Copenhagen’s Grand Finale

Image courtesy of Flickr user Greenpeace Finland

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Friday is the last day of the Copenhagen climate talks, and the success of the conference could all come down to one tiny number: half a degree Celsius. While 102 countries have called for a limit on temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most powerful nations refuse to back down from a 2 degree target. But when a leaked document revealed that proposed emissions target weren’t even in the ballpark of limiting warming to 2 degrees, all that squabbling over half a degree seemed a little silly. So is it possible that Bill McKibben and his team over at 350.org were right all along?

Amidst all the fuss, noted climate change denialist James Inhofe graced the Bella Center with his presence on Thursday. The former chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committeee had previously planned to bring an entire “Truth Squad” of GOP lawmakers to the climate summit. But in the end all he brought was himself and a gaggle of press handlers who told each reporter in the room that the senator was in town and later delivered a printed copy of his talking points.

Follow the last crucial hours of the Copenhagen talks here.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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