Heroes of Bali: Ancient prophecy fulfilled?

I was in Bali some weeks ago with a small group taking part in the Global Day of Action rally on Dec. 8, during the UN climate change conference (UNFCCC).

Two of us were past the half-century mark; the last time we had been part of anything remotely protest-like was some three decades earlier, during our University days of peace, love and barefoot rebellion. The others, being much younger, were blase'; they couldn't quite see why we were flipping off the walls like a couple of flubber balls on steroids.

While the rally itself was disappointing, with around 2000 protesters stuck in a heavily policed quadrangle abutting the Governor's office due to security concerns, there was some media coverage. For me personally, the high point was when somebody mistook me for Vandana Shiva, India's foremost crusader for biodiversity and inspired opponent of Monsantification (genetic engineering).

But back to the real reason we were there: the rally. We wore costumes designed by Ann Wizer of XSProject, made from non-biodegradable plastic packaging; the sort used for washing-up liquid and detergent pouches, which end up clogging landfills forever -- because plastic never dies. We made a wildly colorful statement on that broiling Bali afternoon as we proceeded to march, or rather, shuffle and wilt, melting into plastic-covered puddles. We were in good company; the group ahead of us was Greenpeace. Their flagship, the SV Rainbow Warrior, had sailed into Benoa Harbor the previous day, to a rousing reception by a flotilla of Balinese fishing boats.

While we're on the subject of plastic, however, can anyone tell me why everything manmade is designed to outlive us by at least four or five lifetimes? Plastic is immortal; it simply does not decompose. Not now, not ever. Why haven't we taken a lesson from nature (which is full of inspired examples of sterile and hygienic 100% organic packaging) and developed bio-degradable alternatives yet? Take bananas, the original single-serve natural snack food. You eat the banana, you compost the peel. How cool is that? I mean, if we can shoot satellites into the zorgosphere, surely we can devise intelligent packaging that's safe for humans and the environment, instead of littering the planet with plastic, aluminum cans and Styrofoam, all of which will outlive us by several centuries?

To get back to the UNFCC; alas, we left Bali on the 14th, the very day talks were deadlocked and the Bali Roadmap was practically derailed. Not that we were attending the conference itself, but just being there and hearing from delegates we ran into kept us pretty much in the loop. I was back in Jakarta, holding my breath as the drama unfolded, with tensions rising and meetings going into extra time on Saturday the 15th. The US continued to stonewall, as deadline after deadline whipped by. Typical.

The impasse caused total chaos. UN chief negotiator, Yvo de Boer, exited the podium close to tears. In a desperate attempt to get negotiations back on track, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged delegates to "compromise", while Indonesian host, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, delivered a deeply moving and impassioned plea: "The world is watching anxiously and I beg you not to let them down".

Their words "electrified the room", to quote de Boer. They certainly had that effect on me; I had goose bumps.

And still, the US stonewalled. Under-Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky stood firm, uncompromising amid all the booing and jeering. And then, into the fray stepped my newest hero: Kevin Conrad, delegate from Papua New Guinea. "We seek your leadership," he said, addressing the US delegation. "But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please, get out of the way." Wow. You tell 'em, Kevin!

So there is finally a roadmap, albeit without emissions targets. There's consensus, in a dramatic departure from the prevailing 8-year stand-off. And there are heroes, the ones who saved the day.

Here's my personal Hero's Roll of Honor for the UNFCCC, Bali 2007:

I salute Al Gore, the one-man phenomenon who has catalyzed a global groundswell of public opinion; Kevin Rudd, for his post-Howard alignment with the Kyoto Protocol; Ban Ki-moon, for his rallying cry, "compromise!"; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his words from the heart, and Kevin Conrad, for kicking ass on behalf of us all.

And in conclusion, I'd like to leave you with the Native American-Indian prophecy from the Hopi tribe: "When the earth is weeping and the animals are dying, a tribe of all people will come, who care. They will be called Warriors of the Rainbow".

They were all there, in Bali, just like the prophecy said. My heroes, the Warriors of the Rainbow.