Stevenson grad hopes to make mark at U.N. climate conference
Brandon Perlow has been an environmentalist at heart since the day in grade school when he planted a tree in his backyard for Earth Day.
Now, the 22-year-old Stevenson High School graduate is trying to make his mark in the big leagues as one of the thousands of nongovernmental observers at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen this week.
Perlow, who is in school in London, believes history is in the making at what has been dubbed "Hopenhagen," where diplomats from 192 nations have gathered since Monday for the largest U.N. climate change conference ever.
The following is a transcript of an e-mail interview with Perlow:
Q: Where did you get your motivation to become an environmentalist?
A: My third-grade teacher at Pritchett Elementary School made us plant a tree on Earth Day, and that tree still stands in my backyard in Buffalo Grove. From a young age, I was a frequent visitor to the Botanic Gardens where my mother is a master gardener. I have always been an avid mountain hiker and just a general nature enthusiast. As vice president of the University of Wisconsin Hillel board of directors, the largest Jewish student organization in the state, I helped ensure that the new 40,000-square-foot, $14 million state-of-the-art building was LEED-certified to high environmental standards.
Q: How have you reduce your own carbon footprint?
A: Mainly by walking everywhere remotely possible, and when not possible, using carbon-neutral public transportation. I haven't used carbon-burning transportation in London in months. I also only eat organic, cage-free meat, which helps keep meat production costs down. At home, I drive an Ultralow emissions vehicle that gets 32 miles per gallon of low-octane fuel. I plant trees myself at least once a year in Buffalo Grove or around the world, such as in Israel and Brazil. I always recycle over 80 percent of my personal waste and reuse my water bottles for weeks.
Q: What's your role at the conference?
A: As observers, we have a unique responsibility to encourage diplomats to pursue a rigorous new global climate treaty, while attending workshops and side events at the conference to educate ourselves and then to try and reach a larger audience to educate them about the science and the morals behind mitigation and adaptation of climate change. Youth will be here in another 40 years to see and feel the impact of climate change. I don't want to have to apologize to my children for not having done enough when we could have.
Q: How much of a difference can the conference make when past efforts have failed to gain momentum?
A: The political will is present now. Never before have so many countries partaken in a climate conference - 110 heads of state will be in Copenhagen next week to sign a deal, as will 70 mayors of large cities worldwide. These negotiations have been going on for two years now, and this week and next week we finally get to see the end of the "Bali road map" with the signing of a Copenhagen agreement.
Q: What are your own personal goals for the conference?
A: I hope to achieve a greater understanding of the flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, so that I can write about them in media to explain their importance to a larger audience. The Clean Development Mechanism, for example, allows developed countries to invest in projects in developing countries to reduce their CO2 emissions. So far 33 percent of all CDM-approved projects are in China, resulting in 190 million tons of carbon dioxide being saved annually.
Brandon Perlow is a 2005 graduate of Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. He is working on a master's degree in public policy and administration at the London School of Economics and Political Science.