A Message Home to the US: What Actually Happened at COP21

  by Morgan Heckerd Over the past two weeks 196 governments have spent hours within consultation rooms and plenary halls in efforts of reaching an agreement. They are here in Paris because they know that the era of emissions need to come to an end. The urgency of climate change is no longer a concept that they can deny. But– the developed countries have fallen short in adopting the...

A Long Term Goal in the Paris Agreement: A Failure Without Differentiation & Equity

By Paige Nygaard We are getting closer and closer to the end of COP21. Anticipation is growing to seeing what disaster will unfold within the text. Will it be slightly bad? Absolutely terrible? How much will the United States be able to shift the burden of climate change to other countries while also blaming them for any bad deal in Paris? As every draft text gets released, it favors the...

You Take Her Land – a Reflection on Gender, Agriculture and False Solutions

by Aneesa Khan What does it mean to be a person on the frontlines of a microcosm whose climate is undergoing a dramatic metamorphosis for the worst? It often means a loss of home, land, identity, security, and human rights. But, what does it mean if this person also never truly owned the land they worked on or the home they lived in, what if their identity was continuously oppressed, what if...

The Youth Complex at COP21

By: Sara Velander and Jenna Farineau Each day at the Conference of Parties, a certain theme is chosen to frame the day’s events and actions, and this past Wednesday, December 4, bore the theme “Young and Future Generations.” Young people were running around expressing their cheery nature, while adults stood in front of them making speeches and while camera-men followed just behind to make...

Monsanto at COP21

By Morgan Heckerd   As the climate negotiations continue here in Paris, so does the conflict, the injustice, the inequity, and the straight-up absurdity. Secretariats, delegates, and corporations are all gathered in one place, deciding our future, has led to some questionable statements. Inside the climate talks, corporations are being praised for their so-called “ambition” on tackling...