Archive for Ecology & sustainability

Donna Dillman is well and eating again.  She did not get the requested moratorium on uranium mining from Premier McGuinty.  Instead, after 68 days without solid food (the final two on water only), a number of organizations stepped in and promised to hold a public inquiry into uranium mining on her behalf.  These included the Canadian Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU), Greenpeace, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), WWF, Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club and others.  This was announced at a press conference in the provincial Legislature following a march organized by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

Glenn MacIntosh of EcoSanity, who has been following the story with a video recorder, took videos of Donna getting her first bite to eat.

Many heartfelt thanks to our MPP Peter Tabuns, whose office Donna occupied for over 2 weeks in Toronto, and who officially acknowledged her daily in the Legislature.  Peter also helped to organize 2 press conferences and 2 marches over that period.

Here’s a pretty good summary of our production cycle and how it has to change.  The only thing I wish it included was something about how our energy has practical limits, too.  It runs somewhat longer than a YouTube video, sort of like a short movie.  So watch when you have a bit of time.

Since I became involved with climate change more personally a couple of years ago, the news has been getting worse and worse.  A few months ago, it occurred to me that we would eventually be asked, not to drop to 40% of our emissions, nor 20% nor even 5%, but that a completely emissions-free future would be required.  I based this on the fact that a number of areas that had previously stored carbon were now releasing it with warmer temperatures, so we couldn’t rely on the Earth to absorb any more of our carbon at all.

Today, courtesy of the Young Greens site, I was referred to an article by George Monbiot, a British journalist who has made telling the unpleasant truth about climate change his mission.  Looking at the numbers, he advocates complete decarbonization immediately.  He says a wartime economy will be necessary.

A few posts back, I mused about the sense of meeting our Kyoto targets.  I was becoming convinced that they were simply too difficult to meet.  I’m once again thinking we need to meet them anyway.  Because  Monbiot is careful and ahead of the curve.  And if he’s correct, the reduction rates that Kyoto would demand would pretty much be what we’d have to do now anyway.  And 5 years from now, whatever the pain we will have gone through, we’ll be happier when we realize the even greater pain we’ve avoided.

In support of Donna Dillman, the Steelworker’s Union has organized a March on  the last day that the Legislature will be open.  Please join us.

Also please read on about what else you can do.  The situation is urgent, with Donna’s safety now very much at immediate risk.  I have gone on a juice fast myself in her support and will be in the Legislature with her today, tomorrow and Thursday after the march.  Our nominated candidate, Sharon Howarth, will be joining us as well.

March  against uranium mining
Thursday, 2007 December 13, 9:30 AM
Toronto CPT  Office
(Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Unit 307)     Read more »

There’s been a lot of talk about whether we can meet our Kyoto targets.  This is a silly question.  Of course we can.  It just gets increasingly more painful to contemplate the longer we wait.

There is a more sensible question about whether we should.  This is not a question about whether we should eventually meet the 6% reduction targets that were set by the Kyoto protocol for Canada.  We’ll clearly have to do a lot more, on the order of 80-90% eventually.  The sensible question is whether it is wise to do so within this Kyoto period now that we’re in the awkward position of being so far away from our goals.     Read more »