Mel Lehan beats Gordon Campbell in 2009

It could happen, it just depends on how much work the people of Vancouver Point-Grey are willing to put into a campaign.

Mel at UBC Farm. Image from the Georgia Straight

Who is Mel Lehan? Well, for all you greenies, even David Suziki wants people to recognize and support the work Mel has done in the community.  The MAYOR OF KITSILANO is already getting geared up to take on “never likes to sit in the legislature and debate” guy.

What happened Last time…

Music industry moves to disconnect file sharers in U.S.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2008/12/19/tech-music.html

The U.S. recording industry is shifting away from suing file sharers and toward working out deals with internet service providers that could see downloaders have their access cut off, but the issue in Canada is still muddy because of a lack of clear copyright law.

The Recording Industry Association of America on Friday said it was changing its approach to one it hopes will be more effective in persuading people to stop downloading music illegally. More than 35,000 Americans have been sued since 2003, but the percentage of internet users who pirate music has stayed steady at around 20 per cent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Under the new approach, the RIAA will send an e-mail to an ISP when it believes one of the service provider’s customers is downloading music illegally. Depending on the deal set up with the service provider, customers will receive warnings, possibly followed by a slow-down in their connection speed and ultimately a cancellation of their access.

Tory attack on carbon tax is dishonest: economist

A prominent resource economist has pronounced himself disgusted with “dishonest” Conservative attack ads on a Liberal carbon tax proposal that’s yet to be unveiled.

“The Conservatives — and I say this with great sadness because I don’t care which political party is in power — but if we’re going to do anything about climate change, we’re going to have to be honest with people,” Marc Jaccard of Simon Fraser University told CTV.ca on Tuesday.

“This is just totally dishonest.”

On the weekend, the Tories previewed ads aimed at the proposed carbon tax, painting it as Liberal Leader Stephane Dion’s “tax on everything.”

The ads are to start running Tuesday.

Jaccard, a co-author of the recent book Hot Air, said the Conservatives’ own policy on reducing greenhouse gas emissions won’t work because it doesn’t put a price on carbon for consumers.

“Their policy is to regulate industry and then have these offset loopholes where industry can subsidize consumers. But those are the types of policies that have never worked in the past,” he said.

The Conservatives have said their plan will cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020. But many environmental groups join Jaccard in saying the plan won’t work.

If it did work, the Conservative plan wouldn’t see Canada’s Kyoto Protocol target — to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 — achieved until 2025.

The Liberals are said to be proposing putting a tax on carbon. While the policy has yet to be released, the Grits have said it will be “tax shifting” and “revenue-neutral,” meaning that any revenue collected would be given back in the form of income or other tax cuts.

In the House of Commons’ question period on Monday, junior minister Jason Kenney accused the Liberals of engaging in a massive tax grab to pay for billions in unbudgeted election promises.

Dion said the ads are “misleading and a lie.”

Honest dialogue

“I’m not a fan of Stephane Dion, but when you get a politician out there that’s trying to start an honest dialogue and say to people, ‘you know what? We won’t get our emissions down if there isn’t a price on them and that’s just the truth’,” Jaccard said.

“And to see politicians saying, ‘Maybe I can stay in power’ or gain more power, or maybe a majority government, by distorting this” disgusted him, he said.

“Every one of those ads should say, ‘Oh and by the way, your income taxes are going down if (the Liberals) do put in that tax,’ but it’s not there.”

The Liberals say their plan, unlike the Conservative one, offers offsetting tax cuts.

Dion has said the plan won’t drive up prices at the gas pump, where high oil prices have driven gasoline prices up to record levels.

Some of the Tory ads were to run at gas pumps in Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario.

But Fuelcast, the company that operates the pump-side advertising network, said Monday it won’t run the ads.

The Conservatives have said they have a binding contract with Fuelcast, but if the company doesn’t honour the deal, they will up their radio buy instead.

Global alarm sounded over dramatic decline in bird, fish, animal population

CBC News
Human activity is wiping out close to one per cent of every other species on earth every year, a global environmental report said Friday.

The report, compiled by the World Wildlife Fund, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, said the population of animals, birds and fish has dropped by a third in the last 35 years.

“You’d have to go back to the extinction of the dinosaurs to see a decline as rapid as this,” said Jonathan Loh, editor of the report.

The main reasons for species extinction are pollution, farming and urban expansion, overfishing and hunting, the report said.

Between 1960 and 2000, the world’s population doubled, said Ben Collen, one of the authors of the report.

Decline ’caused by humans’

“Yet during the same period, animal populations have declined by 30 per cent on average. It’s beyond doubt that this decline has been caused by humans,” he said.

The report includes a Living Planet Index that tracks birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and amphibians around the world. Marine bird species alone have fallen by 30 per cent between 1995 and 2005, it said.

As well, between 1970 and 2005, land-based species fell by 25 per cent, marine by 28 per cent and freshwater by 29 per cent.

“Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives, so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downtrend trend,” said WWF campaign head Colin Butfield.

The report comes in the lead up to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn next week.

More than 5,000 delegates will gather from May 19-30 to “discuss the protection and the preservation of species and habitats, a sustainable use of biological diversity as well as a fair distribution of access and exploitation,” the conference website says.

Canadian consumers rank second-last in green survey

We’ve bought in to the materialistic, consumer culture that robs us of the essence of our existence…

Huge homes, widespread car culture push Canada to back of the pack

CBC News

Canadians scored dismally in a 14-country survey on environmentally friendly consumption patterns, in part owing to a widespread car culture and a penchant for big homes.

The survey, which was released Wednesday, was conducted by the polling firm GlobeScan for the National Geographic Society. Canada finished ahead of the United States but behind Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan and France.
According to the National Geographic survey, 52 per cent of Canadian respondents said they drive alone daily. According to the National Geographic survey, 52 per cent of Canadian respondents said they drive alone daily. (CBC)

“I think that the survey results … really set an important reminder to Canadians that on a per capita basis Canadians’ footprint is really quite heavy compared with other countries,” said Eric Whan, GlobeScan’s director of sustainability, at a press conference Wednesday.

One thousand consumers from each of the 14 countries completed the online survey about their consumption patterns between Jan. 11 and Feb. 13. Participants answered questions about housing, transportation, food and their purchasing habits and were given a score out of 100. Government action and industry were not assessed.

YOUR SAY

‘Brazil uses less heat than Canada, duh! A lot of canadians would love to enjoy brazilian type weather all year round. ’

—Taylor

Add your comment

The researchers acknowledged that financial and cultural circumstances may have influenced the rankings, with developing countries scoring well. But, they argued consumers everywhere can choose to be more environmentally friendly in their consumption habits.

“Regardless of why consumers behave in an environmentally friendly way — whether it be driven by health concerns, whether it’s a cultural thing, climate, income … or a real conscious decision to be more green — the fact is individual consumers in developing countries have less impact on the environment than the average consumer in wealthy countries,” Whan said.

“In this sense, it really doesn’t matter why they behave in the way they do — the fact is, their behaviour does have an environmental impact and consumers anywhere can change in many ways, many of their behaviours for better or worse.”
Brazil, India earn marks for small homes

The survey found that 29 per cent of Canadians have nine or more rooms in their houses, putting Canada at the higher end of the spectrum for house size. Canadians were also penalized for heating their homes.

While acknowledging heating as a necessity in Canada’s northern climate, the researchers said Canadians scored low because of the way they choose to heat their homes.

“The Canadians being one of the highest users in the market basket of energy overall was quite surprising,” said Lloyd Hetherington, GlobeScan’s executive vice-president.

“We know that there’s penalties there for living in a colder climate, for being stretched out in a large country but by and large in most of these indices, Canada did not score well. There’s a lot to be done.”

By comparison, Brazil earned high marks for having smaller homes, infrequent use of home heating and widespread use of renewable electricity. Respondents in China and India also raised their green index value for the use of solar panels to heat water.

In terms of transportation, Canada ranked 12th out of the 14 countries surveyed with 52 per cent of respondents saying they drive alone daily. The survey also found 87 per cent say they have one or more vehicles in their households. In contrast, 22 per cent reported using public transportation at least once a week. China ranked well in this category, though the study noted car use there was growing notably.

Canadians scored well in recycling with 59 per cent of respondents saying they always recycled and 46 per cent said they donated items that could be reused. About 50 per cent of Canadians also said they have energy-saving washing machines and/or refrigerators and freezers. China, India and Brazil led in the consumer goods index, with most consumers reporting they purchase green products and own few appliances.

With more Canadians saying they buy locally grown foods, Canadians ranked fifth in the food index. Canada also earned points for below-average consumption of bottled water at 52 per cent.

The study also found 19 per cent of Canadian consumers believe environmental problems will negatively affect their health though only 20 per cent said they were actively attempting to lessen their impact on the environment.

The results of the survey were weighted according to census data to best represent age, gender and education demographics for each country. The results are considered to be accurate within 3.1 percentage points 95 per cent of the time.

April 22nd: Happy Earth Day!

Happy green day everyone!

Not to sound too preachy, but here’s today’s words of love:

LOVE MORE, LIVE MORE, BE HAPPY, BE CONFIDENT, BE LESS MATERIAL, BE MORE WISE, and LIVE as FREE as you possibly can… all the while LOVE your LIFE and realize that we need to be in harmony with NATURE (and right now collectively our society is not) to be living life to our optimal.

So celebrate the beauty of NATURE today and strive to live your life from this moment on as in balance and in harmony with nature as you can. It will benefit not only you, but all of humanity and all of nature as well.

PEACE and LOVE,

D-F(ng)s

Grains Gone Wild

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: April 7, 2008 “New York Times”

These days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there’s another world crisis under way — and it’s hurting a lot more people.

 I’m talking about the food crisis. Over the past few years the prices of wheat, corn, rice and other basic foodstuffs have doubled or tripled, with much of the increase taking place just in the last few months. High food prices dismay even relatively well-off Americans — but they’re truly devastating in poor countries, where food often accounts for more than half a family’s spending.

There have already been food riots around the world. Food-supplying countries, from Ukraine to Argentina, have been limiting exports in an attempt to protect domestic consumers, leading to angry protests from farmers — and making things even worse in countries that need to import food.

How did this happen? The answer is a combination of long-term trends, bad luck — and bad policy.

Let’s start with the things that aren’t anyone’s fault.

First, there’s the march of the meat-eating Chinese — that is, the growing number of people in emerging economies who are, for the first time, rich enough to start eating like Westerners. Since it takes about 700 calories’ worth of animal feed to produce a 100-calorie piece of beef, this change in diet increases the overall demand for grains.

Second, there’s the price of oil. Modern farming is highly energy-intensive: a lot of B.T.U.’s go into producing fertilizer, running tractors and, not least, transporting farm products to consumers. With oil persistently above $100 per barrel, energy costs have become a major factor driving up agricultural costs.

High oil prices, by the way, also have a lot to do with the growth of China and other emerging economies. Directly and indirectly, these rising economic powers are competing with the rest of us for scarce resources, including oil and farmland, driving up prices for raw materials of all sorts.

Third, there has been a run of bad weather in key growing areas. In particular, Australia, normally the world’s second-largest wheat exporter, has been suffering from an epic drought.

O.K., I said that these factors behind the food crisis aren’t anyone’s fault, but that’s not quite true. The rise of China and other emerging economies is the main force driving oil prices, but the invasion of Iraq — which proponents promised would lead to cheap oil — has also reduced oil supplies below what they would have been otherwise.

Letter to Eddie Vedder to be given tonight at solo show

Dear Mr. Eddie Vedder,

I’d like to commend you for your efforts in living and promoting the messages and ideals of LOVE, peace, hope, human community, environmental stewardship and spiritual awareness. Collectively we need more cultural icons devoting energy to these worthy causes, and I’d like to thank you for staying true to your principles and not compromising your integrity, even as you have undergone both incredible scrutiny and success both in your career and personal life.

As you are well aware, our planet is facing many serious political, social and environmental issues. It is becoming more and more apparent that the coproratocracy – the alliance of corporations, governments and military- are leading us down a very dangerous path. It is also becoming more apparent that a non-partisan spiritual revolution/re-awakening is necessary now more than ever. The messages of LOVE and peace are universal and throughout the ages have been modeled by prophets and spiritually inclined wise men and women of all ethnicities. Every living organism is capable of experiencing the beauty and energy of an existence that is steeply rooted in love, and for those that still doubt the power and authenticity of love’s potential quantum mechanics is providing us with verifiable, scientific evidence that the power of the heart and mind are much greater than many of us have given them credit for.

Rafe Mair opposes privatization of bc’s rivers

it’s time to join rafe mair and get rid of this  ‘morally bankrupt’, gordon campbell led liberal government. spread this video to as many voters as possible because the future of our rivers and streams in bc is at stake.

B.C. power project raises environmental concerns in Pitt Meadows

CBC News

A plan to build a series of hydro-electric facilities along B.C.’s Upper Pitt River, about 40 kilometres east of Vancouver, drew vociferous opposition during a meeting Tuesday night in nearby Pitt Meadows.

More than 1,000 people packed Tuesday’s gathering in a secondary school gymnasium, and many more were turned away.

Many residents are opposed to Run of River Power Inc.’s privately funded plan to divert eight tributaries and construct seven powerhouses just off the river’s main stem.

The company would also carve off a section of forested land in Pinecone Burke Provincial Park for a transmission line.

Run of River chief executive Jako Krushnisky said the project would deliver badly needed clean energy to a growing population in British Columbia, generating enough electricity to power 50,000 homes.

“The province’s population has grown from 1.6 million to four million people, and at the same time, no major generation has been built in this province,” Krushnisky said.

However, opponents say the Run of River project will carve a swath through a pristine provincial park, while damaging wild salmon runs and area wildlife.

The proposal to build power lines and hydro-electric stations in what some call the “jewel” of the region is unacceptable to Danny Gerak, who owns a fishing lodge on the Upper Pitt River. He said the project would damage sensitive wildlife habitats and drive tourists away.

“[Tourists] don’t want to see power lines,” Gerak said.

“They see that every day. They want to see trees and they want to see wilderness. And if this comes in there, the tourism in that valley is over.”

B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office still needs to approve the plan before it moves ahead.

Critical thinking ….

I would like to add a very important side-note (especially with regards to the recent posts I have made…. )

I think the most important skill we can develop today is the ability to think critically. The ability to absorb information and then ask the appropriate questions to (attempt to) ascertain the authenticity and validity of the information cannot be stressed enough. First and foremost…. learning to recognize the bias inherent in all sorts of media is vitally important. Certain media outlets are considered by “experts” to be more reliable and credible than others: BBC is considered by many to be the “spinach” of the media diet, while Fox news is deemed by many as the “fastfood” alternative. Media outlets are ‘regulated’, and are supposed to live up to certain journalistic standards. Whether these media outlets are being held accountable to these standards is anyone’s guess, but there certainly seems to be a lot of speculation that they are not. Reported incidents of ‘propaganda’ and factual distortion have been quite rampant over the past 60 years on many of the major news networks. That being said, I have seen some wonderful examples of truly investigative journalism from even the biggest media outlets. The problem, however, is that the ‘bread and butter’ of mainstream media’s quality investigative journalism is usually buried behind a main section article on Britney Spears, or is strategically located on a page with glossy advertising aimed at taking your attention off the targeted article. Regardless, understanding who stands to gain from the outcome of the article is usually a good place to start when becoming an informed, critically thinking, media consumer.

When viewing information on the internet we must also be extremely careful; being a completely unregulated source of media has its pros and cons. The credibility of internet ‘authors’ is always questionable. Are these people ‘experts’ on the given topic? What are their credentials? Why do they want me to believe their point of view? These are all good questions to ask and as you begin your quest for truth you will find it necessary to conduct further research to determine the validity of certain quotes, certain historical facts, certain details that could easily be manipulated.

Eddie Vedder: “Society”

This is probably my favourite track from Eddie Vedder’s solo soundtrack for the incredible movie, “Into the Wild”.  Someone put some visuals to the music. Here’s the lyrics:

Oh it’s a mystery to me.
We have a greed, with which we have agreed…
and you think you have to want more than you need…
until you have it all, you won’t be free.

Society, you’re a crazy breed.
I hope you’re not lonely, without me.

When you want more than you have, you think you need…
and when you think more then you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place…
cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

Society, you’re a crazy breed.
I hope you’re not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed…
I hope you’re not lonely, without me.

There’s those thinkin’ more or less, less is more,
but if less is more, how you keepin’ score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you’re startin’ from the top…
and you can’t do that.

Society, you’re a crazy breed.
I hope you’re not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed…
I hope you’re not lonely, without me
Society, have mercy on me.
I hope you’re not angry, if I disagree.
Society, crazy indeed.
I hope you’re not lonely…
without me.

Vancouver Quadra by-election: March 17

UBC’s federal electoral riding, Vancouver Quadra, is having a by-election on March 17th. And if you live on campus, you can vote in it.

Come check out the candidates speak, ask them questions, etc. on March 3, from 7pm – 9:30pm at St. Philips Church (3737 West 27th Avenue).

Quadra is one of the wealthiest and best educated ridings in the country. It contains most of Vancouver’s West side, including UBC. This by-election race has many so UBC connections that make it an great opportunity to get UBC issues out into the community. Lets count the connections: the Quadra riding was vacated by incumbent Liberal MP (and former cabinet minister) Stephen Owen last year. He left politics to join UBC’s executive as VP External, a post he resumed last August. One of the candidates in this by-election is actually a current UBC student. The NDP’s Rebbecca Coad is a political science student. The Green Party’s Dan Grice is a recent UBC grad, in Classical Studies and Archeology, and a former AMS councilor for Arts. The Conservative party candidate, Deborah Meredith, is a UBC professor of commercial law in the Sauder School of business. The Liberal party candidate, Joyce Murray, lacks an obvious UBC connection, but she’s a former BC cabinet minister and co-founder of Brinkman Reforestation Ltd, which some of you tree-planters have probably worked for.

By-elections typically have lower voter turnout than general elections, which makes them a bit unpredictable. Owen, who won the riding three times with big margins with the Liberal Party, was definitely a popular MP. But with him gone, and strong local connections for all the candidates, it’s quite an interesting race.

Nitty Gritty:

• if you’re a student living in the Quadra riding, you can register to vote in this by-election in two ways: going to the Elections Canada Quadra office (suite #218 5511 West Blvd.), or registering on the day by bringing two documents with your name and adress on them, like phone bills, or your housing contract, or some other official mail. You can call them for information at 1866 564 6466.
• Come to the candidate debate this Monday the 25th at UBC. The four main party candidates will face off in the Meekison Arts Student Space in Buchanan D (room 140) at 2:00-3:30.
• Get a feel for the candidates: campaign websites and facebook groups are up.

Confessions of an Economic Hitman

I’m starting to read an amazing book by John Perkins, titled, “Confessions of an Economic Hitman”.

Here’s the Prologue:

Quito, Ecuador’s capital, stretches across a volcanic valley high in the Andes, at an altitude of nine thousand feet. Residents of this city, which was founded long before Columbus arrived in the Americas, are accustomed to seeing snow on the surrounding peaks, despite the fact that they live just a few miles south of the equator. The city of Shell, a frontier outpost and military base hacked out of Ecuador’s Amazon jungle to service the oil company whose name it bears, is nearly eight thousand feet lower than Quito. A steaming city, it is inhabited mostly by soldiers, oil workers, and the indigenous people from the Shuar and Kichwa tribes who work for them as prostitutes and laborers.

To journey from one city to the other, you must travel a road that is both tortuous and breathtaking. Local people will tell you that during the trip you experience all four seasons in a single day. Although I have driven this road many times, I never tire of the spectacular scenery. Sheer cliffs, punctuated by cascading waterfalls and brilliant bromeliads, rise up one side. On the other side, the earth drops abruptly into a deep abyss where the Pastaza River, a headwater of the Amazon, snakes its way down the Andes. The Pastaza carries water from the glaciers of Cotopaxi, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes and a deity in the time of the Incas, to the Atlantic Ocean over three thousand miles away.

In 2003, I departed Quito in a Subaru Outback and headed for Shell on a mission that was like no other I had ever accepted. I was hoping to end a war I had helped create. As is the case with so many things we EHMs must take responsibility for, it is a war that is virtually unknown anywhere outside the country where it is fought. I was on my way to meet with the Shuars, the Kichwas, and their neighbors the Achuars, the Zaparos, and the Shiwiars—tribes determined to prevent our oil companies from destroying their homes, families, and lands, even if it means they must die in the process. For them, this is a war about the survival of their children and cultures, while for us it is about power, money, and natural resources. It is one part of the struggle for world domination and the dream of a few greedy men, global empire.

That is what we EHMs do best: we build a global empire. We are an elite group of men and women who utilize international financial organizations to foment conditions that make other nations subservient to the corporatocracy running our biggest corporations, our government, and our banks. Like our counterparts in the Mafia, EHMs provide favors. These take the form of loans to develop infrastructure —electric generating plants, highways, ports, airports, or industrial parks. A condition of such loans is that engineering and construction companies from our own country must build all these projects. In essence, most of the money never leaves the United States; it is simply transferred from banking offices in Washington to engineering offices in New York, Houston, or San Francisco.

Despite the fact that the money is returned almost immediately to corporations that are members of the corporatocracy (the creditor), the recipient country is required to pay it all back, principal plus interest. If an EHM is completely successful, the loans are so large that the debtor is forced to default on its payments after a few years. When this happens, then like the Mafia we demand our pound of flesh. This often includes one or more of the following: control over United Nations votes, the installation of military bases, or access to precious resources such as oil or the Panama Canal. Of course, the debtor still owes us the money—and another country is added to our global empire.

save our rivers.ca

Check out the video Powerplay: The theft of B.C.’s Rivers to learn more about the privatization of B.C.’s rivers to produce hydro electricity. Thanks Gord Campbell for another wonderful example of the type of leadership that is just plainly irresponsible and motivated by greed.

http://saveourrivers.ca

We are in the beginning of an environmental/spiritual revolution…

Humans have the most fully developed intelligence and self-awareness of all animals. At times this has been used to distance us further from nature. Ever since we have believed in a soul separate from the body, or in a special role allocated by God, we have seen ourselves as superior to the material world. We have seen nature as there for our use only, to deal with as we please.

But full consciousness does not have to mean separation. It may give us an opportunity that is denied to other animals – the chance to embrace a conscious re-unification with nature and the universe.

When we began our journey we were hunter-gatherers. We were part of nature and subject to her rules.

But once we began to assert control over nature through agriculture, we ceased to be a harmonious part of nature. And when we began to burn fossil fuels on a mounting scale, and to disrupt every ecosystem on earth through pollution and interference, we started to undermine nature.

Two revolutions – the agricultural and industrial – set us over against nature.

A third, environmental revolution, now in its early stages, will begin the process of re-integration into nature.

Online petition for change

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, the leading candidates for the next President of the United States became clear. They are Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and the winner will decide whether the nightmare of the Bush foreign policy is reversed or continued for another 4 years.

US citizens will choose their president, but global public opinion matters to them–they know that US respect in the world has plummeted under Bush, and they want a President who can deliver change. In the next few days, our uniquely global community has a real chance to influence the finalist candidates as they develop their campaign strategy. Click below to read and endorse our letter to the candidates. We’ll publish it in US newspapers and deliver it personally to the Clinton, Obama and McCain campaigns–we need at least 100,000 people to sign it this week – so please sign and forward this email to friends right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/us_change_course/8.php

The message of the letter is simple: we are all in this together. The world is ready to partner with the US, but we need to see a real change of course from the Bush years. The letter is based on a poll of the Avaaz community, which found that our top 3 requests for change in US policy are:
Help the world stop global warming
Respect universal human rights
Use diplomacy to prevent war and resolve conflict
There is a real chance that the candidates could adopt this simple agenda for change, but every day brings more risk that they will commit to another direction. Sign below and forward this email to all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/us_change_course/8.php

American power is declining in the world, but it still has enormous ability to do good or do harm. It will take decades to undo the global harm done by George Bush’s disastrous Presidency. Let’s help make sure America’s next leader takes a different path.

With Hope,

Ricken, Iain, Pascal, Ben, Galit, Graziela and the whole Avaaz team.

Avaaz.org (if you want to make a meaningful donation)

Huge news out of Japan: a top newspaper is reporting a major shift in climate policy, and citing Avaaz members as one of the reasons why!

The paper reports that at a critical, high-level meeting on global warming, the Environment Minister held up Avaaz’s “Titanic” newspaper ad from the Bali summit–showing Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda, with Bush, steering towards climate disaster… along with a call for tough 2020 emissions targets, signed by 90,000 Avaaz members.

“The world sees Japan as a force resisting change! Are we okay with this?” the minister asked. The Chief Cabinet Minister suggested setting a target. Days later, Prime Minister Fukuda announced his decision: at last, Japan would set a 2020 emissions target!

This is a genuine victory. Japan is a huge polluter, a key Bush ally, and host of this summer’s crucial G8 summit. Congratulations to everyone for the positive role we all played!

Japan’s not the only example. Here are some other moments when rapid-response people power made a difference in 2007:
Burma: When news broke in October of the violent crackdown against protesting monks, Avaaz members scrambled into action. Within 96 hours, more than half a million people called on the Chinese government to intervene, and Avaaz ran the total count in a full-page ad in one of the most influential global newspapers. Shamed, China successfully pushed Burma to start talks with the UN and with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Burma campaign continues to build.

Global poverty: When World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz’s personal corruption undermined the Bank’s programme to encourage good government, Avaaz members joined the cry for new leadership. With global media looking on, we hand-delivered 50,000 signatures to World Bank Headquarters. Wolfowitz resigned days later.

Global warming: In addition to the “Titanic” ad that moved Japan, more than 320,000 Avaaz members took action in real time during the Bali summit–successfully reversing Canada’s obstructionism and isolating Bush as he attempted to scuttle any agreement. While just a first step, the “Bali Road Map” set the stage for climate breakthroughs this year and next.
What urgent moments will 2008 bring? Some we can predict–most we cannot.

What we do know for certain is that the new year will bring serious threats and golden opportunities. We know that in those critical moments, acting quickly can make all the difference. And we know that if we all contribute a little bit now, we’ll be sure that whatever comes–and whatever is required of us–we will be ready.

Avaaz depends on Avaaz members like you to fund our campaigns. Don’t wait for “someone else” to step in–we’re it. To make a secure, online contribution to the 2008 Crisis Action Fund, just click the link below:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/crisis_action_fund_2/5.php

Plastic Bottles

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

List of documentaries to watch and spread

A good friend of mine recommended that we compile a list of informative and accessible documentaries that coincide with the aims of the fungus in the hopes of raising as much awareness as possible. He compiled this list of documentaries that are available on the internet at various locations. Thanks so much C for the info.

Here are various websites where many of these documentaries are available:
- Ovguide
- movie alien
- joox
- Divxlive
- Weatherwars.info
- Alex jones websites
- Infowars
- Prison planet
- Vancouver9-11truth.org
- Commondreams.org
- skolnicksreport

Here are the recommended documentaries. I haven’t seen many of them yet, so I can’t comment too much on them. Remember that thinking critically is always the key when attempting to decipher the information from any media source.

- Hacking Democracy
- America: Freedom to Fascism
- Who killed John O’Neill
- The Weather Underground
- JFK: The Bush Connection
- Alex Jones: Endgame, Matrix of Evil, Terrorstorm, and many others…
- FEMA – Concentration Camps
- Banking with Nazis
- The Panama Deception
- Decoding the past – secrets of the dollar bill
- Illuminazi
- The Illuminati
- The History of Freemasonry
- WMD: Weapons of mass deception
- The Secret NASA transmissions
- The Future of Food

I will be making a conscious effort to write more on the blog…..
until the next episode,

D-Fungus

The Story of Stuff

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Wreck Beach – Dec 15, 2007

Does nature experience love?

I think it does….  a few of us went down to the beach today when the rain stopped and the clouds kind of cleared, and we brought along a camera. As we started taking some sweet shots of the sunshine breaking through the dark clouds and reflecting off of the wet sand, we noticed a seagull that was just chillin. It was standing in a shallow pool and his (her?) body remained completely still for at least 5 minutes. Was he merely taking a moment’s break in his ongoing quest for safety, security, and satisfying his basic needs? Or was he pondering, perhaps contemplating the meaning of life? Perhaps he was as awestruck as we were at the amazing symmetry found in nature. As we stared out into the water, we noticed a family of ducks just chillin out in the water. They were bobbing up and down, back and forth,  completely in rhythm to the lull of the ocean. Completely at peace….

The pace of life of nature is wonderful. How different our lives are…. perpetually rushing through the hyperactive business culture lifestyle that we feel is natural, yet in reality is completely out of touch with nature.

The incredible beauty found in nature and in life is anything but ’simple’… but the ’simple’ life (as our society loves to derogatorily call it) is so much more vibrant, gentle, compassionate, organic, and fulfilling than a life clung to material desires.

Peace and Love,

D

Driving….

I’ve had an epiphany… and this one centres around the way I drive my car. I know I shouldn’t be driving, but unfortunately my job and my life require the odd trip in what my mother refers to as the “gear shifting junker”, or something to that effect. Those of you who know me and have driven with me can attest that I love to drive, and the old ‘88 lude still handles and performs as well as almost any other (poor man’s) sports car on the road. But I think this driving attitude has come to an end. No longer am I going to 1) waste gas 2) harm the environment 3) get stressed out – by driving fast… i’ve decided to slow right down, and in doing so i kinda hope to slow down other people too… maybe it’ll make them appreciate the scenery, or perhaps focus on the song that’s playing on the radio, or get them to relax a little more… or at least save money on gas.

I think it’s more rebellious to drive slow now than it is to drive fast…. if we’re gonna slow the machine down a little, why not start on the road?!

Sign an email petition to tell Harper to shape up in Bali UN Summit on climate change

Dear friends,

Right now, a major UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement on stopping catastrophic climate change. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the UN talks! On Saturday, experts gave us the global “fossil” award for being the worst country in the world on climate change.

There’s still a few days left to save Canada’s reputation — and the climate — but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali. Click below to sign the petition and we’ll advertize the number of signatures we get in an ad campaign across Canada this week. Our goal is to get 25,000 people to sign in just 3 days before the ads run. Click below, then forward this email to all your friends and family right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/4.php

Enough is enough. Prime Minister Harper’s short-sighted, undemocratic and big oil-driven policy on climate change is damaging the world and destroying our image as a good country. We’re supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.

The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue — we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he change course. Sign up now and forward this email to everyone you know – we’ve got just 3 days to hit 25,000 signatures!

With much respect and hope,

Ricken Patel,
Avaaz.org

PS – Here are links to some more info on this:

David Suzuki (the Nature of Things) calls the government’s spin on climate change “humiliating” and “ludicrous”
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/283829

The former editor-in-chief of CBC news discusses the damage done by Canada’s climate policy to our international reputation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_burman/2007/12/canada_flounders_on_issue_of_c.html

The Fossil of the Day Award site:
http://www.avaaz.org/fossils