Via Upworthy.com (thanks Curtis) comes this powerful speech from a man known for his humbleness; President José Mujica of Uruguay gave this speech at the Rio+20 summit this past June. It’s so unusual because here we see a political leader speaking the truth about our current situation; would that more
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Drive-by Planet: 350.org’s Bill McKibben on Colorado fires and the global warming threat
On the heels of the failures of Rio+20 initiatives, the US has been hit by environmental wake-up calls in the form of a devastating heatwave and flooding. These are hardcore warnings of what the future holds unless we act to address the devastating impact of global warming. Our children’s future,
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: On Growth and Its Limits
George Monbiot offers a fascinating insight in the wake of last week’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro. While rightly deriding the declaration adopted by world leaders for containing little more than meaningless fluff, he notes an evolution in diplomatic language regarding the environment over
Continue readingScientists warn, politicians ignore
The Global Network of Science Academies, representing 105 science academies around the world, issued a press release last week highlighting what they referred to as “two of the most profound challenges to humanity—population and consumption,” and went on to call for “urgent and coordinated international action to address them.” They
Continue reading350 or bust: Health Warning Attached To Rio+20 Text: If You Care For The Future Of This Planet, This Document Will Make You Sick
Here in Canada, it’s hard to tell that there is even an Earth Summit happening in Rio De Janeiro at all. A quick scan of the major papers, from one coast to the other, and there is hardly a mention that most world leaders, minus our own prime minister and
Continue reading350 or bust: Rio+20: Our Leaders Toy With Us
The Rio+20 conference was officially launched yesterday, where world leaders – minus some heavy hitters like US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Canada’s more minor leader Stephen Harper – are in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro for
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Humiliation of Canada Continues – Rio+20
Sending foreign affairs minister John Baird as Canada’s frontman to the Rio+20 Earth Summit next month sends the world a pretty clear message – “forget it.” It proclaims that, to the Harper regime, even at this critical point, climate change is primarily a political problem, not a pressing existential threat
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