Belo Monte Justice Now! Please Sign Petition (Video)

Will Typhoon Haiyan Change World Attitudes? Don't Hold Your Breath! (Letter)

Dear Editor,

You have to wonder how many more monster storms it's going to take before the world takes meaningful action on climate change. Just one example is Haiyan, the "super-typhoon" which devastated vast areas of The Philippines this month. It was the biggest storm to hit land, ever! 

A poor Filipino man living and working right here in my home community of Neepawa apparently lost as many as 30 members of his family in this horrible tragedy. As the storm was raging, his country's Chief Climate Negotiator was making a tearful appeal at a UN conference in Poland. He pled for an end to the "madness," of climate change. He asked that we turn away from our addiction to fossil fuels, which is the root-cause of it all. 

Many climatologists remain reluctant to link any single storm, including this one, to climate change. But they have repeatedly warned that warmer oceans brought about by rising global temperatures, stoke the ferocity of both wind and waves during what they call these "severe weather events." As a result, the waves hitting the shore in The Philippines were more like a tsunami than a surge, the wind more like a thousand tornadoes than a typhoon.

Sadly, neither that brave negotiator's plea for change, nor the hunger strike he began at the time, seem likely to make a dent on a world community bent on maintaining a society fuelled by hydrocarbons, and little else. 

Japan has backed away from its targets for greenhouse gas reduction, saying they are just not realistic. Our own Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, has simply added to Canada's shameful litany of lies and deception over the years, by proclaiming at the same UN conference, that a carbon tax wouldn't be effective (even thought the preponderance of evidence points to the contrary). And Australia, a nation which has suffered so severely from the effects of climate change itself, has just elected a Conservative government, which has vowed to repeal an existing carbon tax there.

Yet, even as I look out my window and watch the semis rolling by as unrelentingly as ever, I can't afford to give up! After all, as an older person, I  have surely contributed to this mess, myself. So it is now up to me to help fix it.  

And, damn it, with your help, we will!

Larry Powell
Neepawa, Manitoba, CA
(A version of the above has now been published in the Roblin Review and Neepawa Banner.)

P.S. I'd like to thank fellow members of the Green Party of Manitoba for supporting my resolution at our recent Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg. The Party agreed to extend heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the many surviving family members and friends of victims killed by the typhoon.  
We also adopted a resolution calling on the Government of Manitoba to "substantially increase" its pledge of $200 thousand dollars to the Filipino relief effort. The resolution noted, "If this provincial government can afford to pay a wealthy corporation like Ikea some $8 million to set up shop in Winnipeg, it can surely be more generous to a country so devastated by this super-storm. We mustn't forget that many Filipinos live and work here in Manitoba, giving to this province's economy and social life. It's time that Manitoba gave back to the Philippines."

Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts

Earth Policy Institute

The world is literally moving off the charts. With the global average temperature up over half a degree Celsius since the 1970s and with more warming in store, we are starting to witness weather anomalies so severe we need to update our metrics and extend our graphs. Details here.

UN Court Orders Russia To Release Greenpeace Crew and Ship

Huffington Post

BERLIN (AP) — A U.N.-mandated tribunal has ordered Russia to immediately release a Greenpeace ship and its crew in return for a 3.6 million euro ($5 million) bond. Details here.

Green Party of Manitoba Searches for a New Leader

by Larry Powell - GPM member

James Beddome, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba for the past five years, (above, centre) has resigned. Beddome told the Party's recent Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg, he was leaving with regret, but that it would be unfair to carry on due to the increasing duties required by his law career. As he put it, "The interests of my (law) clients must come first." 

He did make it clear, however, it was not his intention to break his ties with the party. On the contrary, he added, it was "quite likely" he would continue to serve one way or another, even as a candidate. 

I met this dedicated young man with a ready sense of humour, at a public event in Brandon a few years ago. It was both educational and fun as we tried to convince a sometimes reluctant media to carry our message that the provincial government needed to ban harmful pesticides used on lawns just to make them look good.  

Now, a scant few years later, the NDP provincial government is on the verge of doing just that. 

During his time as leader, Beddome got used to seeing the government adopt Green policies in this way while claiming them as their own.

For example, in 2012, he spoke out strongly against the idiocy of the provincial government licensing the operation of peat-mines in provincial parks. The following year, the province banned the practise.

In a statement, the Party President, Pam Sanford said, "James has left some big shoes to fill. We accept his resignation with regret and wish him well as he completes his law degree."

The party executive is expected to choose an interim leader "in the near future" and set a date for a leadership contest.

l.p.
Green Party of Manitoba

A Talisman Frackwater Pit in British Columbia Leaked for Months, Kept From Public

the COMMONSENSECANADIAN

A pit storing contaminated fracking water in northeast BC was leaking into the surrounding soil and groundwater for up to six months before owner Talisman formally notified..Details here.

Feeding the Flame of Revolt

OpEd News - by Chris Hedges

New York - I was in federal court here Friday for the sentencing of Jeremy Hammond to 10 years in prison for hacking into the computers of a private security firm that works on behalf of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security, and corporations such as Dow Chemical. Details here.