Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Post-Carbon London meeting

Toban Black — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:30:45 -0700

Start: 2008-09-09 19:00

End: 2008-09-09 21:00

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Local food

Toban Black — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:09:45 -0700

A community garden photo by "sbcg08"

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A Wall Street Journal video clip about urban farming [via Wild Green Yonder]
Most of the video revolves around one guy who farms neighbourhood lawns in Colorado.

A "No Impact Man" blog post about urban rooftop farming (which definitely couldn't "save the world")
The post includes photos and some web links

A blog post from Joshua about chickens in urban backyards [via Red Jenny]
Some of the post is about legislation issues

An article by Karen Von Hahn (in The Globe & Mail) -
‘People Are Looking For Roots’
What I found interesting about this one is the author's commentary on the culture (e.g. the nostalgia) around local foods

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A couple of related posts at my blog:
- Home-grown food
- Suburban farmland in the United States

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Community garden photo from Groundwork Lawrence

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=284)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

It's time to cut our ties to fossil fuels

Toban Black — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:26:44 -0700

Elizabeth Douglass in The Los Angeles Times - "Why The Oil Crunch May Grow Worse"
"Peak Oil: The ‘When’ Doesn’t Matter"

What I appreciate about this article is -
a. The tagline about how "The ‘When’ Doesn’t Matter" -- a message that is repeated at the end of the article (and at the end of the exerpts quoted here)
b. How the article clearly communicates the concept of world peak oil. (See the start of the exerpts below.)

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Exerpts -

Some "dread" "that the world has found all the easy-to-reach oil, and the daily supply of the essential black goo will fall further and further behind escalating global demand."

'As much as you’re uncomfortable with today’s oil prices, these are going to be the good old days,' oil expert Robert L. Hirsch told a recent ... gathering of policymakers and environmentalists."

"'There are more and more people who believe that oil supply prospects are not very optimistic,' said Fatih Birol, chief economist at the Paris-based International Energy Agency."

"Birol counts himself among those who believe the world has reached at least 'a peak of easily accessible oil.' That alone is cause for worry, because many economies are built around the assumption that oil would continue to be cheap and plentiful.

Birol is leading a groundbreaking reassessment of the worldwide outlook for oil supplies, investment and production that many believe will deliver bad news when it is released in November.

"Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer group, doesn’t care when the peak will come.

'We should be planning as though we’re there,' he said, 'because from a national interest standpoint, from an economic standpoint and from an environmental standpoint, our dependence on oil, whether it comes from California or Saudi Arabia, is unsustainable.'"

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The rest of the article is OK.
It's misleading, however, when the author suggests that there isn't extensive analysis and documentation to back up concerns about impending or present world peak oil.

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Related writing from Richard Heinberg -
Oil Price Falls! Peak Oil a Non-Problem! (July 30th)
..."The fundamental cause of the recent oil price spike has not gone away. Global demand for oil is still increasing; supply isn’t."...

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=295)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Post-Carbon London meeting

Toban Black — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:58:47 -0700

Start: 2008-08-12 19:30

End: 2008-08-12 21:00

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

"Drive-Thru Truths"

Toban Black — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:50:55 -0700

Did you know that...

Critics of drive-thrus don't have "any proof"; in fact, they don't "make sense"
Fast foods -- and drive-thru access to those fast foods -- are "vital" "for the disabled, seniors, and parents with small children"; access to these fast foods is not just a matter of convenience; "many people need drive-thrus"
All of "the disabled, seniors, and parents with small children" have cars -- as well as money for insurance and gas; and all of "the disabled, seniors, and parents with small children" don't have disabilities which prevent car-driving (as blindness does, for example); so all of these people have the option of using drive-thrus
Drive-thrus are the only way that we can improve accessibility for all of "the disabled, seniors, and parents with small children" -- even for disabled people whose mobility is not impaired in any way
Cars only make people safer; no one is ever endangered by car driving
It's fine to encourage people to eat and drink while they drive after leaving a drive-thru
The health of drive-thru window employees is not important; it's OK that they inhale fumes from nearby exhaust pipes throughout their shifts
It doesn't matter that all of the employees and customers in establishments with drive-thru windows are exposed to the exhaust fumes that come in through these windows
Drive-thrus are not an environmental problem in any way whatsoever; in fact, drive-thrus are an environmental asset
People don't travel to businesses by bicycle, by bus, or by foot; every customer who doesn't use a drive-thru either will leave their car in a parking lot, or they will leave it idling outside of the building; so without drive-thrus that is what's bound to happen
Tailpipe emissions are the only environmental issue that is relevant here; other environmental consequences (e.g. ongoing oil spills) associated with extracting, refining, and shipping the oil used to make gasoline are a separate matter; and the materials (e.g. rubber) needed to manufacture and maintain vehicles (e.g. their tires) are not relevant either; so the extraction, transport, processing, and disposal of these materials also has nothing to do with drive-thrus; and the ecological implications of industrial manufacturing of vehicles and vehicle parts is unrelated as well
Concerns about how oil profits often end up in the hands of authoritarian regimes (e.g. in Saudi Arabia) are irrelevant
Drive-thrus don't encourage additional car driving, so "banning drive-thrus won't reduce the number of overall car trips"; drive-thrus thus have nothing to do with ongoing automobile collisions, or with other problems (e.g. increased obesity) associated with car driving
Eat-in establishments are of no value; "quick service restaurants" are ideal; it's not important that we sit together as a community rather than eating and drinking more privately (e.g. inside vehicles); we shouldn't be concerned about how there are fewer jobs and less tips in "quick service restaurants" with drive-thrus
It doesn't matter that younger people who can't drive cars on their own have less access to drive-thrus, and to establishments that are more accessible by car; poorer people who can't afford their own cars ; poorer people who can't afford their own cars -- and everyone else who can't drive on their own -- also don't deserve any consideration
"The public" supports drive-thrus; "the public" does not have any concerns about drive-thrus
Each name on the petition is actually from a separate person who has "read the facts"; there are no duplicate names on the petition, and no fake names were added to it
There is grassroots activism in the "Drive-Thru Truths" campaign -- as the protest signs show
"The experts" dismiss concerns about drive-thrus and tailpipe emissions; "the experts" all agree on this
Tim Hortons and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association -- the people behind these messages -- just want to help us all, while contributing to environmental causes; profit-making strategies have nothing to do with their stance on these issues; unlike "special interest groups," Tim Horton's and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association are concerned about the general interests -- of "the people," whose voices and whose empowerment are considered to be very important

Those are the messages that you'll find at drivethru truth .ca, a pro- drive-thru propaganda site. (Their banner image is at the top of this post; the original banner is a little larger, however.)
The above points are about what is said on that site, and about what isn't said on that site.

There are additional problems with drive-thrus that I could mention, but I'm just responding to the lobbying on and around that particular drivethru truth web site. In other words, this post is just a response to a particular set of industry lobbyists (and without effort to come up with every possible point that could be raised against them).

Some of their propaganda also has been spread through pamphlets (which I've seen on Tim Hortons counter-tops), through mainstream media advertising, and through t-shirts worn at a public event the other day.

Here are a couple of photos of the t-shirts:

(Click to enlarge)

The mob wearing those shirts all seem to have been Tim Hortons employees. (In part, I say that because of how they collectively reacted to what was said during the forum on Tuesday.)

They might have been paid to come out to the forum wearing those shirts; or other pressures or incentives might have driven them there.
I'm not sure why exactly they were there, but I am certain that they didn't have to pay for the shirts; and I'm sure that they didn't have to create the t-shirt design and then produce the actual t-shirts.

The "Drive-Thru Truths" campaign is a 'top'-'down' form of lobbying. Executives, managers, and marketers have been leading the way.

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As for the lobbyists' pamphlets, here's the text from one that I picked up from a Tim Hortons counter -

"Banning Drive-thrus in London?

It's a bad idea all around.

Fact: A drive-thru ban would hurt the less mobile.

Drive-thrus are a vital access point for the disabled, seniors, and parents with small children.

Fact: ZERO Environmental Benefit.

Crowded parking lots create the same or more emissions"

Basically that pamphlet text is a condensed version of messages at drivethru truth .ca (which the pamphlet refers readers to).

On the pamphlet a hand is holding up a sign that says "4 KIDS IN A VAN. BLIZZARD. DRIVE-THRUS HELP."
How ridiculous is it to bring up that situation? Generally speaking, why would someone drive to a fast food outlet in that weather? -- when there actually are blizzards (which do happen now and then around here). A parent who does that would be endangering their children; yet, the lobbyists are encouraging that behaviour.

On the pamphlet there also are two other hand-held signs--the "DON'T BAN DRIVE-THRUS" sign, and the one about using a walker (which also are on the drivethru truth site).

How many people with walkers also drive cars though?

Messages like that are an insult to the intelligence of humanity.

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Here's a web site which was set up in response to drivethrutruth.ca:
http://drivethrulies.wordpress.com

(Those campaigners don't have the help or resources needed to make a more eye-catching and easy to navigate web site. That's 'democracy' for you.)

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On a barely related note, here's a blog post (elsewhere) about Tim Hortons here in London, Ontario -
"You’ve (do not) always got time for Tim Hortons - lady previously sacked for giving away a timbit"

I'm only posting that here because I expect that, like me, others will enjoy reading this because they are frustrated with the industry propaganda, which Tim Hortons has had a huge hand in.

The case described in that blog post also symbolizes a lot of other issues I've been alluding to -- issues which come down to sheer inhumanity (e.g. in exposing employees to car exhaust fumes).

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Updates -

The web site drivethrutruth.com now brings people to a Tim Hortons web site. (Drivethrutruth.ca doesn't bring visitors to the Tim Hortons site, however.)

There are a few comments on this "Drive-Thru Truths" piece here:
http://www.londoncommons.net/node/6156
(where I had re-posted it)

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=251)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Forum on drive-thrus in London, Ontario

Toban Black — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:15:55 -0700

On Tuesday night there was a forum (at a local hall) about drive-thrus in London, Ontario.

A mob was there wearing blue t-shirts associated with this pro- drive-thru lobbying web site. (I've written about that web site and those blue-shirted people in this post.)

The local campaigners challenging drive-thrus have been taking pioneering steps, so industry lobbyists have tried to stamp out the campaign. (This aggressive lobbying has come from Tim Hortons and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association, in particular.) London thus has been made into a sort of flashpoint--within the province of Ontario at least. (I don't know how contested drive-thrus are elsewhere.)

Several local environmentalists went out to the event to speak. One of them was there on behalf of Post-Carbon London, which I'm part of as well. Others (like the gentleman in the photo, who is from a neighbourhood association) also came out to raise different concerns about drive-thrus.

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Before the event the Council of Canadians sent out this announcement:
http://londonontario.indymedia.org/?q=node/582

They also distributed these posters:
http://www.relocalize.net/files/drivethru-idling.pdf
http://www.relocalize.net/files/drivethru-oil.pdf

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Here's some mainstream coverage of the event -

Videos -
http://www.achannel.ca/london/news_59453.aspx
http://torontosun.feedroom.com/linking/index.jsp?skin=oneclip&ehv=http://sunvideo.canoe.ca&fr_story=45ac70340aebefd48700a4d1eb6a6d557ec94cfd&rf=ev&hl=true'%20width=402%20height=338%20scrolling='no'%20frameborder=0%20marginwidth=0%20marginheight=0

Photos:
http://www.lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?x=galleries&s=gallery&p=2546&pg=6

Written journalism -
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/07/16/6170906-sun.html
http://www.londontopic.ca/article.php?artid=10054

A blog post -- and the comments on it -
http://frommybottomstep.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/drive-thru-debate-turned-circus/#comments
(I think that the author's responses to my comments show that they are intent on misrepresenting the event. For instance, this person dismisses the idea that the blue shirted people were "causing a scene"--despite how their propaganda shirts were an obvious "scene," and despite how they would respond to happenings en masse--usually by clapping.)

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Update -
Here's the PowerPoint presentation that Cory Morningstar -- the head of the local chapter of the Council of Canadians -- prepared for the Tuesday forum on drive-thrus:
http://www.relocalize.net/files/Drive-thru%20Presentation%20CoC%20-%20Ju...

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=250)

Chatham-Kent Oil Age Planning Group (CKOAP Group)

The G8 summit and global warming

Toban Black — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:58:51 -0700

Robert Weissman on the G8 agreement on global warming -

"Dragged down most of all by the anti-leadership of the United States, the G8 announced a commitment to a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Well, a sort-of commitment.

The best science says the world needs at least an 80 percent reduction from 1990 emissions levels by 2050, and very likely more, so the G8 commitment is totally inadequate on its face.

But the G8 position is even more lame than it first appears. A statement from an environmental coalition including Friends of the Earth International explained the key flaws. 'First, the G8 formula is a global cut,' not imposing particular responsibility on the rich, high carbon-polluting countries. Second, 'the cut has no clear baseline. It was revealing that in announcing it, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda initially said it was from 1990 levels, then had to take back that statement and subsequently mentioned a 2000 baseline.' Third, the statement is not binding, and 'indeed, the G8 announcement reinforces the G8 as a site for climate action that rivals the UN process [for climate change negotiations] and effectively subverts it.'"

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Additional reporting from Les Whittington -

"It appears intended to paper over the stark divide between Bush, whose country did not sign the Kyoto treaty, and European countries that favour strong climate change action, [environmental] groups said."

"Antonio Hill, spokesperson for Oxfam International, said, 'At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten. Rather than a breakthrough, the G8’s announcement on 2050 is another stalling tactic that does nothing to lower the risk faced by millions of poor people right now,' Hill said."

" 'While the statement may appear as a movement forward, we are concerned that it may, in effect, be a regression from what is required to make a meaningful contribution to meeting the challenges of climate change,' South African Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in a statement.

'To be meaningful and credible, a long-term goal must have a base year. It must be underpinned by ambitious mid-term targets and actions,' he said."

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=245)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Campaign against drive-thrus

Toban Black — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:57:43 -0700

Does anyone out there have anything to say about the campaign against drive-thrus?

For those of you who don't know, the campaigners are seeking a moratorium on new drive-thrus, and not a complete ban.

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Here's a web site from the campaigners -
http://drivethrulies.wordpress.com/
(In particular, I'm going to refer you to this post about what you can do to help.)

The pro- drive-thru lobbyists have a web site here -
http://www.drivethrutruth.ca/
(They even claim that drive-thrus aren't an environmental problem!)
Similar pamphlets also are on Tim Horton's counter-tops.

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Public Participation Meeting on Drive-thrus

Toban Black — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:32:14 -0700

Start: 2008-07-15 16:00

End: 2008-07-15 18:00

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Is The World About To Be Running On Empty?

Toban Black — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:23:55 -0700

Sustainable Burlington

Energy Watchdog Warns Of Oil-Production Crunch

lifetree76 — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:46:58 -0700

Sustainable Burlington

Rising oil prices

Toban Black — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:11:35 -0700

Andy Rowell - "Oil Price 'May Hit $200 A Barrel'"

"Do you remember the days when oil was only $100? Although there has been speculation in recent days concerning the oil price, one of the most authoritative predictions so far has the price of crude oil at $200 within as little as six months.

The prediction by Goldman Sachs was made as benchmark US light crude passed the $123 mark for the first time. Surging demand was increasingly likely to create a “super-spike” past $200 in six months-to-two years’ time, said Goldman Sachs.

Oil prices have now risen by 25% in the last four months and 400% since 2001. Soaring global demand for oil is being led by China’s continuing economic boom and, to a lesser extent, by India’s rapid economic expansion.

Both are now increasingly competing with the US, the European Union and Japan for the lion’s share of global oil production."

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=194)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Community forum - Architecture, Sustainability, and Local Identity - the future of architecture, suburbia, and urban development

Toban Black — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:31:38 -0700

Start: 2008-05-10 17:30

End: 2008-05-10 19:30

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Panel discussion: Local Identity and Regional Responses to Sustainable Architecture

Toban Black — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:57:16 -0700

Start: 2008-05-10 15:00

End: 2008-05-10 16:00

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Tracking Saudi Oil From Space

lifetree76 — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:40:51 -0700

Sustainable Burlington

Cyclist meeting

Toban Black — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:09:55 -0700

Start: 2008-05-09 18:30

End: 2008-05-09 20:30

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Gas prices

Toban Black — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:52:23 -0700

A YouTube video

"My response to an email circulating to '300 million people!' about boycotting major gas companies -

I'd just like to take a moment and comment on the flaw of this plan."...

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In this video Cassandra stresses how driving less is a way to save money while doing good at the same time.

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=187)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Kunstler presentation

Toban Black — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:38:12 -0700

Start: 2008-05-10 13:00

End: 2008-05-10 14:00

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Radiant City film screening

Toban Black — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:24:51 -0700

Start: 2008-05-09 19:30

End: 2008-05-09 21:30

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

The End of Suburbia Screening

lifetree76 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:51:46 -0700

Start: 2008-04-20 19:00

End: 2008-04-20 20:45

Postcarbon Macomb

Some questions

pbhymmen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:29:21 -0700

Hello,

I've got a few questions. Don't feel obliged to answer them all.

1. I wasn't able to attend the solar workshop last month. I email Thames Valley Conservation, but didn't receive a response. Were there handouts available? Would anyone like to chat about that night? I'd like to hear off local success stories. Hopefully, my meter will spin backwards someday.

2. I've been living in London for less than a year and still getting up to speed on things. Does the municipality provide free or subsidized composters? Preferably the round ones that the raccoons won't get into. How about rain water barrels? I suppose I could make my own too.

3. Are there any organized car pool efforts under way in London? Or how about car sharing?

4. Would anyone from the north west end of the city (Oxford-Hyde Park) like to get together and chat about Post Carbon issues? Has there been any efforts to organize at the city ward levels?

5. When is the next coffee house downtown?

Thanks alot. I'm hoping to get more involved.

Peter

Post Carbon London (Ontario)

Home-grown food

Toban Black — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:37:51 -0700

Sharon Astyk on what we can gain from home-grown food -

"- Better Food - Fresher, better tasting, straight off the plant food money literally cannot buy!

- Better Health - More nutrition in just picked vegetables, grown without chemicals, while getting the kind of exercise many of us pay the gym for! Safety from industrial food contamination and toxic imports.

- Food Security - Food in your pots as prices get higher, supplies that can’t be disrupted by energy shortages, greater regional self-sufficiency. Millions of new gardeners can make sure that Americans don’t have to wait for distant food supplies to be trucked in - weeks after they are needed. Every gardener makes your region more secure.

- Higher Quality of Life - A more beautiful environment, stronger community, a better environment.

- More Money in your Pocket, More Time for What Matters - If you don’t need as much money for food, or to work as many hours to pay the grocery bills, you can use that money or take that time for what you really care about.

- The Chance to Serve Others and Create a More Just Society - Your [home garden] can be a strike against hunger and poverty - you can have food to donate, and the ability to teach others to fish (ok, garden), and thus, eat for a lifetime.

- Reduce Corporate Power and Improve Democracy - We cannot simultaneously deplore the power corporations have in our society and depend on them to supply our most basic necessities. If we stop giving our hard earned money to the corporations who undermine our democracy, they will be less powerful!

-Protect Against Climate Change - Humus rich soils, full of organic matter can sequester tons of carbon, quite literally - and grow the best vegetables. We reduce our carbon emissions when we don’t have to drive to the store or buy fossil fuel grown food.

- Reduce our Energy Dependence - Fossil fuels are used in agriculture, both industrial and industrial organic at every step, from the fertilizer in the ground to the refrigerated truck to plastic bag they come in. We can eliminated fossil fuels from almost every step when we grow our own.

- Create Peace - We’re at war for oil right now. If we can cut back on our need for the stuff, we don’t have to kill or die for it.

- Hope for the Future - In a changing world, the ability to grow food, to share and enjoy it, and to live in a healthy world full of beautiful gardens may be the best legacy we can our children and grandchildren."

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=165)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

Oil depletion and other energy & carbon -related crises -- as well as associated interests

Toban Black — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:39:20 -0800

"I used to worry for my grandchildren. Now there is a fairly high probability that I will experience the more severe effects of climate change at first hand."
- Jeremy

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Matt Price (of Environmental Defence) and Allan Adam (of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation) address issues surrounding the Albertan tar sands in an Ottawa Citizen op ed (February 21st)

Terrance Berg at DeSmogBlog - "Report: Alberta [Tar] Sands Most Destructive Project on Earth" (February 18th) -
Yet "approvals have already been given that will double the size of existing operations"

Joseph Romm on a Chinese liquid coal plant (February 21st) -
"Nothing is worse for the climate than large scale coal-to-liquids. Not even the tar sands."

A coal industry advertisement (in a February blog post)

Mark Trevelyan in Reuters - "Cheap, renewable energy years away: Shell" (February 21st) [via Sharon Astyk] -
"The world faces a doubling of energy demand by 2050 but renewable sources are still too expensive and will take decades to make a big impact, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said"

Andy Rowell - "[Tar] Sands Firms See Record Year" -
"The Canadian oil industry is poised for record year with 2008 profits rising 18 per cent to nearly $23 billion"

Ross Gelbspan and Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog on ExxonMobil profits from oil sales in 2007

Joseph Romm on corporate greenwashing--and "Beyond Petroleum" greenwashing, in particular (February 23rd)

Andy Rowell on how the company that dubbed itself Beyond Petroleum has invested in the Albertan tar sands (February 8th)

Richard Littlemore at DeSmogBlog - "Environment Canada's Muzzle Mandate Available for Viewing" (February 25th) -
"We now have a copy (attached) of the new Media Relations Protocol with which Environment Canada is muzzling its scientists."

Kevin Krolicki in Reuters - "GM [Vice Chairman] Stands by Calling Global Warming a 'Total Crock of Shit'" (February 23rd)

Tom Krisher in the Associated Press - "GM urges automakers to oppose greenhouse-gas limits" (February 9th) -
"General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner [has] urged a group of auto dealers ... to lobby against individual states trying to set their own limits on greenhouse-gas emissions.

Rachel Oliver for CNN - "Shipping's impact on the air" (January 20th) -
Shipping "emissions could be double the amount everyone previously believed."

A blog post about temperature measurement trends and global warming

Simon on a book with images that show impacts that global warming has had and might have on Spain -
The images show "how tourist paradises sinks down in the sea, how huge wildfires destroy the forests and how severe droughts turns everything to a desert.

Terrance Berg at DeSmogBlog - "First Nations to Alberta Government: Enough Already!" (February 25th) -
"A coalition of First Nations aboriginal groups in Northern Alberta has called for a freeze on all new [tar] sands development"

Simon Lewis in The Guardian - "Climate Change Is Killing Us. It’s Time for a Body Count" (February 26th) -
"Why are we relying on a single, limited, out-of-date study for our information on the numbers of people killed by climate change?"

Michael T. Klare at TomDispatch - "Something Had to Give: How Oil Burst the American Bubble" (February 1st) -
"Oil, in fact, has played a critical, if little commented upon, role in America’s current economic enfeeblement — and it will continue to drain the economy of wealth and vigor for years to come."

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We're in trouble.
Please do what you can--with others--to get us out of this mess!

If not you? Then who? If not now? When?

Please don't assume that others will sort all of this out.
That isn't happening.
Attention to these issues has been very superficial and watered down (as in talk about simple "things you can do," for instance--talk that implies that the ecological problems around us aren't very serious.) Again and again as I've tried to raise energy & carbon issues (such as global warming) through Post-Carbon London I've found that few people out there are very concerned or interested in these crises.

There's much to be done--and very, very soon. Please pitch in.

Battles are underway on many fronts--and, on the whole, they aren't going well. If you've been on the sidelines, please step into the fray.

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=157)

Carp Ridge Ecowellness Centre (CREWC)

"If you care about climate change forget about ‘saving the planet’"

Toban Black — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:34:35 -0800

George M. on why we shouldn't ask others to "save the planet" -

"One psychological response to climate change is to find language and images that create distance - to suggest that it will affect someone else in the future. So the talk and images are of ‘climate’ not ‘weather’, polar bears not hedgehogs, African children not our own.

‘The Planet’ is about as distant as one can get - I am not being called on to save my family, my community, my country, my world or even my Earth. It is The Planet - a lump of cold rock seen from space. I’ll be honest - I don’t give a damn about ‘The Planet’ - it means nothing to me."

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George raises other noteworthy points in the rest of his blog post, which is worth reading.

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A related issue (which I've raised here--albeit without editing my comment carefully enough) -

People often imply that global warming will only harm arctic wildlife--and particularly polar bears.
That view is conveyed by these protestors, for instance:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/isisdc/sets/72157602622773240/
http://www.indiescribe.com/2008/02/greenpeace-prot.html
http://www.desmogblog.com/this-oil-sands-campaign-could-show-up-anywhere-in-alberta

How many people will commit to dramatically restructuring their lives and our society in order to save polar bears (and penguins and seals--not to mention less familiar arctic wildlife)?
Very few of us will do so -- and the blog post exerpt above indicates why this is the case. Although it's downright tragic that we are wiping out polar bears and other animals in the arctic, most people are not apt to care much about these distant creatures.

As usual, a radical message--in this case, about how we need to dramatically reshape our way of life in response to global warming--has been watered down.

The phrase "climate change" likewise is a less threatening alternative to talk about "global warming" (or, to be more precise, "global warming and related climate changes.") And neither of these terms are as dramatic as Joseph Romm's phrase "hell and high water," which hasn't caught on (yet). People aren't about to flock to this more frightening way of framing global warming, and George's post--the one quoted above--sheds light on this as well.

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=40)