Day 3 COP15 atmospherics

It's like being at an enormous party, with many different clusters of types of people and events. There is the feeling of constantly shifting mood overall, as tho the conference were one large animal. Right now, the mood seems to be alert and high energy. Partly it's the demonstrations I think, partly the consensus building that it's haves vs have nots with major moral loading.

I haven't had a chance for lunch today, but there was someone with a huge cart of wonderful organic apples in the hall going into the plenary at 3:, selling them for 5 kroners (about $1.) and I sat down on a low wall between one of the open restaurants (there are many & most are organic) and the walkway, near someone from Africa working on his computer and numbers of others talking and eating.

I'm sitting in the front row towards the center of in front of the division between obervers and the delegates- about 30' away. The President and other main people are seated at a white covered table about another 100' ahead. People are constantly going back & forth with various devices, media equipment, etc. behind them are two enormous screens projecting the speakers. To my far left, there is a bank of about 15 translators with little reading lamps in presumably soundproofed gray framed cells.

From time to time, a lot of people put on their ear phones to hear proceedings in their own language. I haven't done that yet, but probably should have so I wouldn't miss anything. Each of us has our little cluster of stuff around us: water bottles, back packs, notebooks- paper and mechanical and of course cell phones. Generally, people are extremely courteous and friendly..

Earlier there were some passionate objections to proceedings without sufficient transparency. Now they are discussing projects for clean energy.

Saudi Arabia, which has been interrupting at every turn, just said, in a somewhat whiny tone, that all they have is oil and that's why they are asking for reparations. That was the first time I heard what sounded like a sincere statement from them. Maybe it's getting to them that at the conference they have become a laughing stock and something of a pariah- well, of course except for the countries that support them.