Category: Climate Change, pipelines

Climate Accountability Bill Calls for 80% Cut in Emissions

11 May 2014 – An updated Climate Change Accountability Act has been presented to the House of Commons that would require the federal government to establish a plan to reduce greenhouse gases, which cause climate change, to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The bill, introduced by East End Toronto MP Matt Kellway on June 16, would meet science-based targets that must be observed internationally to avoid catastrophic climate change. Continue reading Climate Accountability Bill Calls for 80% Cut in Emissions

Environmental Racism and Climate Justice

A talk given to Ideas Left Outside August 1 2013

What is environmental racism?

There are disasters from natural causes, and then there are environmental catastrophes and tragedies imposed by the capitalist and imperialist systems which cause unimaginable hardship and suffering. We know that racism is part and parcel of these systems. Environmental racism has been termed “any policy that differentially disadvantages individuals, groups, of communities based on race or colour” such as by locating “hazardous waste sites, landfills, incinerators or polluting industries in areas inhabited mainly by [racialized] and low-income peoples.” (Gosine 2008 p. 4)

Let us take the example from Haiti. In [2011] Haiti was struck by a savage epidemic of cholera, an environmental disease. Cholera was introduced, in fact, by the massive UN military mission in Haiti, which dumped untreated sewage into a stream from which Haitians washed and bathed and from which they drank. More than 7,500 Haitians died. Continue reading Environmental Racism and Climate Justice

Resisting the tar sands: An ecosocialist approach

Based on a talk given to the Socialism 2013 conference in Chicago, June 28, 2013.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has a dream. If he has his way Canada will be the new world oil superpower – a rival to Saudi Arabia. It’s a wonderful dream for Harper and Canada’s profiteers, but the reality for the rest of humankind is grim. Here in Toronto we are gaining experience in resisting this project.

What are the tar sands? They are a mixture of tar and sand that must be boiled to extract the tarry oil, called bitumen. The process of extraction, which covers a large part of Alberta, destroys and poisons the surroundings, causing cancer and many other illnesses. Indigenous peoples who live on this land and have treasured its bounty, denounce corporations and government for this destruction. Continue reading Resisting the tar sands: An ecosocialist approach