I don't know if you knew, but this Saturday was Global Climate Action Day. I spent the day working on a protest song to denounce the Environmental Policies (or lack thereof) of our current neo-conservative government.
Thousands of people throughout Canada and throughout the world attended huge rallies and protests demanding action. While in some places, like Europe, where they've been doing a wonderful job, didn't necessarily need protests, in Canada it's important that some people showed up; our country has become one of the most environmentally unfriendly countries in the world. We are the only country that has completely ignored its Kyoto Protocol obligations and instead gotten worse and worse over the last decade. Harper has made it abundantly clear time and time again that he has little - no concern for or intention of instituting environmental practices that by now should be well established and common place.
These days it seems everyone's sort of tuning out to environmental issues; we're in a recession, so it's understandable everyone's more worried about their savings and whatnot. But also, there're two other huge problems: many many many Canadians seem to be apathetic to their own country's government. For good reason. Harper's government is doing a shit all job except on the financial front. All they talk about anymore is Canada's supposed recovery. And I mean we've had almost yearly elections for the past while; I was SO disappointed when he got another minority government after I got to vote in my first ever federal election. But Canadians today don't seem to really care about the Conservative agenda and why it's important to demand accountability and responsibility from our government; too busy watching youtube and gettin beers when they can find time off of work.
The second huge problem is alot of people seem to have moved on from the climate change issue. This is BAD NEWS. The problem has not been mitigated or improved; Canada is a horribly environmentally unfriendly country; and if we just give up, then we are LOSERS. Many people seem to be tuning out of environmental issues in large part because it just seems so depressing and hopeless. They feel overwhelmed, and they resign themselves to just not thinking about it. In fact they should be doing the opposite. Try and do a little bit of good for people and the natural world; there's oodles of things you can do. If everyone changes their consumption patterns just a little bit, and fires off a few emails to their MP, and the PM, that makes a huge difference.
I really can't exaggerate the unbelievable stain of the Conservatives' environmental record. A couple weeks ago at the UN, a bunch of countries walked out on Canada's representative as he was making a speech about the Climate Change Conference this December. The government has been disputing this, but either way, other countries have been giving Canada serious flak for their lack of environmental initiative.
In the past two years, we've seen police killing people with tasers, a corruption scandal in the RCMP, increased environmental damage and extraction of resources, the extradition/imprisonment overseas of innocent Canadian citizens over bogus terrorist suspicion, and increased force from law enforcement (plus the unjust incarceration of Marc Emery). Harper meanwhile has demonstrated his disdain for justice, accountability, the importance of the environment, and the rights of Canadians.
I'll go so far as to say that he is our George W. Bush. His administration has single-handedly erased Canada's reputation for social justice, environmental responsibility, and global stewardship and leadership. Some way to kick off this century.
This weekend people came out to show that they want action from the government and the people on climate change and a sustainable future. However, Jim Prentice, our lackluster environment minister, has already said that there will be no significant actions taken or changes made. "We'll stay the course." He tried to downplay expectations, and has clearly indicated that Conservative agenda is to continue on as planned without turning any focus on the environment or the future of our world.
It's all right here.
Here's something you may or may not know though. The Conservatives WANT the Arctic to melt. There's too much money in it. The main Arctic nations are already having military showdowns and are trying to assert their dominance and sovereignty over their portion of the Arctic; a Russian submarine even went down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted a Russian flag on the geographic North Pole (I'm not even making that up - it's true). The thing is if the Arctic ice melts, and it will - the latest study says that in the summer the Arctic Ocean will be totally ice free within 10-20 years (which is very optimistic; I'd give it 5-8 years) - then that means we go up there and strip the tundra for diamonds, minerals, and oil, and that we open shipping lanes and fisheries to overfish the Arctic Ocean as well. They hope we'll finally be able to use the Northwest Passage, after hundreds of years.
The problem with this plan is that the permafrost is already melting, some of which has remained frozen underground since the last ice age. Scientists have long known and have been saying that the permafrost has boatloads of methane gas trapped underground with it, which is already being released into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 4 times as strong as CO2, and has a way longer residence time. Not to mention that if the ice melts, then the Arctic ocean will absorb way more heat from incoming solar radiation than it will reflect back into space, as the icecap always did before. Now the ozone layer has holes over each of the poles. This is because the chlorine cycle that takes place and breaks down the ozone layer occurs at low temperatures which are ideally at the poles. So the icecap melting will actually worsen the ozone layer, allow more solar radiation in, AND trap more of that radiation via greenhouse gases.
And if you doubt climate change, just look this past summer. Meteorologists were baffled, saying that North America is locked in a very strange climate pattern. The biggest issue about climate change for me is the injustice that is faced; Canada is a country that offshores its dirtiest industries to the third world, or "developing" countries, as well as exports alot of its waste and pollution there, and profits indirectly from the Structural Adjustment policies that keep them poor and unstable. As the climate changes, there is increased drought throughout these places, burdening them with even more poverty, famine, water scarcity, disease, and subsequent warfare (Sudan/Darfur is already happening, and is really one of the first climate wars). We know that if left unchecked, the people who stand to suffer the most, to take the brunt of the consequences of climate change, are the world's poorest people. We in North America consume and waste more than anyone else on the planet. Canada has a unique position of being water secure, one of the only places not in danger of water shortages. We have about half of our intact Boreal Forest left, which we are still cutting down; we have the oil sands, which are so polluting it makes me sick to my stomach; we have made no concessions to cutting our emissions; and we stand to gain alot, and lose even more from all of this, if we just let this go on.
Thousands of people throughout Canada and throughout the world attended huge rallies and protests demanding action. While in some places, like Europe, where they've been doing a wonderful job, didn't necessarily need protests, in Canada it's important that some people showed up; our country has become one of the most environmentally unfriendly countries in the world. We are the only country that has completely ignored its Kyoto Protocol obligations and instead gotten worse and worse over the last decade. Harper has made it abundantly clear time and time again that he has little - no concern for or intention of instituting environmental practices that by now should be well established and common place.
These days it seems everyone's sort of tuning out to environmental issues; we're in a recession, so it's understandable everyone's more worried about their savings and whatnot. But also, there're two other huge problems: many many many Canadians seem to be apathetic to their own country's government. For good reason. Harper's government is doing a shit all job except on the financial front. All they talk about anymore is Canada's supposed recovery. And I mean we've had almost yearly elections for the past while; I was SO disappointed when he got another minority government after I got to vote in my first ever federal election. But Canadians today don't seem to really care about the Conservative agenda and why it's important to demand accountability and responsibility from our government; too busy watching youtube and gettin beers when they can find time off of work.
The second huge problem is alot of people seem to have moved on from the climate change issue. This is BAD NEWS. The problem has not been mitigated or improved; Canada is a horribly environmentally unfriendly country; and if we just give up, then we are LOSERS. Many people seem to be tuning out of environmental issues in large part because it just seems so depressing and hopeless. They feel overwhelmed, and they resign themselves to just not thinking about it. In fact they should be doing the opposite. Try and do a little bit of good for people and the natural world; there's oodles of things you can do. If everyone changes their consumption patterns just a little bit, and fires off a few emails to their MP, and the PM, that makes a huge difference.
I really can't exaggerate the unbelievable stain of the Conservatives' environmental record. A couple weeks ago at the UN, a bunch of countries walked out on Canada's representative as he was making a speech about the Climate Change Conference this December. The government has been disputing this, but either way, other countries have been giving Canada serious flak for their lack of environmental initiative.
In the past two years, we've seen police killing people with tasers, a corruption scandal in the RCMP, increased environmental damage and extraction of resources, the extradition/imprisonment overseas of innocent Canadian citizens over bogus terrorist suspicion, and increased force from law enforcement (plus the unjust incarceration of Marc Emery). Harper meanwhile has demonstrated his disdain for justice, accountability, the importance of the environment, and the rights of Canadians.
I'll go so far as to say that he is our George W. Bush. His administration has single-handedly erased Canada's reputation for social justice, environmental responsibility, and global stewardship and leadership. Some way to kick off this century.
This weekend people came out to show that they want action from the government and the people on climate change and a sustainable future. However, Jim Prentice, our lackluster environment minister, has already said that there will be no significant actions taken or changes made. "We'll stay the course." He tried to downplay expectations, and has clearly indicated that Conservative agenda is to continue on as planned without turning any focus on the environment or the future of our world.
It's all right here.
Here's something you may or may not know though. The Conservatives WANT the Arctic to melt. There's too much money in it. The main Arctic nations are already having military showdowns and are trying to assert their dominance and sovereignty over their portion of the Arctic; a Russian submarine even went down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted a Russian flag on the geographic North Pole (I'm not even making that up - it's true). The thing is if the Arctic ice melts, and it will - the latest study says that in the summer the Arctic Ocean will be totally ice free within 10-20 years (which is very optimistic; I'd give it 5-8 years) - then that means we go up there and strip the tundra for diamonds, minerals, and oil, and that we open shipping lanes and fisheries to overfish the Arctic Ocean as well. They hope we'll finally be able to use the Northwest Passage, after hundreds of years.
The problem with this plan is that the permafrost is already melting, some of which has remained frozen underground since the last ice age. Scientists have long known and have been saying that the permafrost has boatloads of methane gas trapped underground with it, which is already being released into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 4 times as strong as CO2, and has a way longer residence time. Not to mention that if the ice melts, then the Arctic ocean will absorb way more heat from incoming solar radiation than it will reflect back into space, as the icecap always did before. Now the ozone layer has holes over each of the poles. This is because the chlorine cycle that takes place and breaks down the ozone layer occurs at low temperatures which are ideally at the poles. So the icecap melting will actually worsen the ozone layer, allow more solar radiation in, AND trap more of that radiation via greenhouse gases.
And if you doubt climate change, just look this past summer. Meteorologists were baffled, saying that North America is locked in a very strange climate pattern. The biggest issue about climate change for me is the injustice that is faced; Canada is a country that offshores its dirtiest industries to the third world, or "developing" countries, as well as exports alot of its waste and pollution there, and profits indirectly from the Structural Adjustment policies that keep them poor and unstable. As the climate changes, there is increased drought throughout these places, burdening them with even more poverty, famine, water scarcity, disease, and subsequent warfare (Sudan/Darfur is already happening, and is really one of the first climate wars). We know that if left unchecked, the people who stand to suffer the most, to take the brunt of the consequences of climate change, are the world's poorest people. We in North America consume and waste more than anyone else on the planet. Canada has a unique position of being water secure, one of the only places not in danger of water shortages. We have about half of our intact Boreal Forest left, which we are still cutting down; we have the oil sands, which are so polluting it makes me sick to my stomach; we have made no concessions to cutting our emissions; and we stand to gain alot, and lose even more from all of this, if we just let this go on.
It's so true that people feel overwhelmed...What is the most effective action?
ReplyDeleteAlso, check out Tim Flannery (sp?). His book is titled 'Now or never'.