A Response

http://www.turningmanagersintoleaders.com/inspire-close-retirement-employee/

After reading the above article I wrote to Merge.  I have posted my response below.

Dear Merge:

Your article entitled How To Inspire the Close-to-Retirement  Employee has inspired me to write after quite a bit of reflection on my part.  

In my 30s, I worked as an accountant in public practice.  My chargeable hours totalled 2200 hours per annum.  Just in case you aren't clutching your pearls in astonishment as you fumble for your smelling salts,  I'll spell it out:  2200 hours is an incredible attainment.  To achieve that, I worked 40 hours per week like any person with a full time job.  In addition, during our "slow" time, I worked every evening Monday to Thursday and all day Saturday. In tax time, I worked all the time.   I mean that.   I remember security coming in at 1:00 am and asking me to go home.  I did, but I was back in the office by 7:00 am.  What about holidays, you ask?  I am of Scandinavian extraction and my family celebrates Christmas on Christmas  Eve.  Big dinner with all the clan - present opening - laughter - the works.   I remember a Christmas Eve when I looked out of the office while we were all frantically finishing up a few last minute things before the Christmas break, and saw that every other office tower downtown was dark.  Every Last. Building.  At that point, I said I was going home to my family.  Bossy dearest was livid.  Scrooge like, he screamed that I had the next day off.  His anger that evening was nothing compared to the day that I told him I had to have a week off to have a lump taken out of my neck. I was lucky it wasn't cancer:  if it had been, I wouldn't have had a job if I had been unable to work while receiving cancer treatment.  

You will argue that mine was an isolated case - that my boss was a manipulative workaholic.  He certainly was but I suggest that you read Modern Times, Ancient Hours:  Working Hours in the 21st Century by Pietro Basso: you will realize that  all employees face pressure at work.  In a way, I'm lucky as I have a professional accounting designation and accountants are in short supply.  Today's edition of the Globe and Mail states that  " a host of factors are eroding job quality" and discusses how employers lack commitment to employees in the long term  (page B 5, Report on Business Weekend.)

Ours is  a greedy,  dysfunctional culture  and workplaces reflect that.   Work is often a demoralizing and shattering experience.   Perhaps age does bring wisdom: I'm not buying your suggestion that I produce more and  that I mentor younger people to "leave a legacy."   I just do my job and go home.  If my current employer doesn't like my "coasting"  they can fire me and pay for the privilege.

And you , madam, are promoting manipulative techniques  to squeeze a little more productivity out of workers instead of reflecting on the root causes of the oppressiveness of the workplace.

What does this have to with the environment and climate change?    What is the difference between ruthlessly exploiting the environment and exploiting workers?    No much - it's the same mindset.   There's a lack of empathy for other humans - other living things - or the earth in each.  

Climate Change and Your Health

The Centers for Disease Control in  the States writes  that climate change is a health threat.  They say

Climate is one of many variables known to affect the rates of these infectious diseases. Climate change may result in changing distribution of VBZD prevalent in the U.S. This could cause formerly-prevalent diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to re-emerge, or facilitate the introduction and spread of new disease agents, such as West Nile virus. http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/vectorborne.htm

So does the World Health Organization.   They state

the overall health effects of a changing climate are likely to be overwhelmingly negative.  http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/

An article in the Journal of  American Medical Association reinforces this point.

Harm from climate change includes respiratory disorders, infectious diseases, food insecurity, and mental health disorders, said the JAMA study, Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Global Health.  http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/09/27/doctors-remind-politicians-health-consequences-failure-address-climate-change

One of the consequences of Canadians' denial of climate change has been that we haven't taken action on vector borne illnesses.  Canada only started tracking Lyme disease, a tick borne and treatable illness,  in 2009.  2009, for Pete's sakes! 

Today, Canada's PHA recognizes endemic populations of ticks that could carry the disease in six Canadian provinces: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia.   http://www.straight.com/news/738356/lyme-disease-surges-north-canada-moves-out-denial

The interior of BC doesn't have any ticks, does it?  Naaaah - we don't have to worry about climate change here - if you're my acquaintance with the Phd and the big case of denial.

If you're not in denial, please contact  your MP and instruct them  to nag  the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   Next time you see your doctor (if you have a doctor) suggest that they collectively remind the government of their responsibilities.  Increased health costs due to climate change are the last thing our health care system needs.

China Canada FIPPA

Elizabeth May's press conference after the China FIPPA was quietly passed on a Friday.  Please listen to the whole thing - Elizabeth May is amazing.  She says this treaty trumps court decisions.

 

 

 

Why would Mr. Harper pass this thing?  Perhaps he's attempting to do an end run around the rights of First Nations.  The Tyee suggested that was the case in an article yesterday.

Perhaps most importantly, the deal fails to protect aboriginal rights under the Constitution. The implications of this omission are profound. While our federal government has a duty to consult First Nations, Chinese state-owned companies can sue Canada through a secret international arbitration panel for any such accommodation that impacts their economic interests. http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/09/25/Harper-Skins-Constitution/

And even if we abrogate this tomorrow, we're in thrall to it for the next sixteen years. 

Climate Change Denial

The climate has changed.   It's affecting us.  right here, right now.  The photo below is of Kamloops on July 23, 2014.   No, this dealership isn't anywhere near the river.

Today's Globe and Mail describes an event that affects 20 million people in Brazil.  No water.....

South America’s largest city is nine months into an unprecedented drought, with no end in sight. The water shortage is already squeezing businesses in Sao Paulo and threatens to further undermine the stalled economy in Brazil, until recently one of the world’s fastest-growing. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/unprecedented-drought-puts-sao-paulo-water-supply-at-risk/article20798270/#dashboard/follows/

Why do people still deny climate change?  Or deny that we need to take action now?

A right wing editor states that:


"The people I work with at the National Post — because there are some colleagues I have who are what you may call 'climate change deniers' — generally the one universal aspect is that they tend to be right-wing in their thinking, they see market-based solutions as the solution to enriching our society in every respect and it bothers them, the idea that here's this problem that cannot be solved with unfettered industrial activity." https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7545992365056379718#editor/target=post;postID=1041667914935287024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1YnJa5-wZk&feature=player_embedded

An educated person I know - she teaches at a university  -  said "It won't happen in my lifetime.   And I'm enjoying the warm September."  When I retorted that I hoped she would enjoy a polar vortex winter, she said, " But that happened in TO. It won't happen here." 

Climate change deniers are afraid of changing their comfortable lifestyles and world views.  I have news for them:  change is inevitable.  Climate change is already here.  If we don't treat it as a major crisis, things are gonna get a whole lot worse. 

Back To Life

The Fez River winds through the medina of Fez, Morocco—a mazelike medieval city that’s a World Heritage site. Once considered the “soul” of this celebrated city, the river succumbed to sewage and pollution, and in the 1950s was covered over bit by bit until nothing remained. TED Fellow Aziza Chaouni recounts her 20 year effort to restore this river to its former glory, and to transform her city in the process.

http://www.ted.com/talks/aziza_chaouni_how_i_brought_a_river_and_my_city_back_to_life?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button__2014-08-19

This is a fairly  short, very cool TED talk.  Would it be possible to rejuvenate Petersen Creek in Kamloops?  How about in your city?

Is Anyone Else Seeing a Pattern Here?

Recent news:

• Near-record rainfall has caused massive flooding in the Detroit area that is blamed for at least one death and has made roads impassable, swamped vehicles and flooded basements, officials said.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michigan-floods-at-least-1-dead-1-000-cars-abandoned-1.2734986
•  
• The country suffered almost €2bn (£1.6bn) worth of damage to homes, infrastructure and industry in May, when heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks, sweep away roads and bridges and set off hundreds of landslides. More than 20 people died in Bosnia and more than 60 in Serbia.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/bosnia-floods-missing-emergency
•  
• New York's heaviest downpour on record dumped a summer's worth of rain on parts of Long Island in a matter of hours on Wednesday, swamping highways before drivers could escape, flooding basements and causing at least one death.
  The 33cm recorded at the MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma during the morning was more than the area's normal combined total for June, July and August of 27cm.
  ^{http://www.news24.com/Green/News/Just-one-major-storm-floods-Long-Island-20140814}
•  
  Residents of Kamloops and other parts of southern B.C. are cleaning up after torrential rains soaked the region on Wednesday, causing flash flooding, power outages and small mudslides.  Environment Canada estimates the city of Kamloops was hit with about 25 mm of rain in about 20 minutes, flooding streets with muddy rivers of water, catching many people by surprise. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kamloops-cleans-up-from-flash-flooding-1.2716899
• 
   

Yup - there's a pattern - extreme flooding.  In fact,extreme weather events are becoming more common.   

 

The work shows so-called “blocking patterns”, where hot or wet weather remains stuck over a region for weeks causing heatwaves or floods, have more than doubled in summers over the last decade.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/11/extreme-weather-common-blocking-patterns

 So - maybe we should take climate change seriously. Actually do something, I mean.   Whaddya think?  Wanna keep rolling the dice - gambling that serious effects wont' happen while you're alive?   Looks like that's a bad bet.....

 

Write your MP.    Lobby the provincial government. 

 

 

Lemmings

I have been thinking about owls,  their prey, and population cycles.  Per Wikipedia,  a population cycle is

a phenomenon where populations  rise and fall over a predictable period of time. There are some species where population numbers have reasonably predictable patterns of change although the full reasons for population cycles is one of the major unsolved ecological problems. There are a number of factors which influence population change such as availability of food, predators, diseases and climate.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_cycle

Climate change is affecting the habitat of humans.  See Calgary, floods.

Many Canadian cities and towns are ill-prepared for the rising frequency of catastrophic weather events like the southern Alberta floods, and it’s a problem that taxpayers will ultimately end up paying for, climate change experts say.   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/06/26/f-climate-change-flooding-weather-preparation.html 

So what?  So,  - weather events on this scale are traumatic for those swept up (or away) in them.  And they're expensive.  Very expensive.    

Now, the province faces a potentially decade-long cleanup effort that could cost $5 billion by BMO Nesbitt Burns estimates. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/06/26/f-climate-change-flooding-weather-preparation.html

Would it not be prudent and sensible to acknowledge our impact on the climate and actually take effective steps to prevent and mitigate climate change?   After all, 

The problem of extreme weather will only become more dangerous. It has already become commonplace, destroying crops, riverbanks, homes, towns, factories and offices. Insurance providers, whether governments or corporations, are less willing and able to underwrite risks and compensate policy holders.  http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/underestimate-climate-change-underfund-innovation

Of course it would.   Do lemmings think about maintaining their population at a level the natural resources can support?  Do they worry about the future of their children if they destroy their environment?  I dont' know if they do - but humans don't .  Or don't seem to.  Perhaps humanity has a  10,000 year population cycle.

WTF, Abbotsford?

I knew the Fraser Valley was conservative:  after all, Gramma lives there and no-one has ever called her inclusive or accepting!  However, I didn't think Abbotsford residents were heartless.  They certainly  sound  heartless to me.  For one thing,   they haven't protested a bylaw that's been in place since 2005.  The bylaw prohibits harm reduction services for addicts.   Not everyone approves of the bylaw, of course. In fact, there's a law suit in the offing.  

Three injection drug users filed a lawsuit Tuesday over an Abbotsford, B.C., bylaw that has banned harm-reduction services such as clean needle exchanges for the past eight years, arguing the prohibition violates their charter rights and needlessly puts them at risk. The lawsuit comes as councillors in the Fraser Valley community study the future of the bylaw, which health officials say is preventing them from providing harm reduction services in an area with some of the province’s highest rates of overdoses and infections of HIV and hepatitis C. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/drug-users-in-abbotsford-bc-sue-over-bylaw-that-bans-clean-needle-exchange/article12050284/ 

Moreover, Abbotsford employees  dumped chicken manure where homeless gather in an attempt to  - what?  Make the homeless magically disappear?    The City managers discussed this at length.

"Internal emails indicate that numerous City of Abbotsford departments took part in formulating a plan to dump chicken manure on a homeless camp last month. What's more, one email suggests the Salvation Army was aware of the plan to use fertilizer at the Gladys Avenue camp across the street from the charity's Centre of Hope. Managers from Abbotsford's bylaw, forestry, roads and parks departments shaped the plan, according to emails made public through a CBC freedom of information request."   http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/story.html?id=8703896#ixzz2aC2FkJTq

(By the way, the Salvation Army denies it condoned or knew about the Drive Them Away With Shit plan. )

Moreover, Abbotsfordians say they will not support a proposed BC housing supportive recovery project - no matter the benefits of same to the community.  No matter what evidence is presented!  I'm not kidding! 

 Early July:The Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) begins to circulate a petition against the proposed ACS housing project. Emails to ADBA members include inaccurate information regarding the nature and scope of the project. July 12: The ADBA presents at ASDAC, stating that there is no possible chance that they will support the housing project no matter what evidence of its benefit to the city is presented. Objections to their stance by ASDAC members are ignored.http://www.abbotsfordtoday.ca/a-crisis-of-conscience/

Therefore,  Abbotsford is facing another law suit.

 

Pivot Legal Society has agreed to represent approximately 10 people in a civil suit against the city. They allege that tents and belongings were destroyed by city workers, part of the action taken by the city to stop the homeless and drug users from camping near a Salvation Army. http://globalnews.ca/news/737370/abbotsford-being-sued-for-dumping-chicken-manure-to-chase-away-homeless-people/

 

Just in case you need your memory refreshed on the benefits of harm reduciton strategies, here's some information from the Vancouver sun.

A large body of scientific evidence demonstrates that Insite and other harm reduction programs, such as needle exchanges, are effective in reducing the harms associated with illicit drug use. Sadly, ideological debate about harm reduction continues, despite widespread agreement among health authorities, including the World Health Organization, that such programs are essential to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other drug-related harms

. http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Evidence+trumps+ideology+over+public+health+benefits+Insite/8704065/story.html

 Or from Vancouver Coastal health:

"The fatal overdose rate in [Vancouver's Downtown Eastside] decreased by 35% after the opening of the SIF"… “Supervised injection facilities clearly have an important part to play in communities affected by injection drug use. “Brandon D L Marshall, M-J Milloy, Evan Wood, Julio S G Montaner, Thomas Kerr THE LANCET http://www.communityinsite.ca/science.html

  Does the City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association realize the damage they're doing to their reputations?  Please help them make that realization:  Email them  - or phone them - and let them know. Ask them to live up to their "  city-wide initiative on diversity and inclusion that aims to build interfaith and intercultural connections and thereby reduces issues of social alienation, racism and discrimination."

Abbotsford Downtown Business Association

Telephone: (604) 850-6547

Fax: (604) 859-6507

Email: executive@downtownabbotsford.com City of Abbotsford Toll Free1-866-853-2281

 

That Royal Baby

That royal baby is going to inherit a royal mess!

Rapid thawing of the Arctic could trigger a catastrophic "economic timebomb" which would cost trillions of dollars and undermine the global financial system, say a group of economists and polar scientists.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/24/arctic-thawing-permafrost-climate-change

New research suggests that the Arctic summer sea ice loss is linked to extreme weather. Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis points to the phenomenon of "Arctic amplification", where....Extreme weather events over the last few years apparently driven by the accelerating Arctic melt process - including unprecedented heatwaves and droughts in the US and Russia, along with snowstorms and cold weather in northern Europe – have undermined harvests, dramatically impacting global food production and contributing to civil unrest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/earth-insight/2013/may/02/white-house-arctic-ice-death-spiral

Climate scientists have linked the massive snowstorms and bitter spring weather now being experienced across Britain and large parts of Europe and North America to the dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/25/frozen-spring-arctic-sea-ice-loss

We should all worry........

Amazing

2013 has been absolutely amazing: not the flooding or the thunderstorms or the heat waves.   Although those have been frightening - see the pic below of Toronto residents wading in flash flooding July 8, 2013. ( Picture from the Toronto Star.)  The results have been gruesome., to put it mildly.  Gruesome and traumatic for the folks affected.

Toronto flooded - with sewage as well as water.  

So when more than 90 millimetres of rainfall (more than 3.5 inches) pummeled the city in just two hours Monday, this divider was breached and a mixture of sewage and storm water overflowed onto Toronto’s streets and cascaded towards the harbour. 

http:www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/07/09/toronto_flooding_released_raw_sewage_in_a_sweep_to_lake_ontario.html

Ontario and Quebec had more severe thunderstorms today: one person was killed in Quebec. .  Calgary and High River and Canmore saw  really vicious flooding  in June -I'm sure you've seen the coverage.

What's amazing is that the media and governments have actually mentioned climate change in the same breath as the severe weather.

Many Canadian cities and towns are ill-prepared for the rising frequency of catastrophic weather events like the southern Alberta floods, and it’s a problem that taxpayers will ultimately end up paying for, climate change experts say. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/06/26/f-climate-change-flooding-weather-preparation.html

Oh, that's the CBC - they're pinkos . Oh yeah?   Ok - but the Calgary Herald`s not left wing.

Canada’s insurance lobby says Albertans are less likely to be worried about weather trends linked to climate change than others in the country, despite a recent six-fold increase in insured damages from severe storms, fires and flooding. But as property and casualty carriers respond by hiking premiums up to 25 per cent this year, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says the province and its municipalities need to get serious about mitigating losses in Alberta that have mounted to an average of $670 million annually in the past four years compared to an average of $100 million annually in the previous 15 years. http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Alberta+urged+prepare+increasingly+severe+weather+insurance+losses+mount/8446756/story.html

Another piece from the Calgary Herald:

 To put this in another context, it's been four weeks since Calgarians woke up to the raging waters of the Bow and Elbow rivers. It is the worst natural disaster that has occurred in this country and Calgarians have yet to hear from all levels of government that they are looking at every possible mitigation strategy aimed at minimizing the impact of another flooding event.  http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Yedlin+Where+plan+prevent+future+floods/8681062/story.html

Maybe, just maybe the zeitgeist is shifting. Let`s hope so!

Advertising

What in hell is the federal government advertising? 

The latest annual report on advertising by the federal government has been posted here. In the fiscal year of 2011-2012, the Harper government spent $78.5 million on advertising, which is actually the lowest total since the Conservatives formed government. http://www2.macleans.ca/tag/government-advertising/
 

The tar sands , among other things.   Pardon me - responsible resource development.

Natural Resources Canada ran extensive focus groups last summer to fine tune an ad campaign designed to convince Canadians of the industrial benefits and environmental stewardship of the energy sector — particularly the oilsands. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, meanwhile, is running its own campaign called "Responsible Canadian Energy" that plumbs the same themes. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/natural-resources-minister-aligned-priorities-with-pipeline-lobby-documents-195632671.html?device=mobile

 

One of the key concerns for the federal government in a multimillion-dollar Natural Resources advertising campaign was the negative publicity around the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, according to internal government documents.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/25/pol-northern-gateway-federal-ads.html?cmp=rss

Jesus - I don't even need to comment.  Could the right Honorable Stephen Harper be any cozier with the fossil fuel industry? I shouldn't ask rhetorical questions....

Tailings ponds from oilsands production are leaking and contaminating Alberta’s  groundwater, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in an internal memo obtained by Postmedia News. The memo, released through access to information legislation, said that federal government scientists, including Quebec City-based research geoscientist Martine Savard, had discovered evidence of the contamination in new research that rejected longstanding claims that toxins in the region of the Athabasca River were coming from natural sources. “The studies have, for the first time, detected potentially harmful, mining-related organic acid contaminants in the groundwater outside a long-established out-of-pit tailings pond,” said the memo from deputy minister Serge Dupont, dated June 19, 2012.  http://o.canada.com/2013/02/17/oilsands-tailings-leaking-into-groundwater-joe-oliver-told-in-memo/

 

They didn't advertise that, did they?

Update: Perhaps they could advertise the following - maybe for speed of cleanup or speed of notifcation.....

Officials from Suncor Energy Inc. and Alberta Environment are scrambling to test for contaminants after the discovery Monday that industrial waste water from the oil sands giant’s base plant was leaking from a ruptured pipe into a pond close to the Athabasca River....People living and working downstream of the plant, including First Nations communities, have been notified of the release, Ms. Seetal added. Water in the outflow pond is already treated. But she didn’t have specific details about the content of the untreated industrial waste water, which is used in Suncor’s extraction and upgrading processes. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/alberta-officials-test-for-contaminants-after-suncor-plant-leaks-waste-water/article10363390/

Discussion on The Restriction of Plastic Water Bottles

http://www.usernetsite.com/society/every-day-millions-of-plastic-water-bottles-are-being-discarded.php

There is always a tension between individual rights and collective rights.

We restrict all kinds of behaviour by law: even though I can make all kinds of money manufacturing and selling crystal meth, the law prohibits me from doing so.  Ditto the manufacture of child porn:   very few people question our laws on child porn .  (Except for Tom Flanagan!)   Slavery isn't legal either.  Here in Canada, we have restrictions on hate speech. Most people would agree with restrictions on       first three:  I'm guessing or hoping  most folks would frown on urging people to kill  LGBT people because their existence is an abomination. We also regularly send folks to a forensic psychiatric hospital in spite of said folks express wishes!

Once we admit that some actions and behaviours are not socially acceptable, and should be sanctioned, the discussion then becomes one of where the sanctions  should be drawn.   We may differ on where that line should be, but will agree that a line should be drawn somewhere that restricts  freedoms.

I think that the issues of environmental degradation/ destruction and climate change are of the same calibre as slavery and child abuse. Humans stand a very good chance of destroying our natural environments as the climate warms: once we do that, then it’s goodbye Charlie for humans.  ( Please watch the video in the immediately preceding post or read Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer for information on how bad things will get if we continue with business as ususal.) 

Even if one privileges humans over everything else, the choices we make, are causing the climate to change .  We are therefore are killing people right now with our choice of business as ususal : climate change is eroding land in Bangladesh; South Pacific islanders are buying land on larger continents so they’ll have somewhere above water to live; and people are dying of droughts in the Horn of Africa.  I think we have a moral responsibility to alter our choices and actions if our current ones are devastating other people.

So, although banning plastic bottles at the students request at TRU may seem like a small step that arbitrarily wipes out freedoms, I don’t think it is. Plastic bottles are manufactured with oil – are unnecessary for our  health as we have clean drinking water in Kamloops – and their ban would be small step on the road we have to take if we are to survive. If nothing else, the discussion on plastic bottles acts as consciousness raising and symbolizes our collective determination to cut down on affluenza.

Make the Impossible Possible

A succinct and frightening explanation ...

Your Right To A Healthy Environment

I just listened to a teleconference on the right to a healthy environment.

Do countries with the right to a healthy environment actually have healthier environments and people?   

In general, these countries have smaller ecological footprints, rank higher on comparisons of environmental performance and have done a better job of addressing issues such as air pollution and climate change than countries like Canada whose constitutions lack this right. If you look at the environmental records of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes most of the world's wealthy industrialized nations, you find 14 of the top 15 nations have constitutional provisions mandating environmental protection. Six of the seven countries with the worst environmental records lack constitutional protection for the environment.  

  What is it going to take to convince our government to change the constitution?

 An amendment needs to gain the support of Parliament and seven out of 10 provinces in a three-year period. So while it will be a challenge to change the constitution, it's not impossible—especially since a recent poll found that nine out of 10 Canadians support protection of the right to a healthy environment.
It's also heartening to see how other countries have embraced such constitutional change. In France a few years ago, President Chirac demonstrated tremendous commitment in promoting a Charter for the Environment, and the people of France were overwhelmingly supportive. In Ecuador and Bolivia, Indigenous people played a key role in constitutional reforms that not only recognized the right to a healthy environment but also the rights of Nature.  http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/docs-talk/2012/10/a-healthy-environment-should-be-a-basic-human-right/
 

Dr David R Boyd is hoping a movement to enshrine this right in the Canadian constitution will gather momentum and become a non partisan issue in the next three years.  He wrote a book on this topic called  The Right to a Healthy Environment.  You can buy it at http://www.ubcpress.ca/search/title_book.asp?BookID=299173851  but it's $ 85.00 - let's hope local university libraries  have bought it!

Sign up for more information on this topic at Ecojustice at 
 http://ejcan.convio.net/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=1521


 

Crude Reality

Alberta's oilpatch is anxious to mine the tar sands and sell dilbit. It would be good for the economy, news media states.

Stymied by insufficient pipeline capacity, Alberta’s oil patch is facing problems in getting its product to market. The resulting glut has driven the price for Western Canadian Select oil more than $30 (U.S.) a barrel below that for West Texas Intermediate crude...However, a new report from RBC Economics says that oil patch investment will continue to provide a bright spot for the Canadian economy. It also argues that there is good reason to think that the spread between Western Canadian oil and West Texas crude will narrow in the years ahead.The report notes that swelling production from the oil patch has outpaced pipeline expansion, creating a bottleneck that will be tough to unplug without a direct southbound corridor (think Keystone XL) and an east-west pipeline (Saint John’s enormous oil refinery says hello). The good news is that the current $30-plus discount on every barrel of Canadian oil provides powerful motivation to build the needed pipelines. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/the-bright-side-of-canadas-weak-oil-prices/article8123055/

There's another crude reality out there, however.  It's discussed in Scientific American.

To avoid passing tipping points, such as initiation of the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, we need to limit the climate forcing severely. It's still possible to do that, if we phase down carbon emissions rapidly, but that means moving expeditiously to clean energies of the future," he explains. "Moving to tar sands, one of the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive fuels on the planet, is a step in exactly the opposite direction, indicating either that governments don't understand the situation or that they just don't give a damn."  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tar-sands-and-keystone-xl-pipeline-impact-on-global-warming

The reality of climate change has sunk in: ome very surprising sources  and institutions are worrying about the effects of climate change.

With energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) representing the majority of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the fight against climate change has become a defining factor for energy policy-making – but the implications are daunting. Meeting the emission goals currently pledged by countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) would still leave the world some 13.7 billion tonnes of CO₂ – or 60% – above the level needed to remain on track with the 2°C goal in 2035. Much additional investment will need to be directed towards lower- CO₂ technologies, on supply and end-use sides alike. The benefits that society would reap from these measures, beyond avoided climate impacts, would be of an equal if not larger magnitude than the cost to the energy sector. Meanwhile, energy policy-makers need to start thinking about the impact of committed climate change on the security of the energy sector . http://www.iea.org/topics/climatechange/

 The International Energy Association isn't exactly an environmental group!

A 4°C warmer world can, and must be, avoided – we need to hold warming below 2°C," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. "Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today. Climate change is one of the single biggest challenges facing development, and we need to assume the moral responsibility to take action on behalf of future generations, especially the poorest.  http://climatechange.worldbank.org/

The World Bank hasn't had the environment on its mind either in the past.  Perhaps we should pay attention to climate scientists - and very conservative institutions such as the World Bank and the IEA.

The real crude reality is that either we quit burning fossil fuels or  kill off millions of people and ecosystems.

Homophobia Always Hurts - and Sometimes It Kills

 Brent Astle:  January 28, 2013 to September 30, 2010   (Love you, this life, next life, somewhere, always. )

In "1991 The First Presidency of the LDS Church stated on NOV-14:

Sexual relations are proper only between husband and wife appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage. Any other sexual contact, including fornication, adultery, and homosexuality and lesbian [sic] behavior, is sinful. Those who persist in such practices or who influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline...." http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_lds2.htm

Odd as this sounds in 2013 to secular ears, these teachings matter.

I had a friend who was exposed to these teachings early and often.  He was born in 1971 and sadly, born into a devout Mormon family. He was taught that gay is a choice and that gayness is an abomination to "God." He told me he knew at the age of five that he was different. He realized what the difference was when he hit puberty.

He was gay.

He attempted suicide when he was sixteen. He killed himself on September 30, 2010.

He had been well indoctrinated with the teachings of the Mormon church. For example, just previous to his suicide, his sister told him it was only OK to be gay if he never had sex!  (She didn't plan on giving up sex herself, however.)  After his suicide, Brent's  family refused to attend a memorial breakfast if we were going to mention that he had been gay. His brother -in-law said "we will only attend tomorrow's memorial if is going to be a celebration of Brent as a special person, not a gay pride thing.  You cannot mention that he was gay."

They didn't attend. Their loss - Brent was special because he was gay - not in spite of it. 

My darling fag (I was his fag hag) is dead. The teachings he internalized at his mother's knee destroyed his sense of self worth and helped kill him. That's why religious teachings that preach that "gay is a choice and an abomination" are child abuse. Children born into devout families that espouse homophobic teachings are sometimes born gay - and grow up believing that they are worthless because of those teachings.

Not everyone believes that being gay is a choice and a sin.  There's a whole world out there that is accepting and loving.   

If you need resources or help, please check out the following:

http://www.pflagcanada.ca/en/index.html
http://www.itgetsbetter.org/
http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/
http://www.qmunity.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/tru.pride.58
http://gaykamloops.ca/
http://littlesisters.ca/blog/

Survive and thrive!

Transparency and Accountability

The Calgary Herald rants about transparency and a lack of accountability at the Attawapiskat reserve.

Canadian taxpayers want fairness and justness when it comes to how public money is being spent.....The treaties were signed by all parties involved, and that includes the federal government, which has every right to demand accountability for public money as its part of the bargain. Without transparency and openness on Attawapiskat's part, it will be impossible to create trust or foster sympathy for Spence's cause .
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Editorial+Alarming+audit/7793881/story.html
 

Rick Mercer rants about the secrecy the federal government exhibits. 

 

 

Think new fighter jets .....the Afghan detainee scandal - robo calls - the parliamentary budget officer  - omnibus bills.....Wouldn't it be lovely if the  federal government too demonstrated accountability and operated with transparency?   

Wouldn't it be lovely if the media mentioned those lacks in the same breath they chastise First Nations and the Idle No More movement?   Failing to do so wouldn't have anything with racism and a reluctance to give up privilege , would it?  

Idle No More

Idle No More reverberates with echoes from Martin Luther King and the civil righrs movement.  A commonter noted on January 9, 2013 that Idle No More began as a response to a government action - a fact that is often missed.

What is obvious from much of the coverage and commentary is that the issue of Bill C-45 has been lost in the fray. It was this omnibus bill that started the demonstrations not just because of what it purports to achieve, but because of the way it was introduced without adequate consultation with First Nation groups. Idle No More did not start in a vacuum. It started in response to Bill C-45, which is the catalyst behind this.  http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/columns/article/866071--there-s-lots-of-confusion-about-bill-c-45-and-the-idle-no-more-movement

Why the protests?  Why not work through negotiation?  Through the AFN - quietly - without all this fuss?  As Martin Luther King commented in 1963, no privileged group gives up its privilege voluntarily.

 My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.  http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
 

One group that has voluntarily declared its intention to abrogate its prvilege is the Jewish Voice for Peace.

Jewish Voice for Peace affirms its support for the Canadian indigenous rights movement known as Idle No More. In November, Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiskat First Nation began a 42-day hunger strike in response to legislation threatening First Nations' treaties and rights to natural resources. In the months since, Idle No More has become a global solidarity movement affirming indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, with hundreds of rallies around the world. Idle No More has shed light on shared struggles against colonialism, including the Palestinian struggle. In December, Palestinian activists released a statement of solidarity, committing to honor the leadership of women and youth and to "stand with all liberation movements challenging colonialism and imperialism around the world." As American Jews, we recognize that our escape from oppression reinforced the theft of indigenous lands, both in Palestine and in the Americas. Today, we still benefit from colonial privileges: as diaspora Jews we may immigrate to Israel at any time, while Palestinian refugees are denied entry.Instead of surviving through the oppression of others, we seek to unite with colonized and oppressed peoples in demanding sovereignty for all indigenous peoples. We call on the governments of the United States, Canada and Israel to recognize the suffering inflicted by ongoing annexation of indigenous land, knowing that justice for colonized people means a safer, more sustainable world for all  
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jvp-statement-on-idle-no-more-movement
 

Environmental activists should abrogate their privilige as well - and work with Idle No More.  As Elizabeth May states, we need meaningful engagement on environmental and other issues.  

The #idlenomore campaign has my full support.  ....we need a meaningful engagement on the wide range of critical issues being raised from coast to coast to coast. For that we need leadership, and right now, that leadership is coming from flash-mobs of drummers and blockaders, aboriginal women and youth.  http://www.greenparty.ca/blogs/7/2012-12-28/hunger-strikes
 

Find a local movment at http://idlenomore.ca/

 

Gee, This'll Really Hit Home!

Your morning cup of coffee is endangered.   No, really!

The study, ... focuses primarily on Ethiopia, considered to be the birthplace of coffee. Temperatures there have been going up by an average of almost 0.3 degrees per decade since 1960....What’s at stake is Ethiopia’s wild Arabica, which Davis says is home to anywhere from 80 percent to 98.8 percent of the species’s gene pool. If Arabica’s genetic diversity is wiped out, there will be big consequences. ....“The Arabicas grown in the world’s coffee plantations are from very limited genetic stock,” says Davis. “If you look at the history of coffee cultivation since the 1700s, what’s happened is the industry repeatedly goes back to Ethiopia to sort out its problems, whether they’re productivity issues or simply taste—making a good cup of coffee—you have to have that genetic diversity, that gene pool, to go back to.” http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-15/the-coffee-beans-endangered-gene-pool
 

The problem is so serious tbat  a collective, Coffee and Climate Change,  has been formed.  (OK, they call themselves a development iniative.) Find them at http://www.coffeeandclimate.org/initiative.html

Other studies have been done as well.

"Without question, all four pilot countries are still suffering from climate change impacts and are expected to  experience more or less severe changes in the suitability of their current coffee  cultivation areas. Surprisingly there  are few practical adaptation and mitigation measures

being implemented to cope with climate change." http://www.nri.org/docs/promotional/D5930-11_NRI_Coffee_Climate_Change_WEB.pdf

Doesn't look good for your morning java - it is likely to be very expensive - and harsher tasting.  Maybe this thought will galvanize climate deniers!



 

Wade Davis: The Worldwide Web of Belief and Ritual

Not only are not other cultures failed attempts at being us, their values can give us hope.  We are not forced to be greedy and destructive -  we can learn to live within natural limits.