Author archive

I just attended the opening of the Green Party of Canada Economic Summit taking place this weekend at Ryerson University.  Peter Victor, who I greatly admire, gave an updated version of his talk about an economy not focused on growth.  As always, I left inspired.

An economic model that respects resource limits recognizes that once we have provided the fundamentals required to live comfortably, we should stop striving for more and more things and start putting our efforts into building relationships, and spending time with our families and friends.     Read more »

I attended the Canadian Organic Growers Toronto conference today, and could easily write a dozen posts.  I’ll write about just one speaker, Percy Schmeiser, who I had first listened to perhaps a decade ago or more at a Toronto Vegetarian Association event.  In those days I was not a food activist at all.  I just liked vegetables and wanted to be informed about what I was eating and feeding my family.  So I went to Mr. Schmeiser’s talk then not necessarily expecting to be convinced of the harm of genetically modified foods.

Mr. Schmeiser’s story is one of profound and infuriating wrong.  When I first heard him speak, he was embroiled in a legal battle with Monsanto, which had identified their genetically modified crop on his field, and demanded that he pay for using their patented product.  As a heritage seed developer, he certainly didn’t welcome Monsanto’s “contribution”, which had contaminated all his fields and destroyed 50 years worth of work.  All he did was refuse to pay.  And in retribution, Monsanto dragged him right up to the Supreme Court, counting on the fact that he would succumb to the immense pressure of overwhelming legal bills.     Read more »

Wishing you a happy and prosperous Valentine’s Day and a romantic and sexy Lunar New Year!

[Tiger Valentine image courtesy of Charlene Chua Illustration.]

Over a year ago, I was directed to a scientific paper by two scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute, Pushker A. Kharecha and James Hansen, which compared our known reserves of fossil fuels with the carbon we can safely burn without undue risk of destabilizing our climate. This paper concluded that in order to contain atmospheric carbon dioxide below 450 ppm, which would raise global temperatures about 2 degrees above preindustrial levels, we would need to cut down on our use of coal and unconventional oil (like the tar sands), as well as emissions from deforestation.     Read more »

These are hard times for those of us working on climate change – scientists, environmentalists, policymakers and others.  The breathless rumours about the death of climate change science from denialists are not only premature, however, they are contrary to what anyone working in the field knows and understands.  The real question is whether we will embrace the science in time to prevent catastrophe.

I was studying Anthropology at the University of Toronto in the early 1980s.  At that time, Richard Leakey and Donald Johanson were embroiled in a bitter feud about the significance of Australopithecus afarensis.  Johanson had found remains of the 3.2 million year old hominid and was sure that it was a human ancestor.  Leakey was initially unwilling even to acknowledge that it deserved its own species name.  Johanson was still fighting off accusations of professional misconduct because he publicized his findings in a popular magazine and gave the specimen the catchy name “Lucy” before submitting his research to peer-review.  Some old textbooks that we used still referred to Piltdown Man, which had been revealed as a fraud four decades before.     Read more »

Just got the news.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I’ve wanted to write for a while about Afghan prisoner issues, but for a while every day brought new revelations.  And now for days I’ve wanted to write about the prorogation of Parliament, but I’m honestly stumped about what to say.  And obviously I’m heartily ashamed of Canada’s performance at Copenhagen, which earned us the “Fossil of the Year”  award once again.

Maude Barlow ties all this together, and more, here.

I watched Avatar with my family on New Year’s Day and highly recommend it.  One of my friends described it as a futuristic Pocahontas story that ends well for the natives.  He also found it amusing that the substance for which mankind was willing to lay waste to the beautiful moon of Pandora was called unobtainium.  Spoilers ahead.     Read more »

May everyone have a happy, healthy and hopeful year.

Well I got a letter published in the National Post, and to my horror, in my haste I made a mistake.     Read more »

One thing is clear from the Canadians selected to inform our negotiating team in Copenhagen — environment minister Jim Prentice has no interest in science, nor the environment.     Read more »

Here’s what I wrote to the Toronto Sun in response to a recent Peter Worthington column:

I have just read Peter Worthington’s recent piece entitled “Why Dismiss Dissent?” and was completely horrified by the misrepresentations and the complete lack of any journalistic standards.

For example, Worthington states that the Kyoto accord “cannot be effective if the world’s two greatest polluters — China and India — refuse to join”.  He seems unaware of the fact that China and India are Kyoto signatories, whereas the United States are not.     Read more »

Canada is poised to torpedo international climate negotiations now underway in Copenhagen.  Canadians concerned about a future for the next generations can have a dramatic impact by pressing their government today.     Read more »

I had a busy day today.     Read more »

Here’s a letter I sent to the National Post regarding their article on the Munk Debate in response to Terence Corcoran’s highly deceptive post.  It wasn’t published.

I can agree with only one statement of Mr. Corcoran’s analysis of the Munk Debate on climate change last week.  The audience had no way of knowing fact from fiction.

Fact checking would have revealed that the Monbiot/May side had the facts on their side.     Read more »

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May and deputy leader Jacques Rivard are joining hundreds of Canadians in Copenhagen to press for the international treaty most Canadians voted for and to oppose the dangerous proposals Canada’s official delegation brings to the table.

Over the next 10 days in Copenhagen, the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol is to be negotiated.  This treaty will bind participating nations to emissions reductions, forest protection and economic and technology transfers over the next decade.  It has tremendous economic implications for the next few decades and overwhelming human rights implications for the next generations.     Read more »

Here’s an event my friend Rita Bijons has initiated:

Candlelight Vigil for Climate Action
Saturday, 2009 December 12, 7 pm – 9 pm
Queen’s Park     Read more »

I spent the day being inspired.     Read more »

Yesterday, I had the privilege of hearing George Monbiot speak live for the second time in my life.  It is a very rare privilege because two years ago, shortly after the last time I saw him, when he was on a tour promoting his then newly-published book Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning, he promised himself never to fly again.

He joked that he broke his promise for this trip because it was easier than putting off the pestering Canadians any longer.  But he was also clearly here because he was concerned about Canada’s position on climate change and the direction our government was taking both the country and the world.

I was very glad I went.  First of all, I was glad simply because it’s inspiring to listen to someone who is so informed, so eloquent and so principled and inspiring.  But I was also glad because there’s just so much more that can be said in person than could ever fit into a printed article.  It’s relatively easy to make guarded and thoughtful statements when you can erase what you don’t like.  To my delight, Monbiot in person presents as even more compassionate and sensible than he does on paper.

To me the most interesting point of the event occurred during the questions that followed, when one person asked about Mr. Monbiot’s opposition to biochar.     Read more »

James Hoggan is the Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation and the Canadian chapter of Al Gore’s The Climate Project.  I’m in the middle of reading his book Climate Cover-up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming.  I frequently find myself referring to the DeSmogBlog.com website he oversees.  I’m looking forward to hearing him in person.

James Hoggan: Climate Cover-up
Tuesday, 2009 November 17, noon – 3 pm
Le Méridien King Edward Hotel, 37 King St East
The Empire Club in the Vanity Fair Ballroom
Tickets are $65, $50 for members – order online     Read more »

Please take a moment to remember those who served selflessly to protect our lives and our democracy.

Toronto candidates engage in pre-election mudslinging

Apart from the very specific support for arts and culture activities which the Green Party promotes, arts are integral to a green lifestyle which values local production by low-impact methods.     Read more »

Stephen Scharper is a powerful speaker who helped send us off on the Sunshine Walk for Climate Justice last year.  I’m looking forward to this talk in our neighbourhood.

A Time to Speak of Poverty and Climate Change:
A Conversation with Professor Stephen Bede Scharper
Saturday, 2009 October 17, 9 am – noon
Danforth Baptist Church, 60 Bowden St
(corner of Danforth and Bowden, west of Chester station)

Presented by Toronto East KAIROS Committee.
Free admission, info 416-466-0566.