The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) is winding down in Copenhagen, but that doesn’t mean things are calming down.
Former Vice President Al Gore caused a bit of a ruckus when he misquoted a scientist. Gore told the Copenhagen crowd that Dr. Wieslaw Maslowski of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School claimed that in five to seven years, the polar ice cap would have no summer ice. The only problem was that Maslowski told the Times of London that he never said such a thing. He said that he would “never try to estimate [the] likelihood at anything as exact as this.” He said that the possibility of the pole being ice free wasn’t in line with his predictions. He stated that he expects some ice to remain on the polar cap beyond 2020. What he did say would happen within five to seven years was that if the Artic melting trend of the past 15 years continues, then the main reduction of sea ice volume would take place.
To cover, Gore said that the figures he quoted weren’t “fresh,” but based on a conversation he had had with Maslowski many years ago.
There were more protesters today as 2,500 marched towards the Bella Center where the conference is being held. The marchers claimed that the conference officials weren’t making their best efforts to solve the climate change. Police, who had set up a roadblock with dogs, had to use tear gas and truncheons to stop the protesters short of the center. It has been reported that some protesters were pepper-sprayed and clubbed. By the end of the day, 260 more activists had been arrested.
The conference will close this weekend. While a deal is close, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted that finalizing a deal by the time the conference ends this weekend may be a struggle.