18:
We have been thinking for some time that the news only knows how to report on big instant events and so struggles to report the effects of climate change. These happen gradually one day and year at a time. In climate time it’s the blink of an eye but to the modern news media it does not quite compute.
The Copenhagen climate conference is a big global event so it will get lots of coverage but we worry that its full context will not come to life. It might just appear as a load more men and women in suits taking part in the next big wedge of political stuff. Context is needed to makes these things make sense. Without it events like this are just satellites whizzing around with the rest of the white noise.
But the context makes it matter. Like the view of most of the top climate scientists that this conference is pretty much a now or never, do or die event. In context the event represents the biggest platform in the shortest of windows where action needs to ‘get on with it!’
That’s when we started to think that we should do something that brings the true context of Copenhagen to life. Especially for the delegates who are making the decisions but also for anyone else interested.
The truth is that climate change is affecting people all around the world already. And in the seemingly comfortable places where it doesn’t feel so immanent its only a matter of time. Our idea is to try and capture a snap shot of all of these things from where-ever they are playing out; that’s the first part. The second is to bring them together into a format that can make the real context of Copenhagen absorbable as simply and quickly as possible.
If the delegates always remember the real context then we might just be closer to a deal fit for the problem rather than the politics. And if everyone else looking on to the conference sees a glimpse of where it really sits in the grand scheme of things then we might be able to create a bigger weight on their shoulders to get things right.
18:
From December 7th – 18th 2009 15,000 delegates from around the world will meet at COP15 to initiate an international agreement on climate change.  Many scientists have defined a very short window to take action in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change so the task at the conference can’t be overestimated.
However there’s a risk that the issues discussed will appear big, distant and too much like politics to most people. Contrary to this impression the effects of climate change are already being felt around the world. A further risk that delegates themselves lose the big picture and end up focusing on local political goals.
#thisplace is a project to remind delegates at Copenhagen to keep it simple!  The idea is to capture what’s happening now and what’s at stake due to climate change in a place that matters to people everywhere in just 140 characters. We are going to squeeze contributions from all around the world into a small book to give to delegates at the conference. Then all the worlds shared problems, personal anxieties, hopes & dreams about climate change will be in their hands!
We are asking people to contribute by answering one simple question highlighting something or some place that will be affected by climate change that personally matters to them. In 140 characters or less…
What’s worth saving in #thisplace?
When we have collected and printed the best of these it will create a very simple human snap-shot of how climate change is affecting real people today and in the future.
You can post your contribution directly on your twitter feed with the #thisplace tag or alternatively just fill in the text box in this site and we will post it into our own twitter feed. Â Thanks for taking part!
23:
…It’s the home of a project that we hope will help at the Copenhagen Climate Conference starting on the 7th December. We will be using the blog to give a commentary as it takes shape. It’s also a space to expand on some of the people and places that will come together to kindly submit 140 characters towards the project. The only other thing to say at this point is perhaps a little about us. This is the product of a conversation that escalated between a group of friends. We started out to find an idea that could bridge some of the inherent problems and challenges with something as big, international and important as Cop15 and that’s still our only goal. We are the organisers of the project but it will only work with the help of any number of contributors around the world who choose to take 140 characters of ownership themselves. To these people hello and thanks for joining us!
