MAD

*Mutual Assured Destruction*

-- by Horatio Algeranon

Pershing is a missile

Targeting emissions cuts

Making agreements fizzle

And driving Tuvalu nuts.

"Doha: Sea levels to rise by more than 1m by 2100" (by Louise Gray, The Telegraph)

Sea levels are rising 60 per cent faster than the United Nations originally predicted, according to a new study, putting small island states and coastal cities at risk.

The findings come as almost 200 countries gather in Doha, Qatar for the latest UN meeting on climate change. Already poorer nations exposed to sea level rise are complaining that the negotiations are moving too slowly to help stop small islands being lost forever.

A 1m rise in sea levels by 2100 would wash away much of small island states like Tuvalu and the Maldives. Delta regions like Bangladesh, where millions of people live, will be flooded and coastal cities like New York will have to build up defences.

Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace International made the comment that 

“Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing [U.S. negotiators] have come to Doha with their needle stuck in the groove of obstructing the U.N. process, an art they have perfected. It is disrespectful of President Obama to inflict on us two negative negotiators who act as if the comments he made after his election were never made. He should either pick up the phone and tell his delegates to follow his lead or alternatively call them back to Washington.” 

Watch Amy Goodman Questions Top U.S. Negotiator on Alleged Obstruction of U.N. Climate Talks in Doha