Bush "singin' in the rain" while developing countries bear the brunt of climate change

Wednesday morning Greenpeace opened a scaled down version of the Climate Ark outside the conference centre, with an all-singing, all-dancing presentation of the effects of climate change. Delegates were greeted by the sight of George Bush splashing in puddles, swinging round lamposts and "singing, just singing in the rain..."

Our dancer’s Bush/Gene Kelly performance carried a more serious undertone. Behind him stood a giant image of a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires under water, after flash floods hit the city in 2001, just a few blocks from where delegates are now negotiating. And in the Climate Ark two Argentinian scientists – Juan Carlos Leiva and Vicente Barros – explained to the assembled journalists how climate change impacts are already affecting Argentina.

Lieva is a glaciologist from the Mendoza region, famous internationally for its wine industry. Yet the region is practically a desert in climatic terms – it relys almost exclusively on glacier melt water from the Andean Cordillera for agricultural irrigation. Dr Leiva explained how the region’s glaciers have dramatically retreated in recent years, and the possible effects this could have in the near future on the region’s economy and society, as sources of freshwater literally dry up. Some smaller glaciers are on the verge of disappearing completely, he said. With the retreat of these glaciers, the water resouce of the Mendoza and San Juan regions of the Central Andes will be more and more dependent on the level of rainfall, which is extremely variable. Due to the reduction of glacier cover, more serious droughts are predicted for the years when there is little precipitation.

Dr Barros, a climatologist from the University of Buenos Aires, talked about higher rainfall in other parts of the country, which are experiencing more frequent and serious flooding. “In the last 40 years, we have experienced a marked increase in rainfall to the east of the Andes, while in the west, rainfall has diminshed dramatically. We think these changes are linked to global climate change, as the the notable increase in the frequency of extreme storms and floods is something that is also happening in many other parts of the world,” explained Barros.

While floods and storms hit developing countries like Argentina the hardest, the Bush Administration seems as carefree as ever. “The United States, one of the main emitteers of greenhouse gases, has chosen to remain isolated from reality - an immoral and irresponsible stance,” said Greenpeace today.

More images of Bush singing in the rain