Copenhagen conference on climate change a ‘roller coaster’ experience for Transylvania senior
LEXINGTON, Ky.—The two weeks that Transylvania University student Lauralee Crain spent as a delegate to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last month was an “emotional roller coaster” that she won’t soon forget. “I was excited, frustrated, built up and torn down,” said Crain, a senior from Flemingsburg and one of only 18 youth leaders nationwide chosen to represent the Sierra Student Coalition at the conference Dec. 7-18. But, she added, “I see the experience as something that has changed me forever.” The conference, attended by many of the world’s top leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, was the much-anticipated attempt to forge agreement among industrialized nations to curb emissions of pollutants and help developing nations curtail their greenhouse gas emissions. Although they did not come away with a binding agreement, participants for the first time acknowledged that climate change was a real problem that needed to be addressed. For her part, Crain is hopeful that she and the many other young people who were on hand, including 2009 Transy graduate Marcie Smith – helped change the way the world views climate change and promoted the continued need for a “bold and just” climate treaty among nations. “Our role, on the broader scale, was to represent world youth, American youth and to remind the world leaders that their decisions today will affect us when they’re gone,” Crain said. In addition to attending meetings, watching negotiating sessions, blogging
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