How to escape our Petri dish

Once in my biology class I watched in wonder as yeast in a grape juice-filled Petri dish multiplied uncontrollably.

In consuming the grape juice, the yeast produced alcohol, which for it is toxic. As the food source depleted, the pollutant increased, the reproductive rate plummeted and the yeast eventually died out.

What is the difference between yeast in a Petri dish and humans? One difference is that humans have an outside source of energy, the sun, so our planet is not a closed system like a Petri dish. Another difference is that we can talk to each other.

But the values that inform what we say to each other often differ. Think of any level of politics: a country, a province, a town, a sports club, your family. People have conflicting interests and values, which hamper agreements and because values stem from culture and religion, they are entrenched.

With the climate change conference COP17 to take place in Durban soon, preparations are heating up, generating a high level of environmental awareness.

Global warming may be one of the greatest challenges facing world leaders.

Greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world and stark implications for the developing world are our alcohol and depleting grape juice.

Political, economic and technological changes need to be made for an effective global response to climate change, and the pressure is on for negotiators to come together in Durban and agree on the way out of the Petri dish.

At the centre of the negotiations is the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires developed nations to whittle down emissions, and assist developing countries towards greener technologies. More than 190 countries will fight it out at COP17 over who makes the first move and who pays the most.

Difficult as it seems, our ability to negotiate defines our agency as human beings, and will perhaps be our saving grace.

We need to talk to others. We need to find a set of values that are less destructive than the ones we are using.

What gives me hope is that, among the clamour of activity in the build-up to COP17, action is being taken by some businesses, local governments and people on the periphery, inching us towards a decidedly uncertain future, but a future, nonetheless.