Friday's reading list...

Here's a couple of articles I read today...

8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Our Food System
by Robyn O'Brien

An Inconvenient Solution: Al Gore's "Our Choice"
by Bill McKibben

The Coal Industry's $47 Million PR Spending Spree by Mother Jones
by Kate Sheppard

The Afghan Speech Obama Should Give (But Won't)
by Tom Engelhard

The New (Green) Arms Race
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Evergreen Co-operatives

Evergreen Co-operatives is a model for worker owned economic development in Ohio. Hat tip to Jojo Geronimo from the Labour Education Centre.

New climate change study: 2007, IPCC worst case scenario likely...

I wasn't able to actually find this 17-scientist study at Nature Geoscience mentioned in the article. The debate to date has been about the relationship between reduction of GHGs and mitigation strategies in the context of a 2°. This article suggests that the discussion is shifting to mitigation versus utter disaster.

World on course for catastrophic 6° rise, reveal scientists - The Independent

The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday. Such a rise – which would be much higher nearer the poles – would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for the Earth, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable and threatening the basis of human civilisation...

Meanwhile, the scientists have for the first time detected a failure of the Earth's natural ability to absorb man-made carbon dioxide released into the air.

They found significant evidence that more man-made CO2 is staying in the atmosphere to exacerbate the greenhouse effect because the natural "carbon sinks" that have absorbed it over previous decades on land and sea are beginning to fail, possibly as a result of rising global temperatures.

6C rise: The consequences

If two degrees is generally accepted as the threshold of dangerous climate change, it is clear that a rise of six degrees in global average temperatures must be very dangerous indeed, writes Michael McCarthy. Just how dangerous was signalled in 2007 by the science writer Mark Lynas, who combed all the available scientific research to construct a picture of a world with temperatures three times higher than the danger limit.

His verdict was that a rise in temperatures of this magnitude "would catapult the planet into an extreme greenhouse state not seen for nearly 100 million years, when dinosaurs grazed on polar rainforests and deserts reached into the heart of Europe".

He said: "It would cause a mass extinction of almost all life and probably reduce humanity to a few struggling groups of embattled survivors clinging to life near the poles."

Very few species could adapt in time to the abruptness of the transition, he suggested. "With the tropics too hot to grow crops, and the sub-tropics too dry, billions of people would find themselves in areas of the planet which are essentially uninhabitable. This would probably even include southern Europe, as the Sahara desert crosses the Mediterranean.

"As the ice-caps melt, hundreds of millions will also be forced to move inland due to rapidly-rising seas. As world food supplies crash, the higher mid-latitude and sub-polar regions would become fiercely-contested refuges.

"The British Isles, indeed, might become one of the most desirable pieces of real estate on the planet. But, with a couple of billion people knocking on our door, things might quickly turn rather ugly."

London's cycling mayor to the rescue...

In a convergence of environmental themes, London's (England) Mayor, Boris Johnson, assisted "The Age of Stupid" director Franny Armstrong who was attacked by 3 muggers late one night (not sure of the date).

Cycling London Mayor saves Enviro Pedestrian from Oikes!!

Good green jobs for all conference a big success

The Good Green Jobs for All conference went off without a hitch on Saturday. There were close to 600 people registered who came from labour, environmental, community and social justice organizations. There was a lot of positive energy, excellent speakers and good discussion.

OPSEU was a platinum sponsor of the conference and I was privileged to be part of the planning committee. All those evening pizza meetings paid off.

Allstream Centre - the GGJ4A conference was one of the first users of the renovated Automotive Building at the CNE. The Allstream Centre is a silver LEED certified building.

OPSEU display

There were a lot of great moments at the conference. One of the best for me was the end of the day speech by Clayton George Thomas-Muller, an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, currently working on the Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign. It was a comprehensive analysis and rousing call to action.

Muller called for shutting down the tar sands and challenging the economic development model of capitalism itself as part of a road map to a greener, more equitable society.

Other keynote speakers included Tonika Morgan and Peter Tabuns. Each of the three workshops had panel presenters to help focus the discussion and to formulate a short list of priority campaigns.

I took part in the Infrastructure workshop. Priorities included support for Transit City and Metrolinks, education & training and some focus on how to make the Pan Am games (which had been awarded to Toronto the night before) work for the community.

All participants were asked to fill in the blank - "A good, green job is...." and then have their pictures taken. Check it out.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much coverage of the conference in the media but here's one story from the Canadian Press.

Hundreds brainstorm on making economy green at Toronto conference

How to stimulate Ontario's economy while protecting the environment at the same time was the focus of the Good Green Jobs for All conference in Toronto on Saturday

About 550 environmentalists, members of the labour movement and people interested in social justice attended the sold-out conference which featured speeches and workshops.

Statistics Canada said Friday Canada's struggling economy shed 43,200 jobs last month for a national jobless rate of 8.6 per cent, up from 8.4 per cent in September. Ontario's unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point to 9.3 per cent in October.

Climate change deniers gaining ground

I think we can all feel this as we read the papers, watch tv and listen to the radio. Big Energy's relentless campaign to protect its profits at the expense of the planet has been gaining traction in the US over the past year. Canada is no better I fear. Damn the science. To hell with the scientists. We are living in truly scary times.

The climate change talks in Barcelona went almost nowhere last week - at least not as far as people were saying they needed to go in order for a new deal to be hammered out next month in Copenhagen. So we may need another year before a comprehensive deal can be negotiated.

George Monbiot takes a look at the regrowth of the cancerous climate change deniers.

Death Denial

There is no point in denying it: we’re losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere which cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument; any attempt to draw attention to scientific findings is greeted with furious invective. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed.


A survey last month by the Pew Research Centre suggests that the proportion of Americans who believe there’s solid evidence that the world has been warming over the past few decades has fallen from 71% to 57% in just 18 months(1). Another survey, conducted in January by Rasmussen Reports, suggests that, due to a sharp rise since 2006, US voters who believe that global warming is the result of natural causes (44%) now outnumber those who believe it is caused by human action (41%)(2)...

It certainly doesn’t reflect the state of the science, which has hardened dramatically over the past two years... The debate about global warming that’s raging on the internet and in the rightwing press does not reflect any such debate in the scientific journals.

"Stand up for me"

Hat tip to Jackie Larkin for this video. From Moms Against Climate Change.

Our Times Magazine: Climate Change is a Union Issue

Check out the latest issue of Our Times, Canada's Independent Labour magazine at the bookstore if you can. The focus of this issue is on climate change and features a couple of different unions, including OPSEU. There's even a couple of pictures of me in it.

Barcelona climate change talks...

The last five days of negotiations before the December Copenhagen climate change talks got underway this week in Barcelona, Spain. The entire African delegation walked out of the talks and have just agreed to end their boycott. Meanwhile, no expenses are being spared by Big Energy to ensure that the Copenhagen talks go down in toxic flames.

My contract at OPSEU has come to an end...

This is an email that I sent out to green supporters in the union. Being the blogging type, I will continue to post interesting stories when I see them.

Gary

========================================

Dear OPSEU Green Stewards and Green Staff,

Just wanted to let you know that my contract at OPSEU is over (after a couple of renewals) and that I'll be returning to my job in the OPS in November. It has been an honour and privilege to have had the opportunity to help OPSEU move forward with our environmental program.

The support I have received from members, staff and elected leaders has been tremendous. My heartfelt thanks to everyone. Greening OPSEU is a process, so keep up the good work in whatever capacity that you are contributing.

In solidarity,

Gary Shaul

garyshaul@gmail.com

Fishing trawler sunk by giant jellyfish

From the bizarre file, so bizarre that I had to check snopes.com to make sure it wasn't a hoax, a 10 ton Japanese fishing trawler capsized when pulling in its catch of giant Nomura's jellyfish.

A 10-ton fishing boat has been sunk by gigantic jellyfish off eastern Japan

Each of the jellyfish can weigh up to 200 kg and waters around Japan have been inundated with the creatures this year. Experts believe weather and water conditions in the breeding grounds, off the coast of China, have been ideal for the jellyfish in recent months.

One of the largest jellyfish in the world, the species can grow up to 2 meters in diameter. The last time Japan was invaded on a similar scale, in the summer of 2005, the jellyfish damaged nets, rendered fish inedible with their toxic stings and even caused injuries to fishermen.

Relatively little is known about Nomura's jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the Sea of Japan on the Tsushima Current, but last year there were virtually no sightings. In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures.

Experts believe that one contributing factor to the jellyfish becoming more frequent visitors to Japanese waters may be a decline in the number of predators, which include sea turtles and certain species of fish.

Climate change protesters take message to House of Commons

Hats off to the more than 150 protesters who made their way into the visitors gallery in the House of Commons yesterday to protest the conservative and liberal parties decision to go to Copenhagen empty-handed. This is the kind of obstructionist approach which will ensure that no deal can be reached in these historic talks which are a follow-up to Kyoto. Shame on those MPs who sided with Big Energy instead of the people of Canada and the world.

Activist Jeh Custer after being roughed up by security

'A disturbance in the gallery'

The daily back-and-forth, however, was overshadowed by the shouts and demands from a group of climate-change activists who had quietly taken over the north gallery. Their protest started as NDP Leader Jack Layton began asking his questions.

“Bill C-311,” shouted one protester. “Sign it, sign it, sign it,” the others responded. It was a well-orchestrated affair; as some protesters were dragged off by Commons security guards, others would pop up and start shouting again, drowning out Mr. Layton.

Bill C-311 is an NDP private-members bill that demands the government act on climate change at the upcoming Copenhagen conference. It has been delayed in committee by the Conservatives and some Liberals...

Six protesters were detained and have been barred from Parliament for a year.)

Apparently two were also injured as Parliament Hill security threw them out of the gallery.

International Day of Climate Action

Today is International Day of Climate Action where groups and individuals around the world are supposed to take some action on the environment. There are plenty of actions and events listed for Ontario including Toronto, Ottawa, London, Hamilton, Peterborough, Sudbury, North Bay and Thunder Bay.

350.org is the main mover and shaker for this day of action.

Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. Learn more about 350 – what it means, where it came from, and how to get there.

Climate action video

Webconferencing used for new H&D advisor interviews

OPSEU's new webconference network got a good work out between October 13 and 20. As part of the union's commitment to our Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy, the union has long had member-volunteer advisors and investigators to assist other members with human rights issues. This work is co-ordinated by OPSEU's Equity Unit.

Being an advisor or investigator can be very tough work sometimes. Many cases stem from long-standing conflicts or issues resulting in the need to collect a lot of information. Some issues continue to fester even after a formal complaint is filed. It is often a very emotionally draining experience for the members involved and this impacts on those who are helping out.

So it's only natural that there's a turnover of our investigators and advisors. The union brings on new members to play these roles every year. I was approached several months ago by Libby Zeleke and Catherine Bowman from the Equity Unit about the feasibility of using webconferencing for the interviews (even before the network was officially up and running). I took on the challenge. In the end, I think it worked out quite well and saved a considerable amount of greenhouse gas emissions, time and money.

Dora Robinson (Region 3 Women's Committee, Libby Zeleke, OPSEU Equity Officer

Not that there weren't some technical glitches now and then with the audio, but for the most part, the

system performed as expected. Each day, applicants from a different region were interviewed. The project included 13 panelists (3 per day) and about two dozen applicants. The web conferences were support with help from the regional secretaries in 9 or 10 OPSEU offices and support staff at our head office. Thanks to those staff who made it possible.

Canada going to Copenhagen empty handed...

Liberals snub NDP climate-change bill
This is pretty shameful behavior on the part of the federal Liberals in my opinion. Just at the time when Canada needs to step up to the plate and show some leadership on this "file", the libs join the cons to help scuttle the Copenhagen talks.

Federal Liberals say they won't support the NDP in its effort to push a private member's climate-change bill through the House of Commons on Wednesday...

But New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said the delay would undermine efforts to have the bill passed into law before the Copenhagen summit in December.

Layton wants the bill's tougher greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to be in force when Canada sends delegates to the summit, where international leaders hope to forge a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the global greenhouse-gas treaty ratified by dozens of countries, including Canada.

The bill has passed through two readings in the House of Commons since it was introduced by NDP member of Parliament Bruce Hyer, receiving support from the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois.

Liberal environment critic David McGuinty, however, said the committee needs more time to study the implications of the bill.

More time? What about the implications of failure to reach a global climate change deal in Copenhagen? Big Energy must be grinning for cheek to cheek.

Climate change course - Train the trainer

On October 14 & 15, OPSEU's new course - Climate Change - It's a union issue - went through the train-the-trainer process so that members and staff from around the province can deliver the course to local leaders and members. I am pleased to report that the union's Regional Education Committees (there are seven) can now add this course to their quarterly weekend education program.

The course covers the causes and impacts of climate change with a strong focus on climate justice and actions that can be taken in our union, workplaces, communities and personal lives to make a difference.

In all, there were 4 members and 4 staff who attended this two day training session. On Day 1, Education Officer Kay Singh and I worked through the generic course with participants. Education Officer Barb Thomas provided support by tracking issues as they came up during the course. Our goal was not just to train the trainers, but to help take it from a "boiler-plate" to course that is more OPSEU- and Ontario-specific and in conformity with the general format of other OPSEU courses. It was a very interactive two days and there was a lot of positive energy and excellent ideas shared to tailor this to our union's needs.

Front row: Laurie Sabourin, Kay Singh, Rhonda Gibson

Back row: Peter McKenzie, Janet Heyman, Christopher Frampton, Greg McVeigh, Don Doucette, Gary Shaul

(photo by Barb Thomas, Marie Thomson from Region 1 was also in the training session)

On Day 2, the trainers were divided into pairs and assigned different parts of the curriculum to deliver themselves.

Brainstorming results

The generic course was developed by Jackie Larkin in 2008 working with staff and members of OPSEU, PSAC, CUPW, CUPE, Steelworkers, BCGEU, BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). It can be found here, on the CLC website. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with environmentalists from across the labour movement.

Planet in Focus opens tonight

The Planet in Focus film festival opens tonight. OPSEU is a proud festival sponsor. I hope to see a number of films including tonight's opener Finding Farley.

For a full festival program, check out their website.

Urgent: Bill C-311 - Climate Change Accountability Act

This just in from Karen Hawley at NUPGE.

Hi folks,

As members of Climate Action Network-Canada, NUPGE is in meetings with MPs this week - urging the Liberals to vote against the Conservative motion to delay the reading of this important climate bill.

This is an urgent matter. Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, risks not being passed before Copenhagen because the Liberals are playing politics. Canadians need to push the Liberals to do the right thing today.

There is a vote TODAY at 5:40pm on a Conservative motion to extend the bill's time in committee. If the Liberals support this motion to delay, the bill will not be voted on (or passed) before COP 15 in Copenhagen.

If the Liberals do not support the Conservative motion to delay, the bill will automatically go to the House of Commons for a vote, just before Copenhagen. If bill C 311 is passed in the House of Commons, the Conservative position on climate change will not be Canada's position internationally.

The NDP and the Bloc have been amazing at both working cooperatively with the other parties and pushing as hard as possible for C 311 to pass before Copenhagen.

The Liberals have already voted for this bill (or previous permutations) five times, most recently in April. This bill has been heavily debated, there have been hours upon hours of expert presentations and there are no amendments to the bill despite ongoing opportunities to amend - there is not a rational reason to delay this bill. We need to push the Liberals to do the right thing today.

In solidarity,

Karen

Tar sands: First hand account

I just came across this series of articles from last month on the rabble.ca blog. They're written accounts of blogger Emily Hunter's trip to the Alberta tar sands country in September. Fascinating stuff. Check it out.

"To see it even more, I took to the skies with a chartered plane. What I saw will be etched on my brain for the rest of my life. It looked like it was the year 2100 and the world had gone wrong, except that it was 2009 and right here in Canada. It was as far as the eye could see, an unrecognizable moonscape. Earth didn't exist here any longer..."

Beware of the serpents...

Now to the creepy crawly department. While not directly related to climate change, this is a story about consumerism applied to pets. It is about fragile wildlife habitats and how human activity can cause BIG trouble. It's a story that's captured my imagination since I first heard about it last year.

Florida Has Had It With These Non-Native Snakes!

Five giant invasive snake species — Burmese pythons, northern and southern African pythons, boa constrictors and anacondas — could endanger some of America's most important parks and wilderness areas if they are allowed to multiply, according to a report released on by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Tuesday...

The snakes have escaped or been released into the wild by people who purchased them as pets when they were small and manageable.

The environment of south Florida has proven to be a favorable environment for the snakes to thrive and breed. It is estimated that tens of thousands or Burmese pythons now live throughout the Everglades, a wildlife refuge home to the Florida panther and other endangered species. The snakes are competing with native alligators, crocodiles and other predators...

They're not just competing. A mature Burmese python will eat alligators - although not always with great success. Just ponder this for a minute.

Blog Action Day on climate change

Who knew? I found on rabble.ca that today is Blog Action Day 09. The goal is to have as many blogs say something about climate change as possible. What can I say?

1) On October 14 and 15, I worked with education officers Kay Singh and Barb Thomas to deliver the train-the-trainer program for the climate change course which was developed last year with a number of other union partners. We had a great bunch with participants who will be able to deliver the course to local leaders and members in most parts of the province. The course covers the causes and impacts of climate change with a strong focus on climate justice actions that can be taken in our union, workplaces, communities and personal lives to make a difference. More to come on that soon.

2) Today was the second day of OPSEU's process to replenish our harassment and discrimination investigators and advisors. These are member volunteers who assist other members and the union with internal complaints. This year, the Equity Unit decided to try out webconferencing to reduce travel outside Toronto. Each day, applicants from a different region are being interviewed. The project includes 13 panelists (3 per day), about 25 applicants and help from the regional secretaries in 9 or 10 OPSEU offices and support staff at our head office.

While there have been some minor technical glitches, all interviews conducted so far have been successful. Libby Zeleke, OPSEU Equity Officer (working from head office) is co-ordinating the interview program. I'll report more fully next week once the interviews have been completed.

Bangkok Climate Change Talks wrap up

Part of the prelude to the Copenhagen climate change talks taking place in December is a series of working group meetings which are supposed to be doing the prep work for the big one. The Bangkok Climate Change Talks - held from September 28 to October 9, wrapped up last week.

Despite the official hype, it doesn't look like things are going that well. In fact, there was a walk-out by about 70 delegations when Canada "suggested replacing the Kyoto Protocol with an entirely new global-warming pact".

"The conversation, in our view, at the point in time was effectively over and the G77 left the room," Joanne Yawitch, a South African negotiator at the Bangkok talks, said in an interview...

The developing nations were perturbed that Canada and other industrial countries would consider copying parts Kyoto into a new treaty. "You can't do a cut and paste on a ratified treaty," Yawitch said.

Canada is doing its part to protect Big Energy but we're certainly not alone.

From the U.K. Guardian:

"The rift between rich and poor has intensified because rich countries have not put serious money on the table to help poor countries adapt to escalating impacts of climate change," said Oxfam's senior climate adviser, Antonio Hill. "The US has been silent on the scale of finance it will commit to."

The next set of talks are scheduled in Barcelona from November 2 to 6.

Web conferencing update

On Tuesday & Wednesday evenings this week, OPSEU conducted two focus groups using web conferencing. The purpose of the conferences was to get input into the OPSEU Census which is part of the convention-mandated Social Mapping Project. The first session went off without a hitch. The second session had a few glitches but overall achieved its objectives.

Beginning on October 13, OPSEU's equity unit will be conducting web conference interviews with members around the province who have expressed an interest in becoming OPSEU Harassment and Discrimination Advisors.

Other requests are beginning to come in for webconferences including the Retirees Division.

Good green jobs for all conference

Here's a copy of the email and letter that was sent to our Green Stewards network and Toronto area local presidents last week.

=========================

Dear Region 5 Green Stewards,

Last fall’s "Good Jobs for All" Summit was attended by over 1,000 people. Green economic development was identified as one key priority campaign area (along with EI reform and temp agencies). This led to the formation of a “green jobs” working group which has worked on a number of issues. With OPSEU’s support, we are organizing an innovative and exciting, one-day "Good green jobs for all" conference on November 7.

Please share this email with your local and regional networks.

Given the directions that both the tanking economy and the environment are headed, the time for a new approach to economic development and job creation is long overdue.

The Good Green Jobs for All conference will provide an opportunity for union, environmental and community leaders and activists to share information and strengthen the relationships needed to build the kind of vibrant and powerful movement required to help steer our economy in a more sustainable direction to ensure that "all boats are lifted".

Saturday, November 7

9:00 - 4:30

Allstream Building, CNE at the Princes Gate

(formerly the Automotive Building)

Registration

OPSEU will cover the $75 registration fee for members which includes lunch. There are two ways to register:

1) Download the registration form at www.goodjobsforall.ca) and mail or fax it to Labour Council, or

2) Send an email to afonseca@labourcouncil.ca containing the registration information.

In either case, be sure to make your first and second workshop selections and register as soon as you're sure you can attend.

In solidarity

Gary Shaul

Greening OPSEU

416-443-8888 x 8723

Cassandras of Climate - Paul Krugman

These days, dire warnings aren't the delusional raving of cranks. They're what come out of the most widely respected climate models, devised by the leading researchers. The prognosis for the planet has gotten much, much worse in just the last few years.

What's driving this new pessimism? Partly it's the fact that some predicted changes, like a decline in Arctic Sea ice, are happening much faster than expected. Partly it's growing evidence that feedback loops amplifying the effects of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are stronger than previously realized. For example, it has long been understood that global warming will cause the tundra to thaw, releasing carbon dioxide, which will cause even more warming, but new research shows far more carbon dioxide locked in the permafrost than previously thought, which means a much bigger feedback effect.

As Krugman notes, we must rely on government, not big business to lead on climate change. It's all well and good that individuals are taking action to reduce their carbon footprints. However, that is a small part of the solution.









Methane gas is being released into atmosphere faster than thought, compounding the problem

Northern Sea Oats

Northern Sea Oats or Chasmanthium latifolium is a unique and terrific clumping grass for the garden. It is most suited to sunny well drained soils but can also be found in shadier spots where it can accept somewhat drier conditions. What makes Northern Sea Oats particularly interesting is the two-dimensional sead heads that hang from the top of the plant at the end of summer and autumn. Turning a purple/red these combine shape and colour for spectacular effect.

This will be my last post with Greening OPSEU. I have had a terrific time with the OPSEU and hope that the gardens will be enjoyed for years to come as they mature and develop into an important local concentrator for pollinators and seed bank for local genetics.

United Nations climate change summit...

Harper defends climate-change efforts amid criticism Canada's lagging

Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended Canada on Tuesday against accusations from a growing chorus of international critics that the country is lagging behind on climate-change efforts.

"Canada's come a long way from where we were," Harper said Tuesday outside New York's City Hall, where he'd paid a courtesy call to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The prime minister was quick to pin the blame for any climate-change foot-dragging on his Liberal predecessors.

This AP article didn't make mention of the fact that Harper declined to attend the UN Summit - well he was planning to pork out at dinner but he was too busy to speak to the UN. But it's really great that he found a few moments to blame the Liberals. While there is a lot of truth to how the liberals betrayed Canadians' interests, Harper was a climate change DENIER at the time so he's not one to talk. In true do-nothing style, Harper went on to pass the buck and pin everything on a continental deal with the USA.

Prepare for grand embarrassment in Copenhagen. Let's see what Harper has to say at the G20 climate change meeting later this week.

Flash-mobbing for the environment...

The Canada Climate Action Network, as part of the TckTckTck campaign, held "flash-mob" protests across the country on Tuesday to coincide with the UN Climate Change Summit.

Canadian youth to join global call for action on climate change

"Flash-mobs" are pre-planned brief events, part performance art, that appear to materialize spontaneously and amaze onlookers.
In Toronto, participants will hold up their cellphones at 12:18 p.m. and call Prime Minister Harper's Office. In Ottawa participants will form a human clock as a reminder that the time for action on climate is running out.

The Age of Stupid...

Tonight is the world premiere of "The Age of Stupid", the new, and long awaited film about climate change which is making its debut in advance of the Copenhagen meeting on global warming. It will be shown in 550 theatres in 45 countries. I'll be attending and will give a review later in the week. Here are the details for Toronto if you're able to attend.

The Age of Stupid

'The Age of Stupid' is the new cinema documentary from the Director of 'McLibel' and the Producer of the Oscar-winning 'One Day in September'. This enormously ambitious drama-documentary-animation hybrid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching 'archive' footage from 2008 and asking: why didn't we stop climate change while we had the chance?

Youth to tell goverment what time it is....

The Global Climate Wake-up Call

Happening today.

Green vacations...

Also from Green Living...

10 Incredible Eco Travel Destinations

These days, so-called ecotourism or green holiday options are advertised everywhere, but what makes for a truly legitimate eco-vacation? The authors of Clean Breaks (August 2009), Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith, have done the digging for you and selected 500 eco destinations and experiences from around the world. “We studied the green claims made by many hundreds of operations worldwide before selecting those that we felt both offered the best experiences combined with genuine environmental and social commitments,” says author Hammond. “We show how you can see the world in a responsible way through minimizing your environmental impact on your journey and at the destination—by choosing carefully how you travel and the nature of places that you stay at. We also hope to show how you can have a positive impact in other ways—by contributing to the conservation of wildlife and local heritage and supporting local economies.”

Green laptops....

From Green Living. If you're planning to purchase a new laptop, have a look at this article.

Eco Laptops

Purchasing a new computer can be baffling enough without considering its carbon footprint. Luckily, a number of third-party researchers have done the homework for you.

“There isn’t one computer that’s excelling in all the criteria, so with every model there will be tradeoffs,” says toxics campaigner Casey Harrell of Greenpeace International, which publishes the Guide to Greener Electronics. The Guide ranks the top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and game consoles according to their environmental policies, and the most recent edition was released in July. “The latest scores aren’t anything you’d want to take home and show your mother.”

Implications of the Van Jones resignation...

As reported here last week, Obama's "Green Jobs Czar", Van Jones, was forced to resign from the Obama administration a few days ago for having once called republicans "assholes". Rabbi Michael Lerner from Tikkun has an interesting analysis of what this could mean for progressive politics in the United States.

Van Jones's Resignation: Bad for the Country and Bad for Obama

Jones's resignation is bad for the country and for the Obama administration. It's bad for America when progressive views are an excuse to purge someone from the administration while extremist right-wing views of past administrations were always given a "pass."

Van Jones's forced resignation is a huge defeat for the forces of sanity and humanity, and represents a deep failure of the Obama-ites to understand the nature of the challenge they face from an increasingly fascistic Right wing.

Jones was the first African American environmentalist to have become a national figure (his book became a national bestseller), and was brought into the administration to help enlist minority communities in the struggle to save the environment from decades of abuse...

The bigger issue remains: how Obama responds to the assaults from the Right. The pattern he sets by allowing his assistants to force Jones to resign (or set by Jones himself in the unlikely case that he made the decision without such outside pressure) is one of capitulation -- and that will only guarantee yet more extreme assaults from the Right. Wilhelm Reich in the late 1920s analyzed the growth of fascism in Germany, and one of his important observations was that the fascists managed to intimidate people because the Left was not in the streets challenging them. Luckily, we are not yet at a point where the Right is scaring people in the streets of American cities, but they are doing so through the media. What is needed is a vigorous challenge in the media from liberals and progressives, and the obvious place from which that should be coming is the Obama administration. If, instead, they wimp out, as so many congressional Democrats have done for the past many years, the Right will be encouraged and tens of millions of decent Americans will become fearful and withdraw from public involvement, allowing a path to power for some of the most hate-oriented forces in American society. Historians may well look back at the Van Jones resignation as an important step in that process of shifting the society, so recently rejoicing at having gotten back on track toward progressive values, toward a renewed McCarthyism or worse...

Eco-checklist

Kudos to Brother John Hesch, Local 565 Green Steward who recently sent in this Eco-checklist. Please feel free to share these ideas with others in your locals.

At our recent LEC meeting, I was asked to provide the LEC with five (5) things that every employee can ask their Supervisor about the organization's environment commitment.

1) Are we part of a recycling program for office consumables? (i.e. toners, cartridges, batteries, old computers and printers, etc.) If not, why? I know it was suggested to our employer back in January that each office should have a box for recycling batteries. To date, I have not seen one.

2) Are the washrooms ECO friendly? (i.e. - hand dryers vs. paper towels, organic soap, low flow toilets, etc.) Yes, this is more of a property management issue, but as a tenant in the building, we have the ability to liaise with our landlords to ensure that they are environmentally responsible too. (i.e. waste diversion, cleaning products, hydro, etc.)

3) Are we actively encouraging ECO friendly habits? (i.e. - Are people being told / asked to turn off lights, computers, radios, fans, etc. when they leave the office? Are people being asked / told to bring coffee mugs, travel mugs, water canteens to the office to cut down on the number of paper cups and plastic bottles in the trash? Does the company host/promote litterless meetings?) I left our office at 11 pm the other night and two manager’s offices had radios, lights and computers still on, overnight.

4) Are we actively attempting to reduce our overall energy consumption? (i.e. - fluorescent lights, motion activated lights, IT notifications to turn off computers at the end of the day, IT installing power bars to reduce "ghost energy usage" etc.) Without a doubt, the consumption of energy is one of our biggest contributors to our carbon footprint. Whether you know it or not, the lights in our building burn 24/7. There is no need for this. A huge amount of energy is wasted every night and even more so on the weekends. Our organization just spent a great deal of money to retro fit the office including new paint and windows. Why aren't we spending money to reduce our energy usage?

5) Lastly, a common element in every company that is actually green, not just one that says it is on paper, but is actually green in everything they do, is a carbon footprint assessment. The David Suzuki Foundation actually recommends in their guide "Doing Business in a New Climate" that calculating a carbon footprint is the first step in going green. Think about it, how can we possibly know where we're going, without understanding where we are right now. There are companies that will calculate this information for us, some will even do it for free. All we have to do is ask.

But most importantly, what is your Executive Committee and/or Management Teams doing to lead the way, lead by example, and encourage ECO friendly habits to their staff. I was in line at the coffee shop in our building a few weeks ago and saw one of my Supervisors buying coffee in a paper cup. Jokingly and as a friendly reminder, I said; "Where's your mug?" and pointed to my travel mug which I was in the process of refilling. The response, and the ribbing I took from others about the comment later, made it clear to me that the ECO program at our office is not much more than words on paper.

So just to re-cap and summarize, employees should be asking about:

1) Recycling Office Consumables
2) ECO Friendly Washrooms
3) ECO Friendly Office Habits
4) Reducing Energy Consumption
5) Calculating our Carbon Footprint

and then looking for their Managers and Supervisors to lead by example and encourage others to follow suit.

Yours in solidarity,


John Hesch
Green Steward
OPSEU Local 565

OPSEU's native plants in bloom

Now that September has rolled around, I thought I'd take a few pics of the plants - flowers and vegetables. I'll have to wait until Jon returns from his trip abroad to identify the flowers. Flowers are in the preceeding post.

Terrace garden - filled in quite nicely. Native plants on the left, veggies on the right.

Side view. Front bed didn't do quite as well.

New garden bed started this summer in rear of building.

Wild grasses in bed on front lawn. Due to the number of Norway maples, other plants do not grow very well.

Indigenous wildflowers