The City of Copenhagen
Danish capital is a 24/7 scene of energetic efficiency
By Si Tingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-11 08:30
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COPENHAGEN: When it comes to attracting people to the overheated topic of climate change, it's never bad to go dramatic.
The first few days of the Copenhagen climate summit passed with an awful lot of speeches from the negotiators saying that their countries are committed to do more to get a climate deal, and a handful of emotional pleas of how the poor are suffering from climate disasters.
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But nothing worked better to wake up people's numbed senses than efficiency-minded ideas, especially when the ideas were of Danish origin.
The made-in-Denmark conference itself is pretty green by all means: no bottled water, only tap, and no gifts of Little Mermaid statuettes for the delegates.
The traditional Christmas tree in Copenhagen's Town Hall square, like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York, will only remain lit as long as enough energy is being generated by the 15 bikes set up to power them. The 21-meter-tall tree is decorated with 700 energy-efficient bulbs and the alternative means of powering the Christmas lighting will save the environment nine tons of carbon dioxide.
Next to Copenhagen's landmark Little Mermaid statue, local sculptor Jens Galschiot established a provocative statue showing an obese Lady Justice sitting on an emaciated African man, representing a hypocrisy of the climate debate.
The message to reduce environmental impact went so deep into Danish people's lifestyle that they even look to people's final journey for emission cuts. Starting in 2011, new environmental regulations in Denmark will require all crematoriums to have mercury filters, and there are also plans to replace seven crematoriums in eastern Denmark with a single central facility for the sake of energy efficiency.
However, it's not just the Danish who are good at delivering the "go green" message; those who came to Denmark also got the word out.
British wildlife sculptor Mark Coreth brought with him a life-size ice polar bear to downtown Copenhagen to let people touch the bear and feel what their finger touches could do to hasten the watery demise. He hopes that people will appreciate the effects of human action and the plight of the polar bear. Coreth is now back in London to carve a twin bear to display in London's Trafalgar Square and hopes to follow with others around the world, even the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing.
In addition, youth delegates from around the world are using their own low-budget yet novel ways to press the negotiators. Thursday, outside the main plenary session conference room and against a backdrop of suits and briefcases, scores of youth from around the world, dressed in pajamas and armed with their pillows, asked their leaders to deliver a deal which will ensure the survival of all human beings and species. And on Thursday, a Chinese youth, dressed as a traditional Chinese doctor, will send out his prescription for a healthy earth at the conference center.
