Archive for The six principles of the global Greens

In visiting with people door-to-door, one of the most common grievances I hear is the worry from seniors about increasing difficulty just to make ends meet.  Often, seniors worry not only for themselves, but also about the burden they put on other family members.  Just before I left for Cancun and a month of worries about climate change followed by Christmas, Joe Friesen reported in the Globe and Mail that senior poverty in Canada had jumped 25% during the economic crisis.  The picture he paints is exactly in line with the experiences I hear about.  We need to address senior poverty.  Working towards the Green Party’s visions for valuing seniors and eliminating poverty would be a start.

UPDATE — While the number of seniors who slipped into poverty increased by 25%, it turns out CEOs were making more than ever – more in just a day’s worth of work than most Canadians make all year.

Jeffrey Simpson explains very well what the Canadian government strategy on climate change is – say something that sounds good to Canadians and stay very quiet in international negotiations, where everyone knows that we have no leg to stand on.  We have arguably the worst record of fighting climate change, or even taking it seriously, on the planet.     Read more »

COP 16 President Patricia Espinosa just received a prolonged standing ovation simply for announcing 10 hours late that negotiations were still ongoing and a deal was still possible.  I am in tears.

The youth action outside this building was forcibly stopped.

The best analysis I’ve seen of the new text is offered by BBC.  It is better than nothing.

A ceremony announcing the Colossal Fossil was widely expected to award Canada for the fourth year in a row, given the large number of fossils accumulated during this year’s negotiations.  But in the confusion outside, the announcement has been put off.  I’m proud of the young Canadians for their courage, and disgusted by our leaders for their lack of it.

[Adriana is blogging from the UN climate change negotiations in Cancun, in an attempt to keep the Canadian delegation honest.]

Patricia is going to get the President’s new text, just available hot off the press in the Azteca building here at the Moon Palace in Cancun.

Outside, some 50 young people are counting in unison.  Some are crying.  They are counting the dead.  21,000 annual deaths from climate change now, a number destined to climb right along with the temperatures.  We desperately, desperately need some good news.

[Adriana is blogging from the UN climate change negotiations in Cancun, in an attempt to keep the Canadian delegation honest.]

The open meetings have all been delayed as last-minute negotiations continue behind closed doors.  I’m sitting in the Cancunmesse area where displays are being taken down and people are tense and bored.  For anyone following in Canada, now would be a good time to call the Prime Minister’s Office and tell him you want Canada to show some leadership in breaking the logjam by going along with the majority of countries and supporting a second Kyoto period, and urging Japan and Russia to do the same.

[Adriana is blogging from the UN climate change negotiations in Cancun, in an attempt to keep the Canadian delegation honest.]