By Michael Natelli ’14

Last Monday, leaders from nearly 200 countries met in Warsaw, Poland, to being the 19^th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 19). There’s no question it’s the most important one yet, and you don’t need to be a “tree-hugger” to realize so.

The catastrophic typhoon in the Philippines earlier this month was a reminder of how weather has become much more lethal in recent years due to man-caused climate change. As the earth continues to deteriorate, these storms will likely become more and more dangerous, and with an estimated 10,000 people dead in the aftermath of this most recent disaster, it’s unthinkable what storms could be capable of by 2025 or 2050.

So perhaps these events will add a sense of urgency to the talks of COP 19. The objective is to have a new global climate deal signed and sealed by the year 2015, though the exact details of said deal remain unclear. COP president Marcin Korolec  said that the members of the convention “must win the Warsaw opportunity.”

It certainly is an opportunity, and not one that can afford to be wasted.