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day 4: tension

Tension because COP28 is coming to a close and the draft deal released today  does not mention the phase-out of fossil fuels. Tension because I feel imposter syndrome, like I am unable to form an opinion on policy because there are certain words I can and cannot say so I get scared and worry that the words would not even matter because I am only 23 years old. Tension because I know that's not true. Tension because  12-year-old activist Licypriya Kangujam  has more courage than government leaders and CEOs, and when she speaks the truth, she is detained and de-badged. Tension because t here have been demonstrations every day at COP questioning the legitimacy of the United Nations — a body that won't intervene in an ongoing genocide or stop a mass extinction — but I do not see them in my virtual participation because the UAE, the UN, whoever it is, does not want me to see them. Tension because I don't know what it means to be a diplomatic, respectful delegate when I would muc
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day 2: bold action

At 2:30am this morning, I attended a live event at COP28 that was a panel of Filipino activists reflecting on super typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines in 2013. I was pretty drowsy still after watching a different stream at 1:30 with my hot chocolate that I made in the dark, but they played a video that woke me right up. After Haiyan killed about 6,500 people that year, the representative and climate commissioner of the Philippines Nadarev "Yeb" Sano spoke at the first day of COP19. We watched the video of his testimony of utter horror that Haiyan had wrought on his country, and we watched as he declared he would not eat during the COP until meaningful climate action was taken . 300 other people fasted with him, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. Today, we are only getting closer to worldwide climate disaster. Young activists are throwing soup at famous art pieces, hundreds of thousands gather for marches in major cities, and some have lit themselves on fire — eve
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day 1: i hate wood pellets

 In 2016, in Gloster, Mississippi, a UK company called Drax opened a wood pellet production plant. Wood pellets have been a popular shift from fossil fuels, considered a form of "biomass" fuel. However, according to a Gloster resident speaking at the Global Forest Coalition press conference at COP28, there's nothing "clean" about using biomass as a reusable energy source. Drax's plant in Gloster — a majority Black, low-income town — has been cited multiple times for contributing to poor air quality, and it runs 24 hours, causing constant noise and pollution no matter the time of day. It is a blatant example of environmental racism in action.  According to a report from the Rachel Carson Council, burning wood pellets in fact releases 65% more CO2 than burning coal. And yet, in countries where it's become a popular industry like the United States, it counts towards the renewable energy quota set out in the Paris Agreement. Honestly, I felt ashamed that I
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an introduction

My name is Logan Crews; I'm a 23-year-old dancer, writer, geoscientist, Dolly Parton fan, and I'm a member of the Episcopal Church's delegation to the 2023 United Nations climate change conference, COP28. I am a new seminarian, studying at Yale Divinity School, having recently graduated college from Trinity University with a degree in Earth System Science and French. I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri before moving to San Antonio, Texas for school, but really, any time I am outdoors in nature, I'm home. Like many, I find God in the trees, in the water, in the dust floating back to the desert floor after a lone car kicked it up on a two-lane road.  I find God when I'm dancing, too. Better yet, when I'm dancing outside.  On a church trip to West Virginia when I was 15, my youth group from Emmanuel Episcopal hiked and went up an old fire lookout tower to see the sun set in the mountains. After I saw it dip below the tallest blue ridge, I climbed back down
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