Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Ecosocialists Greece
Our Party was found in August 2007. Our first name was: "Association of Ecosocialists Greece". At that time we participated in "Oikologiki Paremvasi" (Ecological Interference) and supported SYRIZA on the parliamentary elections in September 2007. SYRIZA stands for: Coalition of the Radical Left and has 10 party-members, one of them was "Oikologiki Paremvasi". In December 2007 we split from "Oikologiki Paremvsi" because of main political problems and we decided to turn the "Association" into a Party.
In January 20th 2008, our first conference took place in Nikaia - Piraeus. More than one hundred members participated in it by e-mails for the final documents and other decisions. Half of them were present at the conference. Among other documents, our members voted for full support to the “Ecosocialist International Network”.
Two of our members participated in the first International Ecosocialist meeting in Paris (October 2007). Four of our members participated in the first SYRIZA conference (March 2007). Two of our members are also members of the Central Co-ordinating Committee of SYRIZA .
Member organizations of “Ecosocialists Greece” are:
1. Naturalistic and Social Movement – Peoples’ Ring
2. Immigrants Union (Piraeus)
3. Left Opposition
Ecosocialists Greece Website
Ecosocialists Greece Blog
Controversy Grows Over Brier Corporate Sponsor Monsanto
Monsanto’s GE seeds cause havoc for farmers
by Ecology Action Centre
The corporate sponsor of this week’s Brier, biotechnology company Monsanto, is under intense scrutiny from environmental, consumer and farmer groups in Nova Scotia, and across Canada and the world.
“Many curling fans might be shocked to learn that the Brier sponsor Monsanto is at the centre of farmer and consumer battles over genetically engineered seeds and increasing corporate control in farming,” said Marla MacLeod of Ecology Action Centre, a Nova Scotia-wide environmental group. “We are saddened that the great Brier championship is now associated with this relentlessly controversial company,” said MacLeod.
Earlier this year, the Curling Association of Canada signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Monsanto that includes championships through to 2013. Monsanto has sponsored the Brier since 2006. This week’s Brier runs until Sunday March 14 in Halifax.
Monsanto is the largest seed company in the world and owns approximately 86% of all the genetically engineered (GE) seeds sown across the globe. GE corn, canola, soy and sugar beet (white) are grown in Canada and Monsanto dominates the market in all four crops.
“Curling is being used to soften the image of a company that takes farmers in Canada to court for alleged patent infringement, for saving seeds,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN). Monsanto now puts farmers that it sues onto an “Unauthorized Grower List” which prohibits them from buying Monsanto products in the future. “The Curling Association should not be providing a platform for Monsanto’s corporate public relations,” said Sharratt.
Monsanto’s GE seeds are causing havoc for many farmers in Canada. Saskatchewan organic grain farmers tried to establish a class action lawsuit to seek compensation from Monsanto and another corporation for loss of organic canola due to GE contamination. A Private Members Bill – Bill C-474 - will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday March 17, to address the issue of export market harm caused by GE seeds.
Groups across the country are engaged in various struggles to stop Monsanto’s GE seeds from harming farmers’ livelihoods and the environment. Just last week, farm groups and consumers from across Canada wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try to stop the lifting of an injunction on planting Monsanto’s GE alfalfa. “The release of Monsanto’s GE alfalfa would be an immediate threat to organic food and farming in Canada,” said Cammie Harbottle, Youth Vice President of the National Farmer Union and a farmer in Nova Scotia.
“We don’t want the great sport of curling marred by association with the harm that can be caused by genetically engineered seeds,” said MacLeod.
For more information: Marla MacLeod, Ecology Action Centre, 902 442 1077; Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 241 2267 ext.6 or cell 613 263 9511; Cammie Harbottle, National Farmers Union, 306 652 9465. For background on Monsanto: www.cban.ca/Monsanto
by Ecology Action Centre
“Many curling fans might be shocked to learn that the Brier sponsor Monsanto is at the centre of farmer and consumer battles over genetically engineered seeds and increasing corporate control in farming,” said Marla MacLeod of Ecology Action Centre, a Nova Scotia-wide environmental group. “We are saddened that the great Brier championship is now associated with this relentlessly controversial company,” said MacLeod.
Earlier this year, the Curling Association of Canada signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Monsanto that includes championships through to 2013. Monsanto has sponsored the Brier since 2006. This week’s Brier runs until Sunday March 14 in Halifax.
Monsanto is the largest seed company in the world and owns approximately 86% of all the genetically engineered (GE) seeds sown across the globe. GE corn, canola, soy and sugar beet (white) are grown in Canada and Monsanto dominates the market in all four crops.
“Curling is being used to soften the image of a company that takes farmers in Canada to court for alleged patent infringement, for saving seeds,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN). Monsanto now puts farmers that it sues onto an “Unauthorized Grower List” which prohibits them from buying Monsanto products in the future. “The Curling Association should not be providing a platform for Monsanto’s corporate public relations,” said Sharratt.
Monsanto’s GE seeds are causing havoc for many farmers in Canada. Saskatchewan organic grain farmers tried to establish a class action lawsuit to seek compensation from Monsanto and another corporation for loss of organic canola due to GE contamination. A Private Members Bill – Bill C-474 - will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday March 17, to address the issue of export market harm caused by GE seeds.
Groups across the country are engaged in various struggles to stop Monsanto’s GE seeds from harming farmers’ livelihoods and the environment. Just last week, farm groups and consumers from across Canada wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try to stop the lifting of an injunction on planting Monsanto’s GE alfalfa. “The release of Monsanto’s GE alfalfa would be an immediate threat to organic food and farming in Canada,” said Cammie Harbottle, Youth Vice President of the National Farmer Union and a farmer in Nova Scotia.
“We don’t want the great sport of curling marred by association with the harm that can be caused by genetically engineered seeds,” said MacLeod.
For more information: Marla MacLeod, Ecology Action Centre, 902 442 1077; Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 241 2267 ext.6 or cell 613 263 9511; Cammie Harbottle, National Farmers Union, 306 652 9465. For background on Monsanto: www.cban.ca/Monsanto
"Conspiracy" Science: Mass Media and the Conservative Backlash on Global Warming
by Anthony DiMaggio
MRzine
On March 2, the New York Times ran a story informing readers of recent "controversies" related to global warming. The story chronicled the efforts of scientists affiliated with the United Nations Climate Panel and other major research institutions to answer the claims of conservatives who suggest there is a conspiracy to hide the "debate" over climate change. The Times' story attempted to "objectively" report the controversy, highlighting on one side the efforts of climate scientists to "assert the legitimacy of the vast body of climate science" which states that global warming is real, and climate deniers on the other side seeking to expose scientists who "propagandize for shoddy science."
Global warming graduated in the last few years to the status of one of the great enduring political issues of our time. Unfortunately, public discourse is taking a dramatic step backward in light of corporate media's attacks on the scientific community. Scientific studies are greatly furthering our understanding of climate change, but establishment journalism is largely erasing the gains in public knowledge made over the last three years.
Read the full article here.
MRzine
Global warming graduated in the last few years to the status of one of the great enduring political issues of our time. Unfortunately, public discourse is taking a dramatic step backward in light of corporate media's attacks on the scientific community. Scientific studies are greatly furthering our understanding of climate change, but establishment journalism is largely erasing the gains in public knowledge made over the last three years.
Read the full article here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Climate Movement is Dead… Long Live the Climate Movement!
Rising Tide North America is pleased to announce the release of our latest publication: The Climate Movement is Dead… Long Live the Climate Movement!
In the aftermath of the COP15 talks in Copenhagen, the inability of the Big Greens, governments, and market approaches to find genuine and sustainable solutions to climate change is undeniable. As author Naomi Klein so aptly observed at the end of COP15 talks, “A particular model of dealing with climate change is dying.”
In the same uncompromising spirit as Rising Tide publications such as Deal or No Deal, and Hoodwinked in the Hothouse, CMID:LLCM delivers a timely critique of the failures of this “particular model” as exemplified by the mainstream NGOs who have grown all too cozy with corporations and the political establishment. It explores the ways in which “green” capitalism,electoral politics, and market mechanisms, far from solving the climate crisis, are some of the climate movement’s biggest obstacles.
Not content with mere polemic, CMID:LLCM charts a course that diverges from the dominant discourse of the mainstream climate movement. The essay lays out a strategy of supporting and escalating frontline struggles againstdirty energy while building a new global climate movement from the ground up, based around core principles of climate justice, grassroots power, solidarity, and direct action.
The Climate Movement Is Dead: Long Live the Climate Movement is a must-read for anyone left disenchanted by the mainstream climate movement, and all who are ready to step it up and fight for climate justice.
climatemovement longlive
In the aftermath of the COP15 talks in Copenhagen, the inability of the Big Greens, governments, and market approaches to find genuine and sustainable solutions to climate change is undeniable. As author Naomi Klein so aptly observed at the end of COP15 talks, “A particular model of dealing with climate change is dying.”
In the same uncompromising spirit as Rising Tide publications such as Deal or No Deal, and Hoodwinked in the Hothouse, CMID:LLCM delivers a timely critique of the failures of this “particular model” as exemplified by the mainstream NGOs who have grown all too cozy with corporations and the political establishment. It explores the ways in which “green” capitalism,electoral politics, and market mechanisms, far from solving the climate crisis, are some of the climate movement’s biggest obstacles.
Not content with mere polemic, CMID:LLCM charts a course that diverges from the dominant discourse of the mainstream climate movement. The essay lays out a strategy of supporting and escalating frontline struggles againstdirty energy while building a new global climate movement from the ground up, based around core principles of climate justice, grassroots power, solidarity, and direct action.
The Climate Movement Is Dead: Long Live the Climate Movement is a must-read for anyone left disenchanted by the mainstream climate movement, and all who are ready to step it up and fight for climate justice.
climatemovement longlive
The 2010 People's Summit: Building a Movement for a Just World
Basic Principles of the People's Summit
The 2010 G8/G20 Summit, set to take place in Toronto, Ontario (June 25-27, 2010) presents Canadian civil society organizations and groups with an opportunity to strengthen our collective voice and lend cohesion to our efforts on the environment, poverty, human rights and social justice.
The actions and policies of the G8 and its member-states have significant impact on millions of lives the world over, and with this, comes an opportunity for us - a diverse civil society, including community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, public, media and other groups – to work together to educate, empower and ignite positive change we would like to see in our world.
We converge in Toronto from June 18th – 25th to create a space where our diverse movements can democratically organize to advocate and educate on behalf of global justice. The People’s Summit is happening from June 18th-20th, and will be followed by a week of autonomous actions throughout Toronto in the lead up to the arrival of the G20 Leaders on June 25th.
You can be involved in creating the summit and surrounding actions! Contact us at coordinator@peoplessummit2010.ca and stay tuned for meetings and events.
The People's Summit Website
The People's Summit on Facebook
The 2010 G8/G20 Summit, set to take place in Toronto, Ontario (June 25-27, 2010) presents Canadian civil society organizations and groups with an opportunity to strengthen our collective voice and lend cohesion to our efforts on the environment, poverty, human rights and social justice.
The actions and policies of the G8 and its member-states have significant impact on millions of lives the world over, and with this, comes an opportunity for us - a diverse civil society, including community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, public, media and other groups – to work together to educate, empower and ignite positive change we would like to see in our world.
We converge in Toronto from June 18th – 25th to create a space where our diverse movements can democratically organize to advocate and educate on behalf of global justice. The People’s Summit is happening from June 18th-20th, and will be followed by a week of autonomous actions throughout Toronto in the lead up to the arrival of the G20 Leaders on June 25th.
You can be involved in creating the summit and surrounding actions! Contact us at coordinator@peoplessummit2010.ca and stay tuned for meetings and events.
The People's Summit Website
The People's Summit on Facebook
Warmest, driest winter in Canadian history
From the balmy Arctic, to the open water of the St. Lawrence and snowless western fields, this winter has been the warmest and driest in Canadian record books."It's beyond shocking," said David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. He also warned that "the winter that wasn't" may have set the stage for potentially "horrific" water shortages, insect infestations and wildfires this summer.
As much of Asia, Europe and the U.S. shivered through and shovelled out of freak winter storms, Phillips says Canada was left on the sidelines.
Temperatures across Canada, except for a small area over the southern Prairies, were above normal, with some parts of Nunavut and northern Quebec more than six degrees above normal, he and his colleagues report.
Phillips said the weather appears to be tied to several factors, chief among them El Niño, a shift in the winds and ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean, and thinning, retreating Arctic ice.
Might it be called global warming or climate change? - NYC
Canada Urged to Ban Nuclear Weapons from Arctic
by ArcticSecurity.org in Canada
Ban Nuclear Weapons from Arctic, Increase Security Cooperation: Report
Arctic and nuclear weapon states need to work together to rid the Arctic region of nuclear weapons, finds a new report by security analysts Michael Wallace and Steven Staples.
“Ridding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons: A Task Long Overdue” was released today by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Pugwash Group, the national affiliate of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
“Cold War-era nuclear weapon policies and practices in the Arctic, such as nuclear submarine patrols and over-flights by bombers, pose an environmental risk to the region, and an unnecessary security threat to the international community,” said Steven Staples, President of the Rideau Institute.
The report proposes greater security cooperation among the circumpolar states, including nuclear weapons states United States and Russia, with the ultimate goal of creating an Arctic Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. Six similar de-nuclearization agreements now cover much of the South Pacific, Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia.
“No one can deny that these treaties have been an important part of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons,” said Michael Wallace, Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia. “The Russian Federation might be persuaded to give up its Arctic-based nuclear forces if the United States was prepared to enter a significant, new arms strategic control treaty.”
In the meanwhile, there are steps that Canada could take right away. “The Canadian government could prohibit the transit of nuclear weapons through the Northwest Passage, and work with other Arctic non-nuclear-weapon states to create a regional agreement to be free of nuclear weapons north of the Arctic Circle,” noted Adele Buckley, environmental scientist and member of the international Pugwash Council.
The sponsor organizations will be encouraging the Canadian government when it meets with representatives of Arctic and G8 states in the coming months.
The report is available from ArcticSecurity.org
Ban Nuclear Weapons from Arctic, Increase Security Cooperation: Report
“Ridding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons: A Task Long Overdue” was released today by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Pugwash Group, the national affiliate of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
“Cold War-era nuclear weapon policies and practices in the Arctic, such as nuclear submarine patrols and over-flights by bombers, pose an environmental risk to the region, and an unnecessary security threat to the international community,” said Steven Staples, President of the Rideau Institute.
The report proposes greater security cooperation among the circumpolar states, including nuclear weapons states United States and Russia, with the ultimate goal of creating an Arctic Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. Six similar de-nuclearization agreements now cover much of the South Pacific, Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia.
“No one can deny that these treaties have been an important part of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons,” said Michael Wallace, Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia. “The Russian Federation might be persuaded to give up its Arctic-based nuclear forces if the United States was prepared to enter a significant, new arms strategic control treaty.”
In the meanwhile, there are steps that Canada could take right away. “The Canadian government could prohibit the transit of nuclear weapons through the Northwest Passage, and work with other Arctic non-nuclear-weapon states to create a regional agreement to be free of nuclear weapons north of the Arctic Circle,” noted Adele Buckley, environmental scientist and member of the international Pugwash Council.
The sponsor organizations will be encouraging the Canadian government when it meets with representatives of Arctic and G8 states in the coming months.
The report is available from ArcticSecurity.org
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Green, Inc.
Why have big environmental groups sold out the environment? Follow the money! (as usual)
Reviewed by Keith Goetzma
The highly paid leaders of big environmental organizations are compromising themselves and the planet by cutting deals—as well as wining, dining, and scuba diving—with corporate executives whose firms pollute and plunder resources. That’s the rather damning case laid out in Green, Inc. by environmental journalist Christine MacDonald, who challenges green groups to wean themselves from these tainted corporate donations and relationships, which range from apparent conflicts of interest to out-and-out scandal.
As an environmentalist, MacDonald is acutely aware of the interconnectedness of all things, and she touches on a constellation of related issues: greenwashing, green certification, dicey political alliances, indigenous rights, out-of-control logging and mining, even human rights and slavery. Green, Inc. doesn’t contain enough fresh enterprise reporting to be deemed a full-blown exposé, but the book ties together enough data, anecdotes, and previously reported material to be taken seriously as a critique of the business of environmentalism.
MacDonald singles out three organizations for her harshest criticism: the Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International, where she briefly worked and thus attained “insider” status. She also notes improprieties and ethical lapses at other groups, and to be fair widens the circle of accountability to include all consumers: “Demanding to know where the products we purchase came from and how they were made is maybe the most important thing we can do to press corporations to clean up their operations and supply chains.”
This review was originally published in the January-February 2009 issue of Utne.
Reviewed by Keith Goetzma
As an environmentalist, MacDonald is acutely aware of the interconnectedness of all things, and she touches on a constellation of related issues: greenwashing, green certification, dicey political alliances, indigenous rights, out-of-control logging and mining, even human rights and slavery. Green, Inc. doesn’t contain enough fresh enterprise reporting to be deemed a full-blown exposé, but the book ties together enough data, anecdotes, and previously reported material to be taken seriously as a critique of the business of environmentalism.
MacDonald singles out three organizations for her harshest criticism: the Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International, where she briefly worked and thus attained “insider” status. She also notes improprieties and ethical lapses at other groups, and to be fair widens the circle of accountability to include all consumers: “Demanding to know where the products we purchase came from and how they were made is maybe the most important thing we can do to press corporations to clean up their operations and supply chains.”
This review was originally published in the January-February 2009 issue of Utne.
The (Un)frozen North
By Liz Stanton
Public Goods: The economics of climate, equity and shared prosperity
The deeper the understanding that scientists gain about climate change, the more “feedback” processes they uncover. In other words, the more they realize how climate change leads to yet more climate change. This is one of the biggest areas of uncertainty in projecting future climate impacts. Average and best-case-scenario damage estimates are well understood, but hidden feedback processes can mean surprisingly high and difficult-to-estimate worst-case scenarios. Here’s one example:
Within a few decades, climate change will have rendered the Arctic unrecognizable to anyone who had seen it in centuries past. Arctic ice and snow are melting as temperatures rise. Without these vast white (and highly reflective) expanses, global warming will occur at a much faster rate. (This is called the “albedo effect”: The sun’s rays bounce off of snow and ice, but are absorbed by the newly exposed dark ground.)
Permafrost – land “permanently” frozen solid before climate change – is thawing, too, and it releases methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere as it softens. New research reveals that the permafrost surface under the Arctic ocean is already thawing and releasing methane – a factor unaccounted for in current models of projected future climate change.
Last week, the Pew Trusts released a study led by economist Eban Goodstein that estimates the global cost of this additional warming from the melting Arctic at $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion, total, by 2050. (Note that one of the reasons for this wide range of forecasts is the wide range of social cost of carbon estimates used in the study: $13 to $798 per ton. For more on this see my critique of the EPA’s much-lower range.) According to Goodstein’s calculations, today’s Arctic warming is equivalent in effect to two-fifths of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; by 2100, this will have doubled to four-fifths of today’s U.S. emissions.
Tomorrow I head to Ottawa to share my findings so far on the economics of climate change in Canada with other researchers also working on this topic. The “frozen North” is a new area of study for me, and my research on Canada’s coastal zones is already proving fascinating. It will be the topic of many future blog postings.
A recent posting on the RealClimate.org blog offers a helpful explanation of the relative importance of methane emissions.
Public Goods: The economics of climate, equity and shared prosperity
Within a few decades, climate change will have rendered the Arctic unrecognizable to anyone who had seen it in centuries past. Arctic ice and snow are melting as temperatures rise. Without these vast white (and highly reflective) expanses, global warming will occur at a much faster rate. (This is called the “albedo effect”: The sun’s rays bounce off of snow and ice, but are absorbed by the newly exposed dark ground.)
Permafrost – land “permanently” frozen solid before climate change – is thawing, too, and it releases methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere as it softens. New research reveals that the permafrost surface under the Arctic ocean is already thawing and releasing methane – a factor unaccounted for in current models of projected future climate change.
Last week, the Pew Trusts released a study led by economist Eban Goodstein that estimates the global cost of this additional warming from the melting Arctic at $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion, total, by 2050. (Note that one of the reasons for this wide range of forecasts is the wide range of social cost of carbon estimates used in the study: $13 to $798 per ton. For more on this see my critique of the EPA’s much-lower range.) According to Goodstein’s calculations, today’s Arctic warming is equivalent in effect to two-fifths of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; by 2100, this will have doubled to four-fifths of today’s U.S. emissions.
Tomorrow I head to Ottawa to share my findings so far on the economics of climate change in Canada with other researchers also working on this topic. The “frozen North” is a new area of study for me, and my research on Canada’s coastal zones is already proving fascinating. It will be the topic of many future blog postings.
A recent posting on the RealClimate.org blog offers a helpful explanation of the relative importance of methane emissions.
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