Deeper Shade of Green

The lives of millions of seals around the world are now in the hands of the European Parliament. A bill to ban products made from the inhumane slaughter of seals will be put to a vote of the 27 member nations of the European community between July 16th and July 23rd.

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If you ever doubted the sense of urgency on the issue of Climate Change, if you thought “we still have perhaps 20 years to fix it, so let’s enjoy our lives in the meantime” - think again.
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Help Stop the “Gateway to Global Warming”!
Our Environment Minister in BC may be close to signing the environmental certification for the Gateway project.

If Barry Penner signs the certification for this project his legacy would be that of the Environment Minister that gave the green light to the most counter productive and in fact destructive transportation mega-project of our generation! (See below for a brief update)

On Minster Penner’s website he claims “The BC Government is working to aggressively address global warming and climate change” he even goes on to clearly state “there is still more work to be done if we are to meet our legally-mandated goal of reducing BC’s greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2020″. How he could say this one day and then rubber stamp what many are calling “the gateway to global warming” is unconscionable.

Concerned British Columbian’s are writing letters and emails to the minister of the environment and the Premier insisting that the environmental assessment not be signed and that genuine consultation take place. This is your chance to have your voice heard and tell Barry Penner and Gordon Campbell to do the right thing.

Read more…

Imagine if Canada was a character on the reality TV show Intervention, in which families attempt to salvage the lives of their self-destructive members. From the evidence uncovered by Mel Hurtig, our country would be an easily-manipulated dolt with poor impulse control, memory problems and a bad habit of pawning off valuable possessions. In Canadian Intervention, Hurtig would play the combined role of therapist and Marine gunnery sergeant, trying to convince Canada that it’s not in its best interests to hang out with smooth-talking pundits from right-wing think tanks, tax-dodging CEOs, weapons makers or self-described “journalists” who can’t be bothered to check their sources.

It’s a thankless task, but Hurtig obviously loves his country, and has spent years trying to steer it in a different direction. Once owner of one of the largest book retail operations in Canada, he founded Hurtig Publishers in 1972 and later launched The Canadian Encyclopedia. Founder and past-president of the Council of Canadians, Hurtig was elected leader of the National Party of Canada in 1992 and led it in the federal election a year later. Now in his seventies, the energetic and animated Hurtig is promoting his seventh book, The Truth about Canada: Some Important, Some Astonishing and Some Truly Appalling Things All Canadians Should Know About Our Country. Common Ground - a Vancouver local newspaper - sat down together with Hurtig at a coffee shop in downtown Vancouver to discuss our nation’s latest woes.

Read the full story here . It will open your eyes.

Seal hunt in Canada is a very controversial issue. And for a good reason. It is an annual government sponsored barbaric slaughter of baby seals - and no one is allowed to document it. Doing so is actually a crime in Canada.

European Union is poised to soon introduce a ban on imports of all seal products. Greenpeace, Sea Shepherds and other NGOs have worked hard at this and I congratulate them on a fantastic job. Our idiotic government is scrambling and pouring money into this sadistic venture just as the rug is being pulled under their feet.

I’m glad my tax money is well spent.

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Letter to my MP. I encourage you to write your own, as each letter counts for hundreds of voices. To learn more, click here.

Dear Mr. Moore,

I am one of your constituents, living in Coquitlam. I have met you recently at an open discussion event in St. Mario’s restaurant on a Sunday morning.
The reason I am writing to you today is because of the proposed bill C-517 on which you will be expected to vote in the upcoming months.

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Key note presentation to my fellow employees

I woke up this morning and took a stroll through a forest, thinking to myself just how will I deliver my message to you. I decided on truth. I will tell you the truth, hopefully scare you in the process and by the end of it empower you to take positive action.

What am I talking about? Sustainability and our common future on this planet. I stand here today proudly as your colleague, friend, husband, father and citizen of Earth. As such, I have responsibilities. Read the rest of this entry »

At 7:38pm on March 17th, I became father to a gorgeous little boy named Luka (3.31Kg [7lbs & 5 oz] and around 51cm [20.5inches]).

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Canadians fear U.S. energy bill clause could disallow oil-sands exports

A clause in the recently passed U.S. energy bill could be interpreted to prevent the U.S. from sourcing fuel from Canada’s oil sands, putting Canadian officials all in a tizzy. Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act prohibits the U.S. government from purchasing alternative fuels with higher lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional petroleum. It’s a descriptor that seems to fit oil sands, which have traditionally been classified as an alternative fuel and can produce up to five times more carbon emissions than conventional oil production. But in response to Canada’s fears that the rule “could unnecessarily complicate the integrated Canada-U.S. energy relationship,” the U.S. government is considering reclassifying oil sands as conventional fuel. Because, really, enabling extra climate-destroying emissions is far preferable to pissing off the Canucks.

I’ll be adding any day now ‘fatherhood’ to my growing portfolio. Many has asked me how I feel and that perhaps I focus to much on my environmental activism and not enough on becoming a father.

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I am very pleased to say that we worked hard at bringing the worldwide phenomenom called “Greendrinks” to our city, Coquitlam (greater Vancouver), B.C.

We were able to obtain an exclusive interview by the local newspapers, Tri-City News and to our surprise, the article made top story, front cover. Publication is around 75K and goes out to three cities. Below is the article. Enjoy.

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To whom it may concern,

I am a citizen of Coquitlam, BC. It came to my attention recently that the government is strongly considering granting a permission to modify the Pinecone / Burke Mountain park boundaries, in order to allow Run of River Inc., to run a power line through from its megawatt hydro project in Upper Pitt River.
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Japan leads G8 in 2008, will focus on climate change

A new year means a new country takes over leadership of the Group of Eight rich nations, and in 2008 it’s Japan. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has promised to make climate change a top priority, proposing a goal for G8 countries to cut emissions by 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. And while that may seem ambitious for a nation that just last month stood with the United States in opposition to specific reduction goals for a post-Kyoto treaty, the safe bet is on continued U.S. interference with specific emissions reduction goals at the G8 (see: last year), so there’s little to lose by aiming for the same shot-down target as last year. Fukuda also announced plans to hold a climate-change meeting immediately preceding the July G8 summit and has invited China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea to attend as well. Fukuda indicated that even after the climate-specific meet, “Environmental issues will be a big agenda” item at the regular old G8 summit. “Japan hopes to lead the worldwide discussions in order to hand over clean skies to our children.”

A letter to Yves Rocher company in regards to their beauty products

Hello.  I recently received a gift basket of your products from a relative who knows that I use nothing but non-toxic, natural or organic cosmetics and household products.  She proudly told me she included your catalogue, entitled “Green Guide 2008″ so that I would know that the products were “all natural”, knowing I would not use them if they were not.  I was very disappointed to discover the extent to which your company is greenwashing people.  You were very successful in fooling my relative into believing that your products were natural.
In the catalogue, I saw mention of “organic Arnica” but no evidence of a certifying body.  What’s more, the actual product label did not indicate anywhere that it was organic, not even in the ingredient list.  Further, other products stated “the pleasures of nature (in French)”.  There was no indication that there is anything natural about these products other than your crafty title.  Just because they smell like fruit, how does that make them natural?
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Prince Charles made a sci-fi-inspired speech at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi this week. But swallow your cries of jet-setting hypocrisy: Instead of spewing planet-warming pollutants by flying to the Middle East, the Prince of Wales appeared as a life-size, 3-D hologram, and he used the occasion to call for urgent action against global warming. “Scientists are now saying that the problem of climate change is now so grave and so urgent that we have less than 10 years to slow, stop, and reverse greenhouse-gas emissions,” said the virtual prince. “Common actions are needed in every country to protect the common inheritance that has been given to us by our creator.”
sources: The Telegraph , The New York Times

Whole Foods to stop giving out plastic grocery bags by Earth Day

Whole Foods will stop handing out plastic grocery bags by Earth Day, April 22, this year. The mega-retailer of natural foods announced yesterday that it will instead encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags; the lazy and forgetful will have their goodies bundled into 100 percent recycled paper bags.

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WWF and the government of Abu Dhabi today launched a Sustainability Strategy to deliver the world’s greenest city – Masdar City.

The six square kilometre city, designed by Foster and Associates, is to house an eventual 50,000 people in accordance with WWF One Planet Living sustainability standards which include specific targets for the city’s ecological footprint.

Independent and public verification of Masdar City’s performance in meeting these standards is just one of the features distinguishing the project. Another is the commitment that the project will not just preserve existing regional biodiversity but enhance it.
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California, 15 other states, and five nonprofits sue EPA over waiver decision

California has made good on its promise to sue the U.S. EPA over the agency’s refusal to allow the state to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, and 15 other states have made good on their promise to join in on the litigation. The swarm of states, along with five nonprofit groups, filed suit last week in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The presumed shared feeling of the group, as stated by California Attorney General Jerry Brown: “The denial letter was shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification for the administrator’s unprecedented action.”

According to conventional wisdom (oh all right the tabloid press to be more precise) all teenagers ever think about are themselves. So it may come as a surprise that a global survey of almost 50,000 teens released today reveals that they have many other concerns - and that they worry more about dangerous greenhouse gases than drugs, violence or war.

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Commentary By Gwynne Dyer, The Georgia Straight

Do not be too downhearted about the outcome of the Bali talks. They did not deliver the binding commitments to cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions that are desperately needed, and as a result millions may die who might have lived. But they did show us something remarkable. They showed us the human race trying to grow up and take responsibility for its common future. Read the rest of this entry »