http://www.climatejusticefast.com/index.php/blog/ en anna.c.keenan@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-03T23:57:04+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/before-and-after1/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/before-and-after1/#When:04:15:55Z Hi all. I'm just posting this photo to head off any 'CJF denial' (there has been some- misinformation on the net claiming that the long term fasters weren't really fasting, or that we were still taking in nutrition other than water). Such statements are just lies. It's hardly surprising that this has occurred, however, given that we are climate change activists, and there is such an unseemly rash of lies all over the net about our cause. There is, however, an antidote to this rash, which is to spread onto it, as widely as possible, a generous amount of TRUTH.  Please watch, and share, the following videos as widely as you possibly can, and make a point of checking for new ones from their authors at regular intervals. You will find that once a rash sufferer has sat through a few of them, they will be forever cured. OOOOOOOOOOOO 2009-12-23T04:15:55+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-44-one-day-fast-ends/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-44-one-day-fast-ends/#When:10:52:36Z *Today, at 10AM, I ended my fast, after 43 days and 11 hours of taking in nothing but water and salt* One day.Could any two words hold more hope than these? They precede our dreams, our longings, and that which we need to believe. One day I’ll get that dream job, we say. One day I’ll have that family. They are a prayer, holding us up, and calling us on. Through these words, we fill the unknown future with everything our hearts desire- love, happiness, and security. And through these words, we find the strength to make our dreams come true. I used to have so many of these prayers. One day I would travel the world. One day I would be a successful musician. One day I would own my own home. Today, I have only one. Because I know that if this prayer does not come true, the rest will mean nothing. Today, my only prayer is that one day we will look back upon the current period of history and we will remember a time when the threat of climate change rendered our future uncertain. We will remember feeling fear as we watched the desperate warnings of scientists ignored by our leaders at COP15, and disbelief as our irreplaceable planet was sacrificed for meaningless profits. And we will remember our frustration as we worked to awaken a world that often seemed willfully ignorant of the enormous danger it faced. But this will not be all. I believe that one day, when we look back, we will also remember something incredible. We will remember how our generation made a collective decision to rise as one, all across the globe, and refused to let shortsightedness and greed destroy our future. We will remember that even when the situation seemed hopeless we never gave up, for there was just too much at stake. And we will remember how finally, our movement, once a whisper, grew before our eyes into a roar so deafening that it could no longer be ignored. On that day, our children and grandchildren will look to us with gratitude. Just as young Westerners pay their respects to the enormous sacrifices made during the great wars, one day we too will be thanked, for doing whatever it took to ensure that our descendants on this earth could have prayers of their own. I know that this is possible. I have seen for myself that when our message is one of truth, and we are driven by love, justice and compassion, amazing things can happen. Last December, Climate Justice Fast! was only an inkling of an idea in my mind- and I had never organized a dinner party before, let alone an international political action. Yet this past Thursday, over 10,000 people all around the world, including Naomi Klein, Mary Robinson and Bill McKibben fasted for a day for climate justice, inspired by CJF. So I know that this prayer can come true. But I also know that to achieve extraordinary results, we must be willing to do extraordinary things. To inspire a generation, we ourselves must be inspirational. We cannot afford to wait around for miracles. We must be the change we need to see. Scientist Tim Flannery was a keynote speaker at the June Australian youth climate conference Powershift. Looking out over the thousand young people present, he asked whether we are really willing to make the sacrifices required to solve the climate crisis. I know that we are. And by fasting for climate justice we sought to show this to him, and to the world. Our generation has been handed an unprecedented challenge. But together, we can overcome it. Together, we can mark a turning point in human history, away from centuries of environmental destruction and global inequality, and towards a just, sustainable future. We must reclaim the future, so that one day it can be filled with all our prayers once more.  2009-12-20T10:52:36+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-43-deal-qe/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-43-deal-qe/#When:12:31:15Z 2009-12-19T12:31:15+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-42-message-to-fasters/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-42-message-to-fasters/#When:13:07:31Z This is a special message I wrote last night to the over 3000 people around the world who are fasting today for climate justice. The text is here. 2009-12-17T13:07:31+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/melbourne-vigil-on-one-day-solidarity-fast/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/melbourne-vigil-on-one-day-solidarity-fast/#When:11:30:14Z Climate Justice Fast! Yarra Climate Action Now! and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition present: A Melbourne event – A silent one hour lunchtime vigil for Climate Justice. Come and stand in support of the long term climate justice fasters and for decisive, meaningful action on climate change at Copenhagen. * Meet at 12:30pm Thursday 17th December outside Myer on Bourke St Mall. * Wear black. Bring a climate related banner if you have one * We will have masking tape to put over our mouths, in an X to reflect the climate justice fast logo (optional). === Climate Justice Fast is asking people to fast for a day in solidarity, as part of international 'Hunger for Survival'. http://www.climatejusticefast.com === Come along to the Melbourne event regardless of whether you are fasting, to show solidarity, and to highlight the climate emergency to Christmas shoppers on Bourke St Mall. Details here 2009-12-16T11:30:14+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-40-pythagoras-and-kevin-rudd/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-40-pythagoras-and-kevin-rudd/#When:11:10:31Z The full text of my open letter to the Ruddster is here 2009-12-16T11:10:31+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-36-paul/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/day-36-paul/#When:09:43:40Z 2009-12-12T09:43:40+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/tuvalu-survival/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/tuvalu-survival/#When:11:34:24Z And so, the COP has stalled. It is only day 3, and already we have reached crisis point. Tuvalu, accompanied by fellow small island states and some small African nations, has blocked consensus, holding out for a legally binding treaty that will return atmospheric greenhouse gasses to a safe level, and would give their nations a chance of survival. Dishearteningly, these countries were not backed up in this call by the bigger players within the G77 group of developing nations such as China, India and Saudi Arabia, who do not wish to accept the cuts to their emissions that such a deal would entail. Immediately, passionate protests began within the Bella Centre, as activists from all over the world joined together to demonstrate their solidarity with these tiny nations and their fight for a viable future.  I must admit that my tears flowed freely reading this news, and watching these protests, for I knew that I was watching an incredible moment in history. A rare and cherished moment when human dignity takes over, and when the oppressed find the courage to say no. These proud, beautiful nations are literally being asked to agree to oblivion, and they are saying no. For the first time, they are truly demanding justice, and are refusing to compromise. It could not be any other way. How could any nation on earth consent to their own demise? How could any agreement be termed ‘fair’ that allowed a group of countries to fade from existence? The reasons that China, India, and the West give for this is that agreeing to a deal that could save the small island states would slow their economic growth. That’s right. These nations are effectively being told by the world that to save them would be too expensive. Their homes and livelihoods, their culture dating back thousands of years, their ancestral home is just not reason enough to accept a slower-growing economy. And they are expected to agree to this? Now what on earth would make a nation agree to the obliteration of their homeland? I wonder, what would my nation, Australia, have to be offered, to accept such a fate? I doubt there is enough wealth on this planet to make us accept such a deal. And we are a nation made up largely of quite recent immigrants, compared with Tuvalu and the other nations in question. So no. There will be no consensus without justice, and the fact that the big players within the G77 look willing to sacrifice the lands of their little brothers in the AOSIS just shows how far this world is from achieving justice on climate change. Yet by their refusal to accept injustice, and by their honour and courage, these tiny nations are lighting a candle of hope for all the rest of humanity. For their demands are not only what is right and just for themselves, but are also what the planet needs, what our fellow species’ need, and what each and every nation sitting at those talks needs. Listening to them, in other words, will save our souls. But it will also save our skins.  Today, justice and human dignity spoke out in Copenhagen. And here, far away on the other side of the world, it was deafening. So hear it, Repeat it, And fight for it. Tuvalu Survival.     2009-12-10T11:34:24+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/michael-morphett-ends-his-fast/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/michael-morphett-ends-his-fast/#When:11:25:36Z Just a quick blog to officially note that Michael Morphett ended his Climate Justice Fast! yesterday, after 32 days.His weight had dropped to under 45kg, representing a dangerous fall below %20 of his normal bodyweight, and the risks of going further were simply too much. I've included a couple of photos of Mike to really emphasise how much of an effort he made, and how much courage it took for a man of his age and size to fast for so long. I think, to be honest, that in getting to this point Mike probably put more at risk for CJF than any of the rest of us, and I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him. Mike is in a beautiful place right now. His body is filling with energy, his full mental capacity is returning, and he feels enormous pride and contentment at what he has accomplished. He  has earned the respect and lifelong friendship of a huge amount of people here in Canberra over the duration of the campaign, and was in good spirits until the very end. Actually I think that CJF has given him a whole new lease on life.  He will post his thoughts on ending the fast in this space shortly. Peace and Love to all, Paul 2009-12-09T11:25:36+00:00 http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/cjf-in-copenhagen-in-photos/ http://www.climatejusticefast.com/blog/entry/cjf-in-copenhagen-in-photos/#When:09:19:55Z Some pics of our gang in Copenhagen. 2009-12-09T09:19:55+00:00