Why Ecological Revolution?

By John Bellamy Foster
Monthly Review, January 2010

 It is now universally recognized within science that humanity is confronting the prospect — if we do not soon change course — of a planetary ecological collapse. Not only is the global ecological crisis becoming more and more severe, with the time in which to address it fast running out, but the dominant environmental strategies are also forms of denial, demonstrably doomed to fail, judging by their own limited objectives. This tragic failure, I will argue, can be attributed to the refusal of the powers that be to address the roots of the ecological problem in capitalist production and the resulting necessity of ecological and social revolution.

 

The term “crisis,” attached to the global ecological problem, although unavoidable, is somewhat misleading, given its dominant economic associations. Since 2008, we have been living through a world economic crisis — the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. This has been a source of untold suffering for hundreds of millions, indeed billions, of people. But insofar as it is related to the business cycle and not to long-term factors, expectations are that it is temporary and will end, to be followed by a period of economic recovery and growth — until the advent of the next crisis. Capitalism is, in this sense, a crisis-ridden, cyclical economic system. Even if we were to go further, to conclude that the present crisis of accumulation is part of a long-term economic stagnation of the system — that is, a slowdown of the trend-rate of growth beyond the mere business cycle — we would still see this as a partial, historically limited calamity, raising, at most, the question of the future of the present system of production.

Read the full MR article here.

The Separation of Inorganic Conditions

“It is not the unity of living & active humanity with the natural, inorganic conditions of their metabolic exchange with nature and hence their appropriation of nature, which requires explanation or is the result of a historic process, but rather the separation between these inorganic conditions of human existence and this active existence, a separation which is  completely posited only in relation of wage labor & capital.”

Karl Marx, Grundrisse

Climate crisis will be the challenge of new decade

By Oisin Cohlan
The Irish Times
Thu, Dec 31, 2009

What will the decade ahead hold for the environment? Mankind has yet to meet the stark challenges posed by global warming, which will not go away

THIS IS not how it was supposed to end. Internationally, this decade was supposed to give us a comprehensive global treaty to contain climate change. In Ireland, some of us allowed ourselves hope that a soft-landing for the Celtic Tiger would herald a “post-materialist” era where environmental and social considerations were given as much weight as economic ones in policymaking.

Instead, the Copenhagen climate talks ended in confusion and recrimination and in Ireland the economic crash has driven us back to very understandable materialist concerns about budget cuts and job losses.

The coming decade will see whether humanity is capable of overcoming a complex web of environmental problems that pose an existential threat to civilisation. Climate, the most urgent and most mainstream of these problems, epitomises the challenges.

The Carbon Supermarket comic book

Kate Evans (aka CartoonKate) presents The Carbon Supermarket: Your Future For Sale. She writes: “This comic is creative commons anti-copyright, so feel free to pass it on to others or use it for any non-commercial purpose.”

Canada Successfully Destroys Parody Websites

Climate policy remains deplorable
Submitted by Andy Bichlbaum on December 29, 2009 to The Yes Men.

The government of Canada has used strong-arm tactics to shut down two parody websites criticizing Canada's poor environmental policy, taking down 4500 other websites in the process.

The two websites, "enviro-canada.ca" and "ec-gc.ca", are "directly connected to a hoax which misleads people into believing that the Government of Canada will take certain actions in relation to environmental matters," wrote Mike Landreville from Environment Canada in an email to the German Internet Service Provider (ISP) Serverloft. "We trust you appreciate the importance of avoiding confusion among the public concerning Canadian governmental affairs and that you will assist us in preventing this hoax from spreading further."

In a remarkable overstepping of bounds, Landreville also asked the ISP to "make every effort to prevent any further attempts concerning other environment-related domains (enviro, ec-gc, etc.) originating from your servers."

In response to Environment Canada's request, Serverloft immediately turned off a whole block of IP addresses, knocking out more than 4500 websites that had nothing to do with the parody sites or the activists who created them. Serverloft was shown no warrant, and never called the web hosting company about the shutdown.

Canadian Winters, Cuban Sun

Many Canadians travel to Cuba to escape our cold winters for a while. But don't just waste your time on the beaches. Learn about Cuba, especially its ecological initiatives. Make up for your flight footprint by bringing back knowledge and support for Cuba.

Cuba Education Tours provides knowledgeable and ethical approaches to Cuban Tourism. Read Green Cuba Resources on their website and book a tour or just find out more about Cuban tourism before you go.

You may also want to keep an eye open for David Suzuki's documetary Cuba: The Accidental Revolution that examines Cuba's success in providing for itself in the face of a massive economic crisis, and how its latest revolutions -- an agricultural revolution and a revolution in science and medicine -- are having repercussions around the world.

 "Anyone interested in ecologically sustainable development...will find this documentary thought provoking." Gregory Biniowsky, Canadian Development and the Environment Consultant living in Cuba.

Climate Change for Christmas

by Nick Moase/The Advance

MP Gerald Keddy got an early Christmas present last week, although it probably wasn’t what he was hoping for.

Oxfam Canada and the Ecology Action Centre delivered a 15-foot oil barrel to Keddy’s office, to tell the politician and his Conservative colleagues that it’s time for an “oil change.”

The action builds on a weekend of activities aimed at convincing the Canadian government to change its stance at climate negotiations currently underway in Copenhagen. Instead of blocking a fair, ambitious deal, Canadians want their federal government to take immediate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Let’s make no mistake: our pollution is destroying the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people,” Oxfam Canada Regional Outreach Officer Brian O’Neill said. “We need to stop harming and start helping.”

O’Neill and a small group of area residents delivered the giant, mock oil barrel and sang a few modified “climate carols.”

The stunt is part of thousands of events taking place in hundreds of countries as part of “The World Wants a Real Deal” actions coordinated by the TckTckTck campaign to urge world leaders to take bold and immediate steps to sign binding climate deal in Copenhagen.

Prime Minister Stephan Harper is taking part in the talks at Copenhagen, however before the talks began Harper said Canada would do no more than the United States to fight climate change.

This, along with the Alberta tar-sands, has drawn heavy fire from countries all around the world.

A Harris-Decima poll recently released showed 84 per cent of Canadians think this government is failing on the environment. So far, the Canadian government has been considered a laggard in the negotiations, earning numerous “Fossil of the Day” awards and refusing to reconsider the impact development of Alberta’s tar-sands is having on the planet’s health.
Nova News Now

Seasons Greetings to All

Canadians cool to Harper's climate change stand

By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service, December 22, 2009

The Harper government might not lose many votes over its controversial stance on climate change even though half of Canadians disapprove of its policies, says a new poll.

The survey, conducted over the past few days by Innovative Research Group for Canwest News Service, found 49 per cent of respondents disapproved of the government's position at the Copenhagen climate conference, but 44 per cent said it would not make a difference on whether they were more or less likely to vote for the Conservatives.

The poll found that 43 per cent would be less likely to vote for the Conservatives because of the government's position and 13 per cent would be more likely to support them. But Greg Lyle, the polling firm's managing director, said those who already supported the Tories were not likely to change their minds.
Full article here - Montreal Gazette

Shambles in Copenhagen

By Greg Albo, Socialist Project

"There is only one good thing to have come out of the Copenhagen debacle. The sordidness of the final agreement may well stall extensive implementation of the cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, and the ‘clean development mechanisms’ foisted on the global south– the latest mechanism of imperialism – in the name of GHG reduction.

Well, maybe another positive note: it showed clearly the Conservative government of Stephen Harper in Canada toadying behind the U.S., bought and paid for shills of the Alberta oil and gas industry and as strong of defenders of neoliberalism as exist anywhere on the planet. Now the whole world can see what Canadians should know well: the ‘ugly Canadian’ can no longer be shielded by nationalist cultural mythologies."
Socialist Project - The Bullet

Lets Build from the Crisis

Ecosocialists were not surprised by the failure of the Copenhagen summit. The powerful interests of corporations and capitalism were arraigned against a diverse movement but with morality and science on their side.

But this struggle has never been about leaders making rational decisions. It is about capitalism getting away with as little as they can. In this case though, the future of humanity was at stake and once again profits came before people.

This isn't the end. Now the struggle becomes more urgent just as the incapacity of capitalism to save even its own long term interests becomes clear. Out of any crisis comes opportunity.

Ecosocialists can grasp that opportunity by working with ecological, social justice and labour groups to help educate and build a stronger constituency for change. With so much at stake, we need to work in many small and big ways to take the initiative that began around the Copenhagen summit and build on it.

“Copenhagen is not the end, I repeat, but a beginning: the doors have been opened for a universal debate on how to save the planet, life on the planet. The battle continues.”
- Hugo Chavez.

Like many other Canadians, I received numerous posts, emails and facebook appeals to sign the Avazz e-petition. The following is from their website.

Copenhagen: The Fight Continues!

The Copenhagen climate summit ended up in failure: an unambitious, non-binding accord that leaders themselves admit won't come close to tackling climate change.

Their failure is a disappointment -- and their failure is a challenge. We must work harder, demand more and never resile from our fight for our children and our planet.

That fight continues now. In just 6 weeks time leaders of each country will lock in their nation's emissions reduction targets under this week's agreement.

We must show leaders that their inaction is unacceptable.

Join over 14 million people from around the world in the largest ever climate petition. Our campaign will continue to build until we get a Real Deal - we won't accept a sham. Sign below, tell everyone -- it's not too late:

Link here.

What is Avazz.org?
Avaaz.org is a new global web movement with a simple democratic mission: to close the gap between the world we have, and the world most people everywhere want. “Avaaz” means “Voice” in many Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European languages.

A Richly Deserved Award!

Canada Wins The Fossil of the Year 2009