Greenspiration Events: Happy Earth Day

Mon Apr 20 00:57:58 EDT 2020

Global readers,

I’ve been sending these weekly events newsletters to my Toronto list for many years. Now that all the events are being held online, my newsletter has global reach, so I’m sharing it with my global list as well.

The events are listed chronologically, just below my issue/news links.

Peace and health,

-angela

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Gratitude - beautiful 6 min. film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4115qFsdWKQ&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2yDlJledBXHgUjWasYucEmRPlOAYb_lGpaLYMCZk-KNpKe5PeYDLafuYM 

People in Toronto are putting out tables of free groceries for those in need

https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2020/04/people-toronto-are-putting-out-tables-free-groceries-those-need/

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Thinking Outside the Crisis: Decarbonized or Destitute?

Even if oil prices bounce back for a while, the vulnerability remains as the inexorable march towards clean energy continues. Natural Resources Canada’s figures show in 2018 there were just 169,358 people employed in the oil and gas sector, and expected to fall 50,000 in the next 10 years. In the meantime, the Canadian clean energy sector is booming. In 2017, it supported just under 300,000 jobs, and is forecasted to increase to 559,400 jobs by 2030. The trend is inescapable. Industries that are good for climate are better investments than those that aren’t. Any revenue we get from oil today is akin to a cash advance on a credit card, leaving children to pay the bill, with interest -- literal cleanup costs, whether from abandoned wells or inevitable oil spills, the innumerable health problems from polluted air, or the incalculable damage that climate change is already bringing to societies everywhere.

https://theindependent.ca/2020/04/17/thinking-outside-the-crisis-decarbonized-or-destitute/

Tackling climate change is vital for the strongest economic recovery after coronavirus

Covid-19 pandemic is a harbinger of climate disasters to come and the resilience we need to build into our systems – including health – to deal with what we know will be the adverse impacts of climate change.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/14/reckoning-with-climate-change-will-support-the-strongest-possible-economic-recovery-after-coronavirus 

COVID-19 and the Doomsday Clock: Observations on managing global risk - by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

We hope the world will emerge from this pandemic better prepared for the next, but there is another opportunity as well, which is to apply lessons learned in this crisis to other global existential challenges. Nuclear weapons and climate change affect human, animal, and plant populations worldwide, with long-lasting effects.

https://thebulletin.org/2020/04/covid-19-and-the-doomsday-clock-observations-on-managing-global-risk/

Canadian Oil lobby group asks for environmental laws to be suspended due to coronavirus

Leaked letter recommends wide-range of delays, suspensions and changes relating to pollution monitoring, migratory birds, climate change and indigenous rights

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/oil-lobby-environmental-laws-suspend-canada-climate-change-coronavirus-a9471081.html 

Sign the open letter by the Council of Canadians

A secret leaked memo reveals that Big Oil and Gas lobbyists have been meeting regularly with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inner cabinet to push their agenda to deregulate the oil and gas industry and cancel environmental regulations meant to keep us healthy and safe – and they are doing it under the guise of responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Read the leaked memo and sign the open letter to tell the gov't that its focus should be on people, workers and communities, not on bailing out and catering to the corporate interests of Big Oil.

https://secure.canadians.org/page/59420/petition/1 

Trudeau announces aid for struggling energy sector, including $1.7B to clean up orphan wells

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/financial-aid-covid19-trudeau-1.5535629

On orphan wells, dine-and-dash should not be the business model

For decades, conservative governments in Alberta allowed oil and gas companies to pump profits into their pockets before dumping the mess on others. This era of misplaced generosity — where we pay for the oilpatch's tax cuts, bailouts, and now their cleanup — must end. Dining on the profits of public resources, then dashing on your dues to society is not a business model worth rescuing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-orphan-wells-cleanup-bill-12-1.5528257

Public Ownership of Fossil Fuels a Potential Solution to Multiple Crises, Says New Report

At a time of overlapping crises, putting fossil fuel assets into public ownership offers a way to slash carbon emissions and pave the way for a just transition for oil and gas workers who find themselves without a job

https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/04/17/public-ownership-fossil-fuels-democracy-collaborative-report

The latest coronavirus victim: Your civil rights

South Korea is using credit card transactions and street cameras to track the movements of patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Italy and Israel are using mobile phone data to do the same. And Poland is requiring selfies from quarantined citizens on demand within 20 minutes, or they get a visit from the police. Alberta is saying it will produce its own quarantine-enforcement phone app. And PM Trudeau has refused to rule out using cell phone data to track people who are infected. It's essential that we stop unnecessary surveillance powers before they are made into law, and ensure that data collection will have limits and be protected. These attacks on our civil liberties are reminiscent of what happened after 9/11 in the US—vast new surveillance powers were put in place as emergency measures to fight terrorism. Once the threat passed, but the surveillance powers stayed. 

https://openmedia.org/en/press/experts-call-privacy-precautions-use-personal-data-fighting-covid-19 xxx double check link different than article

Government Inaction on COVID-19 Threatens Inmates’ Lives

It seems that the Liberal government is ignoring the reality that the virus does not discriminate, that prisons are porous to it, that we are all in this together, and that protecting the right to live is what defines us as human beings.

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/government-inaction-covid-19-inmates 

Stand Up for Our Communities - Stop Expanding Police Powers

Read more and sign the Ontario Petition

https://forms.gle/zL3J6zyxc5Sr3RGQ9

True Cost of Coal

The True Cost of Coal is a rhyming storybook from the Beehive Design Collective. Fun and educational for ages 9-99, it also features lessons and activities related to the story’s themes of ecology, colonial history, workers rights, extreme extraction, community organizing, and regenerative futures alongside Beehive Collective graphics designed specifically for coloring on. Order a copy or download it for free.

http://truecostofcoalbook.com/ 

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What Do Countries With The Best Coronavirus Responses Have In Common? Women Leaders

These leaders are gifting us an attractive alternative way of wielding power. What are they teaching us? Truth. Decisiveness. Tech. Love. Now, compare these leaders and stories with the strongmen using the crisis to accelerate a terrifying trifecta of authoritarianism: blame-“others”, capture-the-judiciary, demonize-the-journalists, and blanket their country in I-will-never-retire darkness (Trump, Bolsonaro, Obrador, Modi, Duterte, Orban, Putin, Netanyahu…).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/what-do-countries-with-the-best-coronavirus-reponses-have-in-common-women-leaders/#282d1ada3dec 

The plan to turn half the world into a reserve for nature

Scientists and conservationists are proposing that up to half of Earth’s land and oceans be protected for nature. This is not just about saving species, it’s about maintaining ecological processes that underpin all life on Earth.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200318-the-worlds-largest-nature-reserve 

South Korea to implement Green New Deal after ruling party election win

The Democratic Party’s decisive victory will enable President Moon to press ahead with its newly adopted Green New Deal agenda during the last two years of his mandate. It's climate manifesto explicitly referred to the “Green New Deal” plans of Democratic candidates in the US and the EU’s “Green Deal for Europe”, under which the European Commission promised to make the EU the first carbon-neutral continent. Under the plan, South Korea has become the first country in East Asia to pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The plan includes large-scale investments in renewable energy, the introduction of a carbon tax, the phase out of domestic and overseas coal financing by public institutions, and the creation of a Regional Energy Transition Centre to support workers transition to green jobs.

https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/04/16/south-korea-implement-green-new-deal-ruling-party-election-win/

UK Government unveils ‘unprecedented’ vision of future travel with focus on walking, cycling and public transport - not cars

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-crisis-uk-public-transport-travel-cycling-driving-cars-a9431441.html 

CityShare / Canada

A real-time, crowd-sourced platform houses resources, tools and stories on how city builders and residents are responding to covid-19

https://citysharecanada.ca/

The Planet Protector Academy – for kids!

Inspiring kids to take care of the planet and each other. Daily live webcasts. Fun arts and game-based activities. Great for kids aged 6-11

https://planetprotectoracademy.com/for/parents-he/ 

Sign tbe petition to save the bakery, barber shop or bookstore you love.

The federal government is helping small businesses pay workers. The Green Party of Ontario is asking the province to help small businesses by: Freezing commercial evictions and Offering $5,000 grants to pay rent and utilities

https://secure.gpo.ca/content/protect-local-businesses

Permaculture Links, Resources, Workshops

http://www.planetfriendly.net/permaculture.html

Permaculture for Families

7 sessions. Let us take this time as an opportunity to learn more practical skills in: seed sharing, compost making, fun family focused activities, shifting to an ecologically focused paradigm. Through the use of permaculture ethics and principles, our desire is to offer foundational classes for parents, as well as weekly hands-on activities for families to grow and learn together.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/permaculture-for-families-earth-activists-online-tickets-101757194508?aff=introwebinar

GreenPac is looking for a new Executive Director

https://www.greenpac.ca/careers_executive_director

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EVENTS

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EarthFest Live - Creative Solutions for a New World

Sunday, April 19, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - The Transformative Moment – Global Reset & The Future of Hope with Bob Sandford

Monday, April 20, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - Transformation to a More Sustainable Future: The Role of Indigenous Wisdom - A Presentation by the Ecoforestry Institute Society with Elder Geraldine Manson & Dr. Nancy Turner

Tuesday, April 21, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - A New Ecological Civilization with Guy Dauncey

Wednesday, April 22 (Earth Day) , 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - Creating a Livable Future – A Youth Perspective with Katia Bannister, Emma-Jane Burian, Kylen Glass, Jamie Hunter, Ella Kruus, Grace Sinats, & Julia Zirnhelt

Thursday, April 23, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - Creating One Planet, Self-Sustaining Communities with Jack Anderson, Chad Thiessen, Ken Nentwig, & Pooran Desai

Friday, April 24, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - Regenerative Agriculture and The Zero-Mile Diet with Carolyn Herriot & Gary MacDougall

Saturday, April 25, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EST - Bouncing Forward to a One Planet Region: Could Covid-19 be a Social Tipping Point? With Dr. Trevor Hancock & Nigel Seale

https://creativelyunited.org/earthfest-live/

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Business and The Earth Path w/ Starhawk & Patty Love

Monday April 20, 9 p.m. EST

Learn how we can regenerate our lives and the planet with earth conscious business design

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-g2ooV5wQMam--onCSPkew

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Climate Arts Open Space: online

Mon. April 20, 7 - 9 p.m. EST

We will start with a group check-in, and then move to breakout groups so that everyone can work on the project that interests them most. Some potential running topics are:  - Plant book club (gardening and food sovereignty)  - Opposing Coastal GasLink  - Visionary Present Zine.  We always welcome new project ideas, too! It's great to hear what creative work you're doing at this time. This is a space that is open to everyone, whether you've identified as an artist or activist in the past, or not. It's a space for finding collaborators, doing fun creative things, and continuing the fight for climate justice and all of its intersections. It's a space for checking in and drinking tea with like-minded folks because we could all use a little more of that.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1147413055605627/

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Unlocking the Potential of Energy Efficiency in Ontario

Mon. April 20, 3 - 5 p.m. Via Zoom Webinar with Dr. Mark Winfield

York University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative recently released a study outlining five principles for the design of effective and resilient governance of the energy efficiency components of low-carbon sustainable energy transition strategies.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unlocking-the-potential-of-energy-efficiency-in-ontario-tickets-102094296790 

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Rain Garden Master Class 

April 20 - May 25

This 6-week online intensive offers everything you need to know to build your very own rain garden, with ongoing peer and professional support. Learn how to create deep gardens with resilient plants that help absorb excess rain, reduce flooding, clean water, and prevent litter in waterways due to flooding and storm sewer overflows.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/rain-garden-master-class-spring-2020-april-20-may-25-tickets-102645168462 

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How to Use Zoom for Beginners, and for Organizers

Multiple dates and times.

Workshops hosted by Public Response

https://www.publicresponse.ca/zoom-workshops

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No to NATO Yes to Peace

Tuesday, April 21, 3:30 pm EST

Join the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) in a discussion on building a Canadian resistance to NATO. NATO is a male-dominated, nuclear-armed military alliance dominated by the U.S. that demands its member states spend more money for weapons systems, launching illegal interventions and provoking dangerous conflict around the world. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/223144648902266/  

https://zoom.us/j/830620304

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How do we respond to two crises: COVID-19 and climate change?

Tuesday, April 21, noon - 1 p.m. EST

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for Tuesday’s candid conversation are Allison Ashcroft, Managing Director, CUSP Network; Elliott Cappell, Director, Climate Change and Resilience, WSP Canada; Laurian Farrell, Director, North America/Environment Risk Management, Global Resilient Cities Network; and Jeff Hebert, Partner, HR&A Advisors.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0eLK16ulSvy-xC4N3SRBtg

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Is a green economy possible? With Tzeporah Berman

Tuesday April 21, 7 p.m. EST

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6El_TB-wRCuobyknQI7rZg

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Litter-erature for Waste Litter-acy series 

4 Tuesdays April 21 through May 12 

Join us over 4-weeks as the U of T Trash Team and Ocean Conservancy present live readings of children's books on the topic of plastic pollution, with very special guests - the authors themselves. We'll also be joined by scientists from the U of T Trash Team to talk about their adventures in research and you'll get the chance to interact and ask your own questions about plastic pollution. Our team will then challenge you to take part in the "4-Week Challenge" with activities focused on reducing and reusing waste in your home.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/litter-ature-for-waste-litter-acy-registration-102605539932   

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Earth Day 2020 - Towards a Green and Healthy Recovery 

Wed April 22, 7 pm. EST

Our climate heroes speak on the climate emergency: Katharine Hayhoe, Dianne Saxe, Deborah McGregor, Catherine Abreu, Allie Rougeot, Jennifer Henry, Willard Metzger, Dr. Toni Sappong, Lily Phan, Isaac Crosby, Sarah Kamau, Lella Blumer, Rommel Bellosillo, Cassie Norton and more. Speakers, short video, music, and climate action.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2548414738709145/  

Sign up on Eventbrite for zoom link:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/earthday-2020-towards-a-green-and-healthy-recovery-tickets-102737759404

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Deep Breath: Self-Care in Challenging Times 

Wednesday, April 22, 8 - 9 p.m. EST

Join Farrah Khan for an interactive workshop developing strategies for self-care. Self-care is the act of prioritizing one's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Building and strengthening self-care practices can help navigate the impacts of being in an unprecedented global pandemic.

https://www.progresstoronto.ca/self-care-apr-22-2020 

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Earth Day Live 2020

Wed. April 22

https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-live/

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Earth Day Live - Strike, divest, and vote for our future

Apr. 22 - 24

>From April 22, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, to April 24, activists, performers, thought leaders, and artists will come together for an empowering, inspiring, and communal three-day livestream mobilization. The fights against the coronavirus and the climate crisis go hand-in-hand, and as we work to flatten the curve of this pandemic, we must strive toward the longer-term goal of building a society rooted in sustainability and justice.

https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/   

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Time for Gas to Go

The Ford government plans to ramp up the use of polluting gas plants by more than 400%. Fortunately, we have a better solution – an integrated combination of clean waterpower imports from Quebec, with strong energy efficiency efforts in Ontario and the development of cost-effective wind power in both provinces. Learn more here:

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/gas-go/

Webinar: Thur. April 23, 2 p.m. EST  

Email me (angela at cleanairalliance.org) for the link.

Report: Read our report for all the details on how we can Phase-Out Ontario’s Gas-Fired Power Plants.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GAS_REPORT_FINAL_WEB_R.pdf

Petition: Please sign our petition calling for the phase-out of Ontario’s gas-fired power plants.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/hampipe/ 

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The Pandemic Is a Portal: A Conversation with Arundhati Roy

Thur. April 23, noon

Coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to “normality,” trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality. Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-pandemic-is-a-portal-a-conversation-with-arundhati-roy-tickets-102343167168 

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ShutDownKKR Earth Day of Action #WetsuwetenStrong

Thur. April 23, all day

Join the #StopDownKKR communications blockade this Apr. 23 for #EarthDay and rise up for the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. Let’s flood KKR with calls, emails, and tweets and tell them to respect Indigenous rights. On the morning of April 23rd, we'll be in touch with easy and accessible online tools to email, call, and tweet at KKR. While the COVID-19 pandemic may keep us from gathering in the streets, it cannot stop the movement of defiant and uncompromising #WetsuwetenStrong support.

https://www.facebook.com/events/276418040016808/ 

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Is Basic Income the Answer? 

Thur. April 23, 7 p.m. EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic puts millions of people out of work, everyone is talking about a Universal Basic Income (UBI). So what is it? How could it help during this pandemic and to fix our social safety net in the long run? Why does it make sense in a changing world disrupted by automation and climate change? Online discussion hosted by Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner and UBI leaders.

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoc-2hpj8uHdPR-8s4Nm3RLZ3ZJhmGb-hT

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Imagining the Green New Deal - from local to global

Thur. April 23, 7 p.m. EST

Join the Council of Canadians and our Fredericton Chapter in imagining a Green New Deal. In this session we will look at a few bold proposals for real transformations in our response to COVID-19, and in our public services.

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NP579OgBTBOHEkR1KQn4aA

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How will the role of public libraries be changed?

Thur. April 23, noon EST

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for Thursday’s candid conversation are librarians from Wilfrid Laurier University, Kitchener, Halifax, Greater Victoria and Hamilton.

https://www.canurb.org/citytalk-webinars/2020/4/23/what-changes-can-we-expect-from-our-public-libraries

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Public health, inequality and COVID 19

Thur. April 23, 4 pm EST

In order to deepen public understanding of the health dimensions of the current crisis, this panel will address public access to healthcare and social justice issues associated with COVID 19, as well as the precarity of the broader system that this pandemic makes more visible.

Watch at https://www.facebook.com/YorkUFES/

https://socialjusticeaftercovid.weebly.com/public-health-inequality-and-covid-19.html 

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Is a new economy possible? With Noam Chomsky

Thursday April 23, 7 p.m. EST

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V0Ahpym2Syai8qNSidpYkg

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Abolish Nuclear Weapons - Resist and Reverse the Climate Crisis for Social and Economic Justice 

Fri. Sat. April 24-25

The World Conference will provide a unique opportunity for the world’s nuclear disarmament campaigns, allied movements and organizations, and diplomats committed to banning and eliminating nuclear weapons to amplify our abolition demands to the Review Conference. Was to take place in NYC but has been moved online. 

https://worldconference2020.org/

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Blue Scarf Earth Day Celebration: Voices of the Earth 

Sun. April 26, 2 - 4 p.m. EST

Learn about the global Blue Scarf movement and hear voices speaking out to protect the land, water, air and life. In previous years we have walked together through the streets of Toronto. This year we'll virtually explore our country and the places that have made peace with the Earth. 

https://actionnetwork.org/events/online-event-blue-scarf-earth-day-celebration/

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For the best Canadian climate and energy news, read and subscribe to the Energy Mix newsletter

http://theenergymix.com/

And for the best global perspective: DESMOG - Clearing the PR Pollution that clouds climate science

https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/covering-climate-now

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Submissions, subscribes, unsubscribes, and comments: mailto:angela at cleanairalliance.org

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