Greenspiration News: activism, nukes, Kyoto, meds
angela bischoff
greenspi at web.ca
Tue Nov 11 13:52:03 EST 2008
Greenspiration News
"A business-as-usual case for the tar sands will change Canada forever. It
will enrich a few powerful companies, hollow out the economy, destroy the
world's third-largest watershed, industrialize nearly one-quarter of
Alberta's landscape, consume the last of the nation's natural gas
supplies, and erode Canadian sovereignty."
Andrew Nikiforuk, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent
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The Global Emergence of Urban Repair Squads
"They say city is broke. We fix. No charge."
Urban Repair Squads are taking to the streets and helping out
municipalities the world over by painting bike lanes, bike boxes, etc.
Unfortunately they most often have to do it by cover of night and risk
arrest for helping out city transportation departments that claim to be
too cash strapped to provide safe, dedicated space for cyclists.
For inspiration, see Toronto's Urban Repair Squad's blog which also links
to similar squads around the world:
http://urbanrepairs.blogspot.com/
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Emissions Rising on Information Superhighway
Despite ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency in the workplace, the
world's growing reliance on the Internet is leading to a rapid increase in
greenhouse gas emissions.
Full article:
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5928?emc=el&m=165635&l=5&v=8ce765a66e
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Ontario wearing economic blinders when it comes to nuclear, says
Greenpeace report
05 November 2008
Investment analysts say the cost of building Ontario Dalton McGuinty's
nuclear reactors has more than doubled in the last three years but the
Ontario Power Authority (OPA) refuses to re-evaluate its original
estimates amidst a global financial crisis.
"The first thing Energy Minister George Smitherman can do to control
skyrocketing nuclear costs and protect the environment is to shut down the
Pickering B nuclear station early next year and replace it with green. He
says he's interested in expanding green power. Here's his chance," said
Stensil.
Full article:
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press/press-releases/ontario-wearing-economic-blind
-----
Send an email to Energy Minister George Smitherman telling him to replace
the dangerous and expensive Pickering nuclear station with green energy.
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/end-the-nuclear-threat/take-action/tell-george-smitherman-to-shut-down-pickering
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Ft. Chip residents, activists protest oilsands intrusion
Nov. 2, Edmonton Journal
Mike Mercredi is ready to fight what he calls the "slow industrial
genocide" that oil companies are waging on the people in his hometown of
Fort Chipewyan.
Last year there were over 20 deaths in the community of 1,200 people. Many
were cancer-related deaths, which Mercredi said are linked to the oilsands
activities in nearby Fort McMurray.
"Let's put a lid on it and slow things down," he said. "The graveyard is
getting full."
Full article:
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=e0fcc582-3fc3-4601-9d66-c0cf163a3cd3
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Court Allows Canadian Government to Continue to Violate the Kyoto Protocol
Implementation Act
Friends of the Earth Canada in June and Ecojustice launched a lawsuit
against the Government of Canada for failing to meet the legal
requirements of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act by missing critical
deadlines and failing to uphold its legal duty to publish regulations. The
Court ruled that the legislation itself is not justiciable - meaning it is
not an issue the Courts can resolve.
Read the Media Release:
http://www.ecojustice.ca/media-centre/press-releases/canada-wriggles-off-the-hook-for-violating-kyoto-law/
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The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:
• Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
• Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150
billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a
clean energy future.
• Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle
East and Venezuela combined.
• Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles
per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are
built here in America.
• Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by
2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions 80 percent by 2050.
http://change.gov/agenda/energyenvironment/
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Good bye Bush, Hello Obama
Barak Obama's win is a fresh start for US relations with the world.
Let's act quickly to make sure the people of the world are heard as Obama
makes crucial choices in the coming days on how to live up to his campaign
promises. Let's get to 1 million signers and messages to Obama!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/million_messages_to_obama/?cl=142609425&v=2373
Here's a list of 10 of Obama's campaign promises that concern the world.
- Reduce the US's carbon emissions 80% by 2050 and play a strong positive
role in negotiating a binding global treaty to replace the expiring Kyoto
Protocol
- Withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months and keep no
permanent bases in the country
- Establish a clear goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons across the globe
- Close the Guantanamo Bay detention center
- Double US aid to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015 and accelerate the
fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculoses and Malaria
- Open diplomatic talks with countries like Iran and Syria, to pursue
peaceful resolution of tensions
- De-politicize military intelligence to avoid ever repeating the kind of
manipulation that led the US into Iraq
- Launch a major diplomatic effort to stop the killings in Darfur
- Only negotiate new trade agreements that contain labor and environmental
protections
- Invest $150 billion over ten years to support renewable energy and get 1
million plug-in electric cars on the road by 2015
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A Mandate for Spreading the Wealth
by Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon, Truthout: "Two days before he lost the election, John
McCain summarized what had become the central message of his campaign:
'Redistribute the wealth, spread the wealth around - we can't do that.'
Oh, yes we can."
http://www.truthout.org/110608R
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Slip Sliding Away
Compared with Norway's bulging bank account, Alberta's Heritage Fund falls
well short of its potential.
Andrew Nikiforuk
MOST CANADIANS assume that Alberta is getting filthy rich from its
hydrocarbon resources. In comparison with Norway, however, Canada's
wealthiest province is failing to live up to its potential. Both
jurisdictions produce about the same amount of fossil fuels and have
populations of a similar size, but that's where the similarities end.
"Compared to Norway, Alberta is collecting peanuts," notes Jim Roy, an
Edmonton-based royalties consultant who advises several national
governments. This Scandinavian nation knows how to save for the future,
banking much more than Canada's tar sands empire.
http://alternativesjournal.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=417
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Trapped in Black Tar
Andrew Nikiforuk tells how the oil sands made Canada a suburb of Fort
McMurray.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm living in Russia or Nigeria, I swear to God."
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2008/11/06/BlackTar/print.html
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The horror of U.S. depleted uranium in Iraq threatens the world
Nov. 1
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=181303
American and British use of DU is a crime against humanity which may, in
the eyes of historians, rank with the worst atrocities of all time.
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November 28, Friday, 2008:Buy Nothing Day
International Buy Nothing Day always falls on the day after the
American Thanksgiving in November, traditionally the first day of
Christmas shopping! People are encouraged to not make any purchases
throughout the entire day. The idea is to increase participants'
awareness of their spending habits and to think about mass
consumerism and its effect on the cultural and natural environment of
the world.
Location: Wherever you're at
Address: Any place
Cost: Free
Website:
<http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd>http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd
Website: <http://tinyurl.com/b478r>http://tinyurl.com/b478r
Website:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day
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Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act
The Ontario Government is apparently having a hard time getting nuclear
companies to agree to take responsibility for cost overruns and delays on
its proposed new nuclear projects. That’s not surprising given that the
nuclear industry has not been able to bring a project in on-time or
on-budget in Ontario in 25 years. But it is bad news for Ontario
taxpayers and ratepayers, who are already on the hook for an $18 billion
nuclear debt. If the Ontario Government is serious about not repeating
the mistakes of the past, it must pass a Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act
that makes it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their capital
cost overruns onto electricity consumers or taxpayers.
Dr. David Suzuki and Margaret Atwood are among the more than 700 people
who have signed our petition calling for a Nuclear Cost Responsibility
Act. We need hundreds of more signatures to show Energy and
Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman that Ontarians will not accept
another sweetheart deal for nuclear projects of dubious value. Please
sign the petition, get your friends and family to sign and learn about a
better approach to meeting Ontario’s energy needs at
<http://www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca>www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca.
Sign the petition now –
<http://www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca>www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca – to keep
your money out of the nuclear industry’s pocket.
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Pharmaceutical Industry Hustlers – Part I
SSRI Antidepressants Pushers
By Evelyn Pringle, Nov. 5
After twenty long years, it appears that the epidemic in mental disorders
in America might be coming to an end. It won't happen because of any great
medical breakthrough but rather because the perpetrators of the greatest
healthcare fraud in history are finally being exposed. The demolition of
the giant "psycho-pharmaceutical complex" appears to be on the horizon.
For far too long, the focus has been on the drugmakers only. In recent
months, the spotlight has shown where it belongs - on the highly-paid
opportunists responsible for fueling the epidemic in prescribing of
psychiatric drugs by doctors in every field of medicine and the research
institutions that enabled the process.
The antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or
SSRI's, such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro are at the
center of the storm. These drugs have been prescribed to more Americans
than any other class of medications over the past two decades. Cymbalta,
Effexor and Wellbutrin are often referred to as SSRI's, but they are
slightly different chemically. However, the drugs all carry similar side
effects and warnings.
The top sales pitch for SSRI's has been the
"chemical-imbalance-in-the-brain" myth. "There is no evidence whatsoever
that depression is caused by a biochemical imbalance," says Dr Peter
Breggin, one of the world's leading experts on psychiatric drugs and
author of the new book, "Medication Madness."
Full article: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00080.htm
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The Disappearing Male
CBC Doc Zone, 2008
"We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children
and our children's children are the experimental subjects." Dr. Herbert
Needleman
The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least
publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male
reproductive system.
The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the
incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low
sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.
Some researchers say that declining male fertility rates could be the
first sign of extinction.
At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD,
autism, Tourette's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.
The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many
doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these
problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.
Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products,
carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called "hormone mimicking" or
"endocrine disrupting" chemicals and they may be starting to damage the
most basic building blocks of human development.
Watch it online here:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/
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EnCana pipeline attacks are not ecoterrorism -- with Andrew Nikiforuk
The author of a 2002 book about sabotage in the oil patch says two recent
dynamite attacks on an EnCana pipeline in northeastern B.C. are not
“ecoterrorism”.
“Sour gas is one of the most dangerous, toxic substances known to man,” he
said
He added, however, that it’s time to start asking questions of the
regulator, the Oil and Gas Commission, about how well it’s doing tracking
leaks and enforcing the statutes.
http://www.straight.com/article-166854/andrew-nikiforuk-encana-pipeline-attacks-are-not-ecoterrorism
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Drugged-out seniors a prescription for disaster
Toronto Star, Nov. 11
Fifteen per cent of seniors admitted to hospital are suffering drug side
effects
http://www.thestar.com/Atkinson2008/article/534324
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Friends of Greenspiration,
Do you appreciate Greenspiration News as much as these people do?
---
I thank you on behalf of my grandchildren and great grandchildren who will
not be born for some time yet.
- Abby
---
I eagerly read all of your mail, even tho I'm not able to participate in
all of it. But it's provocative and gets me movin' sometimes. Keep up the
good work.
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I love you postings, been enjoying them for years!
- Kate
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Thanks for your amazing, tireless work. I love getting your emails. You
really inspire me ever time.
- Richard
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I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your updates on local
and world community action on such great issues. Education is the first
step towards action. Thank you!
- Emi
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Thank you for the great links. Your networking is really making a
difference. Keep it up.
- Nigel
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I love reading your digests. It's such a great help for someone like me to
be able to learn about things going on that I don't have time to look into
myself.
- Jennifer
---
If you too love the Greenspiration posts, would you consider making a
donation to Greenspiration, to contribute to my expenses associated with
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Every donation will receive from me a 2009 Solidarity Bicycle Calendar
(full color, wall calendar, bilingual, Canadian, images of cyclists in
lesser developed countries, http://www.cyclonordsud.org/voir.php?id=507
retail value $12 plus $2 postage, ask me about bulk purchases for
Christmas gifts)
Thanks for your support!
-angela
Greenspiration
214 Macdonell Ave.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6R 2A8
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