The Endless Universe

New Protests

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:13:00 +0000

Why are there always new Protest in Canada because the Federal Government isn't listening to us (the public) in the environmental and social justice movement. There are so many protests going on around Canada and the world that this is hard to keep up with all the protests.

Canadian Youth (Taryn McKenzie-Mohr) makes plea to Canadian Chief Negotiator (Michael Martin) about Climate Change

The only argument that is the same from all protesters is "The Canadian Government is going far enough." When will the government go far enough, when we are a justice, free, and zero emission society. From my point of view(even if I am an environmentalist), I don't even know what that would look like at all. We push the government so far, and protests go far to get the ear of some people but not all people. How do we get all people is to get the public to be able to change fast and easy in their homes.

Since I last reported on the protests that were going on, there has been a number of new ones that I am going to list below with photo or videos.

Andrew Saxton MP Office, North Vancouver, British Columbia

Greenpeace Protest at the Parliament Building in Ottawa, Ontario

The only protest I was not able to get anything for was the one in the Environment Committee Meeting at the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario. There is video of the protests talking on CBC but I would want something within the House of Commons.

Do Protests really work to change the course of Federal or Provincial Policy? Please Comment to voice your opinion.

Bicycle Broken?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:57:00 +0000

I thought my bicycle was broken for good and I would have to cut the chain to get this working again. Lucky for me that there are many bicycle shops in Toronto that are willing to help out. I went to Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) told them my problem and they told me the solution. I did what they said and now my bicycle is back in normal working condition.

When a bicycle is broken there isn't someone we can call to come and fix this in a flash like a truck for cars. We need some way like a union that comes around and has people on call that can come and fix the bicycle on call. This would be best, and take no time to make happen if we wanted to do this in Toronto.

The whole city of Toronto would need a huge amount of cyclists around to keep everything flowing but if they are paid, we would have a great number of people. From what I know there are tons of bicycle shops but not enough as there isn't one close to me at all. I would have to get my bike on a car or on the subway to get my bike there as walking there is a bit too far.

I love the UofT BikeChain group that is on campus there. Every time I see them, they are able to fix bicycles for free and all the bicycles that come around. They just need more people on stand to fix bicycles, but they are all trained and well knowledgeable about bicycles.

This bicycle I have is much better than the one I bought a few years ago. I like this bicycle and moving me farer in the city of Toronto but still I need to lower my footprint, and I don't go that far with my bicycle. The fear I have is biking in winter in Canada as I have never done this before but I don't want to try and something goes wrong.

Bicycles are the future of transportation!

Children, Youth and Activists

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:51:00 +0000

There has been many forums going on at the COP15 meetings in Denmark. Everyday there is something new that comes about, and hope raises for everything that is going on there.

I learned that there was a Children Forum that happened before the COP15 meetings. There is an alternative forum for activists going on now. Youth Forum which all the youth that are, there get to attend but this is not official.

All of these are getting voices are get for the Environmental Community. We just need to continue to do this, as we are leaving out voices all over the place. I have been trying to get more and more people involved in the movement but if we keep this movement to certain age groups we are going to kill off lots of people.

When you think of what is going on in COP15, everyone who is working on the UNFCCC meetings are older adults. They hardly include Youth or Children of the world who need a voice in the movement. Why do we call this movement mostly 18-30, when we need a movement that is 0-30 and have everyone included in the talks. People who are very young, can't sit in a room and talk about problems they want to do things that are fun.

Below are a few videos showing how Children and Youth are needed in the voice of everything.

Here is where the Youth of the world did a Bed-in where they were trying to do the same thing John Lennon did when he was in Montreal. This is something that looks promising but could be done much better to get a bigger crowd and response.

Children need a voice and they are getting one at this conference that was put on. We as older people need to give younger people the voice to speak out on these issues.

Where do people who are activist go and learn about great new ways to shape the world? The Klimaforum or the People's Forum, which is for people who don't want to go to the COP15 meetings but want to be in Denmark. Everything at this forum is going to be amazing and people will come back inspired to do more.

Why do we give so many people voices? Yet, we leave out the right voices for the ones that are going to say nothing that people want to hear. We need all voices: Male, Female, Children, Youth, Adults, Seniors, Girls, Boys, and more. We just need to continue to give everyone a voice at the table, which we are not and if we don't, the world will continue down the same road.

J-Walking

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:38:00 +0000

I have been asking myself everyday why do people J-Walk? Canada seems to be turning into India where people just walk anywhere and everywhere. Soon we will have everyone walking in front of cars not caring what others feeling.

When you walk across the street you should always cross at a light that way you don't get close to be hit by a car. I have almost been hit by a car three times for different reasons which is crazy as I am very careful most of the time.

When I do want to cross at the light everyone looks at me like I am killing the fun. What fun is if you end up in the Hospital or need to take a few more minutes? The streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada are getting busier and busier everyday and one wrong move and you could be out into no person lands.

People are always trying to get to somewhere as fast as possible and not thinking about everything around them. I see people jumping from one side to the middle to the other side when the light is red still. Why can't we wait, have we become a society that just needs to get from Point A to Point B and back fast?

Society should slow down and take everything one step at a time. If we were in a rush always to leave and go somewhere else we would never get anywhere. This is what is happening in the Western Society, is we go to a meeting, than an event than back home, and sleep. We do the same thing the next day, plus work. We are doing everything but forgetting we just need to relax and talk to people.

Talking to people is the best thing to do and really gets everyone in the mood. Last time, I really talked to people, I got lots more done than being in a meeting or at an event or anything else. We need to have more sit down and talk time for everyone that way we can really get things done that are needed.

Investing in Girls

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Everywhere I see new ways of getting out the same message that being Climate Change is happening faster than we ever thought this would.

The UN opened the UNFCCC this year in Copenhagen, Denmark which is called the Conference of Parties (COP15) and from there lots of great things have been going on.

The first video that opened the Conference was this one:

The video is about how Climate Change can happen before your eyes. I cried watching this video, as this touches the mind and heart. They are using Children to reach out to that the urgent need is now. Previously, I showed a video about Children taking on Police, and this was very powerful. Just before the COP15 opened, there was a conference for Children. Everything that shows Children are part of the solution is great and makes their voices heard when they can't even vote.

Since this video shows a girl, I would like to show other efforts to make girls more empowered.

This shows that girls in developing countries help improve the family and community around them. Every step we take to invest in girls builds up a better world in the end.

This video shows that even one girl can change the world, and by doing things to solve the problems around girls we could have a much better world. We all know that girls do the most work in their family, the community and other ways that seem to not make an impact in the bottom-line but they do. Communities and Families are build around them and the soul & heart is there with girls.

We should invest in Girls and come up with ways they can be more involved in each discussion that is made in this world. We always look at the G8 and G20 along with the UN and other systems as the way to lead, but they are just males. There are 2 women in the G20 and 1 in the G8 but that is not what we need.

To get the whole world to work, we need to stand up and say, "Half of our major discussions need to be made by Women." If we put this much effort into girls, we would have a world where everything looks a whole lot different.

Burned Out?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:22:00 +0000

I am so burned out by the whole environmental movement, all we do is the same old same old. We just do events, fundraisers, actions and long campaigns. We need to really do something that moves the people involved and the ones we meet. The last time this happened for me was when I did the Bike Trip to the tar sands back in the summer of 2007.

When I did the Bike Trip, I felt like I was really connecting with people and doing work that made me feel good. Since this time, I haven't been able to find something that is as moving. What should I be doing now? I know that building coalitions are great but is this the best thing to do nope. We need to be out on the front-lines talking to the people who are facing the hard realities of Climate Change and Environment problems.

Is this another bike trip or another rally or protest? I think that what I need to do is figure out where I can be used the most and work on that. I believe that everyday I try hard to find a project which is really amazing and will give me energy but there are none out there.

I believe a trip like the Sunshine Walk that happened in 2008 with the Toronto Climate Campaign was great to see. For something like this to happen in a different way would give me hope, and be burnt out.

Kyoto Plus did a Bike Trip this past spring to the fall. People came from the north, west, and east and south to Ottawa. We all got the feeling that everything was great at that point. When people arrived in Ottawa they had a strong voice on the Hill.

Maybe what I need to do be doing is just going without thinking about anything. Reading about all the people who just pick up and go out to the other side of Canada to start a journey is great. I myself don't want to leave my footprint everywhere across Canada.

Since I want to do something that is a few months long and starts in the spring and ends in the fall this has be big. Actually having a few people around like 10 at the most that would be great, and we would be able to do this. We would need a diversity group of people to do something with.

Why am I waiting until the spring? My thoughts are do something right now, and make this a project that continues and people can join in. What this would be? Who knows, and I can't say that I have an ideas right now.

If anyone has ideas, please let me know and I will approach every idea with openness.

Sit-ins at Canadian MP Offices

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:53:00 +0000

There has been sit-ins happening across Canada, and I have been posting the videos and photos of these. There has been 6 of them happening so far, and I am hoping that they happen at all MPs offices.

Below is the list of sit-ins in order of happening:

Jim Prentice - Calgary, Alberta
Rona Ambrose - Edmonton, Alberta
Jim Flaherty - Whitby, Ontario
Gary Lunn - Sidney, British Columbia
John Baird - Ottawa, Ontario

These are happening more and more, and the photos are below of the sit-ins. As for what they are demanding the press release is below:

Honourable MP:

We held a sit-in at in your constituency office today because the Conservative Government is stalling progress to build a just, meaningful, and binding climate treaty this December

in Copenhagen.

Inaction on climate change is already displacing and killing millions, and sending many into poverty. In Canada, climate change is harming the land and lives of indigenous communities in the Far North. Globally, recent declines in food production due to climate-catalyzed droughts, is causing food shortages in some poor countries and escalating global hunger. Climate caused events like floods, melting glaciers, and sea level rise, are forcing millions to permanently flee their homes, from Pacific islanders to subsistence farmers in India. The UN estimates there will be 150 million climate refugees by 2050.

We call on you MP to publicly commit to do everything in your power to meaningfully and fairly address the global climate crisis.

We call on you MP to make sure the Canadian Government supports a just, meaningful, and binding climate treaty this December in Copenhagen.

We call on you MP to publicly commit to pass the Climate Change Accountability Act, which calls on Canada to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and do its’ part to solve climate change.

Finally, we demand that you publicly commit to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Climate change is a human rights issue, and First Nations in Canada are feeling climate change worst and first.

The global climate crisis is threatening our future, and humanities’ future. We have passed the time for inaction. We demand change. We were forced to end our protest today but our struggle for climate justice will continue.

Yours,

People For Climate Justice

Photos are below of each and every action that has happened:

Jim Prentice's Office:

Rona Ambrose's Office:

Jim Flaherty's Office:

Gary Lunn's Office:

John Baird's Office:

As they continue to do these actions, I will continue to update the website with photos and videos as I get them.

Youth for Sustainable Justice

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:35:00 +0000

A community-based environmental and social justice youth house called “Youth for Sustainable Justice” will be established in Toronto at first and grow across Canada. Youth for Sustainable Justice will be a place where youth will be involved in environmental projects along with turning the house into a close to zero emissions living space. The youth would be a diversity group of 10 people in each house with requirements as such: Aboriginal, People of Colour, 5 Women, and 5 Men. It is expected that through providing a house for youth that it will be possible to have a direct and positive effect on the well being of the local community.

Youth will have to be involved in a training session that will least 3 days at the beginning. These trainings will help the youth understand the objectives, build bonds within the group and collectively start envisioning projects. The training will happen inside & outside of the house and be run by the 10 youth within the group.

Youth for Sustainable Justice will periodically evaluate the program on

Helping youth work on passionate projects by reaching out to the environmental and social justice communities.
The improvement and building of systems in communities around Canada to show a leadership role.
Showing that youth at the local level can bring a strong voice to the movement.

Major obstacles to youth in the environmental and social justice movements is that they are not provided enough resources to make a decent living. Youth have to work 2 or 3 jobs to even provide for shelter, food, and other necessities. On the other side, environmental and social justice groups are mostly run by adults and the voices of youth are left out of the discussion making. Even when youth are given a voice, most people don't take them seriously. Research shows that youth act now as compared to adults that act later in life.

There are two major goals for the “Youth for Sustainable Justice” and specific objectives within each of the goals.

Goal #1 – To reduce the degree of necessities among youth.

Object ive #1.1 To provide youth with shelter, food, and other necessities

Objective #1.2 To assistant in finding funding to make sure youth have a healthy income.

Goal #2 – To show youth can have a strong voice within the movement.

Objectives #2.1 To provide a space where youth can express all their opinions.

Objectives #2.2 To engage youth with other organizations, unions and the local community to a) demonstrate leadership on the issues and b) take the voice to the people in power.

The primary methods for achieving the goals and objectives for the Project will be:

Providing a house and centre in the local cities that will become a focal point for youth live and work.

Creating a youth co-op where they are able to make discussions fast and fair.

PR before Copenhagen

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:48:00 +0000

We do we create this PR machine to get governments to listen to us before a huge conference? I am confused about this as we want to get our messages out in every way possible. There has been so many messages coming out on both sides of Climate Change.

If we really wanted to get Governments to listen we just need to keep pushing them that the people in their country really want changes to Climate Change Policy. I heard that if 10% of people in any country really want change on any issue that is enough to change the government. We just have to show a massive force that the 10% is really wanting new Climate Change Policies.

There has been a few videos coming out in recent months that show Climate Change is an issue every side is taking seriously. Below are just a few that I have found.

This is a video about Cap and Trade, and how bad this is for anyone to accept. From what I know Cap and Trade is bad news and we should never accept this. This video explains this.

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

This is a video about how the Tar Sands is the worse thing to Climate Change ever. In Canada, we all know that the Tar Sands are bad, and need to stop this but hope others at Copenhagen get the message.

Here is a video from the third protest of sit-ins at MPs offices across Canada. I showed you the first one that happened in Alberta. If there is a video of the Rona Ambrose’s office sit-in, please can you show me this?

People For Climate Justice - Flaherty's Office Nov 20,2009 from estevan on Vimeo.

Here is a Video by Exxon Mobile: http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/news_ad_corpus_security.aspx

Here is a speech by BP that shows they are trying to invest in alternatives. http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/I/Iain_conn_speech_Brussels.pdf

We need to voice both sides of the issue but we also need to push both sides to show up at COP15 in Copenhagen. If we can get this PR machine on both sides to slow down and tell people the real truth about the Climate Change issue we would be better off. Most people don't care about protests or politics or what technology is good to use. All they want are the straight facts and systems that provide them with the way to better the world.

When will people start to show up and change the system? We need action on Climate Change now at the local level.

People Moving?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:31:00 +0000

Everyday, I think of moving to the downtown of Toronto and wonder if that is right to do. I know that my carbon footprint would be huge just from the moving and this is permanent forever. What should I do?

From the ways other countries do this outside of North America, they stay at the same house for a very long time. They understand that everything you need is at the house you are already at. Why do we need to move?

I see all my friends living downtown unless married, and I feel they have such a good life as they are closer to everything that goes on. My wishes for the last few years has been to live downtown all the time but why? Why did I think that was better?

We move outside of our parents house is to get away from the arguing and fighting along with moving a living for ourselves. I still feel that we are missing the point of moving out and creating a bigger footprint on the world. If we want a smaller footprint, we need to stay in the same house the whole time.

The last time, I moved was to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and I loved the city but I now know that my impact on the world was huge. If I want to make a smaller impact, why can't I stay in the my parents place and still make a good living? We can all do that, but yes I do understand that not everyone can do that.

If everyone could live in the same house they grew up in that would be amazing but with the problems that happen this is hard.

Here are the conditions you would need:

Parents are let you stay
A House that is not in fighting
A decent amount of money

Besides all of this you don't need anything more, but we know that this is harder to do in countries that are at WAR. In other countries like ones in Africa, or India or China or rural cities, families stay in the same place or very close together.

My question is: Why do people move far away from family members?

Canadian Youth Standing Up!

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Youth of the Nation are turning up the heat in what they are telling the public and world leaders that they need to do. We are talking about the Climate Change issue at the moment, and everything that Youth do is to make Youth Leaders cry out "Why are we not doing more?"

For the last few months, I have been searching for the video of the youth who opened the UN Summit on Climate Change back in September in New York. This was the first day, I was able to find the video, and really speaks to what Youth are the International Stage are doing to change the minds of everyone.

As for Canadians, we are trying to shift our Federal Government to change their position on the Climate Change issue. We have been doing lots in the last few months to get out the word. Youth have done Power Shift Canada in October where 1,000 Youth came. A Rally on Parliament Hill saw 3,000 people come out organized by Youth. Along with all of this, we have started to do sit-ins at MPs Offices across the country. With all of this going on the Canadian organizer of 350.org was a Female Youth, and was able to get 530 rallies to happen.

What will Canadian Youth do in Copenhagen, Denmark for the COP15 Conference? Continue to read this blog and find out.

Video of last year's COP14 in Poznan, Poland:

Signs?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Everyday I go cycling or walking around my area, and there is are so many signs everywhere that I see. The one I really hate is ontop of a business roof, and I emailed my councillors office and they said that the sign is legal to be there. I wonder if the public like myself has the right to say if they want a sign in a certain area or not?

There are more and more signs going up everywhere in my area as the population increases and this seems like we don't have many public areas around here. There should be a way that I can go online and see all the signs in my area and put in a comment or request for this sign to come down.

Signs overall are going nuts, and they are everywhere, not just signs that are billboards but the lottery or putting out sales are on. Why do people need to do this? We don't need to be hit 100 times a day with signs as we travel around our local area just to get some exercise.

If the local area could make the local area more open, and develop public spaces that can't have signs anywhere that would be great. There are a few like this in the city of Toronto but if you go there you will see signs on buildings around you. We need to create local areas where this doesn't happen, and for everything to be free for people to use the space.

When will the local area start to change and develop areas that are open to everything at all times?

Cycling Around the World

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Cycling in Toronto is so normal but what do we do this for, oh right to get from one place to another. Afterwards we lock up the bike and go into the place we are at. Right after we are done, we get back on the bike and go back home. The only videos I can find of people do things outside of the normal biking are for Bike Trips or Critical Mass, we need to change the system so that the bicycle is your life. Why don't we use the bike for more?

I saw a video that shows that one organization is trying to get 5,000 bikes to Ghana, Africa. In the video below they outline what people in Africa use the bicycle for. The organization is Cadbury, and you would never think they would be doing this but they are. We all as Canadians need to help they get bicycles to Africa by going to: www.thebicyclefactory.ca

In India and China they use bicycles for as many thing as possible and go far distance. They also use them as the main transportation, putting everything and the moon on their bicycle while traveling far distances. Everyone goes shopping and to visit people by bicycle. When I was in India, I saw tons of bicycles all over the place, and when you go to certain places you see tons of bicycles parked together. Below are a few ways people in India and China use Bicycles to create new systems.

My overall ideas is that in Toronto, we don't cycle for more than getting from one place to the next. We should start to use our bicycles for more. We should be doing everything with our bicycle and we would be more in shape, live longer, and have a better life. We would be living closer to where we are, and creating places where the public visit more.

In my adventures, we travel way too far to get to places, and we can't create local systems that are alive and free. Everything has to be a certain height or in this building or making this amount of money. We could be having so much more fun and creating jobs if we looked more to the local area around us that include cycling.

Local Farmers Market

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:13:00 +0000

In my area of Toronto, I have been trying to find a Farmers Market that runs all year round as that would give people the local food that is needed. In my searches this hasn't been found and I know that there are places here and there but not really called Farmers Market just like a store instead. We need a place that people can walk to and know about throughout that is something huge like the St. Lawrence Market.

When I lived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, there was a Farmers Market that ran every Saturday and was packed every week. This place had the best food, and I could talk to local Farmers all the time. The great thing was that I could just bike to this as the place was like 5 minutes max from the place I lived in.

The place that I am thinking about needs to have a huge area which needs to be indoors as the winters in Toronto can be rough and don't want people to freeze. If we have a building that is huge, we can have people selling anything they want, and a community table for events that would go on. My other ideas earlier about having a building for 24/7 fun, this could still happen with all of this Farmers Market happening once a week.

If people want to get more food everyday we could push to open this twice a week, and have one day with local people from Toronto area and another for outside farmers. This way we are diversity and giving everyone the chance to sell the food they want. With most Farmers Markets they have a huge cost for each and every table that is setup, and with the one I want to create will have a very small cost to have a table. Everyone would be able to table, and would like for people to table every week that way the local people get to know the people who are tabling.

If you are interested in creating a Farmers Market in the West End of Toronto, please let me know. Everyone can help out all we need is the funds and a building and we are rocking off to a good start.

Dancing for Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:37:00 +0000

Everyday there is a call to do something new and crazy to wake up people around you to the movement that is happening around Canada. Here are a few videos that have been going around that people are doing across Canada. If everyday we can do this in different places around the city of Toronto that would open the eyes of people.

Why do we need to stop with one dance for Climate Change, why can't we make this a day where we do as many as possible in the city of Toronto? If we could do them at the same time, and have videos of them afterwards that show all the great dances that happened this would be something everyone could enjoy.

The dances in every area of the city of Toronto would get people to do these in public spaces, schools, halls and everywhere else. We could get local people from the area to show up do this dance with the same message, this would engage the local public in the message we are trying to get out.

All we would need to get this started would be video cameras, and just a group of 5 to 10 people who are willing to dance.

If all of this came together in one big movement than we could see the issue take off as "Dancing for Climate Change".

Why not do this during COP15? I know that we could start something huge here and all we need is enough people willing and able to do this.

Biking to Nowhere?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Whenever I go across the West end of Toronto, there is nowhere to bike to. I feel so bored by biking so much to nowhere, and yes I can go up north or east or west or south but I am going nowhere. Biking to somewhere is so much more fun, you get to understand the city better and understand all the ins and outs of the roads.

Seems I am biking to the same places and back home, which really makes me sad. There needs to be a place to bike to, and hang out and have a bit of conversation and bike back home. A place for anyone to hang out in and do whatever they want and have some fun. The place should be alive with people all the time, and open 24/7 that isn't run by an organization. Maybe a house is where this needs to be but knowing the area no neighbours would enjoy this unless the noise voice was low.

Since I have started to Bike more often in my area, there is a lot I am learning about Bikes and how they work. They are really amazing little things that can get you places fast or slow depending on your tire pressure. Every little thing you learn about bikes the more knowledge you know about the world around you.

When we bike to nowhere, we are really understanding that the area around needs to have more interaction. Even when I was biking on and off in the summer, no one was out doing anything. The most people I saw was a Sunday in November in the park nearest me, and I enjoyed that. If we were able to get that many people out every week that would be amazing.

If people have events that I can bike to in the West end, please let me know. Biking all the way downtown everyday is way too much along with the footprint that I am creating.

COP15 in Denmark

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

I ask myself everyday, why are people going to COP15 in Denmark? Oh right, we need a diversity movement there to stand up for issues on all fronts. I understand the argument that people make everyday and believe yes everyone goes for their own reasons.

We just did a huge Conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada called Power Shift Canada, where 1,000 youth came to discuss Climate Change issues. The organizers spend from May until the end of October organizing the whole event and we had a blast when we got there. This was something I totally enjoyed, yet this was so far away for most people to get to. Since many youth live in the North or on the West Coast, they didn't have the Money or Carbon to come to Power Shift Canada.

If Youth don't have the MONEY or CARBON to come to Power Shift Canada, do they have enough to go Denmark, Europe? How can we make sure that each and every voice that is in Canada is getting represented at COP15? How do I know that the youth that go to COP15 will not just say well we are going to have to do the same again at COP16?

There are report backs, there are videos, there are photos, there are this and that. Is there a way that I can ask every single Youth that was part of the Canadian Youth Delegation if they met what I wanted them to do? Unless you are the organization behind the Canadian Youth Delegation, you can't ask them direct questions to answer these questions.

Can't we organize our own COP15 Conference that is located in local communities in Canada? If we could make a huge COP15 Conference in the local area with all 193 Countries represented by youth and adults that would make me cry. This is a huge plan that we need to get underway, and this would make people feel like they are doing something by understand the position of that country at the talks.

Too Far to Travel?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Everyday I think why am I going to these movies, talks, parties, and other places? They are all related to Climate Change, and make me understand the world in a better place, yet I am killing the earth when I go to these places as I live far away from each and every event that happens.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and here we have a very poor transit system that is raising the fares on all prices to ride this. Since they announced this, I have been thinking why do I need to go downtown at all? I go there for events which should be happening in my neck of the woods. Everyday I go for bike rides in my area, and see nothing at all happening related to Climate Change here, and I ask other people they say the same thing.

Where is the movement to do more in my area?

There isn't one, and I am not sure how to start this when everyone lives east of me, and doesn't want to travel all the way down here. My new plans are to start to find places in my area to have meeting in, and not go downtown at all. What do I need to do downtown, nothing that I know about, and that is always the case.

If you live West of Prince Edward Drive in Toronto, Ontario please lets try to make a movement within our area. I want to gather at least 5 to 10 people to join in on this new movement.

Do you feel that you travel to far?

Farmers Markets

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:49:00 +0000

I have been going to Farmers Markets for years here in Toronto, and also in other cities, they are always great to visit and pay food at. There is no best one in my mind, and there never will be, every Farmers Markets has there own feel to them. There are two in my area during the summer, and I enjoy them but really they are too far to walk to which I would love to do. The one thing we need in my area is a year round Farmer's Market to bring local food to the market, and having this closer to people.

The above photo is from The Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers' Market which is open year round. I enjoy photos like this as they always make me happy to see people wanting to support local farmers in the nearby area.

If you look at the amount of food wasted at the Local Grocery Store that trucks in food from around the world, you would be angry and mad at everyone involved in the store. Below is a photos of fresh food from a Grocery Store which most will get thrown out.

Everyone should be pushing more local foods, and stop saying that food from California or Florida or even China (yes I have seen food from China) is good for everyone as the food is fresh. This is the last photo blog post, and you should really feel sick after the photo:

In Other News, I have been enjoying the video below of Youth are working on Environmental issues. Youth are what make me happy about the movement I am in, as they are the hardest working people ever. I never see Youth backdown from anything and they is always a way to get involved as a Youth. This video is one year of activism with the groups around North America, and seeing how if you have the energy anything can happen.

Snow Plowers.. Good or Bad?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:03:00 +0000

I live in the West End of Toronto, and every winter I see that our street & sidewalks are getting plowed on and off. When other streets are plowed everyday when there is enough snow, our gets missed and is done very poorly.

The house I live in has a bus stop on one side of the sidewalk down a little ways, and a school at the end of the street. Every morning parents come to drop kids off for school, and the streets are hardly plowed making the drive very hard for them getting in and out. As for people walking from the TTC Bus to places of work, this is very hard to get to as the Street Plows just plow the snow on the driveways. There are a number of houses nearby and hard for everyone to shelve always. The number of times the Street Plow comes on the main street near my house is growing every year, yet the sidewalk plow coming is about the same every year. I have had to walk in snow that is so high sometimes I can barely get over the snow.

With this being the problem on my side of the sidewalk and street, I can't imagine how other streets and sidewalks are Plowed in Toronto. Would the city wake up and review how good the plows are doing in the city? I just feel that the city adds plowers instead of really looking where plowers are needed more.

My favorite thing about seeing the Plowers is that the seniors, people with disabilities & injuries can see that they are getting a nice clean area to walk along. I believe this is something that I enjoy seeing that the city is really looking at these people and saying we need to really do this for them. Also the city is making people who are lazy in doing shelving, even more lazy which is the downside.

As for a side note, I did see the Suzuki Diaries on the Nature of Things here in Canada. This is where David Suzuki and his youngest daughter Sarika went to Europe to learn about how they envision the Environment. The whole show was amazing and I got to see tons of great ways that Europe is way ahead of countries like Canada and the US. Even countries that have smaller populations then Canada are doing amazing work in turning the whole country Green. Below is the Promo for the show:

If you don't know who David Suzuki is you should read about him here: David Suzuki

Torontoist???

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:34:00 +0000

I have been watching the landspace of the Toronto Media change for months now and I am reporting on this for the first time.

Here is the list of Traditional Media:

Toronto Star
National Post
Globe and Mail
Toronto Sun

They are all trying to compete with the people who are running the New Media on the Internet in Toronto which are:

Torontoist
BlogTO
Spacing

These new media players are gaining a lot of respect in many ways. I enjoy reading all of these, but from what I see is that Spacing and BlogTO still take from the Traditional Media which is annoying me lots. When I came across Torontoist about a year ago, I was interested in all the ways this was different.

Torontoist is different because they go out of their way to try and get the News first but in a creative way. They push past all the garbage and bring to us the real news that Traditional Media does hit or use. Along with this they have shown a way to be creative with Photographic and everyday have the best photos from Toronto I have ever seen.

The sad news is that Torontoist is going to be put to rest at the end of this year, and I am afraid to say this but GOTHAMIST who owns the site missed out on keeping Torontoist alive for all of Toronto. Yes the revenue wasn't there, but almost all the people working for Toronto as bloggers were doing this free. They knew Toronto needed a bigger and better way to get news to the people of Toronto.

The point was that they were not just about the News, but reported on areas of the city that no one else did and always came had events or meetings or music shows up that hardly anyone knew about. This is the first time a site that I truly enjoyed is going to be put to rest and never woke up again.

Like Torontoist, I have at times reached out to people I know and ask them to blog on my site, but no one has been able to give me their time or energy to do this. I wish that there were more people blogging on my site to give us a scope of Toronto or even the world in different issues.

The best thing I understand about the New Media is that Ads pay for everything, and I am sadly hurt that even when we have an amazing site that revenue was the thing that did them in. Like the Traditional Media in Toronto, we need a race to get Ads into the Newspapers and this is making me feel a little sick.

What we truly need is a way to stay totally free and deliver the best media out there. I believe that by not having Ads on a site you do much better and give the public more of what they want. Overall I am sad about the loss of Torontoist but happy to see that there are many many great people in Toronto.

Just to add at the bottom of this, youth at the Climate Change Talks in Poznan, Poland talked about Survival is Non-Negotiable. Here is a Video of what I mean and Standing Up for Youth all around the World.

Darfur Killers!

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:35:00 +0000

I just watched a documentary on Darfur in Sudan and the whole problem that the country has and still is having. http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/darfur/

What to say about the problem is that everywhere people are been killed, rape, and lost homeless. People are running to Chad to try and save themselves, which is helping much at all. Darfur is a place that is going to be wiped off the face of the earth if people don't go in there and save this.

What do we have to do to save this, go to the UN and wait years and years and years for some countries to say "YES", but then put restricts on how we can go in there? NO, that is the stupidest idea ever, but the only way we can bring in peacekeepers into Darfur.

Lets look at what has happened: People are losing their eyes, houses are burned with people sleeping in them, people watching family be slaughter, family torn apart, and not enough food to feed people.

When did this start: 2003
How many have dead: Over 400,000
How many on Humanitarian Aid: 1.3 million
How many displaced: 2.2 million

Numbers like these are seen all the time in Africa but the chances of the world saving this is like small to none. If this was in North America or Europe we would be in there in a heartbeat. There is no need for more reports or more timely fashioned big name stars to support the cause. We need to just go in there and help the people.

If this is not a Human Rights issue then what is? We need to put an end to Darfur NOW, not tomorrow not next year NOW.

If we don't want what is happening in Darfur to become an even bigger African problem in which more countries are engaged in war, we have to just help Darfur NOW.

To leave, how come we are able to just let Africa sit there and waste away in all the problem they have? Why are we going into the wrong countries at the wrong time? The Middle East is so great we should go bomb there to setup a prison for 100 years.

Just Stop and Think about Darfur and Remember Push all everyone you know to make this issue Number One on the World Stage.

Racism and Human Rights in Canada, USA, The World?

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:06:00 +0000

What can we say about the world these days, there is so much Racism and Human Rights problems that no one knows what issue to get up and support. Should we support all issues or one and put our heart into that one issue? In my mind this is totally up to the person who wants is trying to decide, to give you background on many different issues going on right now here is a long down.

Aboriginal People in Canada
Black in the USA
Prisoners in Guantanamo Bay
Tibet Freedom
Taiwan Independent
Burma or Myanmar Rights
East Timor
Dufar in Sudan
Kenya Killing
Zimbabwe Elections
Africa and World in HIV/AIDs
Muslim Rights
Israel and Palestine Land Dispute
Kosovo Freedom
Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Freedom Press Rights
Food Shortage
Homeless People
Prostitution Rights
People on Drugs Freedom

Here is a map of where in the world people have freedom: http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/maps/fiw_current.pdf and I will update this map at the end of the blogs with all the issues I have talked about. There will be a version of video and written blogs.

There is so many more issues that I can talk about but my mind can't think of them. This world has so many issues and I want to try and turn this blog into a way to get people to think about the world more and trying to help the world slowly. Every issue in the world will be touched on in this blog and going to go into depth about every single one.

If you can think of more please comment and let me know of more. I am going to start to blog everyday about every one of these issues until I have covered everyone.

Rethinking Impact on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:31:00 +0000

There has been such a waste of the world as people are driving cars or flying across the world just for work or to be with someone for a day. The amount of people who fly is not going down as people don't understand we need a No Impact approach on the Earth.

I recently saw this man who was trying to have No Impact on the Earth for 1 year and live in New York City. He also lives in an apartment which is much harder as he can't go change everything in the apartment. He and his family have gone as much as they can, and they have been making lots of News. They were featured in the New York Times: No Impact

One big thing I did this last summer was bike across Province of Alberta and this was 1300 - 1500 KM and was a blast. This was to gain stories and understand everything going on in the Tar Sands. This also had a huge impact on me to not buy anything and live local and small.

If we really want to change ourselves, we need to cut off everything that we don't need and do things that will make us happier. Starting tomorrow, I am going to not watch TV for 1 year, and beyond that try to live with as little impact on the Earth. With this, going to turn off all the lights I can (live by candle), and get an indoor compost bin that will help me cut down on waste. Every little counts.

Using Big Soy Candles and Worm Composts:

and

What do people think would cut down the impact on the Earth? Would cutting out all travel outside of the city? Making no waste on the Earth? Leave a comment on what you think.

Inspiring Videos

noreply@blogger.com (shawnkhan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:55:00 +0000

I have found two videos that are very inspiring and have really been about changing the world and everything around yourself.

1.) This one is from the Free The Children Organization and one of the leader, trying to get us to go from a Me Generation to a We Generation.

2.) The second video is about the UN Millennium goals that are suppose to be solved by 2015. Very amazing how they added the pictures, and everything to go along with the talk.

Both videos are really inspiring and making people move forward in the world. We need to move in the right direction in the world or we will die very young. Just taking small steps that affect the day to day lives is going to make a big impact.

I did read a book called Me to We which is really inspiring and has really changed the way I look at my life. Things have become clearer and I am more of a real person now. With this book they teach you to take small steps towards any goal you have, and really work towards that in anyway possible.

All dreams are possible if you work hard on them everyday.