Presented each day at the Bali climate negotiations to the countries who've done the most to block progress at the talks.
The fossils, represented by lumps of coal, are presented in an elaborate awards ceremony at 6pm daily at BICC booth 44 in Bali, hosted by Ben Wikler of Avaaz.org. The winners are chosen by a vote of the Climate Action Network each afternoon.
Want to receive Fossil of the Day alerts? Email Ben Wikler at ben [at] avaaz [dot] org or phone +62 (0) 818 05 434 373.
The fossils, represented by lumps of coal, are presented in an elaborate awards ceremony at 6pm daily at BICC booth 44 in Bali, hosted by Ben Wikler of Avaaz.org. The winners are chosen by a vote of the Climate Action Network each afternoon.
Want to receive Fossil of the Day alerts? Email Ben Wikler at ben [at] avaaz [dot] org or phone +62 (0) 818 05 434 373.
Can I subscribe to everything a person writes?
Here’s what I’d like: a way to subscribe to an RSS feed of everything someone writes. Examples of people I’d like to do this with: Ezra Klein, Josh Marshall, David Pogue, Ross Douthat, Matt Yglesias, Paul Krugman. I’d like one feed that includes their blogs, their guest-blogs on other sites, their columns, their features, even their column-esque emails (in Pogue’s case). In particular, I’d like to be able to track the posts by specific people who write on group blogs. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
“ That first draft called for a 20 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Under the new agreement, the goal would be a 17 percent reduction.
House Democrats to Relax Climate Bill to Win Over Industrial-State Lawmakers - washingtonpost.com
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Comments Amb. John McDonald of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy discusses the Fossil of the Day Awards and the Canadian uprising during Bali. People Power!
Fossil of the Day--and Year!
Third place goes to the UNITED STATES and JAPAN The USA and Japan win the third-place fossil nod (or, rather, disapproving head-shake) for their insistence—right through the night of the 13th—on keeping the range of 2020 emissions cuts for developed countries out of the Bali road map. It appears the US and Japan want a road map to nowhere. Coal for them!Second place goes to THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA
The United States grabs a richly deserved second place fossil for behaving, over the last day, as though it were on another planet. Specifically: James Connoughton, chairman of President Bush’s Council on Environmental Quality, announced yesterday that “The US will lead, and we will continue to lead, but leadership also requires others to fall in line and follow.” And how did the US try to lead last night? By trying to scrap the Kyoto Protocol, proposing that the US be held to the same requirements as a developing country. The Bush administration, sadly, is showing no signs of developing.
Dishonourable mention: AUSTRALIA’S DELEGATION
Australia’s delegation to the summit receives a dishonourable mention tonight for their behavior throughout the last two weeks—doing a terrible job of representing an Australian public that clearly voted for vastly stronger action to confront climate change. Is it any surprise that many delegation members are holdovers from the Howard government? Time for some fresh faces, Australia—we don’t want to have to tap your coal supplies for next year’s Fossil Awards!
First place goes to CANADA
Canada scorches its way to the final first-place Fossil dishonours for its performance at the last two “Friends of the Chair” minister-level negotiation sessions—specifically, for NOT SHOWING UP. Environment Minister Baird is apparently so busy at the climate change negotiations that he can’t be bothered to do any climate change negotiating. It’s just the fate of the planet in the balance, after all.
Which brings us to the Fossil of the Year—the one, the only, the legendary COLOSSAL FOSSIL.
And the winner? A TIE! The United States, long-time champion—and Canada, behaving like a 51st State in George W. Bush’s America! Stephen Harper, congratulations—you’ve matched the master, and isolated Canada from the rest of the world by recklessly blocking progress in the fight against climate change. Your prize? A year’s supply of shame.
