Countries and regions with a lot of gun violence may want to note that the simple act of providing more green space in urban areas can reduce gun-related crime. In the USA (ranked ninth globally for gun deaths per capita) researchers have found that converting unused lots into parks has
Continue readingTag: environment
Larry Hubich's Blog: Asbestos registry needed, says cancer patient
Read more here……
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Words, Words, Words
And, I suspect empty ones at that as energy giant Enbridge Inc. denies any role in the Harper government’s cancellation of a grant from the Gordon and Betty Foundation to help fund public-private consultations into the economic use of the waters off British Columbia’s north coast. This cancellation occurred, by
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Rivers: "Run of" or "Ruin of" – a choice
Message from Gwen Barlee, one of this province’s most honourable preservationists: “The Kokish is a wild river on Vancouver Island that is home to Dolly Varden, cutthroat trout, 5 species of wild salmon, and 2 endangered runs of steelhead. “DFO will be making a decision about whether to allow a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: U.S. Chamber Hits The Road To Promote "Oily" Highway Transportation Bill
us_chamber_of_commerce_0.jpg A bitter fight has erupted in Washington, D.C. in recent weeks surrounding the fate of a much-needed transportation and infrastructure bill. Congressional Democrats wanted to pass a bill that would fund projects to help rebuild roads and bridges, but Republicans were against the idea. So, in an attempt to
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Tar Sands, Tories and Ethical Oil – an interview with Shelley Glover, MP
St. Boniface MP Shelley Glover recently lectured Winnipeg broadcaster Michael Welch of CKUW-FM 95.9 on the virtues of “ethical oil” and the “balanced” approach of the Conservative government to energy development that has obtained the “support” of aboriginal people for tar sands development and the Enbridge Pipeline Proposal. Michael checked
Continue readingImpolitical: Late night
Who knew a video of an Arctic research station, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut, could be so oddly compelling. Maybe it’s the music. Maybe it’s the circumstances where a key Canadian scientific research asset in the Arctic is denied the $1.5 million it needs to
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Video Report: Tar Sands, Pipelines & Tankers
The National Energy Board is conducting hearings on Enbridge’s proposal for a pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to the town of Kitimat in the heart of BC’s Great Bear Rainforest. If approved, over 200 oil tankers would be navigating the difficult waters off BC’s Northwest Coast each year, making widespread
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Divide and Profit
Everett: You can’t take the tar sands out of the climate equation – The Globe and Mail #cdnpoli #tarsands If the world is an unchanging variable, constant, then the latest scientific finding regarding the tar sands would be what many want the results to mean. The latest study says if
Continue readingArt Threat: WikiLeaks dump reveals Dow Chemical spies read Art Threat
Today WikiLeaks began releasing a collection of emails obtained from the servers of Stratfor, an American private espionage firm with a client list that boasts such warm and fuzzy companies as Dow Chemical, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and the US Department of Homeland Security. According to WikiLeaks, “the emails
Continue readingwmtc: stop the pipeline: "do you see what we are doing here? we are destroying future generations."
This is an absolute must read or must see: the testimony of a 26-year-old man, the son of a Canadian oil executive, to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel hearings. The Vancouver Observer, progressive independent media, has the transcript and the video. One such day on the refinery stood
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Andrew Weaver on the Tar Sands
Last week, world-renowned University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, lead author of several IPCC reports, shocked friends and enemies alike by publishing an article in Nature Climate Change in which he makes an unexpected claim. He and co-author Neil Swart (a UVIC PhD student) find that Alberta’s Athabasca tar
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A quick survey of what’s happened in the NDP leadership campaign over the past couple of days… – Niki Ashton has rightly criticized other candidates’ operatives who seem to be working to push her out of the race. But the behind-the-scenes maneuvering may only backfire it if gives Ashton and
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: An Open Letter to Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon Minister of Finance Government of British Columbia Dear Mr. Falcon, During your budget speech yesterday, you announced that BC’s carbon tax will be frozen, and its place in our economy reexamined, after its final scheduled increase later this year. Forgive me if I am being presumptuous, but given
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Harper wants $80 million of your tax dollars to creep your emails
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/22/pol-lawful-access-costs.html That’s what it’ll cost you to give Stephen Harper the privlidge to look through your email’s and browsing history. It’s going to cost at least $80 million to implement the government’s lawful access bill to force internet and telecommunications service providers to collect customer information in case police need
Continue readingCanada’s latest threat in an already long line of hostilities: trade war with the EU
(Found this on Google but no attribution. Looks like Montreal Simon’s work, though.) Harper has served notice on seniors, potheads, the youth, internet users, the environment, scientists and just about every other group not profitable to his party. Now, he’s threatened to go to war with the EU over nomenclature.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 13, 2011
Tuesday, December 13 served to confirm the range of concerns that hadn’t yet been taken into account in the Cons’ seat redistribution bill – even as debate came to a close and the bill was rammed through against the protests of a united opposition. The Big Issue In response to
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Truth About The Kanata Lakes 60% Plus Agreement
So, what of the so-called 40% agreement to protect environmental lands in the Kanata Lakes development in the South March Highlands. Is it really a myth. Apparently so. The more I examine and analysis the facts and reality around that so-called agreement the more I realize it was just spin.
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Willie Nelson & Our Beautiful Sustainable New World
Willie Nelson & Our Beautiful Sustainable New World (via EcoLocalizer) television commercial,inhumane factory farming,Willie Nelson,urgent importance,urgent need,visual masterpiece,horrific damage,significant task,Coldlpay song,resonant message,majestic poetry,Mexican restaurant,educational animation,short film,sustainable way,loathe,Coldplay,genius,antibiotics,restructuring,factory,chemicals,food system,deftly,The film,Chipotle
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Erin nicely summarizes Don Drummond’s report on Ontario’s finances. But it’s worth noting that leaving aside Drummond’s own choice not to follow the instruction, anybody looking for a thorough analysis of Ontario’s fiscal realities should be able to discount the report in
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