Study Series - Planet or Death: Climate Justice versus Climate Change

Toronto Bolivia Solidarity

There are four study sessions in Toronto based on the ideas of the 2010 Cochabamba conference. (For its key documents, see readingfromtheleft.com).

The aim of each session will be to develop participants’ capacity to explain and defend their views on the session’s basic theme. Sessions will feature brief presentations, mostly by non-experts; full discussions by breakout groups; and a closing plenary sessions. The series will also prepare for the December 2011 climate justice events in Durban, South Africa, and local support activities around the world.

More info HERE.

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Planet or Death: Climate Justice Versus Climate Change is the title of a book by Bolivian President Evo Morales, to be published by Verso in October 2011. Verso catalogue HERE. (pdf)

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The Science & Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould reviewed in Human Ecology Review

Monthly Review Press

Thursday August 25th, 2011

BOOK REVIEW
The Science and Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould
By Richard York and Brett Clark
New York: Monthly Review Press, 2010.
ISBN: 978-1583672167

Reviewed by Stefano B. Longo, University of Illinois, Springfield

Undoubtedly, Stephen Jay Gould is one of the great thinkers of the Twentieth Century. Gould was a leading figure in the fields of evolutionary biology and paleontology, and made important theoretical and empirical contributions to those fields over his accomplished career. The Science and Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould, by sociologists Richard York and Brett Clark, broadly examines the philosophical underpinnings of Gould’s work, and its application for understanding the interweaving relations among and between natural and social systems.

This book provides a concise, yet remarkably thorough, survey of key aspects of Gould’s powerful worldview and philosophy, applying a rich overarching analysis of a scientific perspective that reveals numerous insights into the complexity of nature and, compellingly, society. It explores the larger themes that run through Gould’s work, including historical change and contingency, as well as the structural and multilevel character of his analysis. In addition, the book examines Gould’s long running critique of biological determinism and his efforts towards developing a humanistic component for understanding the interrelationship between nature and the human condition.

Taking on Tarmageddon: Trailer

Taking on Tarmageddon

Campbell Road Productions has partnered with the environmental campaign groups People & Planet and the UK Tar Sands Network to produce a documentary investigating the tar sands oil extraction project in Alberta, Canada. People & Planet have selected 8 students from their network that will head off to Canada to meet with the Beaver Lake Cree first nation who live right in the middle of the biggest industrial project on Earth. The documentary will follow each of the students through their investigations documenting their experiences, thoughts and emotions on seeing the impacts of tar sands oil extraction.

The Canadian Tar Sands hold 15% of the total world oil reserves, the second largest on the planet. The biggest and most environmentally destructive project in the world is set to try and extract this dirty oil from the ground. The Royal Bank of Scotland, owned by British taxpayers, are already financing these destructive developments; perpetuating our dependency on oil, rather than financing clean energy.

This documentary will inspire young people to protest against UK business involvement in the Tar Sands. Working closely with the student campaign group People and Planet, the film will follow a youth exchange between the Beaver Lake Cree and UK students. Throughout the documentary we will look at both the environmental and the human cost of the tar sands; massive deforestation, the vast amounts of greenhouse gasses emitted and the destruction of the way of life for the Beaver Lake Cree first nation.

Tar Sands Action in Ottawa!

JOIN US THIS FALL!

On September 26^th 2011 we’re planning a peaceful protest in Ottawa to say no to a toxic tar sands industry and defuse the largest carbon bomb in North America.

With people power and the time-tested tactics of civil disobedience – join thousands of people from across the country in a sit-in. Together we’ll amplify our voices and escalate the movement and stop the tar sands and build the just, healthy future we all want to see!

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An Invitation

"There comes a time…"

There comes a time when you need to take a stand. When sending letters and signing petitions isn't enough. When together we must say, "enough is enough — not on our watch".

That time is now. We must act together for the health of our planet, our air, our water, our climate, and our children.

On September 26^th we need you to come to Ottawa to join a historic action to oppose the tar sands. In a large peaceful protest, many will be risking arrest to tell the Harper governmentthat we don’t support his reckless agenda; that we want to turn away from the toxic tar sands industry; and that we oppose the direction he's taking this country.

In the U.S., people by the thousands are taking a stand. From Aug 20th to Sept. 3rd, thousands are pledging to risk arrest in daily acts of civil disobedience to convince President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring dirty tar sands oil to the U.S. On September 26^th, we will stand up to Prime Minister Harper to pressure him to stem the tar sands industry at its source.

Tar sands mining and other extreme forms of energy extraction like Arctic drilling, shale fracking, and nuclear power generation send us in the exact opposite direction that we, as a civilization, must go to ensure global survival. If we burn the tar sands, we blot our nation's reputation; if we leave that carbon in the ground, we'll do the world an enormous favour.

On September 26^th we are asking you to come to Ottawa to participate in one of the largest acts of civil disobedience on the climate issue that Canada has ever seen.

Be a part of turning Canada away from the toxic tar sands industry. Help forge the future we all want to live in.

If you are interested and willing to take action email ottawaaction@gmail.com or go to www.ottawaaction.ca to sign-up today. It will be a powerful day, and more powerful if you're a part of it.

Sincerely,
The Council of Canadians
Greenpeace Canada
Indigenous Environmental Network

This action has been endorsed by:
Maude Barlow – Chair, Council of Canadians
Shirley Douglas - Canadian television, film and stage actress and activist
George Poitras – Mikisew Cree Indigenous First Nation
James Hansen – Internationally renown Climate Scientist.
Graeme Gibson – Author and Member of the Order of Canada.
John O’Connor – Medical Doctor
Clayton Ruby – Member of the Order of Canada and Criminal Lawyer
Judy Rebick – Journalist, political activist and feminist.
Naomi Klein – Author and Journalist
Tom Goldtooth – Director, Indigenous Environmental Network
Bill McKibben – Writer and Environmentalist
Gordon Laxer – Professor of Political Economy
Tony Clarke - Author and director of the Polaris Institute
Bruce Cox - Executive Director Greenpeace Canada
Toghestiy Wet’suwet’en – Wet’suwet’en Nation
Kai Nagata – Ex-CTV Bureau Chief and journalist
James Biggar - Executive Director LeadNow.ca
Joseph B. Uehlein – Labor organizer and environmentalist

Why now?

This summer, 11 veteran U.S. and Canadian scientists and environmentalists — Maude Barlow, Wendell Berry, Tom Goldtooth, Danny Glover, James Hansen, Wes Jackson, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, George Poitras, David Suzuki, and Gus Speth — issued a continental call-out. The call was for people right across the U.S. to come to Washington D.C. and join in two weeks of non-violent civil disobedience actions to try to stop the massive tar sands Keystone XL pipeline. The response has been overwhelming.

Knowing the horrific impacts a mega-pipeline from the tar sands in Alberta to refineries in the U.S. gulf coast would pose to communities, waterways, ecosystems and the planet, people are signing up by the thousands. They are pledging to risk arrest to draw a line in the sand and say “no.” They'll deliver that message by daily risking arrest until the project is stopped.

On September 26th, we have a chance to match their courage and do the same in Ottawa.

If you are interested and willing to take action email ottawaaction@gmail.com or go to www.ottawaaction.ca to sign-up today.

Tantoo Cardinal: Why I Joined the Tar Sands Action

StopKeystoneXL's Channel
Stop the Tarsands Action
August 23, 2011

Agent Orange in Vietnam Apocalypse

Interview with André Bouny, author of "Agent Orange in Vietnam Apocalypse"

Silvia Cattori/André Bouny
BellaCiao
Wednesday August 24, 2011

In the past the United States fought in Vietnam devastating using chemical weapons against communism, a regime that so embodied the struggle for national independence of the Vietnamese people who opposed their rule. Today, continuing the same policies as absurd as unjustifiable, from Afghanistan to Iraq through Serbia, from Lebanon to Gaza, the United States, NATO and Israel throw phosphorous weapons, fragmentation or depleted uranium on civilian populations who refuse to undergo its dictates. Now it is known that these weapons cause particular cancers and monstrous malformations in newborns, and will continue to affect the health of a growing number of people. In his recent book â Agent Orange - Apocalypse Viêt Nam [Agent Orange to Vietnam Apocalypse], André Bouny reminds us that nearly half a century after the war the Vietnamese mothers are giving birth to babies monstrous. Responds here to questions from Silvia Cattori.

Silvia Cattori : All politicians with conscience and means to act should read and take seriously his book Agent Orange to Vietnam Apocalypse, which I devoured in one sitting and with a sinking heart. This works well documented and illustrated with moving pictures of most chemical warfare in the history of humanity should be disclosed to the public, mobilize the youth and all parents, whose children ’s health is at risk if there is life after the madness sa war destroys these which, curiously, has never opposed any Green Party. Neither ecologists Daniel Cohn -Bendit and Joschka Fischer opposed the war tons of depleted uranium dropped on Serbia. What you describe here and should be one of the major concerns for anyone still strangely ignored by the media. How do you, that ’s not a journalist, or doctor, or scientist, has come to be involved at that point for half a century later, to bring to light the frightening consequences of chemical warfare that took place in Vietnam? Could you explain what motivated him?

The Ecological Rift reviewed in Journal of World-Systems Research

Foster, John Bellamy, Brett Clark, and Richard York. 2010. The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth. New York: Monthly Review Press. 544 Pages, ISBN: 978-1-58367-218-1 Paper ($17.95).

By Kirk S. Lawrence
Research Assistant, Institute for Research on World-Systems
University of California, Riverside
Journal of World-Systems Research
Monday August 22nd, 2011

Ecological degradation is the elephant in the room for many people; they are aware of its presence yet would prefer to ignore it rather than be forced to consider both its severity and possible remedies. This practiced ignorance occurs despite numerous problems, such as global climate change, species extinction, deforestation, overfishing, and dramatic disasters such as the recent oil “spill” from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the radiation releases from nuclear power plants in post-tsunami Japan. This elephant is enormous, destructive, and cannot be imagined away.

John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, and Richard York have been taking on the elephant for years. Foster is renowned for his editorship at the Monthly Review and for his work in political economy and as an environmental sociologist, having published popular books such as The Vulnerable Planet. Clark and York are also well respected and broadly-published in the same areas. Together, they are a formidable trio whose work is influential and innovative. Their publication of The Ecological Rift was therefore a welcome event.

Read more HERE.

Remembering Jack Layton

By Gerald Butts 
WWF Canada
August 22, 2011

Throughout his life, Jack was a great friend to the Canadian conservation movement. Sometimes described as a “poster boy” for the environment, Mr. Layton often led the way on important environmental issues, particularly clean air and climate change. He was a forward thinker on topics like options for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and growing renewable energy.

He was behind important proposed legislation, passed by the House of Commons, that set science-based hard targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the long-term goal of reducing emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Jack personally championed this Climate Change Accountability Act for four years.

As head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in the late 1990s, he collaborated closely with WWF in a successful legal battle confirming the constitutional rights of municipalities to control the cosmetic use of pesticides — a precedent that has been applied right across Canada to this day.

His support for environmental campaigns also had a lighter side: just last February, he and other NDP MPs participated in WWF’s National Sweater Day to help raise awareness about the importance of energy conservation. Mr. Layton was also known for his personal commitment to conservation – the sight of him bicycling to work through his career was a familiar one.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jack many times over the years. He was a passionate advocate and tireless worker for our common cause. In a happy accident, I last saw Jack when we were both stranded at the Ottawa airport due to a massive thunderstorm, on Oceans Day in June. We spent much of the evening together, cheering on the Canucks in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. In retrospect, it’s amazing how much energy and enthusiasm he exhibited that evening. His excitement at taking on his new role as Leader of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition was then evident and now tragic. He will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.

VIDEO: Tar Sands Action By “Gasland” Director Josh Fox

By Jenn Breckenridge

The Understory

“There’s only been one tool that people have turned to in desperate times to change the world: Civil disobedience.”

Director Josh Fox was nominated for an Oscar for his film Gasland, which exposed the impact of hydraulic fracturing of the earth for natural gas, also known as fracking. Today, he turns his documentarian skills towards the Alberta tar sands to lay out the facts about this devestating oil project and to invite you to join him at the rolling sit-in Tar Sands Action at the White House from August 20th – September 3rd, along with Maude Barlow, Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Thom Yorke, Mark Ruffalo, James Hansen, and thousands more.

In Josh’s words, “Now is the time.”

Tar Sands Facts

1. The Alberta tar sands is the biggest industrial development project, the biggest capital investment project, and the biggest energy project in the world.
2. The tar sands project is irreversibly destroying an area of ancient Boreal Forest the size of England.
3. The tar sands uses more water than a city of two million people.
4. The tar sands produces 36 million tons of carbon dioxide per day. It emits the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 1.3 million cars.
5. In 2007, the tar sands used approx. 1 billion feet of natural gas per day, much of which was obtained through fracking.
6. Waster from the tar sands is stored in toxic ponds that are so big they can be seen from space. These toxic lakes leak 11 million liters of contaminated water every day into groundwater and drinking water for local communities, including Indigenous First Nations communities of Canada.
7. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pipe tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

You can help stop the Keystone XL pipeline.

Take Action

1  Sign & Share the Petition to Obama

Only the President of the United States has the authority to block the Keystone XL pipeline. Tell President Obama to keep the Keystone XL oil pipeline out of our backyards. Everyone in North America needs to be aware of this dangerous pipeline proposal, so please share this petition with your friends and family. Make sure they know that the opportunity to stop Keystone XL is right now.

2  Join the Tar Sands Action in D.C.

From August 20th to September 3rd, concerned people from across the continent — students, celebrities, scientists, Indigenous peoples, church groups, environmentalists, parents, and more — are gathering in Washington for a mass act of civil disobedience at the White House. Over 1500 individuals are already registered to join this wave of sustained sit-ins and send a clear message to the President: The People are saying NO to the 2000-mile climate-destroying Keystone XL pipeline.

If you’re ready to do whatever it takes to stop climate change, you can register to join the action at TarSandsAction.org.

Top 10 Great Works of Nuclear Cinema

By Scott Thill
Alternet
August 18, 2011

Threads poster

Despite the maddening lack of mainstream coverage, Fukushima remains a ticking time bomb, according to physicist Michio Kaku, who said Northern Japan was almost wiped off the map. In other words, there's really no good news.

The only positive outcome of the Fukushima clusterfuck is that nations around the world have now seriously considered abandoning their nuclear programs altogether. Germany and Switzerland announced they're finished with nukes, although not until 2022 and 2034, respectively. Italy is of a similar mind, and of course so is Japan, which is ready to scrap the Fukushima plant, along with its nuclear ambitions in general, if it can ever get close enough to the its still-lethal meltdowns without being irradiated to death.

Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists

Rising greenhouse emissions may tip off aliens that we are a rapidly expanding threat, warns a report for Nasa

Ian Sample

guardian.co.uk

Thursday 18 August 2011
Read reaction to this article - Right Wing Freaks Out About Aliens  

When they see what a mess we've made of our planet, aliens may be forced to take drastic action. Photograph: PR

It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim.

Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control – and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain.

Bauman: consumerism coming home to roost

RoarMag.org
August 18, 2011

The famous sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argues that the London riots point us towards a minefield of defective and disqualified consumers.

By Zygmunt Bauman

These are not hunger or bread riots. These are riots of defective and disqualified consumers.

Zygmunt Bauman

Revolutions are not staple products of social inequality; but minefields are. Minefields are areas filled with randomly scattered explosives: one can be pretty sure that some of them, some time, will explode – but one can’t say with any degree of certainty which ones and when. Social revolutions being focused and targeted affairs, one can possibly do something to locate them and defuse in time. Not the minefield-type explosions, though.

In case of the minefields laid out by soldiers of one army you can send other soldiers, from another army, to dig mines out and disarm; a dangerous job, if there ever was one – as the old soldiery wisdom keeps reminding: “the sapper errs only once”. But in the case of minefields laid out by social inequality even such remedy, however treacherous, is unavailable: putting the mines in and digging them up needs to be done by the same army which neither can stop adding new mines to the old nor avoid stepping on them – over and over again. Laying mines and falling victims of their explosions come in a package deal.