Thai UN Ambassador addresses BIOCEP

I just got this email from the director of the program:

Dear BIOCEP participants,

We have just received confirmation that the Ambassador of Thailand to the United Nations will be coming to speak to the 2008 BIOCEP participants. He will be at the Medical School on Thursday May 8th from 4:00pm until 5:30. We anticipate that the Dean of the Medical and other dignitaries will greet him. It is (to my knowledge) the first time an Ambassador has officially visited the Medical Center. Unfortunately we have limited space to accommodate everyone. If you are available- please e mail me as soon as possible so Ruth and I can select representatives. This is a very important event.

Good luck on finals,
John

How exciting is this?! Of course, I'll be down here in sunny DC cramming madly for my second qualifying exam on the 8th, so sadly I won't be able to attend. Even though I'd really like to be one of the "representatives" -- whatever that means -- I'm still really thrilled about this announcement because it's good news for BIOCEP that the program is growing so quickly and garnering respect from VIPs on both sides of the Pacific. Yay!

Here's a bit about the Ambassador, Anand Panyarachun, from this UN link:

In the international arena, Anand is a member of the Advisory Group of Anti-Corruption Issues for the East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank, Group of International Advisors of International Committee of the Red Cross and of the Advisory Council of Transparency International (TI). He has also served as UNICEF Ambassador for Thailand since 1996.

Anand was in 2001 elected Chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council.

During the course of five decades of his working life, Anand has been recognized both internationally and nationally for his dedication and work for the advancement of Thai society. He is the recipient of twenty honorary degrees from universities in Thailand, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan.

Anand has also been awarded a number of decorations, both Thai and foreign, including The Royal Cypher Medal (Third Class) ; Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ; Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant; Knight Grand Commander (Second Class, higher grade) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao; Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (First Class), Republic of Korea; Ringtang Jasa (First Class), Indonesia; Grand Officier de L'order de la Couronne (Second Class), Belgium; Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan; Honorary Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), United Kingdom.

Yeah UNICEF! That is my favorite UN organization by far, the only one I donate to, and the sole campus community service group to which I belong on any consistent basis (UNICEF - Georgetown). So bummed I don't get to meet this guy... but I look forward to pictures at least.

My first carbon-neutral flight!

Anyone with a pulse has probably heard about how disastrous air travel is for the environment. This graph demonstrates that flights like the one I'll be taking this July boast, on average, the highest emissions per passenger of any form of transportation known to man. What's a girl to do? Skip the trip? Spend the summer in a yurt, living off the grid?

Many feminist philosophers and activists include recommendations for actions to be taken in the "pre-feminist" present -- that is, our gender-skewed society -- that are different than the ideal behavior that would occur in the perfectly gender-neutral future. I've chosen to look at this challenge in much the same way. Until travel becomes more eco-friendly, or the harm to the environment outweighs the cultural and educational benefits of a program like BIOCEP, it doesn't make sense to forgo such an opportunity. However, lucky for me, there is means of assuaging my eco-conscience: carbon offsets!

According to this and this website, my round-trip flight to Bangkok will produce about 7.0 tons of CO2 gas -- per passenger. Ouch. However, with the help of the friendly people at NativeEnergy, I'm buying enough carbon credits to offset this rather large carbon emission. My credits will go toward something called "remooable energy," which collects methane gas from family-owned cattle farms (snicker snicker), and toward a program which helps small farmers purchase wind turbines to generate their own renewable energy. These offsets are certified and third-party verified, and go directly from an American company to American farmers, so will hopefully avoid some of the problems that international CO2 offset companies face, especially ones based on planting trees.

There are clearly many problems with carbon offset schemes right now -- the market sprang up so quickly that appropriate regulations are only just being put in place, and many of the earliest efforts appear to have mangled even well-intentioned operations on the ground. If you are thinking of purchasing your own carbon offsets -- whether for a big trip, or just for daily living -- do your research before you buy. The best programs are not those which pay poor farmers in third-world countries to plant trees, altruistic though this might seem, because research has shown that in practice such mechanisms are fraught with problems. (Farmers uninformed and misled, trees diseased or rotted, carbon reduction rendered ineffective, etc. -- listen to this podcast with Becky Milligan of the BBC's OnePlanet for information about one scheme in Tamil Nadu, South India) Your best bet is to look for credits from a reputable company offering ways to donate to established, verified alternative energy programs. In particular, look for offsets that are VER+ certified, meet the UNFCCC Clean Development or Voluntary Carbon Standards, and are in conformity with the Environmental Resources Trust protocol.

Happy flying!