Global slavery

Did you know that if you drive a car made in Mexico, like the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, there's a good chance you're helping perpetuate slavery? Here's the connection: slaves make charcoal to smelt aluminium in Brazil, which is shipped to Mexico and used in maquiladoras (Mexican factories) owned and operated by Volkswagen. Volkswagen isn't kidding when they tell you to "forget what you remember" about the Beetle.

This ain't no hippie car.

There is no planet B

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle

Nuclear power - A poster child for the planned economy

For those who are confused and wondering why, despite severe, long-term economic, environmental and public health risks, as well as actual impacts, nuclear energy continues to be a mainstay of modern industrial power systems... *breath* ...well, there are reasons that representatives of government, industry, and corporate media are incapable of offering a satisfactory explanation.

Here is an analysis that begins to get to the heart of the issues involved.

A "cosmic vignette" by Lord Rees

The following is an excerpt from a BBC broadcast of the Reith Lectures 2010. The Reith Lectures are a series of annual radio lectures held in the UK on significant contemporary issues, delivered by "leading figures from the relevant fields".

And I’ll conclude with a cosmic vignette. Suppose some aliens had been watching our planet from afar for its entire history. What would they have seen?

Over nearly all that immense time, 45 million centuries, Earth’s appearance would have altered very gradually. Continents drifted; the ice cover waxed and waned; successive species emerged, evolved and became extinct. But in just a tiny sliver of the Earth’s history, the last one millionth part, patterns of vegetation altered at an accelerating rate. This signalled the growing impact of humans and the advent of agriculture.

Then, in just one century, came other changes. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air began to rise anomalously fast. The planet became an intense submitter of radio waves - the output from TV, cellphones and radar transmissions. And something else unprecedented happened: small projectiles, launched from the planet’s surface, escaped the biosphere completely. Some were propelled into orbits around the Earth; some journeyed to the moon and planets.

If they understood astrophysics, the aliens could predict that the biosphere would face doom in a few billion years when our sun flares up and dies. But could they have predicted this sudden fever less than halfway through the Earth’s life? And if they continued to keep watch, what might these hypothetical aliens witness in the next hundred years in this unique century?

Open letter to Environment Minister Peter Kent

If you agree that remediation of harm done to the Athabasca region, and reparations to its native peoples, should be paid for by oil sands developers, and not by Canadian taxpayers, please consider cutting and pasting (and editing as necessary) one of the following open letters and sending it to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (contact) or Environment Minister Peter Kent (email: Minister@ec.gc.ca, website)

Contact the Minister

Tel.: 819-997-1441
Fax: 819-953-0279
Email: Minister@ec.gc.ca

The Honourable Peter Kent
Minister of the Environment
Member of Parliament for Thornhill (Ontario)
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
10 Wellington Street, 28^th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3

Version 1

Subject: Responsible regulation and taxation of oil sands

Dear Peter:

Oil sands developers in Alberta are getting away with murder, and the Canadian government seems to be turning a blind eye.

As I write this, I am thinking of the millions of innocent human beings who have been killed or displaced, and will continue to be so likely as a result of anthropogenic climate change. I’m also thinking of northern Alberta where the smell of hydrocarbons from the terrible scar of the tar sands replaces the scent of flowers, and of cancer rates in the Chipewyan First Nation community.

Instead of letting companies run roughshod over our Athabasca forests with minimal penalty, in particular companies with foreign-headquarters and little concern for Canada's long-term interests, they should be taxed and a large portion of their profits earmarked for, among other things, remediation programs.

Peter, I was disappointed to find you on the Polluter Harmony site. I expect more of the newsman who used to grace my family's living room nightly.

Please stand up for the environment and impose proper regulation and taxation on the oil sands.

Sincerely,
Ted Sherk

Version 2

Subject: Make polluters pay! Tax bitumen extractors in Alberta

Dear Peter:

Oil sands developers in Alberta are getting away with murder, and the Canadian government seems to be turning a blind eye.

Instead of letting companies run roughshod over our Athabasca forests with minimal penalty, in particular companies with foreign-headquarters and little concern for Canada's long-term interests, they should be taxed and a large portion of their profits earmarked for, among other things, remediation programs.

I was disappointed to find you on the Polluter Harmony site. I expect more of the newsman who used to grace my family's living room nightly.

As I write this, I am also thinking of the millions of innocent human beings who have been killed or displaced, and will continue to be as a result of anthropogenic climate change. I’m also thinking of the spring to come, the wildflowers that will bloom and their beautiful scent in the air. I’m also thinking of northern Alberta where the smell of hydrocarbons from the terrible scar of the tar sands replaces the scent of flowers.

Please stand up for the environment and impose proper regulation and taxation on the oil sands.

Sincerely,

Ted Sherk

---

Background:

Canada.com news coverage: Environment minister unfazed by anti-oil sands campaign

CBC: The Nature of Things two-hour feature on the Albertan oil sands

FORD FOCUS - Chapter 3

Fixing Rob's Mistakes

Think of the effect George Bush and throngs of misinformed, rhetoric-driven voters had on the U.S. economy, and then read this:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/858032--scrap-streetcars-for-subways-ford-says

Here are some facts about Transit City:

FACT: LRT and street cars are not the same thing.

FACT: 1/3 of the proposed Eglinton LRT will run underground.*
(i.e. between Laird Ave. and Keele St.)

FACT: Transit City vs. Ford's "plan"


































In case it's not obvious, I deeply resent having to take time away from other important work to try and protect Toronto's future against this buffoon. Thank goodness our city's governance structure has some ability to temper Ford's rhetoric with reason, and keep him in check.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/915410--ford-transit-city-hybrid-plan-in-the-works?bn=1

When my thesis is done, I will be doing some serious advocacy, including more canvassing. Hopefully it won't be too late by then to save the Jane LRT as well.

*Sources: City of Toronto, 2010; Google Maps

Jobs in Ontario's renewable energy sector

Do you know someone who's out of work in Ontario and interested in renewable energy? Here's a (non-comprehensive) list of jobs being created as a result of Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act. These are companies you could refer them to.

Company	No. of jobs	Location
Canadian Solar	500	Guelph
Sustainable Energy Technologies and Melatron	300	Guelph
Fronius (inverters)	100	Mississauga
Canasia Power	500	London
Seimans		Windsor
Samco	60-100	Scarborough
Windtronics	174	Windsor
Lower Mattagami River Project	800	Timmins James Bay
Solar Source	150-200	Windsor
Niagara Tunnel	?	Niagara
GSL and MecaSolar	15	Wallaceburg
	?	Leeds & Grenville
More on the way!

For more information, see http://cpconference.ca/