Greenspiration News & Events: Gasbusters

Tue May 20 15:21:28 UTC 2025

INTERNATIONAL

The flames are closing in

In Manitoba, fires have claimed over 161,000 hectares this season — four times more than last year. Over 1,000 people have been evacuated and our news feeds are beginning to fill with evacuation orders in other provinces. South Korea is just recovering from the worst wildfires in its history — killing 32 people, displacing 37,000, and burnig 5,000 buildings.

https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?e=02591b0337&u=8a5c2f8a9bec5f4fc7aae8406&id=ceb536d201 

Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor: Are We Entering “End Times Fascism”? - 26 min. video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8HAeAHcCW14 

Zaporizhzhia: Hurdle or catalyst for a peace deal in Ukraine?

https://thebulletin.org/2025/05/zaporizhzhia-hurdle-or-catalyst-for-a-peace-deal-in-ukraine/ 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Climate Change

View all past recordings of webinars with distinguished speakers

https://www.nazcca.org/speaker-series-climate-talks-for-everyone 

How to fight fascism in America - with Timothy Snyder - 47 min. video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NIwH4nKaDg 

Women contribute less to climate-heating emissions than men, study finds

Men’s choices in food (meat) and transport (big cars), two of the most polluting sectors, lead to 26% higher carbon emissions than women’s. Both woman and men are equally high in flight travel. 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/uknews/women-contribute-less-to-climate-heating-emissions-than-men-study-finds/ar-AA1EP56W 

The Pill That Promises to Cure Grief

Some experts aren’t so convinced it’s a good idea

https://thewalrus.ca/grief-pill/

CANADA

Busting the Myth That Ottawa Has Hurt Alberta’s Oil Industry

In fact, federal governments have promoted and protected it. Especially the oilsands.

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/05/15/Busting-Myth-Ottawa-Hurt-Alberta-Oil-Industry/ 

Wildfires Are Getting Worse and The Fossil Fuel Industry Is to Blame

It’s time to hold Canada’s fossil fuel industry accountable and to make climate action a policy priority.

https://www.signedseareddelivered.com/ 

How electoral reform could shatter party fortresses

Proportional representation would deliver fair results for voters and "could help take some of the steam out of efforts to ramp up separatist sentiment". First-past-the-post grossly exaggerates our regional differences, making us appear more divided than we really are and pitting regions against each other.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/no-more-blue-wall-red-wall-how-electoral-reform-could-stop-regional-election-sweeps/ 

NDP insiders are trying to fix the leadership race for an establishment candidate 

The party needs a bold, democratic renewal—but insiders want a short, rigged race to lock in the status quo

https://breachmedia.ca/ndp-leadership-race-insiders-establishment-candidate-lobby/ 

Corporate Emissions Cap Facts: Easy to Implement, Saves Canadian Lives – Let’s Lead

An emissions cap is easy for oil and gas corporations to follow, an emissions cap will NOT cost our economy, and will save thousands of Canadian lives via air pollution reductions alone.

https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/canada-emissions-cap-facts/ 

Tell PM Carney and your MP: No more corporate handouts; invest in our future

https://win.newmode.net/350org/carney 

Prime Minister Carney: stop the American pipeline takeover

https://www.dogwoodbc.ca/petitions/carney-stop-american-pipeline/

ONTARIO

Ontarians overwhelmingly say no to new nuclear

Polling shows that 80% of Ontarians think the province should cancel its contract for GE-Hitachi reactors and much prefer solar and wind.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/ontarians-say-no/ 

Please ask Premier Ford to take full advantage of Made-in-Canada low-cost renewable power instead of wasting billions on risky, untested American nuclear technology

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/ge-polling/

Critics Slam Cost of Ontario SMR Plan, Question Dependence on U.S. Uranium

https://www.theenergymix.com/critics-slam-cost-of-ontario-smr-plan-question-dependence-on-u-s-uranium/ 

Ontario’s Costly Nuclear Folly

https://socialistproject.ca/2025/05/ontarios-costly-nuclear-folly/ 

Doug Ford is undermining democracy while blaming Donald Trump

https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/doug-ford-is-undermining-democracy-while-blaming-donald-trump/article_e7263825-1a1b-4ef2-99aa-8df18ebe9811.html 

Bill 5: a guide to Ontario’s spring 2025 development and mining legislation

The public has a few days left to comment on Doug Ford’s omnibus development bill. Here’s everything you need to know

https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-bill-5-explained/ 

Stop the Bill 5 Power Grab!

1 hr video recording of webinar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lj7ZqlPIGM

Send your letter opposing Bill 5 here:

https://ecojustice.ca/take-action/tell-doug-ford-ontarios-wildlife-isnt-for-sale/ and 

https://ontarionature.good.do/bill-5-stop-attacks-on-endangered-species/Email/

TORONTO

Mayor Olivia Chow & Toronto City Council: Bring back open streets programs by 2026

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/mayor-olivia-chow-toronto-city-council-bring-back-open-streets-programs-by-2026 

Gasbusters

A movement of over 600 Toronto residents that raises awareness to support the ban of gas-powered leaf blowers in favour of quieter, emission-free, electric or battery alternatives. 

https://www.gasbusters.ca/about

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EVENTS 

Opportunities for Large-Scale Climate Action With a Focus on Geologic and Green Hydrogen

Tues. May 20, noon ET

Hydrogen is a carbon-free energy alternative with exciting new advancements --especially in Canada-- that will enable a low-carbon transitionary period towards net-zero emissions, so we've gathered some experts to help spread the word

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/opportunities-for-large-scale-climate-action-tickets-1070049188929 

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Creating Sustainable Futures in Unsustainable Times: Bicycles, Justice & Resistance 

Wed. May 21, 10 - 11:30 a.m. ET

This webinar explores how bicycling serves as a tool for justice, sustainability, and collective resistance. Indeed, we see bicycling/mobility justice in responding to uncertain global contexts, including a rise in right-wing fascist governments, climate change and its unequal effects on vulnerable communities, and an escalation on anti-immigrant policies and sentiments. Those most affected – racialized, Indigenous, low-income, and gender-diverse communities – are leading powerful mobility justice movements. They are reclaiming space, resisting exclusion, and challenging systemic inequalities through cycling activism. Speakers will share insights from different regions, highlighting how bicycles are more than transportation – they are a means of survival, self-determination, and community care. This conversation will thus bring together activists, researchers, and practitioners striving to make transportation more accessible and equitable.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-sustainable-futures-in-unsustainable-times-tickets-1320224590289 

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Fighting Ford's Climate Denial in the Trump Era - Exploring climate action, hope and risks for a carbon-free transition

Wed. May 21, 7 p.m. ET

Donald Trump calls climate change "a hoax". He has launched an unprecedented assault on the environment, instigating 145 actions to undo rules protecting clean air, water and a livable climate in his administration’s first 100 days. While Trump operates south of the border, and while we might have dodged a bullet with Poilievre, the danger to Ontario is real. In spite of all his bluster about standing up to Trump, Doug Ford is in lock step with him. To quote Victor Doyle: "Bill 5 is alarmingly similar to President Trump’s modus operandi – demeaning, dismantling, or simply overriding environmental protection and democratic frameworks to facilitate corporate profiteering."

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrceyrpzMiHNaXB7jVwRCnlCykveD1iH_V#/registration 

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Extraction and Debt: Threats to Vital Ecosystems and Indigenous Territories

Wed. May 21, 9 a.m. ET

Join a vital discussion exploring how sovereign debt pressures are accelerating industrial expansion into some of the world’s most critical ecosystems and Indigenous Territories.

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RUokv1czRF6PKcWdd3EK6w#/registration 

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How to Go Electric For Renters

Wed. May 21, 3 p.m. ET

Learn about the energy efficient options available to help renters go electric. As a renter, it may be hard to fully electrify without your landlord’s help. But you don’t have to own your home to go electric! There are many efficient options available to renters, and because the equipment tends to be portable, you can take it with you when you move.

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bBKICmz2RZaAwiXbnY99VQ#/registration 

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Why clean construction doesn’t equal costly construction

Wed. May 21, 2 p.m. ET

As Canada moves forward with plans to build millions of new homes, the carbon emissions associated with the materials that make up buildings and other major infrastructure are substantial. But a new report finds that building with lower-carbon materials and methods doesn’t need to drive up costs—and even has the added benefit of supporting Canadian industries at a time of high tariffs and trade tension. And in a world where the U.S. is an increasingly unreliable trading partner, choosing these lower-carbon materials can help scale up domestic industries, enabling them to become more competitive exporters to other global jurisdictions, like the EU, that are seeking low-carbon products. 

https://sfu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vwIpaPkATpmXPmX96SYOaw#/registration 

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Off the Hill: Post-election plans and possibilities

Wed. May 21, 7:30 ET

Canada’s federal election saw a 69 percent voter turnout, the highest since 1993. Mark Carney’s Liberals formed a government, though they fell short of securing a majority. Meanwhile, both Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh lost their seats. The NDP and Greens faced significant declines in support, squeezed by a surge in Liberal and Conservative votes. It was a difficult outcome for smaller parties, despite their consistent advocacy on climate action and social equity. We'll be digging into what comes next —both on and off Parliament Hill— for rebuilding the Green Party and the NDP, advancing key progressive policies, and navigating activism in an increasingly centrist political climate.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PimbTFugRjictkMX4lMiOQ#/registration 

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Ride of Silence

Wed. May 21, meet at 6:30 p.m., ride at 7 p.m. ET

Parkette Bloor and Spadina

This is a worldwide event. The ride will end at the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square where the names of cyclists who have been killed in the GTA in the past decade will be read out. You never ride alone.

https://www.facebook.com/events/555033473737274 

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Lessons from the Mine Ban Movement for the Fossil Fuel Treaty network

Thur. May 22, 11 a.m. ET

Lessons from the Mine Ban Movement for the Fossil Fuel Treaty Network with Jill Sinclair and Mary Wareham: 

- How did a global civil society coalition, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, put the issue on the international agenda? 

- How did governments like Canada and others work together, and with civil society, in creating a new diplomacy? 

- How did they establish a new global norm, in record time, that would ban these indiscriminate weapons, protect people from harm and fear, save lives, support survivors and return land to communities?

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QgQbkG9TQhabqDcnox5WSA 

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Stop the Bill 5 Power Grab

Thursday, May 22, 9 a.m. ET (to be confirmed)

Ontario Legislature

Watch the committee hearings for this egregious bill 5.

RSVP to get updates on timing

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetdkfqK_L_57A00Wl3OwsA-7_d-YLPmfFICxp4pMPfrDtI5g/viewform 

Join the march outside of Queens Park (loop of Wellesley St. W, Queens Park Crescent West, Queens Park Crescent E.) on May 22nd all day as they are in public hearings for bill 5. 

Bill 5 is a dangerous attempt to give power to the government to develop ANYWHERE in Ontario without laws regulations or oversight. This bill repeals the endangered species act and guts protections to our environment. This means we will not be kept safe from the greed of industry as our government will have the power to exempt them from the law.

https://www.facebook.com/events/24113411771597960

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History of the Highway of Tears

Thur. May 22, 1 p.m. ET

Since 1969 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing and have been found murdered along the 724 km stretch of Highway 16 from Prince Rupert to Prince George, British Columbia, also known as the Highway of Tears. They were daughters, sisters, aunties and friends. Despite the decades that this has continued, there is still a fundamental need to raise awareness about the victims, as well as to prevent future violence against Indigenous women and girls.

https://www.gbvlearningnetwork.ca/webinars/upcoming-webinars/index.html

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Spring Bird Festival

May 24, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET

Colonel Samuel Smith Park, 3145 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Etobicoke

Enjoy a day of guided bird walks, live birds, reptiles and amphibians, backyard habitat building, workshops, children’s activities, and educational displays. Bird walks start regularly throughout the festival. If you are planning on coming to the festival with your four-legged friend, remember to keep your dog on a leash.

https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/spring-bird-festival/ 

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Green Day Event

Saturday, May 24, 2025, 10am - 2 pm

Swansea Town Hall

Join LEAF, Green 13, Toronto Hydro, Toronto Fire Services for earth and family friendly initiatives for a greener world. 

https://www.swanseatownhall.ca/programs/green-day/

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Why Acting on Climate is so Difficult: Organized Obstruction

Sun. May 25, 11 a.m. ET

The speaker Prof. Timothy Roberts offers an unusual amount of information of why climate change is disbelieved as the world increasingly dives into a climate crisis.

https://actionnetwork.org/events/climatetalks528/ 

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For more Toronto events, check out: www.Showuptoronto.ca

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

http://theenergymix.com/  

Democracy Now Daily Show - global peace, justice and enviro news

https://www.democracynow.org/ 

CBC World Report

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-10-cbc-news-world-report  

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

Share this newsletter on social media using this link: http://greenspiration.org/news-events/ 

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