Si, Se Puede!. By Margot Roosevelt, LATimes, 12/13/10. “The failure of global climate negotiations to slow greenhouse gas emissions is fueling protest movements in the U.S. and other countries, as the effects of sea level rise, longer droughts and stronger storms begin to take a toll… The negotiations were ‘shrouded in a fog of unreality,’ said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, a group that advocates drastic cuts in emissions to reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere from the current 387 ppm to 350 ppm. ‘The biggest and most powerful nations on Earth simply aren't paying attention to physics and chemistry.’ McKibben, whose group sent several San Francisco-based activists to Cancun, predicted that ‘the grassroots movement to demand real action will continue to mushroom. We're not big enough yet to beat the fossil fuel industry and its allies, but we're gaining.’
“In Cancun, if the delegates negotiated behind closed doors, environmental groups made up for it by vying to stage the most creative ‘photo ops’ to capture media attention… Mark Malijan, a freelance photographer whose trip to Cancun was sponsored by Earth Journalism Network, captured vivid images of a broad variety of protests. See his slide show above this post. Among them was the demonstration of La Via Campesina, a social justice group that included Mayans from the Yucatan province around Cancun, and activists from both developing and industrial countries. About 1,000 protesters-- men, women and children, many in colorful outfits--carried signs promoting indigenous rights and condemning efforts to sell carbon credits from forests. Music from a steel drum and chants of ‘Si, se puede!’ (Yes, we can!) punctuated the march.”
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