by David Roberts - the Daily Beast De.18th-'09
The deal Obama brought home from Copenhagen wasn't just...
The deal Obama brought home from Copenhagen wasn't just...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
A Poem For Stephen
– by Larry Powell
‘Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the land
global warming was here. \
It was grand! It was grand!
Cars would start!
Ice would melt!
Folks wore their light clothes,
while up through their chimneys
mere wisps of smoke rose!
On the air one could hear
mindless broadcasters say
"It's eleven degrees.
But up at the pole it was not Santa's day.
Two of his reindeer had just passed away.
Dasher and Dancer had sadly drowned
while playing with mates confined to the ground.
There was a river they could normally cross.
But its ice had grown thin in the tenuous frost.
The two were not helped by the fact they could fly.
And the cold, clear water is where they did die.
The great bears of the north had met similar ends.
Just as learn-ed scholars did indeed portend.
Christmas day dawned, but alas, 'twas not white!
Lawns were brown, fields were black. It just didn't seem right!
The skis and toboggans the kids had received were soon tossed aside
just like old Christmas trees.
"The moon on the crest of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of midday to objects below."
A decade from now when these words are intoned
will their image be real - or merely a poem?
and all through the land
global warming was here. \
It was grand! It was grand!
Cars would start!Ice would melt!
Folks wore their light clothes,
while up through their chimneys
mere wisps of smoke rose!
On the air one could hear
mindless broadcasters say
"It's eleven degrees.
Hope this thaw lasts 'til May!”
But up at the pole it was not Santa's day.
Two of his reindeer had just passed away.
Dasher and Dancer had sadly drowned while playing with mates confined to the ground.
There was a river they could normally cross.
But its ice had grown thin in the tenuous frost.
The two were not helped by the fact they could fly.
And the cold, clear water is where they did die.
The great bears of the north had met similar ends.
Just as learn-ed scholars did indeed portend.
Christmas day dawned, but alas, 'twas not white!
Lawns were brown, fields were black. It just didn't seem right!
The skis and toboggans the kids had received were soon tossed aside
just like old Christmas trees.
"The moon on the crest of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of midday to objects below."A decade from now when these words are intoned
will their image be real - or merely a poem?
Tarsands Pollution Exceeds Official Estimates: Study
The Canadian Press - Bob Weber Dec. 7'09EDMONTON – An independent study suggests pollution from...
Canada geese fly over an open pit of the tar sands
Courtesy of BeautifulDesruction
Seed Behemoth Monsanto Stumbles Into Antitrust Trouble
Even as it bombards the airwaves and magazine ad pages to tout its commitment to “sustainable agriculture,” GMO seed giant Monsanto...
BC Wilderness Committee Calls for Climate Action
Ken Wu Speaks out for Old Growth at Copenhagen Climate Talks
Wilderness Committee campaigner Ken Wu is in Copenhagen, drawing attention to the value of our remaining ancient forests on Vancouver Island for storing carbon. This past week he joined hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for Canada’s government to take real action on climate change.
Ken spoke at the conference on climate change in Copenhagen on Monday, December 14, about Vancouver's forests and their effect on the environment. He based his most recent information on a report issued by the Sierra Club, ‘State of British Columbia’ Coastal Rainforest: Mapping the Gaps for Ecological Health and Climate Protection’ released Sunday, which noted that industrial logging over the decades has decimated old-growth tracts to below the level needed to preserve species.
Decades of "industrial logging" have reduced vast tracts of old-growth coverage to below the 30 per cent per ecosystem mark -- the amount needed to preserve species. More than two million hectares of rainforest ecosystems on BC’s coast, mostly on Vancouver Island and the south coast, are now below that critical limit.
Logging removes BC’s carbon-storage capability, and also contributes to the province's greenhouse-gas emissions, through heavy equipment and the release of carbon dioxide when trees are cut. Logging on Vancouver Island alone has caused the release of 370 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With climate change so important to face, we need more effort put into protecting our remaining old-growth forests.
Ken spoke at the conference on climate change in Copenhagen on Monday, December 14, about Vancouver's forests and their effect on the environment. He based his most recent information on a report issued by the Sierra Club, ‘State of British Columbia’ Coastal Rainforest: Mapping the Gaps for Ecological Health and Climate Protection’ released Sunday, which noted that industrial logging over the decades has decimated old-growth tracts to below the level needed to preserve species.
Decades of "industrial logging" have reduced vast tracts of old-growth coverage to below the 30 per cent per ecosystem mark -- the amount needed to preserve species. More than two million hectares of rainforest ecosystems on BC’s coast, mostly on Vancouver Island and the south coast, are now below that critical limit.
Logging removes BC’s carbon-storage capability, and also contributes to the province's greenhouse-gas emissions, through heavy equipment and the release of carbon dioxide when trees are cut. Logging on Vancouver Island alone has caused the release of 370 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With climate change so important to face, we need more effort put into protecting our remaining old-growth forests.
Success?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Youth and Indigenous People Escalate Protests Inside the UN
BY JOSHUA KAHN RUSSELL | Rabble.CA - DECEMBER 10, 2009
Echoing the words of Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed (We will not...
Echoing the words of Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed (We will not...
Climate Justice - Take Action for People & the Planet
Council of Canadians reporting from Copenhagen...
MANITOBA HAS PLAN TO REDUCE PLASTIC BAG USE: BLAIKIE
Manitoba News Release
............................................................
December 8, 2009
- - -
Manitobans Asked For Input To Guide Action to Protect Environment
Manitobans are being asked for their views on the best way to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie announced today.
"We want to hear what Manitobans think and we want to work with shoppers, vendors and bag manufacturers," said Blaikie.
Manitoba was the first province in Canada to ban plastic bags in liquor stores and the second to set targets for packaging.
Plastic bags are regulated as service packaging under the Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Regulation, passed in December 2008. The Guideline for Plastic Bags under the regulation establishes a target to reduce the use of plastic bags by 50 per cent within five years.
Next spring, Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM) will launch a new industry program to manage packaging and printed paper including plastic bags. To meet the reduction target, the guideline requires industry to undertake measures to reduce demand for plastic bags and encourage use of reusable bags.
Manitoba's current multi-material recycling system diverted more than 70,000 tonnes of household recyclables this past year.
To strengthen plastic bag management and complement MMSM's planning, the public and interest groups are invited to participate in consultations that will focus on the following proposals:
- plastic carry-out bags sold and distributed in Manitoba contain a minimum of 25 per cent post-consumer recycled material, increasing to 50 per cent within five years;
- all larger stores that distribute plastic bags have take-back programs for recycling plastic bags;
- all plastic bags sold or distributed in Manitoba be imprinted with a message reminding users to recycle or reuse the bag; and
- all compostable or biodegradable plastic bags sold or distributed in Manitoba be required to meet national or international standards and be certified as such.
"All Manitobans have a responsibility in protecting our environment," said Blaikie. "Your views will help to shape the new packaging program as it rolls out."
Information related to the consultation is posted here.
- 30 -
............................................................
December 8, 2009
- - -
Manitobans Asked For Input To Guide Action to Protect Environment
Manitobans are being asked for their views on the best way to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie announced today.
"We want to hear what Manitobans think and we want to work with shoppers, vendors and bag manufacturers," said Blaikie.
Manitoba was the first province in Canada to ban plastic bags in liquor stores and the second to set targets for packaging.
Plastic bags are regulated as service packaging under the Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Regulation, passed in December 2008. The Guideline for Plastic Bags under the regulation establishes a target to reduce the use of plastic bags by 50 per cent within five years.
Next spring, Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM) will launch a new industry program to manage packaging and printed paper including plastic bags. To meet the reduction target, the guideline requires industry to undertake measures to reduce demand for plastic bags and encourage use of reusable bags.
Manitoba's current multi-material recycling system diverted more than 70,000 tonnes of household recyclables this past year.
To strengthen plastic bag management and complement MMSM's planning, the public and interest groups are invited to participate in consultations that will focus on the following proposals:
- plastic carry-out bags sold and distributed in Manitoba contain a minimum of 25 per cent post-consumer recycled material, increasing to 50 per cent within five years;
- all larger stores that distribute plastic bags have take-back programs for recycling plastic bags;
- all plastic bags sold or distributed in Manitoba be imprinted with a message reminding users to recycle or reuse the bag; and
- all compostable or biodegradable plastic bags sold or distributed in Manitoba be required to meet national or international standards and be certified as such.
"All Manitobans have a responsibility in protecting our environment," said Blaikie. "Your views will help to shape the new packaging program as it rolls out."
Information related to the consultation is posted here.
- 30 -
Global Protests Demand Action on Climate Change
COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of activists across...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Are hungry kids a priority for the Harper government? by Larry Powell The forum (for the riding of Dauphin - Swan River - Neepawa) w...
-
by Larry Powell Planet In Peril has sorted through some of the confusion surrounding the absence of Robert Sopuck, the Conservative M...
-
Larry Powell Powell is a veteran, award-winning journalist based in Shoal Lake, Manitoba, Canada. He specialize in stories about agriculture...