Towards an eco-economy

Gung Haggis Fat Choy!

2012-01-23T09:17:00.006-05:00

Todd Wong combines Chinese New Year with Robbie Burns Day: poetry slam with Kung Fu, highland dancers with sheng players, erhu and bagpipes, dragon boat racing, and a banquet with deep-fried haggis wonton. Seattle and other cities are copying. "Toddish McWong" in the Sun Yat-Sen garden, Vancouver, with accordion and MacLeod tartan -- Deb Martin photo, courtesy of Globe and Mail 17 Jan 2011.

The illusion of a "Green Economy" -- Leonardo Boff

2012-01-20T17:10:00.006-05:00

Reprinted from the Rio+20 People's Portal (which is worth checking regularly) Boff's critique of the UN Green Economy proposal to sell the world's commons to raise money for climate action and MDGs (because rich countries have for decades denied direct aid), comes from Brazil's leading liberation theologian. Similar protests from poor countries and ecojustice NGOs will be heard at next week's

Fighting environmental racism

2012-01-16T18:38:00.002-05:00

The US environmental justice movement Van Jones, a leading voice for "green jobs", hopes to mobilize progressive forces of many types and stripes under the patriotic umbrella of the American Dream Movement, a mass open-source campaign of grass-roots organizing, house parties, events, social networking (Facebook, Twitter etc), and electoral activity. See our previous blog and his Wikipedia

Dr Michael K. Dorsey appeals for an ecojustice coalition of faith groups, environmentalists and the Third World

2012-01-15T14:59:00.003-05:00

In this video from Durban, Mike Dorsey explains the shortcomings of civil society participation in UNFCCC and the need for a coalition of ecojustice groups before the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), he has been involved in UN Kyoto negotiations for the last 20 years, in US People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, Sierra Club,

REDD vs green -- in Brazil and Kenya

2012-01-13T04:39:00.004-05:00

In Brazil, Kenya, and other parts of the global South, opposition is mounting toward the UN "green economy" proposed for Rio+20, with its reliance on corporate lobbies and carbon marketers. Here is a trailer of a 28 min documentary made with indigenous peoples in Brazil: from climate-connections, A Darker Shade of Green, by Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition, who are

“Rural reality radio” covers climate change in India -- by Shravya Reddy

2012-01-10T18:37:00.001-05:00

photo © 2008 Flickr/Russ Bowling CC CC BY 2.0 Cross-posted from climaterealityproject.org 27 Dec 2011. As we work to build a global climate movement, we often rely on the latest technologies to get the word out fast. Case in point: In September, the Climate Reality Project’s worldwide event – 24 Hours of Reality – reached people instantly in their

Transition Towns -- the human process

2012-01-06T12:34:00.011-05:00

"In Transition 2.0" film Trailer Resilience – sometimes defined as “bouncebackability” -- is the watchword of the Transition Town movement. From a small beginning in Rob Hopkin's student permaculture project in 2003, it has expanded to over 1000 initiatives in 34 countries, TT is remarkable among environmental groups for its attention to human process, and neighborliness.(1) Unlike many

Singing to change the world

2012-01-03T15:08:00.010-05:00

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart larger.” - Ben Okri, Nigerian author. “Africans have this thing called ‘ubuntu’. We believe that a person is a person through another person, that my humanity is bound up, inextricably, with yours. - Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, member of The Elders. Map by nordpil.com from The Environmental Food Crisis (UNEP, 2009)

Durban COP-17 news

2011-12-01T19:16:00.018-05:00

Headlines so far -- we are headed for 4 degrees of climate chaos with current emissions targets, rich countries failed to fulfil their pledges to climate action funds, and Canada-US-Russia-Japan helped scuttle Kyoto. REDD negotiators approved "forest reference levels", and safeguards for vulnerable populations ("Guidelines on FPIC"). If these prove to be enforceable, that will be good news.

Colombia: murders for “sustainable” development

2011-11-21T14:20:00.001-05:00

In memory of Kimy Pernia Domicó photo: Kathy Price, Amnesty International On 2 June 2001, Kimy, a leader of the indigenous Embera Katio, was abducted by armed men. Never seen again, he had just guided a Rights and Democracy delegation from Canada to the Urra damsite, recorded a video, criticized the US-led FTAA, and was about to speak to the Council of Canadians in Vancouver – a major

A Call to Integrate Faith, Ecology and the Global Economy

2011-10-31T12:20:00.003-04:00

Last week at its annual meeting in Chicago, Quaker Earthcare Witness approved sending to UNCSD as a statement of goals for Rio+20: A Call to Integrate Faith, Ecology and the Global Economy by over 100 faith groups (signatories below) -- this 12 Nov 2009 declaration comes from the Faith Economy Ecology group in the USA started by Maryknoll, joined by Quakers and others. In Canada, Faith and the

Buen Vivir: "El Sumak Kawsay como proyecto político" -- por Floresmilo Simbaña

2011-10-22T08:05:00.005-04:00

Floresmilo Simbaña de la Agencia Latinoamericana de Información, es antiguo dirigente del movimiento indígena y actual miembro de la CONAIE-ECUARUNARI. Gracias de este texto a la página de Gerard Coffey La linea del fuego abril 12, 2011. For historical background see Simbaña's The Ecuadorian indigenous movement and the current process of transition, and Benjamin Dangl, Ecuador: Indigenous

Protest songs of the 2010s Occupy movement

2011-10-19T16:25:00.004-04:00

Aloe Blacc, I need a dollar Justin Sane, The economy is suffering (at Occupy Wall Street) Everlast, I get by Tupuc Amanu Shakur, Ghetto Gospel John Howard, With a Little Bit Of Luck Ronnie Dunn, Cost of Livin' and Tom Morello's album, World Wide Rebel Songs Other suggestions?

Blood, Rain, and Tears: Meditation on the Destruction of Water — by Sandra Steingraber

2011-10-13T11:21:00.005-04:00

This meditation by Dr. Sandra Steingraber from her new book, Raising Elijah, is republished from shaleshockmedia.org. See her biography in Wikipedia. Humans have never destroyed water before this time, and fracking destroys massive amounts of it. A Meditation on Water, as read by Sandra Steingraber June 4, 2011, Binghamton NY. Fracking makes water disappear. This is worth thinking hard

An ecosocialist revolution -- by Ian Angus

2011-10-09T08:46:00.004-04:00

Ian Angus, photo by Alex Bainbridge Edited text of keynote presentation by Ian Angus to the Climate Change Social Change conference in Melbourne, Australia, October 2, 2011, reprinted from Angus' website Climateandcapitalism.com What is ecosocialism?There is no copyright on the word ecosocialism, and those who call

Caring by not car-ing (car-free week in Montreal) -- by Elise Favis

2011-10-06T08:26:00.000-04:00

This article is republished from Concordia University student paper The Link of 26 Sep 2011. Protesters in bloody bandages enacted an accident en masse on the corner of Ste. Catherine St. and University St. on Sept. 22. Photo Nicolas Martel From Sept. 19 to 23, the Agence métropolitaine de transport, in partnership with the Société de Transport de Montréal and POP Montreal, presented In

Listening to what the land says -- by Ruah Swennerfelt

2011-09-28T15:03:00.002-04:00

This is cross-posted from Ruah's research blog transitionvision.wordpress.com. She returned home in late July after visiting Transition Towns in Israel and Europe. *** My flower garden has fruit trees and tomatoes growing in it. I so looked forward to coming home and then I returned to a heat wave. I had been complaining that I never got warm enough in Europe and then [in Vermont] had to

Boycott that bottle - don't add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

2011-09-27T14:07:00.003-04:00

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a Texas-sized ocean garbage dump of plastic debris concentrated by ocean currents that gradually turns into a life-killing sludge, was predicted by the NOAA in 1988 and explored by sailors Charles J. Moore, David de Rothschild, and trans-Pacific rower Roz Savage. The Pacific Gyre picks up flotsam, plastic bottles, containers and objects from ships and shores,

Financement climatique : le coup monté derrière le rideau

2011-09-25T09:32:00.007-04:00

(Traduction en français de notre article du 23 sep) Depuis un an, tous les agences de l'ONU sont ordonnées par le sécrétaire-général Ban Ki-Moon à suivre la ligne des « banquereaux » du WBCSD (le lobby des multinationaux non-pétroliers) dans le financement de l'« économie verte » ni pas par l'aide directe ni par la taxation les spéculateurs internationaux, mais par les marchés du carbone (MDP,

The climate fix - behind closed doors

2011-09-23T11:08:00.005-04:00

UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-Moon has ordered all UN agencies to toe the line supported by the banksters and WBCSD (the lobby of the big non-oil multinationals) -- to finance the "green economy" not by direct aid or by taxing international financial speculators, but by carbon markets (CDM, REDD, PES) without adequate safeguards on additionality, informed consent of vulnerable populations e.g. in UNDRIP

La voie, pour l’avenir de l’humanité -- par Edgar Morin

2011-09-18T15:21:00.003-04:00

Critique du nouveau livre de Morin, au blogue Tournezlespages du 7 fév 2011. *** Les mauvaises langues se gausseront de cette « prétention » du philosophe à définir une nouvelle voie, pour notre avenir commun. Ces mauvaises langues qui se sont unies dans un concert haineux contre le petit opus du grand résistant Stephane Hessel devenu, par la grâce de quelques petits pisse- froid, un

Un orme se meurt -- par Noëlle de Roo Lemos

2011-09-07T18:18:00.001-04:00

D'origine hollandaise, Mme Lemos habite Montréal, et élève des abeilles sur sa feme au nord (où se situent ses articles précédents sur abeilles 1, 2, 3, et à propos d'une rivière sux saumons). En anthropologue, elle a publié des recherches sur les dernières potières de Saint-Anne, Martinique. Ce video de 1m40s est une élegie pour un orme mourant dans les Laurentides.

En descendant la Châteauguay -- vidéo par Olivier D. Asselin

2011-09-05T04:27:00.006-04:00

This video is a unique view of the history and ecology of the Chateauguay River. Carte de la rivière / Map of the Chateauguay River watershed. It may inspire a similar youth project in your region! Documentaire de 40 min sur l'état de la rivière Châteauguay au sud de Montréal et sur une volonté citoyenne de la sauvegarder. Le film est une production des Amis et Riverains de la Rivière

A perfect summer -- by Peggy Senger Parsons

2011-09-02T22:34:00.001-04:00

Peggy Senger Parsons is pastor of Freedom Friends Church, a Christ-centered, gay-friendly Quaker meeting in Salem OR. This post is reprinted with permission from her blog A Silly Poor Gospel 13 Aug 2011. I am having a really great summer. As you know, I believe deeply in the spiritual and emotional benefits of seasonality. I believe humans are hard-wired to need renewable predictable change.

Iran protests to save Lake Urmia -- by Fred Petrossian

2011-08-30T02:43:00.006-04:00

See Wikipedia on Lake Urmia, the homeland of the ancient Persians; it was known as Chichast ("glittering") because of mineral particles shining in the water. The world's second largest salt lake, it has a unique semi-desert ecosystem. Photos from saveurmia.com (Reprinted from Global Voices Online 28 Aug 2011)Once again thousands of protesters have poured into streets