For everybody who picked up an Alberta Foothills Network caribou postcard at the last meeting - here is where you can send it to: Your MLA: Find your MLA here One of these two ministers or the Premier
Sending it to an MLA, AB Minister, or the Premier requires no postage (i.e. no stamp required). Make sure to include your name, address, and some kind of question for your representative to answer - like: "what is your department doing to ensure the survival and recovery of the Little Smoky herd?"
The Alberta government has, quite awesomely, released a survey today for Albertans to fill out expressing their opinion on how the province should tackle climate change. Should we emphasize strategies that implicitly assume it is "Oil Or Bust"? Or should we be more courageous and creative in transitioning to a cleaner economy sooner? Completing the survey will take you anywhere from 15 minutes to a good hour depending on whether you read the background info and supply additional comments. But it's well worth it! The questions are good, and this is an excellent opportunity to get your opinion across. Renewables and energy conservation all the way! No strip mining coal or nuclear!
go to www.gov.ab.ca and follow the links - or go here: Direct Link
I saw a couple of Eco Club people at the Kyoto Rally this Sunday, for the rest of you who couldn't make it - here are a couple of pictures and a video to give you an idea of what it was like. There were a couple of hundred people there, and 4 or 5 anti-Kyoto knobs getting lots of media attention. It seems they were opposed to Kyoto because: (a) it would 'ruin' the economy; (b) it is a form of 'Enviro-Socialism' in that it allows for polluting countries to buy credits off of non-polluting countries, thereby essentially resulting in a transfer of money with no verifiable results on GHG total emissions - based on this reasoning perhaps they should have held up signs saying: no carbon credit transfers, but the rest is good! (c) the current warming is either a natural cycle or all the scientists are wrong and the earth is not warming as fast as everybody says it is. Sigh... Kyoto Rally Video-1.MOV
(it seems I accidentally got an Eco Club person in one of the pictures - see if you can find Waldo)
So good work everybody, now we just have to convince Conoco and others that we in fact are not naive in thinking that deferrals would magically change 'the scenario', and that the whole point is that such actions on the part of individual operators would have a lot of power 'symbolically' to speed the process forward towards 'an integrated plan' - in addition the caribou would not be subject to e.g. Conoco's activity in the interim, an obvious plus for critically endangered animals. This does nothing to mention the moral, and perhaps, ethical imperative on the part of fully aware companies to do something along the lines of what we are requesting.
I'm drafting a letter to send to the ministers of Sustainable Resource Development; Energy; Environment; and Tourism, Parks, and Recreation today as well that I will send out for comments and support.
I've sent out an email with the event info, but will repeat it here for good measure. The Eco Club has the back of the Little Smoky caribou herd, they're almost down and out so it's up to us to keep the heat on industry and government to do everything, emphasis on the everything, in their power to act in the best interests of the herd.
The event will be downtown (Gulf Canada Square, 401 9th Ave. SW - across 9th Ave. from the Bankers Hall West tower) at 3:30 pm on Thursday, March 1st (i.e. normal meeting time).
You can either meet downtown or meet up with Eco Club folks in the clubs office at 3:00, and then take the C-train down in that group. Or you come up to half an hour late downtown if that works best for you.
There will be a nationally coordinated rally in support of re-committing Canada to our Kyoto targets on March 11th (there is one in Calgary). Go here for details: http://www.againstclimatechange.com/ But don't forget about the Caribou
Environmentalists, conservationists, ranchers and landowners from all across the province, as well as the co-founders of Earth First and the Ruckus Society are going to be at a rally Friday Dec 1st at 11:00am outside the Calgary corporate headquarters of US Oil Giant Conoco Phillips to highlite their contribution to the global warming crisis and the destruction of the Little Smoky Caribou Herd in Alberta.
The Little Smoky caribou herd is considered at immediate risk of extinction, with less than 100 individuals left, thanks to the activities of corporations like ConocoPhillips in their habitat. A petition submitted almost a year ago to the Federal government asking for the implementation of the emergency provision of the Species at Risk Act has received no response yet. While the caribou committees are trying to plan for caribou recovery the petroleum industry is forging ahead with development in critical threatened caribou habitat. Meanwhile, in a short-sighted and desperate effort to reduce predation on caribou, almost 100 wolves have been killed, and the killing will continue.
Calling all Eco Club members and readers: this is a great chance for each of you to make a difference, meet some awesome people, and have fun! This will be the third super-awesome activist-esque Eco Club activity in just over two weeks. Please come out to this Wed's meeting at 5:00 pm in the clubs office to help plan our contribution to the rally. If you've never been to a meeting, this is the perfect time to try it out, they are informal and new people show up all the time. Tell any interested people you know to come as well!
The following is a dramatization depicting what to expect (don't take this seriously, I have no idea exactly what we'll be up to yet - that's for you to help us decide)
To all Eco Club members, other UofC club members, and visitors to this website: your voice and time can make a big difference on issues ranging from wilderness protection to climate change. Most of the time, organizations and groups will ask you to become briefly familiar with a topic, form an opinion, and then add your name to a petition, declaration, or a pre-formed letter to be sent to politicians. If you have the time, most urge you to write your own letter, or call your MP, as this is the most effective way to be individually heard. The trouble is, it takes some time to search out these things. With that in mind, I intend to regularly supply a list of issues (with links) to which you can add your voice. Pick one, or go crazy and pick them all. Ordered by topic:
Canada and Global Warming/Climate Change www.saveourclimate.ca - Created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), directs you to sign a unique petition to be sent to Stephen Harper. www.cleanairactstinks.ca - Directs you to provide comments to the Clean Air Act and 'Notice of Intent' by agreeing with a canned statement, and either (a) using their own comments, or (b) adding your own. I have typed up an Eco Club version of comments to use, as I didn't think theirs was that great. It is included at the bottom of this blog for your copy and pasting pleasure. http://ourclimate.ca/?page_id=25 - This links to the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition declaration, which you can quickly read and sign. And of course, call your MP and leave a message showing your support for tough short-term GHG reduction targets for industry and other sectors to be included in the revised Clean Air Act.
Wilderness Protection www.nahanniforever.ca - Has links to sign a petition, or write a letter concerning the protection of the entire south Nahanni watershed and karstlands in an expanded national park. www.bcoilslick.org - Many of you have already either signed a hardcopy or the online version; but if not, go here, check out the online petition and sign it if you feel it is important to keep oil/gas out of this fragile area. www.castlewilderness.ca - Learn about the Castle Wilderness 2 hours away, and follow the links to send a canned CPAWS letter (which you can edit if you wish) to the Premier of Alberta showing your support for the establishment of a new park. http://www.cpaws.org/action/index.php - The CPAWS action center includes links to both the Nahanni Forever and Castle Wilderness campaigns plus information on sending a letter in support of protecting woodland caribou and mainland moose. www.mackenziewild.ca - A Sierra Club of Canada arm dedicated to opposing the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline as currently proposed. Follow the links to sign the Mackenzie Wild declaration. This is a big one. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/bottom-trawling-the-un-decide - As adverstised in the previous blog - - - let Stephen Harper know that you support a UN moratorium on bottom trawling in international waters. QUICK, NOT MUCH TIME LEFT.
That should do you for now. Take Care, Eric
FOR USE ON WWW.CLEANAIRACTSTINKS.CA RE: Notice of Intent to develop and implement regulations and other measures to reduce Air Emissions, Canada Gazette, Part I, October 21, 2006
Dear Minister Ambrose:
I, as a member of the University of Calgary Eco Club, wish to register my concern as to the inadequacy of the Notice of Intent above. The federal government is side-stepping its ethical responsibility to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the very short to short-term, and is violating its legal obligations under the Kyoto Protocol and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
I recognize and am aware that by proceeding with this regulatory approach, the minister may well be violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which requires compliance with international pollution agreements.
This entire Notice of Intent and its ramifications are blatantly unacceptable.
Canada must make an unequivocal recommitment to the Kyoto Protocol. It is not in Canada's interest to abandon its international commitments. We must establish clear, measurable short-term targets for greenhouse gas reductions to meet our commitment for the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012), and also long-term targets for reducing them to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. These must be enforced with tough regulations on industrial emissions, including the oil sands, and performance standards for manufacturers of appliances and equipment etc. that apply to the period beginning in 2008 at the latest. The automotive sector should be regulated in a manner at least as stringent as California's greenhouse gas regulations.
Most importantly, regulation of greenhouse gases must be based on available peer-reviewed science when available and complete, and the precautionary principle when not, with the objective being to avoid catastrophic climate change. I agree with the Climate Action Network in that The Notice of Intent in no way reflects the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which seems to suggest that the current government values economic rhetoric, in every important way referring to abstract and malleable concepts and systems, over real world, immediate physical concerns expressed expertly by the said Panel.
Canada MUST put in place tough regulations requiring industry, especially, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and continue the previous Liberal government’s attempts (in whatever form) to begin to change individual behaviour to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This week will be the last chance for you to tell your politicians to support the UN call for a moratorium on bottom trawling. The world is watching as Canada and Spain threaten to scupper what scientists call an "overwhelming" case. Another one of those things where if enough people spend the amount of time equivalent to watching a commercial break on TV to voice their opinion on something important, real positive change can result.
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Green drinks is an open-format, no-agenda, monthly event for those
interested in the environment to get together, to meet with friends,
meet new people, or learn something new.
Visit their Meetup.com page to learn more.
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