After the Cons refused to listen to the opposition parties’ proposed amendments, Wednesday, April 4 saw a day of debate on the main budget motion in the second-last day before a Parliamentary break. The Big Issue Nycole Turmel rightly labeled the budget as being based entirely on (gratuitous) austerity, while
Continue readingTag: environment
Northern Insight: Recognizing real radicals
Britt’s Patterns of national behavior and abuse of power #3: “Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause…” Bill C-38, Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist, May 9, 2012 “…Over the past few months, the environmental laws that protect our nation’s extraordinary natural legacy have been gutted,” [Peter] Robinson [CEO of the David
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Need we say more?
Link to The Michigan Messenger Be sure to read: Dare we trust Enbridge with BC coast?
Continue readingwmtc: elizabeth may: bill c-38: the environmental destruction act
Elizabeth May, House of Commons, May 11, 2012: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-38. I am very sad, because this bill is the worst of all bills of this House, for two reasons. First, because the government has chosen to introduce fundamental changes to many laws
Continue readingPop The Stack: Protect the trees
Rob Ford wants to see 5-cent bag fee abolished because : “I believe the taxpayers don’t want to pay the five cents any more. It is actually six cents with the HST.” – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Really? Is that a good enough reason? What about the disincentive to waste plastic? People want
Continue readingPop The Stack: Protect the trees
Rob Ford wants to see 5-cent bag fee abolished because : “I believe the taxpayers don’t want to pay the five cents any more. It is actually six cents with the HST.” – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Really? Is that a good enough reason? What about the disincentive to waste plastic? People want
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Haste Makes Waste
“Opposition parties accuse the Harper government of stooping to a petty, new low in the muzzling of dissent.” Note that says a “new low”, an acknowledgement that accountability is already at a low point. Rae cited the incident as one of many examples that Canadians are “now living in a
Continue readingpragmaticcanadian: The Economy IS Important, but it operates Within the Environment
Most economists will agree that most economic troubles are the cause of human action, but there are some that are not. The environment can cause economic disruption when natural disasters damage a country’s assets, and force savings to be spent on rectifying the problems caused. Harper et. al. don’t seem
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: We Must Force the Politicians to Go Post-Carbon
We need to leave the tarsands oil in the ground. We need an increasing carbon tax. We need to stop subsidizing carbon energy producers. We need public money invested in post-carbon energy. We need to do it now. I say all this, as does this NASA physicist: The science of
Continue readingwmtc: on june 4: black out to speak out
On Monday, June 4, websites representing thousands of Canadian people and organizations will go dark to protest changes introduced in the Harper Government’sTM budget act (Bill C-38). To join this online protest, go to Black Out Speak Out – or Silence, on parle! – and sign up. You’ll receive tools
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: This is What Authoritarianism Sounds Like
IF anyone else wants to hear what open, transparent parliamentary democracy sounds like, the MP4 file is here: is.gd/35VNrS #hw— kady o'malley (@kady) May 10, 2012 If you download the 25MB audio file that is over an hour long, all but the first 4 minutes are relaxing music. Why? The
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Extending Habitability
What does “extending habitability” mean? It explains “sustainability”. I prefer to sometimes call it “survivability”, because without the delicate balance our ecosystem and societies are teetering on, there’s no possible way seven billion people will survive even a short term major disruption. Our environment has one shot to work in
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How To Resolve The Transit Fare Evasion Problem
Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom is bringing in new legislation to crack down on fare evaders, allowing collection agencies to go after people who don’t buy tickets. If Lekstrom really wants to deal with fare evasion, then he needs to realize why people don’t pay the transit fares. If people can’t afford to buy a transit
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Record of lethargic indifference
Considering amounts extracted from taxpayers for BC Ferries brilliant management team, imagine the tab if they’d been competent and successful. David Hahn departed to enjoy one of the most costly pensions ever given a public servant in British Columbia. Behind, he left a faltering operation with declining ridership, mounting financial
Continue readingLeDaro: Harper government and environment
It is nothing new that the Harper government has put environmental issues on the backburner. Instead of making progress it is going for regression. It is a very depressing situation. Evan Solomon of CBC interviews Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughn who illustrates Harper government’s failure on environment.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 3, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 saw the final day of debate at second reading of the Cons’ budget – and once again featured plenty of work by Peter Julian to introduce the types of perspectives the Cons would never tolerate if they could avoid it. The Big Issue Once again, Julian
Continue readingThings Are Good: Empire State Building Gets a Green Overall
The Empire State Building in New York has received a green overall that has cut 20% of the building’s energy consumption and will save the owners a ton of cash. The renovations are part of a $500 million rehab plan for the building. The building’s owners, Malkin Holdings LLC, filed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Martin Papillon offers up some lessons for the NDP in Francois Hollande’s French presidential victory: Being ideological does not have to mean being radical. It means anchoring your platform in a clear, coherent set of ideas that will resonate with the electorate, including
Continue readingLeDaro: Has Harper Government declared war on environmental groups?
Ross McMillan of Tides Canada is interviewed by Evan Solomon. Tides Canada is one of the organizations targeted by the Harper government. It looks Harper is determined that nothing stands between him and the Tar Sands oil.
Continue reading350 or bust: Water: A Wake Up Call
If you drink water, Last Call At the Oasis is a movie you should see, according to film critic Christopher Campbell. The movie …presents a powerful argument for why the global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century. Illuminating the vital role water plays in
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