Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005
Walked to Starbucks but wore coat -- big help!
I started the day early and joined Michael
Blastos, the mayor of Keene, N.H.,
and Pam O’Connor, mayor of Santa Monica, Calif., at a breakfast with
the Natural Resources Defense Council.
I learned that 195 cities have now signed on to the Mayors Climate Protection
Agreement. That’s great momentum! The last five have been: Robbinsville,
N.J.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Mansfield, Conn.; Hopewell, N.J.; and Somerville,
Mass.
I also enjoyed this blog entry from Post-Intelligencer reporter Robert McClure.
The brisk pace of interviews continued, including KIRO radio in Seattle and
stations in San Luis Obispo, Philadelphia (still mad about Monday night's game)
and NPR in Chicago.
Next was the NRDC press conference at the Palais with American Mayors followed
by several interviews, including BBC radio and World News Tonight, Japan’s
NHK, The News York Daily News and the Danish press, among others.
All in all we got our message out and I'm ready to come home and turn it over
to Bill
Clinton!
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005
Today's high is 14, which was painfully evident on my walk to Starbucks this morning. Joe bought.
I joined U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, in speaking with ministers from rain forest nations about their issues (Brazil, Argentina, Papau, CAR, Cameroon & several EU countries). My message of grass roots action in the U.S. was very well received.
The press has lost no interest in the story of the effort underway in the United States to deal with global warming despite federal inaction. I was happy to talk with two local radio stations today, KUOW and KOMO!
I was also honored to win an award from The Climate Group and Business Week magazine as a low carbon leader, amid - I'm not kidding -- scattered shouts of "Nickels for president." Thanks, but we've got a lot of work to do in Seattle for the next four years. And I was pleased to again chat with David Suzuki at the awards ceremony.
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005
This morning, Marco walked to Starbucks!
I participated on a panel on national & sub-national efforts at the fourth Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, which focused on the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement.
Whisked to the Palais' (Convention Center) for the main United Nations conference, went through security and credential process, and barely made it in time to the press conference with U.S. and Canada Sierra Club leadership. Again, most questions were on the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. Have a listen, and thanks to the "Voice of Bainbridge" for posting.
Met broadcaster and renowned environmentalist David Suzuki at the CBC Centre where we were being interviewed for the evening news. I also spoke with Air America, Reuters and BBC Radio this afternoon before returning to the municipal leaders' conference to participate in a second panel.
At an informal dinner, I had a conversation with Nicky Gavron, the deputy mayor of London. And I met my daughter Carey's boss. She is in Washington D.C. doing an internship for the British Embassy.
I'm sure she would be proud - or horrified - to know that I shared print with actor and environmentalist Leonard DiCaprio. I didn't get top billing, but then again, I'm just a mayor and not "king of the world!"
My interview with Reuters hit the wire pretty quickly. I was also pleased to read the Los Angeles Times story linking the Climate Protection Agreement with a host of other local and state efforts to prevent climate change.
Monday, Dec. 5, 2005
It's the start of a very busy, very important week. But that doesn't make getting up at 6:45 a.m. easy when my body’s clock is still set at 3:45 a.m. at home. Walked to nearest Starbucks. Sidewalks were slippery but I was on a mission!
As the official day got underway, I joined in the first ever meeting of the World Mayor's Council on Climate Change. It is a select group of municipal leaders from around the world who will work together in the years ahead to highlight the important role cities play in stopping climate change. It is amazing to think that nearly half of the world’s population now lives in cities. The council is chaired by Bärbel Dieckmann, Mayor of Bonn, Germany, who is now in her third term of office.
At a press conference following the meeting, most of the questions concerned the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. The story of a mayor from a U.S. city challenging the federal government seems popular with the press.
Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal, offered me a ride to our luncheon and we had a good chat. He was elected to a second four year term on Nov. 6, two days before my reelection. His big concern is Montreal's reliance on property tax with no business or sales tax revenue for local government. I sat with Canada's Minister for Communities, John Godfrey.
Did a number of interviews, including CBC radio and television; England’s Independent, the Guardian, and the Telegraph newspaper, Japan’s NHK TV, and several local Canadian television and newspapers.
Dinner was in a wonderful chalet on Mont Royal -- an extinct volcano and current Olmstead Park.
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2005
I know there is some irony in having a conference on global warming at the beginning of winter in Montreal. But like Seattle, parts of Canada are already seeing some dire effects, according to Reuters. The snow pack in our Cascades has already fallen 50 percent over the past 50 years. Farther north, the change is happening ever faster. Experts say the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and sea ice could disappear in summers by 2100. The effects on indigenous populations in Canada, Alaska, Russia and elsewhere would be devastating.
We arrived in Montreal at 7:30 p.m. (EST) and were greeted by Montreal Fire Department personnel before heading to the hotel downtown.
It's clear that word of Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement has traveled far and wide. Canada's Globe and Mail featured the effort in Saturday's edition. Not sure if I've ever been called a "folk hero" before, but I'm not going to argue with the country's largest newspaper.
I'm traveling with Marco Lowe, my director of community relations, as well as Joe Bouffiou and Rodney Stokes, who provide executive protection. My first impression of this historic city as we walked to dinner: very cold, sidewalks slippery!
