Joomla! site syndication http://donvalleygreen.ca Sat, 04 Sep 2010 18:28:56 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://donvalleygreen.ca/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://donvalleygreen.ca Joomla! site syndication http://donvalleygreen.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125&Itemid=2 Disaster at the Top of the WorldBy THOMAS HOMER-DIXONAboard the Louis S. St-LaurentSTANDING on the deck of this floating laboratory for Arctic science, which is part of Canada’s Coast Guard fleet and one of the world’s most powerful icebreakers, I can see vivid evidence of climate change. Channels through the Canadian Arctic archipelago that were choked with ice at this time of year two decades ago are now expanses of open water or vast patchworks of tiny islands of melting ice.In 1994, the “Louie,” as the crew calls the ship, and a United States Coast Guard icebreaker, the Polar Sea, smashed their way to the North Pole through thousands of miles of pack ice six- to nine-feet thick. “The sea conditions in the Arctic Ocean were rarely an issue for us in those days, because the thick continuous ice kept waves from forming,” Marc Rothwell, the Louie’s captain, told me. “Now, there’s so much open water that we have to account for heavy swells that undulate through the sea ice. It’s almost like a dream: the swells move in slow motion, like nothing I’ve seen elsewhere.” News - Candidate News Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:42 +0100 http://donvalleygreen.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=2 By Jeffrey SimpsonFrom Friday July 2nd, Globe and Mail The annual report required by all signatories to the original Kyoto Protocol is depressingWhen the Harper government has something it wants everybody to know, it sends the Prime Minister to make an “announcement,” gathers a gaggle of ministers to nod their heads at the words of their sage boss, issues press releases and, if necessary, buys newspaper and television advertising to trumpet itself.When, however, the news is bad, well, standard procedure is either not to release the information at all, or to post it on a website without telling anyone, hoping the news will pass unnoticed.Such was the case this week when quietly, of course, Environment Canada posted on its website the embarrassing news about the government’s expensive and largely futile measures to combat greenhouse gas emissions.Try as it might, the government could not put lipstick on a pig. The numbers were there, stark and depressing, in an annual report required by all signatories to the original Kyoto Protocol. The bottom line: The world is right to consider Canada a climate-change miscreant. See here (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-numbers-say-it-all-canada-is-a-climate-change-miscreant/article1591592/) for rest of article. News - Green Party News Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:10:35 +0100 http://donvalleygreen.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=2 Disclosure forms from 2008 reveal Louisiana district judge held shares in Transocean, Halliburton, and a host of oil firmsBusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen, 23 Jun 2010 The judge who yesterday overturned (http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2265307/oil-industry-draws-first-blood) the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico previously held shares in Transocean and a number of other oil firms. According to reports, Louisiana district judge Martin Feldman's most recent financial disclosure forms relating to calendar year 2008 reveal he received dividends from shares in Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded on April 11. He reportedly held nearly $15,000 worth of Transocean shares. The forms also revealed that Feldman held shares in a host of oil and energy firms, including Ocean Energy, Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, and Parker Drilling. In addition, the documents confirmed Feldman sold shares in Halliburton, the engineering company that provided the concrete casings for the Deepwater Horizon wells. The judge is yet to respond to the reports and it is not yet certain whether he still holds any oil industry shares. A number of Louisiana judges are reported to have sold shares in oil companies in recent weeks in order to rule in cases relating to the Gulf spill. However, environmental groups were quick to condemn the potential conflict of interest. Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, told the Press Association that Feldman's decision to lift the ban on drilling should be immediately reversed if he is found to still hold oil industry shares. If Judge Feldman has any investments in oil and gas operators in the Gulf, it represents a flagrant conflict of interest, he said. The revelation comes as the Obama administration today prepares to launch an appeal against the judge's decision to lift the six month ban on deepwater drilling while the court case regarding the legality of the moratorium is heard. Judge Feldman ruled yesterday that the ban was excessive and would cause unnecessary harm to large numbers of businesses in the region. But Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a statement yesterday insisting the ban was required at least until the investigations into what caused the Deepwater Horizon explosion are completed. He added that he would impose a new moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf within days. We see clear evidence every day, as oil spills from BP's well, of the need for a pause on deepwater drilling, he said. The evidence also continues to mount that industry needs to raise the bar on blowout prevention, containment, and response planning before deepwater drilling should continue. News - Candidate News Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:17:55 +0100 http://donvalleygreen.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122&Itemid=2 By James Travers National Affairs Columnist Published On Sat Jun 19 2010Toronto Star Imagine a country where Parliament is padlocked twice in 13 months to frustrate the democratic will of the elected majority. That country is now this country.Imagine a country that slyly relaxes environmental regulations even as its neighbour reels from a catastrophic oil leak blamed on slack controls. That country is now this country.Imagine a country that boasts about prudent financial management while blowing through a $13-billion surplus on the way to a $47-billion deficit. That country is now this country. For full article, see http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/stephenharper/article/825809--travers-changing-canada-one-backward-step-at-a-time News - Candidate News Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:12:41 +0100 http://donvalleygreen.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=2 http://www.trunity.net/climateresponse/articles/view/147289/Published: May 19, 2010, 12:00 amRevised: May 20, 2010, 5:33 am Author(s): Cheryl McNamara (http://www.trunity.net/profile/cmcnamara/) Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act passed third reading in the House of Commons on May 5th, 2010. Conservative MPs voted against it, while the majority of Opposition MPs supported it. The Bill is now before the Senate.If passed into law, the Act will require the Canadian federal government to set regulations to bring emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Act will require the government to produce five year target plans, establish independent reviews and punish polluters who break regulations.Of the total 104 Senators:50 are Conservatives49 are Liberals2 are Progressive Conservatives3 are IndependentsNote: of the Conservatives, 13 were appointed by Mulroney, nominated the 'greenest Prime Minister' by Corporate Knights. Sample Message to SenatorsDear Senator,The climate crisis represents the most urgent challenge of our time. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is essential to avoid catastrophic changes in our climate that threaten millions of people with drought, famine, extreme weather events and rising sea levels. By acting decisively to reduce its emissions, Canada can also be a leader in energy conservation and clean, renewable energy.I am asking all Parliamentarians to join together to ensure that Bill C-311 (The Climate Change Accountability Act) becomes law. Bill C-311, which was passed by the majority of elected officials on May 5th, will ensure that Canada follows the best scientific analysis of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by setting science-based targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and by requiring effective accountability measures to meet those targets.Passing this crucial legislation will send a clear message to the world community: Canada is once again prepared to show leadership in tackling climate change. We hope you will take action now to ensure that Canada plays a leading role in stopping dangerous climate change and making the global transition to a low-carbon economy.Canada once demonstrated its leadership on this issue during Prime Minister Mulroney’s time in office when Canada became the first industrialized country to ratify the climate change convention agreed to at the UN Conference on the Environment.In a speech when Corporate Knights honoured him as ‘Greenest PM in Canadian History’, Brian Mulroney stated: “The most compelling environmental challenge facing the world today is global warming. In Toronto in 1988, we hosted the first international scientific conference on climate change. The scientists gathered there told us in clear, unambiguous language the nature of the challenge we were facing. In their consensus statement, they concluded: Humanity is conducting an unintended, uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment, whose ultimate consequences are second only to global nuclear war. For his full speech, visit: http://www.corporateknights.ca/web-stories/298-brian-mulroney-greenest-pm.htmlRecently Canadian and American scientists have stated unequivocally that anthropogenic climate change is supported by the science and that action is required: Open Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (letter signed by 800 leading Canadians scientists); and Climate Change and the Integrity of Science - letter signed by members of the National Academy of Sciences).Please ensure that Bill C-311 becomes law.Sincerely,[Your name and email address] Click here (http://www.trunity.net/climateresponse/articles/view/147289/)for a complete list of Senators. News - Candidate News Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:19:04 +0100