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Afrikaans :  Geseënde Kersfees

Afrikander :  Een Plesierige Kerfees

African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja :  Rehus-Beal-Ledeats

Albanian : Gezur Krislinjden

Arabic :  Milad Majid

Argentine :  Feliz Navidad

Armenian :  Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand

Azeri :  Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun

Bahasa Malaysia :  Selamat Hari Natal

Basque :  Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!

Bengali :  Shuvo Naba Barsha

Bohemian :  Vesele Vanoce

Brazilian :  Feliz Natal

Breton :  Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat

Bulgarian :  Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo

Catalan :  Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!

Chile :  Feliz Navidad

Chinese :  (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Chinese :  (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Choctaw :  Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito

Columbia :  Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo

Cornish :  Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth

Corsian :  Pace e salute

Crazanian :  Rot Yikji Dol La Roo

Cree :  Mitho Makosi Kesikansi

Croatian :  Sretan Bozic

Czech :  Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish :  Glædelig Jul

Duri :  Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak

Dutch :  Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast

English :  Merry Christmas

Eskimo :  (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!

Esperanto :  Gajan Kristnaskon

Estonian :  Ruumsaid juulup|hi

Ethiopian :  (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal

Faeroese :  Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!

Farsi :  Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Finnish :  Hyvaa joulua

Flemish :  Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar

French :  Joyeux Noel

Frisian :  Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!

Galician :  Bo Nada

Gaelic :  Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!

German :  Fröhliche Weihnachten

Greek :  Kala Christouyenna!

Haiti :  (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri’cho o Rish D’Shato Brichto

Hausa :  Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaiian :  Mele Kalikimaka

Hebrew :  Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Hindi :  Shub Naya Baras

Hausa :  Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaian :  Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Hungarian :  Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket

Icelandic :  Gledileg Jol

Indonesian :  Selamat Hari Natal

Iraqi :  Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Irish :  Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Iroquois :  Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.

Italian :  Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese :  Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Jiberish :  Mithag Crithagsigathmithags

Korean :  Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Lao :  souksan van Christmas

Latin :  Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Latvian :  Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!

Lausitzian : Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto

Lettish :  Priecigus Ziemassvetkus

Lithuanian :  Linksmu Kaledu

Low Saxon :  Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar

Macedonian :  Sreken Bozhik

Maltese :  IL-Milied It-tajjeb

Manx :  Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa

Maori :  Meri Kirihimete

Marathi :  Shub Naya Varsh

Navajo :  Merry Keshmish

Norwegian :  God Jul, or Gledelig Jul

Occitan :  Pulit nadal e bona annado

Papiamento :  Bon Pasco

Papua New Guinea :  Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu

Pennsylvania German :  En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!

Peru :  Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo

Philipines :  Maligayan Pasko!

Polish :  Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie

Portuguese : Feliz Natal

Pushto :  Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha

Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua

Rhetian :  Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn

Romanche :  (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!

Rumanian :  Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit

Russian :  Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom

Sami :  Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan :  La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Sardinian :  Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou

Serbian :  Hristos se rodi

Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce

Sami: Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan :  La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Scots Gaelic :  Nollaig chridheil huibh

Serbian: Hristos se rodi.

Singhalese :  Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa

Slovak :  Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Slovene :  Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto

Spanish :  Feliz Navidad

Swedish :  God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År

Tagalog : Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon

Tami :  Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal

Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!

Thai :  Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas

Turkish :  Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian :  Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM

Urdu :  Naya Saal Mubarak Ho

Vietnamese :  Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh :  Nadolig Llawen

Yoruba :  E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!

*************************************

Click on the map for a larger version (1280 x 898 pixels).

The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 9-15 December 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.

• The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
• Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
• The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.

New activity/unrest: Concepción (Nicaragua), Galeras (Colombia), Mayon (Philippines), Piton de la Fournaise (Réunion), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat).

Ongoing activity: Chaitén (Chile), Dukono (Indonesia), Fuego (Guatemala), Karymsky (Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Manam (Papua New Guinea), Nevado del Huila (Colombia), Pacaya (Guatemala), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Sakura-jima (Japan), Santa María (Guatemala), Shiveluch (Russia), Suwanose-jima (Japan).

Note: a.s.l. = ‘above sea level’.

NEW ACTIVITY/UNREST

Concepción (Nicaragua). On 11 December an explosion of ash and gas produced a plume that rose 150 m above the crater. Ashfall was reported in three nearby communities.

Galeras (Colombia). An overflight on 3 December revealed thermal anomalies in the main crater measuring 155 degrees Celsius. During 8-11 December, seismic activity decreased although some seismic signals resembled patterns seen prior to previous eruptions. Sulphur dioxide emissions were low. On 12 December seismicity increased, and during 12-15 December earthquakes of up to magnitude 2.2 were detected within 2 km of the summit and at depths of up to 3 km below the summit. The Alert Level was raised to II (Orange: ‘eruption probable within days or weeks’).

Mayon (Philippines). On 11 December an explosion was detected by the seismic network. On 14 December incandescence emanated from the lava dome in the summit crater and incandescent material traveled as far as 3 km down the S and SE flanks. At least five minor explosions were detected by the seismic network. Some local ashfall was reported. The Alert Level was raised to 3, prompting the order to evacuate about 50,000 people living within an 8-km radius from the base of the volcano.

Piton de la Fournaise (Réunion). On 14 December an eruption was preceded by a seismic crisis and summit deformation. Sub-parallel fissures along the rim of Dolomieu crater fed lava flows on the S slope. A third fissure that also produced lava flows opened on the E flank. The lava stopped flowing during the night after a gradual decrease. On 15 December, gas was emitted from the S and SE fractures and low-intensity tremor was detected.

Soufrière Hills (Montserrat). During 4-11 December activity from the lava dome continued at a high level and pyroclastic flow activity was concentrated on the N side. Pyroclastic flows traveled as far as 2 km NW into Tyers Ghaut and NE in abundance down Tuitt’s Ghaut, and sometimes Whites Bottom Ghaut, continuing onto Farrell’s plain. A few small pyroclastic flows also descended the Tar River valley to the E. On 10 December a large seismic signal was associated with a relatively large pyroclastic flow in Tyers Ghaut that traveled 3.5 km, stopping just beyond the W end of Lee’s village. The event prompted the National Disaster Preparedness and Response Advisory Committee (NDPRAC) to raise the Hazard Level to 4, restricting the hours residents can enter certain pre-designated hazard areas.

ONGOING ACTIVITY

Chaitén (Chile). On 12 December Buenos Aires VAAC reported that a steam-and-gas plume from the lava-dome complex drifted SE at 1.5-2.1 km a.s.l.

Dukono (Indonesia). During 9-11 December during 9-11 December ash plumes rose to 3 km a.s.l. and drifted 90-130 km E and SE.

Fuego (Guatemala). Explosions on 11, 14 and 15 December produced ash plumes that rose to 4.1-4.7 km a.s.l. and drifted 8-12 km W and SW. Incandescence from the main crater and rumbling noises were noted. Avalanches descended the S and W flanks. Washington VAAC reported that on 12 December a gas-and-ash plume drifted 20 km W. On 15 December ashfall was reported in areas to the SW.

Karymsky (Russia). Analyses of satellite imagery revealed a thermal anomaly during 3 and 6-7 December. Ash deposits extended 45 km SE on 6 December. A new lava flow was seen on the S flank on 8 December. Seismic data were seldom available due to technical problems. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Kilauea (Hawaii, USA). During 9-15 December lava flowed SE from beneath the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex through a lava tube system, reaching the ocean at multiple locations between Waikupanaha and areas farther to the W. Towards the beginning of the reporting period thermal anomalies detected by satellite and visual observations revealed occasional active lava flows. Incandescence was seen almost daily from Pu’u ‘O’o crater. The vent in Halema’uma’u crater continued to produce an off-white plume that drifted predominantly to the SW, dropping small amounts of ash downwind. Incandescence originated from a few holes in the deep floor of the vent cavity. On 13 December, lava ponded on the floor, crusted over, and blocked the holes. Incandescence was again visible the next
night.

Kliuchevskoi (Russia). During 4-11 December seismic activity was above background levels and lava continued to flow down the ESE flank. Strombolian activity ejected tephra 200-300 m above the crater. During 5-9 December gas-and-steam plumes containing small amounts of ash rose to 6.3 km a.s.l. and drifted E. Satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly at the volcano. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Manam (Papua New Guinea). On 12 December Darwin VAAC reported an eruption that produced a plume that rose to 3 km a.s.l. and drifted 75 km N.

Nevado del Huila (Colombia). On 10 December Washington VAAC reported that an ash plume rose to 7 km a.s.l. and drifted S. Ash was not identified in satellite imagery due to meteorological clouds in the area. During 9-15 December seismic signals indicated occasional gas-and-ash emissions. White and bluish gas plumes seen on the web camera rose 2 km. Overflights revealed that the lava dome continued to grow and emit gases.

Pacaya (Guatemala). White and blue fumarolic plumes from MacKenney cone rose up 100 m and drifted S on 11, 14 and 15 December. Multiple lava flows on the S flank traveled 25-350 m. Incandescence from one of the inter-crater cones was noted.

Rabaul (Papua New Guinea). Strong explosions followed by emissions of grey ash occurred from Tavurvur cone towards the beginning of the 4-10 December reporting period. Diffuse white vapor was emitted during quieter intervals. Ash plumes rose 1 km above the summit and drifted SE towards Tokua and the Tokua airport, causing suspension of some flights. Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 14 December an ash plume rose to 2.1 km a.s.l. and drifted 35 km SE.

Sakura-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported that explosions during 9-15 December produced plumes that rose to 1.8-2.4 km a.s.l. and drifted NE, E, SE and S. On 14 December a pilot reported that an ash plume drifted S at 2.7 km a.s.l.

Santa María (Guatemala). On 11, 14 and 15 December explosions from the Santiaguito lava dome complex produced ash plumes that rose to 2.8-3.5 km a.s.l. and drifted W and SW. Avalanches occasionally descended the SE flank of the dome. On 15 December, explosions generated pyroclastic flows that descended the E and SW flanks.

Shiveluch (Russia). During 4-11 December seismic activity was above background levels, possibly indicating ash plumes rising to an altitude of 5.5 km a.s.l. Fumarolic activity was seen with a video camera. Analyses of satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly from the lava dome and an ash plume drifting 85 km SE on 6 December. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange. Tokyo VAAC reported that on 13 December an eruption produced a plume that rose to 5.8 km a.s.l.

Suwanose-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported eruptions on 14 and 15 December. Plumes rose to 1.2-1.5 km a.s.l. and drifted E.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLAIMER

The foregoing is a summary of the Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report covering 9-15 November 2009. It is provided for information only, and is based on but not a substitute for the full report, which comes with its own criteria and disclaimers. The map base is derived from the Smithsonian Institution/USGS/US Naval Research Laboratory This Dynamic Planet website.

For all our coverage of the SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports: Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports « The Volcanism Blog.

I hope you keep your nose clean in 2010!

Originally uploaded by M e l o d y

When I told him that I was going to use the ‘nose pickin’ shot for our Christmas photo, he protested loudly. So I asked, “Then why did you stick your fingers up your nose?” And he looked at me like why – would – I- not?  Oh, the innocence of being eight.

remembering being eight

When I was eight my parents decided to move. We were pulled out of school in tropical Papua New Guinea where we had grown up.  We were put up a grade level, when we arrived in southern California.

My few memories of that time were not understanding what was going on at school, having a make fun of me, having an Aussie accent, missing my life long friend Carol, all of a sudden noticing clothes.  Bell bottoms were in and my father had white leather shoes and belt, which he wore with brown bell bottoms and a dark shirt Oh yeah, he was stylin’!

We took vacations to woods of northern California to visit my aunt Beth and uncle Loren (my father’s sister) and and got to sleep in a tent. Picking blackberries and then eating the best blackberry cobbler in the world made by my aunt, warm from the oven! We also visited cousins over Christmas, also in northern California, who were older  by a few years, and I thought were cool! They listened to “Rock Music” which my father thought was “of the Devil” — which made them even more cool.

But I also remember this was when I started not doing homework. Thinking I wasn’t smart. Hiding in my room. Trying to be invisible. Reading thousands of books, while I was hiding in my room, being invisible and not doing homework.  (This happened later in Texas as well.)

traditions past and present

Now I have my own family and I’m trying to figure out what traditions from our childhood are important to me. We had things imposed up on us when we were children. It was never “shall we read a Christmas story together?” but rather “Come in here and listen to Dad read a story. Now!” I mean what kid doesn’t want a story read to them? Unless they are never given the option to say no. Sorry, I digress.

Traditions: Reading Christmas stories, putting together a Christmas puzzle, cutting down our tree and putting it up over Thanksgiving weekend, baking Christmas cookies and sharing them with friends and neighbors, making fudge for friends & Tom’s colleagues, going to church on Christmas eve, … what are your favorites? I told you I’m working on developing mine.

dwelling on the past

I’ve have felt convicted of the fact that I dwell so much on the past. It’s true that I do at times seem stuck and unable to let go of my past. Unable to resolve things in the past and unable to live in the now. Guilty as charged.  My excuse to myself is that I have a memoir in there and I need to get it written and then let it go.  We’ll see.

friendship

Of late, I’ve also been convicted of the fact that I am not a very good friend. I am so afraid of rejection and I am lazy. My feelings parallel the feelings of my kids at times and I am saddened because I am 43. I should be at a better place. If it’s any consolation, our matriarch is even more isolated than I am.

buy nothing for myself

You may have been wondering how the ‘buy nothing for myself for 365 days” project is going? I made that pledge to myself on October 7th and thus far I have stuck to it. I can’t tell you how many times I have this impulse to go shop for myself because I was feeling down. It’s like crack! But the high doesn’t last.

So no, I have not bought:

• a new coat, though mine feel out of date (as in not bought this year.)
• new boots, even though boots are ‘it’ this year, long leather boots. And mine are almost ten years old and my brown pair are suede.  Who buys suede boots in Wisconsin, though beautiful they just might be the most impractical thing I have ever purchased.  You can’t wear them 90% of the year because of a) snow or b) it’s too warm.  …But no I haven’t bought either brown or black.
• I didn’t buy a Christmas outfit which ended up being no big deal.  I mean what is that anyway.  I don’t really like any of the red in my closet.  “I’m not a red person” as my kiddos would say, though I’ve been told I look good in it.  My son says he’s not a “collar person.” Sigh, we still have some work to do.
• I haven’t purchased pants even though mine are all tight (e.g. I am fat) and I’m just going to have to lose the weight.
• Not bought new tights even though some oldies have holes.  (Sorry) Wear them with pants.
• And I have not bought the cute, cute cute hats at the craft shows I’ve attended, and pins, and … stop.

I go to my closet daily (like everyone does) and I try to come up with something interesting and I have to say that it has been fun. I appreciate what I have much, much, much more.  I have been more creative and I often find myself thinking, “What- were- you- thinking?” when you bought that!?  Because I don’t try anything on so I have lots of things that fit only so so. What a stupid thing.

When I do shop for myself again, in 2010, October, I will always try it on, I will care about quality over price, perhaps spend a little more on things that I know I will wear a lot. The quantity of my shopping in the past has forced me to buy lower quality and as I look at what I have I am seeing it differently all of a sudden. Truly seeing my stuff is priceless.

And finally, (I hope you will) watch this astoundingly simple and profoundly good video on consumerism.

http://qideas.org/video/consumerism.aspx

I have to admit that it is difficult to not get caught up in the idea that Christmas is about presents.  I love giving them!  But, it’s all a part of a giant addiction too and I for one want to quit.

As for my other ones, I am happy to say that I am alcohol free 17 mos, and nicotine free 9 months!  Yay me.  I am proud of myself.  Though it hasn’t been all me – having a family keeps me accountable.  And I do believe that God is giving me extra strength to endure times when it may be difficult.

This is not some official report on the year, just had a number of things bubbling around in my brain.

P.S.  I did NOT use this photo for our Christmas photograph. 

Discussions at these climate talks are often in a highly specialized language that some of us like to call “Alphabet Soup” – because it is conducted almost entirely in acronyms. One such cup o’ soup we’ve been hearing a lot about lately is REDD, which stands for “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.” So I thought I’d give you an as-brief-as-possible update on where the negotiations on REDD are at, and what we’re pushing for.

Stopping the deforestation and degradation of tropical forests is one of the quickest and most effective ways to reduce emissions quickly. And REDD can achieve a very substantial amount of emissions reductions.

As much sense as REDD makes, however, there are of course those countries who are undermining efforts aimed at writing a strong and effective REDD program into the climate deal being worked on here at the UN climate summit. And as is unfortunately true on far too many issues, the US is one of the major roadblocks. In fact, the US just won a “Fossil of the Day” award (which it shared with Colombia) for its obstructionist stance on the REDD issue (one of three Fossils it was awarded in the past two days, no less). The US and Colombia received this “slightly sarcastic yet highly prestigious” honor for moving REDD discussions in the wrong direction and delaying a draft text delivery to ministers, who will hammer out the final text to be presented to heads of state when they arrive later in the week. Both the US and Colombia are also supporters of what’s known as the sub-national or project approach to REDD.

We’re pushing hard for a national approach to REDD. The problem with managing REDD on a project-by-project or sub-national basis is that if you stop forest destruction in one place, it could just move to another part of the country. A national overview of all REDD projects and the emissions reductions achieved through them could prevent that from happening. The US is pushing for the project-by-project approach because it would benefit US corporate polluters who expect to receive cheap offset credits for investing in forestry projects abroad so they can continue to pollute at home.

On Monday the Rainforest Coalition led by Papua New Guinea opposed this approach and joined with the EU and Brazil in their demand for a national approach. We’re still waiting to see how this plays out and of course throwing as much support behind the national approach as we can (and lest you doubt that support will make a difference, check out who’s number four on this list of the most influential players here at the UN climate summit – ahead of President Obama, even!).

Another issue reaching a critical juncture in the REDD negotiations is the global goal for deforestation. We’re calling for zero deforestation by 2020, but as you might imagine there are attempts to water this target down by countries looking to avoid taking real action. The EU supports a goal of halving deforestation in developing countries by 2020 and stopping all deforestation in developing countries by 2030. Yet even this inadequate goal was recently undermined by an announcement from the UK, who proposed financing to halt only 25% of emissions by 2015.

Financing of forest protection is yet another issue coming to a head here. To achieve the full emissions reductions that are possible through REDD, the rich countries that are most responsible for causing the climate crisis must set up a global fund of USD 42 billion (30 billion euros) annually and make it immediately available to all countries with tropical forests. They must also make sure that the forest protection plans are set up in ways that protect wildlife and the rights of indigenous and local people.

These are just some of the key issues being worked on here as negotiators attempt to hammer out a plan for using REDD to tackle climate change. There are several more, but these are some of the main issues and this post has already gone on long enough, so I’ll stop there.

Image: Over 50 Greenpeace activists from the Climate Defenders Camp on the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia take action against deforestation — unfurling a 20 x 30 meter banner in a freshly destroyed area of rainforest that read ‘Obama you can stop this’, urging him to take strong leadership and work closely with other Heads of State to help avert a climate crisis by ending global deforestation, responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. © Greenpeace / John Novis

Mike G.

Climate Change has become the number one issue here in Australia this year. Our politicians are debating it in parliament and even losing their jobs because over it, water issues such as the Traviston Dam continue to concern communities and rallies have been held around the country to send a message to leaders in Copenhagen.

Climate Change has also become a feature in the realm of photography too and I just discovered yet another competition seeking entrants for images documenting the process – see http://www.hpcapturechange.in.com/

I took part in the Canvas for Change competition with Oxfam last year and became a finalist. I can’t find the link now where you voted for images, but the winners are listed here. I always find it’s hard to compete as a photographer with fine artists and illustrators but I was pleased to be short listed. Here is the image I submitted which I thought might be of interest to those concerned with Climate Change.

The Sea is Coming

The Motuans live in houses built on stilts over the sea on the southeastern coast of Papua New Guinea. As climate change effects sea levels the tides are inching closer to these peoples homes. In some parts of PNG rising waters have already swamped farms, destroyed crops and forced people to move and become climate refugees.

——–

Feel free to email Jo at admin@visitedplanet.com with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

Today i thought i would draw your attention to the fact that i have been out of the country in Papua New Guinea for a few weeks working voluntary on a Rotary Club Project. It was a humbling experience and we helped a great number of people with medical aid, school book, clothes and so much more. That said the point of this blog was demonstrate that Send Out Cards offers a powerful online system and global data base that you can access anywhere in the world. I found myself sitting at an airport for a few hours before i boarded my plane, so i logged into my system and sent a 3 touch card campaign to 100 business prospects that i had previously spoken to. I staggered the cards so that they would receive the first one in about 4 days, then 5 days after that and then the day i was scheduled to return 2 weeks later. All i had to do then was to call or email to say hi. Of course they all thought i was only sending them cards, it took me 5 mins and no one even knew i wasn’t in the country. My business actually increased while i was away for 3 weeks in a developing country! Just imagine how you could use this system in your business.

 I offer a powerful, yet simple business client retention tool. For further information please don’t hesitate to visit www.mycardteacher.com for further information or contact me at rod@mycardteacher.com

 To give you an example of what I was up to with the Rotary Club please see the video below:

It feels a bit geeky to write this (it might be the LSE spirit influencing me), but I find this video-clip below as interesting as anything available on YouTube. This clip, from the COP13 Conference on Bali in 2007, shows two things. 1: The UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer’s breakdown says everything about how exhausting it can be to be in the middle of such complex negotiations as the ones taking place in Copenhagen right now, and 2: One single, well-timed comment from one single delegation, no matter how small, can sometimes make a big difference in the overall game of power.

A short introduction: In my blog yesterday I mentioned the high-profile Papua New Guinea envoy Kevin Conrad, who has already left his mark on COP15 in Copenhagen. And as the second part of this video shows, he certainly did so on Bali two years ago:

But, as often is in UN negotiations, things aren’t just as simple as they seem to be. Conrad has later admitted that both the US and the EU were set up. But while the EU saw were it was all heading and accepted the text as it was, the US didn’t. Not until after the embarrassment. And, of course, Papua New Guinea was backed by e.g. China and India in their demand. But at least this somewhat famous episode shows that the US’s structural leadership isn’t the only thing that matters in these negotiations.

The general divide in the negotiations runs between developed and developing countries, and this divide has become very clear since a draft from the Danish hosts were leaked to The Guardian on Tuesday. The proposed agreement, which can be read in full here, caused outrage among the G77 nations, who accused the host-nation of favouring the interest of the richer parts of the world.

‘Your prime minister have chosen to protect the rich countries. This is not ok. One should listen to every country. That’s what democracy is about’, said the G77 chairman Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping to the Danish newspaper Politiken. According to the leaked draft the developing countries should commit themselves to more emission reductions, and at the same time the controversial World Bank should replace the UN in controlling the money-flows from rich to poor countries.

The leaked draft seems more than anything to be an attempt at finding a compromise between the two biggest rich players, the EU and the US – a US that never signed the Kyoto protocol but remains necessary to get on board because of its 5,994 million tons of CO2-emissions a year. But getting the US on board wouldn’t help much in the long-term if the hosts lost big developing countries like India and China in the process.

That being said, the leaked draft is probably just one of several drafts made by the Danes for this conference. If they take their role as hosts seriously, they should put several possible solutions on the table. But still, the G77 is of course in their full right to criticize the fact that they were not consulted in the work with this particular draft.

Before I end for now, I just want to draw your attention to this link. Please study this Guardian carbon atlas thorough. This is the best map I’ve seen of this kind. Understanding this map is to understand much of the challenges that the negotiators are facing in Copenhagen. The short version of it is that the developed US and developing China is emitting quite a similar amount of CO2. However, the average American is emitting 19,8 tons while the average Chinese is emitting 4,6 tons of CO2 a year. And this is the overall pattern when looking at developing and developed countries.

And considering that the development that the developed countries have already been through, based on fossil fuels, is the reason for the climate change in the first place – how much should the developing countries be asked to offer in terms of cutting down on emissions? Furthermore, how much and what should the rich world offer to the poorer countries as compensation?

Find a good solution to this, and I know at least a couple of people in Copenhagen who would like to speak with you.

Best wishes,
Trym Oust Sonstad

PS: Tuesday my Russian-American fellow blogger Mark Sleboda wrote about his disappointment that Russia seemed to send only their 1st Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, to Copenhagen. But now Kremlin has announced that president Dmitry Medvedev will join the 110 other heads of states during the final days of the conference next week. великолепный.

Disclaimer:

Any views, ideas or opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the respective authors only. They do not represent the views of any party present at the COP-15, the LSESU Grimshaw International Relations Club or the London School of Economics and Political Science. The respective authors are solely liable for any damages arising from the reckless posting and publishing of provocative articles and/or comments.

A distinctive piece much admired by Thomas Murry Slimmon, a distinguished artefact collector and dealer from Angoram in the 1960s.

Click on the map for a larger version (1280 x 898 pixels).

The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 2-8 December 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.

• The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
• Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
• The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.

New activity/unrest: Llaima (Chile).

Ongoing activity: Ambrym (Vanuatu), Chaitén (Chile), Colima (Mexico), Dukono (Indonesia), Fuego (Guatemala), Karymsky (Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Sakura-jima (Japan), San Cristóbal (Nicaragua), Shiveluch (Russia), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat), Suwanose-jima (Japan).

Note: a.s.l. = ‘above sea level’.

NEW ACTIVITY/UNREST

Llaima (Chile). Steam-and-gas plumes were observed rising from the main crater and E flank during 14 November-1 December. Although seismicity generally decreased, a new type of long-period, low-frequency earthquake was detected. An overflight on 4 December revealed fumarolic activity and some sulphur dioxide emissions coming mainly from fissures on the N crater wall and outer E and W flanks. The Alert Level was raised to Yellow, Level 3.

ONGOING ACTIVITY

Ambrym (Vanuatu). A diffuse plume from probably largely composed of sulphur dioxide was visible on satellite imagery acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on 3 December.

Chaitén (Chile). Buenos Aires VAAC reported that emissions from the lava-dome complex drifted 15 km SE on 8 December.

Colima (Mexico). On 1 December a white plume rose 100 m above the crater and drifted E. On 2 December, incandescent tephra was ejected 50 m above the crater towards the SE. Later that day, a white plume rose 50 m and drifted SW.

Dukono (Indonesia). Darwin VAAC reported that during 5-6 December ash plumes from Dukono rose to 3 km a.s.l. and drifted 55-85 km NE and SE.

Fuego (Guatemala). Multiple explosions on 4 December produced ash plumes that rose to 4.2-4.7 km a.s.l. and drifted 15-18 km W. Ashfall was reported in communities downwind. Rumbling noises and incandescent block avalanches were also noted.

Karymsky (Russia). Seismic activity was above background levels during 27-30 November and 1 December. Data were not available during 2-4 December due to technical problems. Analyses of satellite imagery revealed a daily thermal anomaly and ash plumes that drifted 165 km E during 29-30 November and 1-2 December. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Kilauea (Hawaii, USA). During 2-8 December lava flowed SE from beneath the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex through a lava tube system to reach the ocean at multiple locations between Waikupanaha and an area 700 m farther to the W. Thermal anomalies detected by satellite and visual observations revealed active lava flows on the coastal plain. Incandescence was occasionally seen from Pu’u ‘O’o crater; on 2 December, incandescence originated from vents on the E wall. The vent in Halema’uma’u crater continued to produce a white or off-white plume that drifted E, W, and SW, and dropped small amounts of ash downwind. Incandescence originated from multiple spattering holes in the deep floor of the vent cavity.

Kliuchevskoi (Russia). During 27 November-4 December seismic activity was above background levels and lava continued to flow down the ESE flank. Strombolian activity ejected tephra 300 m above the crater. Satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly at the volcano. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Rabaul (Papua New Guinea). During 27 November-3 December dense white plumes and gray ash plumes rose from Tavurvur cone. Strong explosions produced ash plumes that rose 1.5 km above the summit and showered the flanks with lava fragments that were incandescent at night. Shock waves rattled windows in the Kokopo area, about 20 km SE. Incandescence from the summit crater was occasionally noted. During 2-4 December, ash fell in Rabaul town (3-5 km NW) and other villages downwind. Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 5 and 7-8 December ash plumes rose to 2.4 km a.s.l. and drifted 45-55 km E.

Sakura-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported that explosions during 2-8 December produced plumes that rose to 1.5-2.7 km a.s.l. and drifted in multiple directions. On 4 and 8 December, pilots 30-65 km S of Kagoshima airport reported ash plumes that rose to an altitude of 1.8 km a.s.l. and drifted SW and NE.

San Cristóbal (Guatemala). Washington VAAC reported that on 6 December a gas-and-steam plume with possible ash drifted SW, and also noted smoke from local fires.

Shiveluch (Russia). During 27 November-4 December seismic activity was above background levels, possibly indicating that ash plumes rose to an altitude of 4.5 km a.s.l. Fumarolic activity was seen with a video camera. Analyses of satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly from the lava dome and gas-and-steam plumes, possibly with ash, drifting 70 km E on 27, 28, and 30 November. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange. Tokyo VAAC reported that on 4 December an eruption produced a plume that rose to an altitude of 5.8 km a.s.l.

Soufrière Hills (Montserrat). During 27 November-4 December activity from the lava dome continued at a high level. Pyroclastic flow activity was concentrated to the NE and W. The largest pyroclastic flows traveled NE down Tuitt’s Ghaut on 27 November and 2 December, reaching within 200 m of the sea. Associated ash plumes rose to altitudes of 4.6-6.1 km a.s.l. Pyroclastic flows also traveled W down Gages Valley, S down the White River valley and Gingoes Ghaut, and into the upper reaches of Tyers Ghaut (NW). One descended the Tar River valley to the E. Rockfalls cascaded directly from the summit of the lava dome into Tyers Ghaut. Ash venting from the S part of the lava dome was noted several times. Ashfall containing accretionary lapilli, reported from Salem, Old Towne, and parts of Olveston on the evening of 27 November, was associated with a pyroclastic flow down Tuitt’s and White Bottom Ghaut. The Hazard Level remained at 3.

Suwanose-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported an explosion from Suwanose-jima during 5-6 December. Details of possible resulting emissions were not reported.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLAIMER

The foregoing is a summary of the Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report covering 2-8 December 2009. It is provided for information only, and is based on but not a substitute for the full report, which comes with its own criteria and disclaimers. The map base is derived from the Smithsonian Institution/USGS/US Naval Research Laboratory This Dynamic Planet website.

For all our coverage of the SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports: Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports « The Volcanism Blog.

Is it a neat idea or another ‘predatory secretive system of  international collaboration’?

Carbon trading is a plan to control carbon emissions by converting CO2 into a commodity. It is based on a logic which says you can’t emit CO2 until you absorb same amount of it. Mix this idea with market.  In order to emit CO2, you may absorb CO2 yourself or you can pay someone else to do it for you.

Under carbon trading plan, emitting CO2 without license will be illegal. If you want to emit CO2 then you have to buy some CO2 emitting rights.  The CO2  emitting rights will be sold by the people who can absorb CO2 from the environment, which is also called carbon credit. So, if you have a tree which can absorb CO2  of environment on your land then tree has a value as carbon credits which can be sold on market.

Looks very simple and fair. Will it be fair to all the players of game? May be or may be not! Lets see what possibly can happen to a country which is right now poor and not in control of its own destiny?

For example, lets take papua new guinea. It is rain forest rich country. Very under developed and large population still lives in forests. Under carbon trading rain forests will become an ‘oil field’(New metaphor to replace gold mine).  Lets see how may or may not this system potentially exploit people of papua new guinea.

After this system is in place, lots of people want to sell their carbon credit in international market because purchasing power and demand is initially biased towards already rich countries then most carbon credits will be bought  by these countries. Eventually, papua new guinea will become richer with this inflow of capital then they would like to develop themselves. So, it will need to consume its own carbon credits to do development. This will drive up price of carbon credit and in result more countries will be interested in creating rain forest and sell carbon credits. Soon all countries will be producing their own carbon credits and there will be full balance of human made CO2 emissions.

The real world implementation of carbon trading may diverge multiple ways from above story line. Lets see one possible divergence. Since, papua new guinea is not so rich. Most of the wealth of the country is in control of ruling elite of the country. A big chunk of the carbon trading money will go in the hands of this elite by acting as brokers of carbon trading, by tax collection, or just by owning the land. This elite is being paid for doing nothing. They also have to make sure no one else do anything in papua new guinea. They will enjoy the money and make sure this money will not reach to the masses. The rich and powerful world will have all the incentive to support this corrupt elite because it keeps the carbon credit prices low. At the end, it will reduce into a system in which rich world consumes and pay the elite of papua new guinea to maintain its population underdeveloped and keep their forest intact without doing anything.

You may guess which one of the above two scenario going to be true under carbon trading. I will bet on the second scenario. Lets see what happens.

Welcome to my new blog! What has made me create this blog is that I’m given the privilege to follow the ongoing Climate Change Conference closely as an observer from the LSE; First from London, and then, during the second week, from Copenhagen.

And my first observation would be that while the Londoners are getting into a Christmassy mood, Santa Claus has yet to be spotted in the Bella Center in Copenhagen. Only the coming two weeks will show whether the negotiators can unwrap the gifts that many have wished for – and this is what I’ll comment on in this blog.

The conference started with the usual media reports, originating from the Telegraph and reported in e.g. Dagbladet, on all the limos and private jets that seem to be necessary to transport the climate VIPs from A to B. Not the biggest problem, ok – but still a good point from any journalist’s point of view. It does bring back memories of the GM, Ford, and Chrysler CEOs who flew private jets across the US to beg for money to save the business that they’d driven into the ditch. This certainly isn’t leading by example, one type of leadership I plan to discuss in a later blog.

And also: We didn’t need to wait any longer than until the first session to get the first introduction to why the UN negotiations are said to be inefficient. Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) high-profile envoy Kevin Conrad asked for the floor nothing less than three times in a row to protest against a technical detail in the session rules – and to stress the importance of the conference. Annoying. But also understandable. PNG is one of the countries that has already started to feel some possible consequences of climate change.

But despite the UN’s much-criticized and well-known slowness, it should be possible to get quite a lot out of the talks this time. If not for any of the many other good reasons, then because more and more states are becoming aware of the possible economic costs of not taking action. Interestingly enough, the insurance industry is already bracing itself and taking action. And this is not to save endangered species, unless you count their money in that category.

For state- and business leaders under pressure it can be useful to think in economic terms, something that the Stern review has tried to help with. Nicholas Stern’s calculations show that the costs of the consequences of climate change can be compared to the costs of the two World Wars and the Great Depression. Stern himself is in Copenhagen to remind the negotiators of this.

But a complete economic understanding shouldn’t really end there, as Raj Patel recently pointed out in a public lecture at the LSE. We do need to start understanding the full value of things that we consume, because what they’re worth isn’t always reflected in the price tags. To quote Oscar Wilde: ’What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing’. Patel’s main point in his lecture (Podcast) was that: If the beef that went into making a normal Big Mac were raised on land that used to be rainforest, the actual value of that burger could be translated into nearly, say, 200 USD.

If you now think I’ll go on to argue that burgers should cost you 200 dollars (121 pounds), please lower your axe. My point is simply that it’s interesting to see the value of rainforest translated into the price of a familiar product, like a Big Mac. And if we don’t start realizing the full value of such things as green house gas-absorbing rainforest now (e.g. by preserving it), then it’s possible that our descendants and we will have to pay the full price later – with interest rates.

Just ask someone from Papua New Guinea.

Well-known anthropologist and popular science writer Jared Diamond has written an opinion article in the New York Times in which he praises various large multinationals for adopting a supposedly more ‘green’ way of operating, since their profit incentive forces them to do so.(1) He is particularly lavish in his praise for the Chevron oil group, which is or was active in oil projects in New Guinea, the region Diamond is professionally specialized in. He has written about their activities in New Guinea before in his book Collapse, where he also lauded their supposed efforts to improve the environment.(2)

Now his reasoning runs as follows:

When I asked how a publicly traded company could justify to its shareholders its expenditures on the environment, Chevron employees and executives gave me at least five reasons.

First, oil spills can be horribly expensive: it is far cheaper to prevent them than to clean them up. Second, clean practices reduce the risk that New Guinean landowners become angry, sue for damages and close the fields. (The company has been sued for problems in Ecuador that Chevron inherited when it merged with Texaco in 2001.) Next, environmental standards are becoming stricter around the world, so building clean facilities now minimizes having to do expensive retrofitting later.

Also, clean operations in one country give a company an advantage in bidding on leases in other countries. Finally, environmental practices of which employees are proud improve morale, help with recruitment and increase the length of time employees are likely to remain at the company.

(2)

Now rare is the person who actually believes that these are honest responses on the part of the Chevron group. As a matter of fact, the activities of that company in New Guinea were heavily contested by the local population, the same people Diamond is supposed to scientifically analyze, but whose interests he is apparently blind to. As Louis Proyect points out:

The 5,000 supposed local beneficiaries of the project, members of the Fasu, Foe and Kikori clans, became increasingly unhappy after oil began being shipped in late 1992. In December 1993, 60 Foe men were arrested for protesting over inadequate royalty payments and were carried off in Chevron helicopters to a nearby jail. Once again Diamond’s favorite capitalist corporation was relying on helicopters to deal with the restless natives.

In December 1995, confrontations deepened further. Indigenous people threatened to blow up the pipeline, prompting Chevron to remove non-essential staff. Although Chevron eventually placated them with handouts, there is little doubt that a culture of dependency was created. Few of them actually work for Chevron but rely on the dole. When Chevron exhausts the local oil supplies, it is doubtful that native Papuans will be able to fend for themselves.

According to Kennedy, “the mining and petroleum sector is based on the degradation of natural capital and produces few human-made assets for PNG. It employs less than 2 percent of the population and does not add value to the raw materials. And in those boom years, the national government ran up an enormous foreign debt, causing it to bow to the strictures of a major structural adjustment program administered by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, in conjunction with its old colonial master Australia, in order to avert a cash-flow crisis.”

(3)

How come Diamond is so blind to these issues? First of all, he is of course no political economist, and one could say that therefore it is all too easy for a company with a sensible public relations department to fool and/or flatter an unsuspecting scientist into supporting their activities. But Diamond himelf has seen fit to use his scientific background to make quite expansive and speculative pronunciations about political economic development in the past, most notably in his best-selling book Guns, Germs and Steel.(5) So he cannot be acquitted on these grounds. It must then be his involvement with the World Wildlife Foundation and a pro-capitalist environmental group called Conservation International. The former of these has been happy to take money from multinational companies in return for good press regarding their environmental activities, under the reasoning that this way at least the money would go to good causes. Something similar applies to the latter organization. But this particular case of Diamond folly makes clear the dangers of such an approach. Capitalist firms are all too aware of the costs of environmental regulation on their profit margins: Chevron and similar companies as a result attempt to stave them off by making a good impression on the green-minded sections of the ruling class, so that they will not draw the public ire. As Proyect describes it:

If Chevron were solely about manipulating imagery, then the job of debunking WWF and Jared Diamond’s claims on their behalf would be a lot easier. As it turns out, Chevron did clean up their act to a significant extent in the 1980s and 90s. This was the product of sustained environmental protests and legal actions by the federal government. In 1994, Chevron spent almost $1.5 billion on environmental programs.

(6)

That is not to say however, as Diamond does, that the logic of capital can somehow be reconciled with the interests of the natural environment. Indeed, on occasion multinationals may donate money to environmental causes to improve their standing. Indeed, it is true that they depend on natural resources in many cases, such as Coca-Cola does with water (as Diamond stresses), and that this means that they will have an interest in making sure those resources will stay available for the future. But what is much more relevant is the question in the first place of the use of such resources. Coca-Cola may have an interest in making sure sufficient water is available to produce its soft drink. But do we really need the Coca-Cola company to know how important protecting the water supply is? And if such water is available, why should we waste it all on providing it to that soft drink company? Such companies only have an interest in renewal of resources up to the maximum of their own use. Beyond that, they have absolutely no incentive to create and maintain a sustainable metabolism with nature. Coca-Cola only needs sufficient water for its profit margins, and if it could, it would aggregate all water in the world for its own use to ensure this; and anything beyond the water it needs for its own production, it will not care a fig for. This is why the activities of the Coca-Cola company have been disastrous for the water supply in India, for example.

Diamond is quite right that the fact alone companies have an interest in maintaining renewal of resources should be a good thing. Every little bit helps in that regard. But what he fails to see is that it is precisely the private ownership of those resources that introduces the irrationality into the picture, where on the one hand Coca-Cola donates money to preserve the world’s largest rivers, and on the other hand it depletes the water commons in Rajastan. Coca-Cola does not desire the renewal of water as such, but the renewal of its hold over water in the production process. That is the logic of capital: common resources, private appropriation. This is no basis for a sustainable future, and Diamond should know better.

1), 3) Jared Diamond, “Will Big Business Save the Earth?”. New York Times (Dec. 5, 2009).
2) Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (New York, NY 2005).
4), 6) Louis Proyect, “Shilling for Chevron”. Counterpunch (May 9, 2005).
5) Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (New York, NY 2005).