken for two years – one pointing the finger at the other, refusing to act first.

Hope on Climate Finance

After days of deadlock, a glimmer of new hope had been infused into the process on Thursday afternoon. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance, offering a proposal for $100 billion/year climate finance for adaptation and technology in developing countries by 2020, of which the U.S. would pay its “fair share”. This was half of what the Climate Action Network International and several experts argued was necessary to adequately avert climate catastrophe. But it was significant because it was the first time the U.S. had offered anything beyond a three-year ‘quick start’ finance package.

Clinton made it clear that the funds would only be made available if China would agree to “transparency” in reporting its emission reductions. At the end of the day the U.S. only put $3.6 billion over the next three years on the table, with a suggestion that more could come later if approved by Congress. Japan promised $11 billion and the EU $10.6 billion over three years. China ultimately agreed to some transparency and international “consultation” for its targets.

“Friends of the Chair” Process Produces a Document

With 132 other heads of state present in Copenhagen, President Obama arrived on Friday morning December 18th. For two weeks vulnerable nations had been insisting on emission targets and climate finance strong enough to ensure their survival and developed countries had continued to refuse to offer anything new, leaving the talks in deadlock. As a result, there was no text with any kind of consensus to base negotiations on by Friday morning.

In an attempt to materialize a deal, the Danish Prime Minister began holding a series of “Friends of the Chair” meetings with 28 different countries representing the Least Developed Countries, the emerging economies, and key developed nations. A few members of the G77 (a formal group of 130 developing nations) complained that the process was undemocratic and that the agreement was not strong enough.

In the early afternoon on Friday President Obama gave an underwhelming speech, saying that words were less valuable than action, but again failing to offer any new proposals. At that moment it became clear that Copenhagen would not produce anything close to a fair, ambitious, and binding outcome.

Leading up to Friday, the climate movement had tried every angle to get around the problem of low ambition from the US and China. Groups targeted Japan on finance and the EU on targets, hoping if they came out with something strong, it would budge the big players. Avaaz.org employed voices from the Global South to pressure China to support a legally binding outcome that was measurable, reportable, and verifiable. Nothing worked.

Following Obama’s speech, with a weak outcome certain, youth and NGOs began making banners that read “Climate Shame” and cutting out masks of more than 20 world leaders most responsible for a weak deal. We picked countries who had won the “Fossil of the Day” award throughout the two weeks for doing the most that day to block progress on a strong treaty.

World Leaders Begin to Negotiate

Inside the negotiations U.S. President Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were leading bilateral and multilateral meetings to come up with an agreement. Afterwards a UN Assistant Secretary for General Policy Robert Orr described the process on Friday in a press conference (see minute 35):

“I’ve worked in the UN for a number of years and national government for a number of years. I’ve never seen leaders truly negotiate. It’s usually pre-arranged, pre-cooked. And the text goes to the leaders and they nod at each other and they agree. This was not the case. Leaders were drafting. Leaders were caucusing. Leaders were doing things that most of them probably hadn’t done for a few years. I think President Lula at one point said, ‘it makes me feel like a labor union leader again. I remember collective bargaining.’”

After President Obama’s afternoon speech China, apparently spurned, sent lower-level ministers to meetings with Obama and other heads of state as a show of power. Heads of state were forced to wait around as the Chinese delegate made telephone calls to his “superiors”. Unlike other countries China didn’t need a deal out of Copenhagen to save face. I heard one account by a member of Climate Action Network China that the priority of 90% of Chinese people going into Copenhagen was for their government to not give in to U.S. pressure, even if it meant risking a global agreement. As a result, China was able to get other nations to strip the the final agreement of its emission targets.

Working frantically for hours, the “Friends of the Chair” process produced the Copenhagen Accord, which finally had the support of the major emitters, emerging economies, and most of the developing world. However with no firm targets, lack of detail on financing, and no deadline for completing a legally binding treaty, the Accord did not achieve the support of a handful of nations in the final hours. As a result, the Conference of the Parties “took note” of the agreement instead of making it a formal decision.

Life in the Final Hours

At one in the morning on the final night, 150 voices were fighting through the bitter cold, surrounded by police outside the Bella Center. President Obama had just delivered his closing speech announcing the Copenhagen Accord and delegates and media from all over the world were deciding how to swallow the bitter compromise that had been reached.

“1.5 to Stay Alive – Don’t Sign the Deal!” “Climate Shame! Climate Shame!” The chants bellowed through the night air as three of us blew on our hands, attempting to liveblog the events on our laptops. As the clock reached 2:00, word came from inside the conference that the EU had not yet decided whether to sign onto the political compromise that had been announced by the U.S., China, India, South Africa, and Brazil. Our chants continued – “EU Don’t Sign! EU Don’t Sign!”

All of us could see the writing on the wall that night. We knew the deal was all but finished, but we knew we had to fight. News outlets were already starting to spin the story as Obama coming in at the last second to rescue a deal. It was important to show that the world was not satisfied with a weak agreement and that leaders had failed in their duty to lead post-Bali. At 2:30 we got a text message with some words from UK Climate Minister Ed Milliband – “it’s youth and connected mobilization that put the pressure to get anything, especially 130 leaders here. Stay strong.”

Forty minutes later a Bolivian delegate came outside to greet us. Looking tired and worn, he said, “it looks like we have lost this battle, but we will win the war because of the strength of the youth.”

After hearing the result of the talks, one member from Africa wrote “It takes a lot to get an elephant moving, but when you do it is hard to stop…the elephant is moving…”

Not Done Yet

The Copenhagen Accord represents a stark failure of leadership resulting from low ambitions and hard lines taken by China and the United States. The price of carbon fell days after the end of negotiations as businesses warned that Copenhagen had failed to signal global limits on carbon emissions. Moving forward, the climate movement must bring the fight for strong carbon limits back to the United States, passing a strong climate law through the Senate, and find a way to convince China to support a legally-binding treaty with strong emission targets in 2010.

In short, the task ahead is to make the elephant move in the right direction, and fast. Our future depends on it.

Last food for thought round-up for the year, folks! I’ll be taking some time off to relax, clean house and enjoy the holidays.

• Jamie Oliver ends the year (and the decade) not only as the recipient of a TED award, but as an icon of the decade, as detailed by food critic Jay Rayner. He wasn’t always the sharpest knife in the drawer on some of his shows, but he changed the way we watch, cook, talk about and think about food. Rock on, bruvvah!
• Inmates in Illinois have filed a lawsuit against the state, citing too much soy in their prison diets.
• Minority farmers in the US are claiming discrimination from the USDA with regards to farm loans.
• When is a catfish not a catfish? When the government says it isn’t.
• Another report showing that the past decade was a fine time to be a food lover.
• And another list of predictions for 2010 – think childhood nutrition and sustainability.
• The origins of fish and chips.
• Ever been stuck on a plane on an airport tarmac for hours? A new US law will enforce penalties on airlines that do not provide food and water after a 2-hour wait.
• Marion Nestle debunks that stupid “eat your dog to save the world” book. Politely, of course, but with a much higher level of logic than the authors have used.
• And finally, I leave you with…. tasty Santa bento box.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Bacon, apps, rooftop gardens – the food buzzwords of 2009.
• A bowl filled with hate  – it’s bad enough when your fast food doesn’t look as pretty as it does in the photos, but when it sucks the joy to live right out of you, there’s something to be said for fresh and sustainable.
• It’s fun to live in imaginary worlds online, but are games like Farmville distorting the reality of the work involved in farming?
• Diners eat fewer calories when menus list not only calorie counts but have a reference to a recommended daily caloric intake.
• We know that bottled waters can be expensive – but should they be more expensive that alcohol? In some places in the UK, the push to increase booze sales have led to discounts that make some alcoholic beverages cheaper than water.
• We all want to buy sustainable fish, but with eco-labels on fish so incredibly confusing (and contradictory), people are having a hard time determining what to buy.
• Santa eats what he wants – at his busiest time of year, Santa is getting flak from the media for being too big and jolly.

As a Persian Gulf War veteran, a volunteer pilot with the US Air Force Auxiliary, and the author of Politics Vs. Prejudice In The Highway Patrol, which has been recently released on Google Books, most of which is free for viewing by the reading public, I would gladly donate 100% of all profits generated from book sales to any child who has been rejected by any charity group for lack of relinquishing privileged information.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Save the tuna – bluefin tuna might make it to the “endangered” list (effectively shutting down trade in the species) in March. Fingers crossed.
• Monsanto is at risk of anti-trust action against them, and a whole pile of reports show that many of their claims (like GM seeds using less pesticide) have turned out to be false.
• It’s a surprise, I know, but it turns out that kids eat less junk food if they can’t get it at school.
• If you’ve got a tattoo of a grilled cheese sandwich (which is right up there with skulls, “Mom” and roses, yes?), you’re entitled to a lifetime 25% discount on that same sandwich at an Ohio restaurant that specializes in said dish.
• 2009 was the year of bloggers getting book deals, and while many of them were utterly undeserved, a few were actually not bad.
• The history of Christmas dinner.
• Food activists talk a lot about weaning people off of cheap food, but in a recession, where cereal sales rise by 50% because people are buying it to eat for dinner, that probably won’t be happening any time soon.
• Enjoy the nativity, but please do not eat Jesus’ head – a nativity scene at a produce farm fashioned out of fruit and vegetables becomes controversial.
• Food trends of the noughties: making cooking/cheffing a desirable career, making room for female chefs in professional kitchens, sustainable food sourcing… yeah, okay, it’s been a pretty decent decade.
• Yes, it’s true… you really can deep fry anything.

It’s as if we’ve finally been given permission to celebrate Christmas for the real reason – the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The Advent Conspiracy is a movement founded by three  pastors……… you can read the rest for yourself.

With a large following on Facebook, Advent Conspiracy is gaining attention and momentum as it has been discussed on “The View” as well as here on Fox News.  I couldn’t help but gasp at the comment in the Fox News article from Scott Krugman who is  the Vice President of the National Retail Federation:

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with spreading the action of giving, but don’t demonize retailers in the process…”

You’re kidding me, right?

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Now if we could just train the dog to open the fridge and retrieve the beer, we’d be all set. A dog collar beer opener.
• A lesson from Copenhagen – your contribution towards reducing greenhouse gases – eat less meat.
• The chyllldrun, who will think of them? How kids are being used as political pawns in the fight against obesity.
• Does it make someone a snob if they want their wine in a glass and not a tumbler?
• While there are lots of articles out there on how to have a healthy Christmas dinner – it doesn’t have to be that way. You could have the 900-calorie per slice Turducken.
• More lessons on climate change – waste less food.
• Price-fixing by lobster dealers in Maine screws over the fishers yet again.
• While we would never think of eating a beloved family pet after its death, in Thailand, it is customary for people to butcher, sell and eat the carcass of an elephant – even if it has been with the family for years.
• China opened its own seed bank last month to protect native plants from extinction.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Another voice in the “food miles are bunk” argument, this time from Oxfam, with a reminder that communities in the majority world depend on the export of produce to survive.
• Ganja Gourmet – a restaurant in Denver (legally) serves up food made with pot.
• Quel surprise – general physicians actually know very little about treating food allergies.
• And surprise #2 – websites geared to kids have a higher rate of ads for junk food.
• It’s so liberating to be a feminist, free from the household chores and drudgery of the kitchen – unless your hubby is a “kitchen bitch”, in which case you might be happy to trade in his smug harping over how to cut a carrot for your own frilly apron, just so you have some peace and quiet.
• All those deadbeats who used to hang out in coffeehouses using the free wifi can now start hanging out at McDonald’s. Free wifi is coming… because they’re a cafe with fancy coffee now, don’tcha know.
• Did you cook along with Gordon Ramsay on Tuesday night? Was it as much of a train wreck as the folks from Serious Eats think?
• Sometimes, when you just want the sweet, sweet canday, all that info on the chocolate bar wrapper can just be too much.

Written by Ellie Johnston, a SustainUS youth delegate and senior at the University of North Carolina Asheville

I have almost been in Copenhagen for two weeks now and have been watching from the inside and outside of the Bella Center as the UN Climate Change Negotiations proceed. At this point the progress that is needed to have a fair, ambitious, and binding treaty has not occurred. The nations of the world are still stuck in a political gridlock and the transparency of this process for observers is becoming increasingly limited.

Right now I am sitting in the Bella Center, wearing a bright orange t-shirt that says, “How old will you be in 2050?” I am listening to the plenary session broadcasted on screens throughout with clusters of NGOs, young people, and party delegates crowded around.

Security guards walk around staring me in the eyes. Outside protester are tying to break-in, we are receiving fragmented reports about what is going on just beyond these walls of what has become a UN fortress. Somehow I have managed to find myself within it, in a surreal microcosm of the world. I am struggling with a mix of emotions in navigating what on one hand seems an incredible access to power, but on the other is the reality that the struggles that appear to be contained in this conference center are really much bigger and are found outside and back at home.

The pace of the negotiations is wrenching many of us here in the heart as our frustrations and fears about our futures and others are put on the line with the increased delays in action. The marches outside with thousands and the dozens of actions within the Bella Center are drawing the world’s gaze to Copenhagen and on climate change. It is incredible to me that my country or rather a few key decision makers are able to stall the process. Though really, that is only a simple analysis of the state of things right now. We are working with a process that is flawed (whether or not there is anything better—I do not know). I wrote yesterday on the SustainUS Blog about my inspiration from the amazing people I have met and the development of networks of people that are seeking solutions now. This seems to be the best we have at this point.

The science on climate change is no longer in debate and it is apparent here that we must think beyond our economic and political concerns and realize a moral call to action to address this issue. The images for me that most stand out from the past week are those from when I pass the incredible people who are undertaking the Climate Justice Fast, several of these individuals are now on day 42 without food. They have undertaken the fast because of their loss of what to do in the face of the inaction we see. I sympathize wholeheartedly at this point, and will join them tomorrow for a day of fasting with world leaders and citizens from around the world.

Other moving images from the past week include those from the march of 100,000 in the streets of Copenhagen on Saturday, where people of all ages stood in solidarity for climate action, this image was further solidified when I came back to the Bella Center and saw Bill McKibben of 350.org standing at a computer beaming with excitement as pictures from 350 vigils on that same day came streaming in from around the world. Government action is necessary on this issue but it will only come if the people demand it. Despite some progress recently, the United States still needs to take bolder action for our country’s prosperity and that of the entire planet. Let’s envision a future that is truly sustainable where clean renewable energy powers our lights and people see the impacts of their actions on everyone else worldwide and take action to foster healthy and long-term relations. Despite the daily frustrations on seeking a better way, I am reminded of the words of Kumi Naidoo from just over a week ago, “We can do this, we must do this, we will do this!”

Item #1

U.S. Military report blames Bible-Believing Christians for lack of world peace, understanding and dialogue.

A U.S. Army Major has written a long report on how Christians that believe in the rapture, the defense of Israel, absolute truth, the infallible account of the words of God, the dislike for the United Nations, and the opposition to global-governance are having a negative impact on public-policy, the driving the U.S. further from the U.N., undermining the U.N. and will likely push U.S. policy in the wrong direction for years. This report has been posted on the website of the School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College. This report is very troubling on many fronts. It is wrong for the military to use tax-payer money to distribute a report that attacks Christians. It is offensive and dangerous that the military is distributing and teaching this worldview to officers going through this particular military school. This is further proof that the military is increasingly being politicized at the upper leadership level. Please listen to this program and forward it to all your friends.

To read these stories look under our national and international news section at:
http://www.worldviewtimes.com/news

• Move to National ID Cards Delayed
• Celebs to kids:America stinks!
• Times are tough but not tough enough to stop push for global tax
• Not So Private Property?: Clean Water Restoration Act Raises Fears of Land Grab
• Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China
• Hollywood and Howard Zinn’s Marxist Education Project
• Americans carve out their own religions
• Gold rally is not a bubble, mania stage ahead of us

Item #2

EMERGENCY: US Army View of PreMillennialism
This is an emergency that we all must act on and right now. I was sent this article by a follower of the blog and want to thank him.

Item #3

Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse
Topic One: Lord Christopher Monkton predicts what we also predicted months ago and that is that if Obama could not get international treaties approved by the U.S. Senate and the needed two-thirds majority vote, then he would seek to implement the same idea as a law approved by a simple majority in the House and Senate. Hear the warning by Lord Monkton. Topic Two: National, Canadian newspaper proclaims that “the whole world needs to adopt China’s one-child policy.” Topic Three: Obama’s science czar blames Christians and Biblical Christianity for the world’s ecological “crises”. Obama’s science Czar has also written about the need for population control and forced abortions and/or sterilization. The radicals are using global governance, environmentalism, socialism and population control to wage war on Biblical Christianity.

Item #4

Understanding The Times with Jan Markell
Understanding the “Religious Left” Dr. David Noebel from Summit Ministries joins Jan to talk about the rise of the religious left. It’s unofficial leader seems to be Jim Wallis who is also Barack Obama’s spiritual advisor. Unfortunately Wallis is a Communist and proud of it. Others on the Left include the National and World Council of Churches, the Emergent Church, Tony Campolo, and others too numerous to name.

Item #5

Christmas Confusion
By Kerby Anderson
How many people really understand the meaning of Christmas? School administrators do not when they prohibit teachers from using red and green napkins at the school party in December because of the so-called “separation of church and state.” Well-meaning Christians do not when they mistakenly believe that the Bible teaches that Christ was born on December 25.

Item #6

The Secret Plan to Pass a Global Tax
By Cliff Kincaid
With President Barack Obama attacking “fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” left-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) see a great opportunity to pass a global tax on financial transactions that could generate at least $700 billion a year from the U.S. and other “rich” countries. They are expecting Obama’s support.

Item #7

Wallbuilders Live with David Barton
Live from WallBuilders’ ProFamily Legislators Conference Guest: Gary Palmer, Alabama Policy Institute

Item #8

ClimateGate, the Green Dragon, and the End of Christianity
By Cliff Kincaid
With the ClimateGate revelations of flimsy “science” behind the man-made global warming theory, the role of the religious left in promoting this fraudulent scheme now deserves serious media scrutiny. Walter Grazer, who served as the Director of the Environmental Justice Program for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops from 1993 to 2007 and is now interim executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), was asked for a comment on ClimateGate and replied, “I am really not up on that issue at all.”

Item #9

The “Ray says to never see a doctor” issue
By Ray Comfort
For months atheists have been accusing me of saying that those who are sick should never see a doctor. Today, I was very encouraged to see that one of my regular opponents (Raoul Rheits) kindly conceded that that isn’t the case. He said:

Item #10

Mysteries of the Star of Bethlehem
By Dr. David R. Reagan
The star of Bethlehem has always intrigued people. What was it? Could it have been a comet or a meteor or a super-nova? What about a special alignment of planets?

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Anthony Bourdain is writing a follow-up to Kitchen Confidential. Which means that editors everywhere will have to retrain every young male wanna-be food writer to stop trying to write like freakin’ Anthony Bourdain! Again.
• There’s been a lot of talk about the New York City anti-soda ads. And yes, they really are that gross. But I wonder what lobbyist got to them and strong-armed them into including milk in the recommended beverages. Come ON.
• Hanukkah cupcake menorah. I got nothing… just go look at it and admit it’s pretty cool.
• “Comes in a stylish jute carrier bag too – just the thing to show off your squid to its best advantage down the pub on Boxing Day.” 12 gifts no food lover ever wants to see.
• But if you find yourself the recipient of a bottle of rancid chili-spiked oil or a box of chocolate liqueurs, at least appreciate that the giver was making an effort to appeal to your foodie self.
• Cutting carbon emissions through farming means switching to local, sustainable foods – and convincing the other 98% of the population not into local, sustainable food that it’s actually worth it.
• Our love affair with the drive-through – might it soon be over?
• Psst! Buddy… wanna buy some chips? A student at a UK school with a “healthy food policy” gets busted for selling bags of crisps to fellow students.
• Got insomnia? All the things to eat (or not) before bed for sweet dreams.
• Serving omnivores and vegetarians at the same meal – 8 adaptable dishes.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Will you be cooking along with Gordon Ramsay on Fox tonight? What, you didn’t know about it and don’t have all your ingredients? Seems someone’s dropped the ball (not you, the nice people who get paid to promote TV shows…)
• Huh… turns out all the pannetone in the world are not at the No Frills in Toronto’s Italian neighbourhood near my house (just most of them). Italians will eat 40 million of the things over the holiday season. That’s a lot of cake.
• Even if you hate McDonald’s, you can’t help but admit that some of these ads from various countries are hella cool. The sundial is downright ingenious.
• Foie gras fans, you have officially jumped the shark – you can now get foie gras at Denny’s in Japan. Trend ovah.
• Turns out, only me and the over-75 crowd actually like the orange creams. Weeding out the duds from that holiday box of assorted chocolates.
• When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie… mathematical formulas and geometry an’ shit for figuring out how to make the slices even.
• Aw, but I like the white enamel workhorses… people still seem to want those garish stainless steel appliances, although the products themselves are going down-market so as to remain affordable.
• It’s hot chocolate season, but which one tastes the best?
• Got backyard chickens? Are they wary of keeping warm?
• Don’t think that you’re saving the world by eating organic. You might be saving the soil, but if you’re eating stuff from California, it was probably grown and harvested by underpaid immigrant workers.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Why Toronto’s Chinatown outshines Manhattan’s.
• Will we eventually all buy our local food from Walmart? Say it isn’t so!
• We always talk about doing up Christmas old skool Victorian style – but honestly – who could eat all that food?
• What to bring to a holiday potluck – bags of candy – be that person.
• Oh, look, you brought hummus. yay… what not to bring to the holiday potluck.
• Tips for having a slow Christmas – more cooking baking, fewer festive sweaters that light up.
• The Hawaiian tradition of eating tuna at New Year’s has been saved for 2009 – it looked like fishers were going to meet their quota early, but now it looks like people there will be able to enjoy the good luck fish after all.
• Fast food trend for 2010 – cheap. Because we need more unidentifiable meat.
• Do you need another reason to eat local? How about because eating within your regional foodshed can reverse obesity? That’s a good one, I think.

Last night the Avaaz team had dinner together at a local restaurant. We went around the table and shot out highlights from week one of COP15. My highlight was Tuesday afternoon. Tuvalu, a tiny island nation already being forced to plan for the displacement of its population, had just changed the course of the negotiations. Tuvalu, supported by over 100 countries was standing up for a legally-binding and enforceable agreement as opposed to a political one. Less than an hour after hearing the news of Tuvalu’s brave actions, organizations and youth mobilized to make signs and rally inside the Bella Center to say “Tuvalu is the Real Deal” and “Stand with Tuvalu”. By Friday the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) had submitted a formal proposal that finally put a real climate deal on the table in Copenhagen.

Before I offer a few things you should know about week 1, I want to offer two priorities for the final week:

1. Raise Expectations by Supporting Real Leaders
The final week is all about holding heads of state accountable for a writing a real deal. To raise expectations, we must generate a groundswell of citizen support for the demands of small island states, Africa, and other vulnerable nations inside of COP15. These brave leaders are calling for exactly what we want – a fair, ambitious, and binding treaty that gets us to 350 ppm and limits warming to 1.5 degrees C. We need to remind our leaders that our fates are bound together. By ensuring survival for the world’s most vulnerable we can avoid climate tipping points that would put all of our futures in jeopardy.

2. Stop a Greenwash
We need to draw a bright line between a real deal and a greenwash. Coalitions of nations have formed to create loopholes in everything from how we account for forest emissions reductions to whether we will create additional funds for adaptation and technology transfer or steal money from existing aid budgets. Despite a new administration, the United States remains the central figure keeping global ambitions low at COP15. When countries try to water down a deal, we need to be ready to respond both in Copenhagen and back home on a dime. If the deal is riddled with loopholes, sets emission targets too low, does not include strong long-term financing for developing countries, or is not legally-binding, it simply will not work. With 110+ heads of state putting their credibility on the line in Copenhagen, the risks for an empty political deal rather than a real deal could not be higher.

With those priorities in mind, here’s what you should know about what happened in week 1:

Small Islands and Africa Stood Up for A Real Deal

- On Tuesday and Wednesday COP plenaries were suspended as Tuvalu, supported by more than 100 countries and civil society groups, stood up for a legally-binding treaty.

- On Friday, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a key bloc of 43 countries, put forth a proposal for a fair, ambitious, and legally-binding treaty that would keep temperatures below 1.5 degrees C and rapidly decrease carbon levels to 350 parts per million.

- Wealthy countries came closer together this week on a number of issues while attempting to divide poor countries. I heard reports of intimidation tactics being used on Tuvalu for their bold actions.

- While speaking to NGOs the lead delegate for the G77 called the goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees C “certain death for Africa and AOSIS”. He called for radical reductions of emissions from developed countries- 52% by 2017, 65% by 2020, 80% by 2030, and well above 100% by 2030. He called the $10 billion/year climate finance proposal “pittance” and called for something like the Marshall Plan, which dedicated 3.2% of the US economy after WWII.

The World Stood up for A Real Deal
- All weekend more than 150,000 people joined the largest climate demonstration in history in Copenhagen, including tens of thousands in Australia, and thousands more in more than 3000 vigils worldwide, all calling for climate justice and a real deal.
- More than 1200 people were arrested in a much criticized crackdown by police in response to a few small skirmishes and minor property damage. The rallies wer overwhelmingly peaceful, beautiful, and positive. At the end of the Saturday march there was a moving candlelight vigil just outside the Bella Center with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, and forty children.
- Using media stunts, e-activism, and the mobilizations we defined a successful outcome for Copenhagen as a “real deal” with $200 billion in finance for developing country adaptation and technology transfer per year by 2020, a global peak year in emissions by 2015, and a legally binding treaty.

The EU, Japan, and other wealthy nations failed to lead
- Despite pressure from youth, aliens from Planet B, and groups like Avaaz.org and Oxfam, Japan and the EU have so far passed on the opportunity lead on a strong and long-term global finance package for developing country adaptation and technology transfer.
- Japan strongly opposed setting a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, winning “Fossil of the Day” on Kyoto’s twelfth birthday on Friday.
- The EU put forth a “fast-start finance” proposal for $10 billion by 2012. Unfortunately Germany missed an opportunity to ensure the money was new and additional to existing commitments, leaving the value of the proposal greatly diminished.
- Poland blocked a decision to raise the EU’s emission target to 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 from 20%.
- Many wealthy nations are waiting for heads of state to arrive next Wednesday before making tough decisions and moving the ball forward.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• There’s still talk of a hostile takeover of Cadbury by Kraft (or possibly Hershey), but not if the Cadbury workers have anything to say about it.
• It’s not about “food miles” people, it’s about this… “every dollar spent at a locally owned business generates two to four times the income, wealth and jobs than at an equivalent nonlocal business”. THAT’S why we should all eat and shop locally.
• Pizza Napoletana (Margherita pizza to those of us outside Italy) has received TSG (traditional speciality guaranteed) certification in the EU. So don’t you go and mess with it by adding some crap like pineapple.
• Think of how scary fast food meat is… and now imagine feeding schoolchildren something even worse. It’s not a nightmare, it’s true.
• It’s not worth a tweet if you have to act like a twit – do we really need every single thing we eat documented for posterity?
• The decade has been good for food – reviewing the trends of the noughties.
• How to deal with a menu full of ingredients you’ve never heard of before.
• Well, that’s a start - farmers have won a lawsuit against Bayer for contaminating the US rice crop with GM rice. Now what about all those farmers who got screwed by Monsanto in similar situations?

Item #1

Question for Bill O’Reilly: Who’s the Idiot Now?

By Cliff Kincaid 2007 interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” O’Reilly said not only that “global warming is here” but that those opposed to the theory were “idiots.”

To read these stories look under our national and international news section at:
http://www.worldviewtimes.com/news

• Oklahoma’s Two U.S. Senators Ready To Debate Health Care Bill
• Obama Buys The Last Vote for $100 Million
• BREAKING: San Diego ACORN Document Dump Scandal
• Tampa Council approves transgender protections
• Coca-Cola spearheads 1-world climate tax
• Gold hits record above $1,170/oz
• Ex-FBI agent who watched JFK autopsy reflects on death
• Global body needed to direct green technology, G77 says

Item #2

Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse
Topic One: Brannon’s guest is Tom DeWeese with the American Policy Center. Topics include: An update on the Pass Act, the replacement for the real I.D., a national I.D. cart. Defining sustainable development, the real agenda of those pushing global warming and radical environmentalism is global governance. How a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allows the EPA under the Obama administration to destroy the free-market, eliminate millions of jobs and drastically increase the cost of everything. What four things can the American people do to pull the rug out from under those that are seeking to implement tyranny?

Item #3

Copenhagen confusion
By Henry Lamb
More than 14,000 people have pre-registered to attend the shindig in Copenhagen next week, none of whom are delegates. The facility, which accommodates only 15,000 people, will be overrun by special interest groups, all clamoring for attention and a piece of the $94 billion pie that is divided annually among the global warming congregation.

Item #4

The Waste of Tax Dollars Never Ends
By Tom DeWeese
The nation is collapsing under the federal deficit and Washington can’t find a dime to cut from the budget. Here’s an idea. Stop the Obama phone. What’s the Obama phone, you ask? Well then, that tells me something important about you – you aren’t on welfare – you are just a stupid tax payer. Because everybody on the dole knows about the Obama phone.

Item #5

Understanding The Times with Jan Markell
The Battle for America Bill Wilson is an award-winning Christian journalist and also a part of Koenig’s International News. He states we have a war within America, enormously destructive without shedding blood. All of the new Washington efforts have only one goal: To bring about socialism in America. Dr. Michael Youssef offers some answers as to what we can do about it. Jan also brings an update on the “Fairness Doctrine.”

Item #6

Don’t Let This Happen in America!
By Jan Markell
You might think this cannot happen in America. A young Muslim woman converts to Christianity and both Islam and the State of Ohio are working against her. Political paybacks are more important than her life. And what is happening as I write this is chilling because the fate of many more hang in the balance if this woman loses.

Item #7

Israeli Intel Says Iran Now Has Know-How to Build Nuclear Weapons
By Joel Rosenberg
Three dangerous developments this week in the epicenter. First, “Iran now has the technical capability to build a nuclear bomb and the only thing separating it from the bomb is the decision to go ahead and build one, said Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence’s research division, on Monday,” according to a Jerusalem Post report. “Baidatz also said that Iran had been upgrading its missile arsenal, and that it had developed missiles with the capability of carrying nuclear weapons that could reach Israel.”

Item #8

Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse
Topic one: Wall street Journal runs article on the number of couples in their thirties and forties that are buying land. The reasons include the desire to be self sufficient, simplifying, and investing in a hard asset. Topic Two: Tennessee mayor says Obama gave speech on night of Charlie Brown special in order to keep the real story of Christmas being told on national TV. The mayor also says that Obama is a Muslim. This story is making national news. Topic Three: Part two of Brannon’s presentation on true and false converts.

Item #9

The Bush-Obama War
By Chuck Baldwin
Now it’s Barack Obama’s war. After campaigning against “George Bush’s War” in the Middle East, Obama has escalated that war. By transferring thousands of America’s forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, and by sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, the liberal Democrat has demonstrated that his administration is not so different from that of his “conservative” Republican predecessor.

Item #10

Wallbuilders Live with David Barton
“Why Does Africa Remain Broken?” Guest: Robert Smith, Agathos Foundation

To read more worldview news and commentary: www.christianworldviewnetwork.com

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• The terroir of oysters – the same variety, raised in different places, have a different taste.
• Could you manage Christmas dinner without shopping at a supermarket?
• Chicago architects recreate local landmarks out of gingerbread.
• That old wive’s tale about drinking coffee to cure drunkenness? Turns out coffee increases intoxication.
• DNA mapping has been used to trace the origin of sharks that have been slaughtered for shark fin soup. Turns out, a lot of them come from American waters.
• “…a movement now associated with elite foodies will always be associated with elite foodies.” Why good, sustainable food bypasses the people who need it most.
• Can the sustainable food model ever translate to a large scale restaurant operation? And how to customers who thought otherwise feel when they discover that their dinner comes from a corporation and not a small family farm?
• The world’s most extravagant meals – I’ve actually done one of these, which makes me feel ever so chichi… although it was comped; I’m still a poor food writer and not a gastronomic high roller.
• Speaking of extravagant – how much would you pay for a bottle of cognac that was over 200 years old?
• The weird and wonderful ways of vintage beer can collectors.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• You get a flu shot to prevent getting sick – should the same logic apply to vaccinating cows against e.coli? Or should consumers be insisting on better, safer processing methods and cows not fed on corn and soy?
• So what exactly can you do with a 15-year-old cheddar? Pair it with a nice wine or beer – don’t cook with it.
• Why so much extra space in the bag? Manufacturers’ various explanations as to why there’s so much air in the package.
• Do the holidays play havoc with your hips? This slideshow of suspect foods shows what to avoid. I take umbrage with the inclusion of fruitcake, though. They aren’t all full of crap.
• And if you’re a sucker for punishment, here’s some more foods to avoid because they’re not “clean” – that is they’re full of pesticides or are unsustainable. (But they all taste better with a sprinkling of paranoia on top.)
• That familiar old KitKat bar will be going Fair Trade – in Ireland and the UK at least.
• In the US, there’s still lots of resistance to smoking bans in bars, and with fines of only $25 in some places, bar owners find it’s worth it to pay the fine and let the smokers light up.
• The not so virtuous greens – shoppers who buy organic food and “green” products are more likely to steal.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Here in Toronto, we’ve had gun amnesty programs where you turn in a gun and get a camera – in the poorest part of New Jersey, they’re offering food for guns.
• They say, ‘never trust a skinny chef”, but on the other hand, if someone who is surrounded by incredible food all day every day can get healthy (note, I didn’t say “get skinny”), the average Joe or Jane should be able to as well.
• Buttermilk is the milk left over from making butter – it’s not milk with butter in it. Which explains why it’s so hard to find a product that isn’t the “low-fat” version – because people are apparently scared of butter and don’t know the difference.
• Attack of the killer tomatoes – you know that fuzzy underside of the leaves of the tomato plant? Turns out it works really well at trapping and killing tasty bugs.
• The idea of eating raw eggs might make you think of Rocky, or worry about salmonella, but it’s been part of the foodways of many cultures for centuries.
• Would it be possible to forage a week’s worth of food… in a city? I’ve often though of this, actually, but it involved foraging from the landscaping displays in the business district – all those tasty pansies and purple kale, free for the taking!
• City folk have a romanticized version of what it would be live to buy a small farm and move to the country – apparently it’s not as idyllic as it would seem.
• And finally, yes, those really are cakes.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Just when you think the UK might be leading the charge when it comes to getting people to eat sustainable, healthy food, along comes a guy in Britain who changes his legal name because he loves corn chips so much. Mr. Monster Munch eats three bags of the things a day.
• All those little labels and symbols on your food that are supposed to tell you how eco-friendly it is… what do they really mean?
• After a BBC documentary that ran last month, supermarket chains in Britain have come under fire for – and are making changes to – their use of palm oil, which is known for being unsustainable, causing deforestation, loss of orangutan habitat and is associated with human rights abuses.
• Do you eat differently now than you did 10 years ago? Most people do.
• As in all things, moderation is probably the key – dragees (aka. those awesome little silver balls that go on pastries) are not technically edible, and the silver can build up in the body over time. But a few at Christmas won’t kill ya.
• Heston Blumenthal moves on from a crappy year when 40 diners in his restaurant got sick (The Fat Duck is considering legal action against their oyster supplier) and plans a Christmas feast.
• There’s so much debate about soy, but some studies are showing that a diet rich in soy might lower rates of ovarian cancer.
• “These aren’t as good as the ones I had in Paris.” Pretentious foodie wanks will now be able to get their macaron fix at Starbucks, while waving their dicks at the same time.

More than 30 youth from Australia, Mexico, India, Sweden, the US, Germany, and around the world  staged a “die-in” today outside the main plenary at COP15 with the message – “The World Wants a Real Deal” and “Real Deal Saves Lives”.

A real deal was in jeopardy today as speculation emerged that the EU and Japan may steal billions of dollars from humanitarian aid budgets in order to offer it in a global climate deal. With more than 100 heads of state coming to Copenhagen next week it is hard to believe they would leave without some sort of agreement. The question now is – will they settle on a real deal or empty promises?

A real deal in Copenhagen means three things:
Real Science. A Global Peak in Emissions by 2015.
To save lives and avoid critical climate tipping points, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015, and atmospheric concentrations must rapidly decline to stable, safe level at 350ppm CO2e.

Real Money. $200 billion/year by 2020.

Developed countries need to provide at least US$200 billion in public financing per year by 2020, in addition to existing aid commitments, for developing country adaptation and mitigation actions.

Real Teeth. A Legally-Binding Treaty.
Leaders must agree at Copenhagen to sign a legally binding, enforceable treaty as soon as possible.

With climate change already causing 300,000 deaths every year, scientists and citizens worldwide have made it clear that anything short of a real deal in Copenhagen is unacceptable. More than 1500 climate vigils are already being planned for this Saturday, 12/12 all over the world to take the message that “The World Wants a Real Deal” beyond Copenhagen.

As we lay on the ground representing victims from flood, famine, and disease with eyes shut, we felt the pulse of cameras from more than 18 different news outlets. Shortly after the action the Guardian posted word on their front page – in a live blog from Copenhagen (See 3:10pm). The action has only just begun!

• View more Copenhagen action photos.
• Follow more actions throughout COP – @COPActions on Twitter.

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• In case you were wondering, diets don’t work. Jenny Craig didn’t work for Kirstie Alley and in the long run, the Subway diet apparently didn’t work for poor ol’ Jared.
• Heck of a Job, Brownie – the Bush years in food art.
• After three years of no profits and issues with unions, Gordon Ramsay hands over control of his NYC restaurant to a franchisee.
• Tips for making candy this holiday season – which happen to explain why my pralines went grainy (too much stirring – D’oh!).
• Oh my darlin’… it’s clementine season!
• People think food writers live on foie gras and truffles all the time, but we like our little bits of processed comfort food, especially when we’re sick.
• In NYC, the ice cream trucks don’t disappear in the winter, they serve soup instead. Awesome!
• Eighteen months after Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food series, the city of Rotherham has embraced the concept and claimed it as their own when the city council there took over management of the local program.
• Has dining gotten too casual, or do we need to bring back the tablecloth?

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• All the things the waiter never tells you – like where the dessert really comes from.
• Meatless meals, beer, pot roast, afternoon tea and eating out for breakfast – restaurant trend predictions for 2010.
• What exactly should you do when ginormous fast food sculptures appear on your front lawn?
• When you eat could be as much of an influence on your weight as what you eat.
• Gordon Ramsay has a reputation for being a bit screamy but the head chef at his 3-star Chelsea restaurant is cool as a cucumber – and a woman.
• Pre-made heat and serve thingies or oysters and chopped liver… what makes a perfect holiday canape?
• Urban farming is reshaping cities and people everywhere are jumping on board – but what about the suburbs?
• Hey, you poor people, get your hands off our good, fair, sustainable food. Why the “good food revolution” still faces the hurdle of hypocrisy.