soapbox

. . .02.19.2008 Jailing of aboriginal protesters disturbing, say Greens OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada expressed concerns regarding the incarceration of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation's representative Robert Lovelace and called for a swift response from the federal government. On February 15th, Bob Lovelace, a professor at Queen's University and Fleming College, was given six months in prison and fined $25,000 for contempt of court. Mr. Lovelace was protesting with indigenous peoples against uranium mining on lands that are claimed by the Algonquin peoples, in and around Sharbot Lake, Ontario. "This is a very unfortunate situation that could and should have been avoided," said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. "Although it is not the place of the federal government to intervene in individual decisions of the courts, this case should lead us to reconsider Canada's approach to aboriginal peoples. It is time for the federal government to begin putting in plac

. . . . . . THE TOTAL AREA COVERED BY THE BIG FRANCHISE STORES IS BIGGER THAN NEW YORK CITY AS SHOWN BY THE ABOVE DIAGRAM . . .IMAGINE HOW MUCH PAVEMENT(AN OIL BY PRODUCT) WAS USED TO PROVIDE PARKING SPACES FOR THE 1000'S OF CARS. . . .HUGE. . . .BIGGEST OF THEM ALL = WALL-MART.

. . . . . . . . . . .JUST TO GIVE SOME IDEA OF WHERE ALL THE OIL IS GOING.( to enlarge , click on picture )

. . . . . . BILL CURRY Globe and Mail Update February 25, 2008 at 11:04 AM EST OTTAWA — David Suzuki is trying to speak Stephen Harper's language, releasing a report Monday that argues a strong climate change plan could produce deep income tax cuts. The well-known environmentalist and Simon Fraser University economist Mark Jaccard released a report Monday morning on Parliament Hill that outlines various options for Ottawa to implement a carbon tax or other ways of forcing polluters to pay for their environmental i

. . . . .The thing is, I know how much we all love our cars. The thought of not having them horrifies us. But is that because driving around alone in steel boxes is so great, or is it because not having a car in a society so completely structured around the automobile is so difficult? What if we envisage a better society that did not depend on cars? What if our towns and cities were structured in such a way that the expense of having a car just plain wasn't worth the hassle? What if we designed our cities in such a way that you didn't need to drive to the countryside but could just hang out on street with lots of neighbors, lots of trees and no exhaust fumes? Isn't there a chance that might be better? . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .A VISION TO AIM FOR.

Pipeline timing troubles Tories Stelmach accused of exporting bitumen-upgrading jobs to U.S. Jason Fekete, Gordon Jaremko, Calgary Herald; Edmonton Journal; With files from Heath McCoy, Calgary Herald; and Archie McLean, Journal stafPublished: 6:27 am Premier Ed Stelmach was lambasted Saturday for failing to stem the flow of oilsands to the United States after regulatory approval was given to another pipeline project that will ship Alberta bitumen stateside. "The Tories shrugged their shoulders and they're letting Albertans' wealth go south of the border," Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said Saturday in Wainwright. "They just let it go, and it's a huge strategic opportunity (lost) for Alberta." EXPORTING^^^JOBS^^^AND^^OIL . . . . . . . THE SAD PART ABOUT THIS IS MOST OF THE EXPORTED OIL IS USED TO FUEL GAS GUZZLING CARS IN THE USA. . . .PITY On Friday, the National Energy Board approved the $3-billion Alberta Clipper pipeline, which will initially shi

. . . . .Check out our list of facts on cars and global warming. Then, take action in support of national global warming action! - - 232 million - - Number of registered vehicles in the U.S. That's almost one per person! - - - - - -600---gallons -- - - Average amount of gasoline consumed by one U.S. car each year. - - - - - - -12,000- -pounds - - - Amount of carbon dioxide emitted from one U.S. car each year. - - - - - - - -240 - - - - - - - - Number of trees needed to absorb the 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted from one U.S. car each year. - - - - - - - 2.7 trillion - - - - - - - Number of miles U.S. cars and light trucks traveled in 2004. That's the equivalent of taking 10 million trips to the moon. - - - - - - -5 % - - - - - - -- - - - -- - Percent U.S. population is of the world population. - - - - - -30 % - - - - - -- - -- - - Percent of world's automobiles in the United States. - - - - - 45 % - - - - - - - - - - - Percent that the United States contributes to

. . . . . . .Hybrid car technology is less damaging than conventional engines, but the energy cost involved in making a "green car" is enormous and the car will continue to use both gasoline and electricity (produced in large part by coal power). The greenest option is to use public transportation or bicycles. The problem with that is that the structures of society are built to accomodate these options. Which means that society has to be reshaped along different, more biocentric priorities. This requires a revolution in thinking at all levels. Now we can see what there is such deeply entrenched resistance to the "inconvenient truth" that we are killing the planet (and ourselves)! Yet in the end, a car-less culture is healthier and better off than one in which millions of cars compete for space, used up finite resources, and contribute to the destruction of life. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .B.C. introduces carbon tax in 'green' budget Updated Tue. Feb. 19 2008 6:20 PM ET The Canadian Press VICTORIA -- Finance Minister Carole Taylor introduced an escalating carbon tax on most fossil fuels Tuesday, one she says is designed to ignite an environmental social movement in British Columbia and across Canada to fight climate change. And she's handing every British Columbian $100 in June as seed money to get them thinking green. "This is an important turning point for British Columbia," she said. "We think for Canada." The carbon tax , effective July 1, will be phased in over five years to give consumers and businesses time to adjust to the new tax and understand there is a cost associated with generating harmful greenhouse gases, she said. The carbon tax will start at a rate based on $10 per tonne of carbon emissions and rise $5 a year to $30 per tonne by 2012, Taylor said. The tax works out to an extra 2.4 cents on a litre of gasoline,

. . . . . . . .INSTANT BILLIONAIRE,IS WHAT EXXON AKA:(IMPERIAL OIL) WILL BECOME . . .WHENEVER . .THE . .PRICE . . .OF . .OIL . . .GOES . . .UP . . TODAY . .IT . . WENT . .TO . . $100.00.PER BARREL . . . . . . . . . .. . .. ... .. . .. .. . . . ... . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .THE THING TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT THE OIL COMPANY CONTROLS . . . 86 . . .PERCENT . . .(AS-SHOWN IN PICTURE) OF THE GROSS PRICE OF A GALLON OF GAS INCLUDING THE REFINING,MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION. . . . . . . . . . .WHILE ITS TRUE THIS IS NOT ALL PROFIT BY A LONG SHOT, . . . .THEY DO HAVE ULTIMATE BARGAINING ADVANTAGE DUE TO THE IMMENSE ACCUMULATION OF MONEY. . . . . . . A MORE FAIR DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAS PIE WOULD BE LIKE THEY HAVE IN THE U.K.WHERE ONLY 50 PERCENT OF THE PRICE IS ALLOCATED TO THE OIL COMPANY.

. . FORGOTTEN . . . BUT . .NOT . . . GONE . . . .NUCLEAR . . . WASTE . Each reactor typically creates about 20 tons of waste a year, which is approximately two new casks, at roughly $1 million each. If a repository or interim site opened, clearing the backlog would take decades, experts say. At present, waste is in temporary storage at 122 sites in 39 states. The Energy Department has launched an initiative to gather the waste and run it through a factory to recover re-usable components, which would allow centralized storage, but that program’s prospects are highly uncertain. The government has spent $11 billion on Yucca Mountain, Mr. Sproat said. The project has dragged on so long that some of the research data is stored on obsolete computers that must be replaced, program officials said. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .WHEN . . .CONSIDERING . . .NUCLEAR .POWER . . .DON'T . . FORGET . . . .THE . . .WASTE. . . . . . . . . FOR ..MORE . . DETAILS/INF

. . . . .. . . . . . . A LOT OF TALK RECENTLY ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT BY OIL SANDS INDUSTRY IN ALBERTA . . . . .MY . . .SOLUTION . . .WOULD BE . . .TO SIMPLY REDUCE THE PRESENT ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF OIL SANDS OIL BY 20 PERCENT . . . . . . . .AT THE SAME TIME THE AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION SHOULD ALSO BE REDUCED . . . . .BY . .20 PERCENT . . . .ANNUALLY.THERE IS NO POINT TO ASK ALBERTA TO SACRIFICE UN LESS ONTARIO ALSO MAKES A SACRIFICE OF ITS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY WHICH IS NOW PROVEN TO BE UNSUSTAINABLE . . . .AFTER ALL IF PEOPLE HAD FEWER CARS THERE WOULD BE LESS NEED FOR MORE DIRTY OIL SANDS PRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . THERE . . IS . . NOW . . . .OVER 900,000,000 MOTOR VEHICLES ON PLANET EARTH . . . .EACH OF THEM HAS AN AVERAGE GAS TANK OF 20 GALLONS . . . . . . .. DO THE MATH . . . .BY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLES BY 20 % WOULD MEAN . . . .180,000,000 LESS CARS ON THE ROAD . . . .AND . .A . .DEMAND REDUCTION OF 3.6BILLION GALLO

. . . . .Is making a better car like making a better cancer? The thing is, we're looking for the better automobile, but couldn't we do much better for ourselves by finding ways not to have to spend so much time in them in the first place? Here's a list of thoughts. Some of them are my own. Some of them are sparked by WorldChanging's Alex Steffan's recent post " My other car is a Bright Green City " (but references you'll find to the beauty and intelligence of my wife are my thoughts alone). Societal obsession with inventing a high-efficiency vehicle obscures the fact that using our land to live in suburbs instead of compact villages and cities deprives ourselves not only a sustainable but a much more satisfying solution. Cars cause about 20% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The more we drive the fatter we are, the fatter we are, the more heart disease we have, the more heart disease we have the quicker we die. If everyone in the United States deserves

... .............IT'S A LITTLE . . IRONIC . . .THE . . JUDGE . . . . MAKES . . A . .SALARY . .OF . .AROUND . . $200,000.00 . . .A . .YEAR.....MAKING DECISIONS . . .THAT . .AFFECT . . .PEOPLE . .THAT . . . .IN . .MOST . . CASES . . .CAN . .BARELY . . . . SURVIVE.

. . . . . . .ITS BEEN QUITE A WINTER IN TORONTO SO FAR .WE HAD THREE BIG SNOWFALLS ONE RIGHT AFTER ANOTHER . . . . . . . . .AND I FOR ONE AM PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT IT AND SO ARE ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE TOWING AND SNOWPLOWING BUSINESS . . . . . .ONE . . THING . . I 'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IS THAT THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE GRUMBLING ABOUT SIDEWALKS AND HIGHWAYS NOT BEING PLOWED RIGHT AWAY . . . . .ENJOY . .THE . SNOW . . .DON'T . . .COMPLAIN. . . . . . .MY . . ONLY GRIPE . .IS THAT TOO . .MUCH ..OF . .TAXPAYERS MONEY IS SPENT TO PLOW THE ROADS . . . .ONCE . .AGAIN . . .IT . .IS . .A . .CAR INDUCED EXPENSE. . . .SUPPORTED BY THE LOUD MINORITY.

. . . . . . . WASHINGTON - The government is investigating reports of engine fires in General Motors' full-size sport utility vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site that it has received two reports of fires on 2007 model year Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs. Both reports allege that the vehicles were parked in a home garage with the engine shut off when the fires occurred, causing significant property damage. The investigation, which also includes the 2007 GMC Yukon SUV, involves about 423,000 SUVs. General Motors Corp. spokesman Alan Adler said Monday the company was cooperating with the government. "We didn't have anything on our radar. We didn't see anything on this one that suggests a pattern or trend," he said. Ford Motor Co. has recalled about 10 million trucks, SUVs and vans following reports of fires while the vehicle was turned off and parked. The recalls have involved a faulty cruise control switch system. .

. . . . . . . . . . .to have a tornado in the middle of winter is highly unusual . . . but as this photo illustrates,it does happen. . . .Recently in Tennessee and the surrounding states over 60 people lost their lives due to this event . . . . . . . .this is not normal ..and is .a reminder . .that climate change is still taking place . . .even though . . .we . . here . .in ontario . . .are going through one of the coldest . . .and . .snowiest . . winters.Only ten days ago the weather here stayed above freezing for 72 hours . .and almost reached 60 degrees(F)

. . . . . . . . .The debate is between the carbon tax and cap and trade," he said. "I will do whatever I can to get consensus on cap and trade legislation."Obama, Clinton, and McCain all support building a so-called "cap and trade" system that would issue big polluters such as oil companies and power producers permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas blamed for global warming.Under such a system, companies that exceed their CO2 limits must buy more permits to pollute, while those that come in beneath their limits may sell the permits on a market.Obama said his plan was superior to McCain's because it required companies to buy all of those permits up front -- a process known as auctioning."I've been very specific about proposing 100 percent auctioning, which makes an enormous difference in terms of how effective it's going to be," Obama said.The European Union, which now has the biggest CO2 emissions trading scheme in the world,

. . . . . . . . . . . . ..ONE OF THE MANY BANNERS DISPLAYED AT A RECENT PROTEST IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO FEBRUARY 7-2008 . . . . .PROTESTERS . .WERE ASKING . . .THAT SOME OF THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS USED TO FUND THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN BE INSTEAD DIVERTED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

. . .. . International — Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), the technological poster child for the future of the global coal industry has just had its biggest supporter pull the rug out from underneath its feet. With the Bush administration withdrawing its support for the FutureGen CCS project the future of the project and the unnecessary and unproven technology seems doomed. CCS was the last hope of the coal industry to stay relevant in a world hungry for carbon free energy. The idea behind CCS is simple enough, as the carbon dioxide is released from burning coal, you capture it, and dump it underground and hope it doesn't escape and end up in the atmosphere. The problem is that no one has successfully done it on the scale required to halt climate change and no one can guarantee that the carbon dioxide will behave and stay where it was dumped. . . . . . . . . . . . . NOT ONLY IS THE CARBON CAPTURE IDEA UN-WORKABLE,BUT IT IS A HUGE WASTE OF MONEY . . . .FOR . .MORE . . DETAILS

. . . . . . . . . . A RALLY IN SUPPORT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING held at noon feb-7-2008 IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO,CANADA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ANY ONE WHO HAS SEARCHED FOR AN APARTMENT IN TORONTO KNOWS HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO FIND ONE IN A CONVIENENT LOCATION CLOSE TO AMENITIES. . . . . . .IN MY RECENT SEARCH . . .THE ONLY ONE I COULD FIND THAT WAS SUITABLE REQUIRED AN UP FRONT PAYMENT OF $2000.00 PLUS A NOTE FROM THE BANK CERTIFYING THAT I WAS CAPABLE OF PAYING RENT FOR ONE FULL YEAR . . . . . .IF FOR SOME REASON I WAS DISATISFIED WITH THE PLACE I WOULD BE OUT OF LUCK . . .A . .TAKE . .IT . .OR . .LEAVE IT ATTITUDE EXISTS IN THE HOUSING MARKET . . .NO . . WONDER . .PEOPLE . .ARE . . . . PROTESTING . . . . IN . . .THE . .. STREETS. . . . . . . . . .note::in the above example,the renter would be required to have a minimun certified deposit of $10,000.00 in a bank account in addition to the $2,000.00 rental before even being considered as a renter. . . . . .the other alterna

The researchers said that past studies showing the benefits of ethanol in combating climate change have not taken into account almost certain changes in land use worldwide if ethanol from corn — and in the future from other feedstocks such as switchgrass — become a prized commodity. "Using good cropland to expand biofuels will probably exacerbate global warming," concludes the study published in Science magazine. The researchers said that farmers under economic pressure to produce biofuels will increasingly "plow up more forest or grasslands," releasing much of the carbon formerly stored in plants and soils through decomposition or fires. Globally, more grasslands and forests will be converted to growing the crops to replace the loss of grains when U.S. farmers convert land to biofuels, the study said. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . (AP-NEWS REPORT)FEB 7-2008 . ........ .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . ALTHOUGH THE INTENTION IS GOOD,IN THE LONG RUN IT IS A BA

Caption: as flights decrease in price, worldwide, more and more people are flying. There is no known technology to make aviation emit fewer GHGs now being implemented. The only way to drastically reduces CO2 and water vapour (a GHG) is to not fly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . FOR MORE INFO ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE . ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ http://studentsagainstclimatechange.blogspot.com ^^^

. . . . . . . . . . AS OF JANUARY 31-2008,BRAZILIAN BEEF PRODUCTS WILL BE BANNED FROM EUROPE . . . . . . .THE EUROPEAN UNION OFFICES IN BRUSSELS MADE THAT STATEMENT. . . . . . .WHILE . . IT . .MAY . .SEEM. . . HEARTLESS . . .TO ALL THE FARMERS . .IN BRAZIL . . . . .THERE . . IS . .A . .GOOD . .SIDE TO . .THIS . .NEWS . .FOR A .LONG TIME NOW . .THE . .AMAZON . . .RAIN . .FORESTS . .HAVE . .BEEN DISAPPEARING . .DUE . . .TO . . OVER . .GRAZING . .BY CATTLE . . RANCHES(FACTORY FARMS) . . . .LARGE . . .FORESTS . .HAVE . . BEEN . . . CLEARED . . .TO . . MAKE . . WAY . . . FOR THESE . . .RANCHES . . ..ALSO . . .SOY . .BEAN . . PRODUCTION . .HAS . . DONE . .A ..LOT OF . .DAMAGE TO . . .THE . . RAIN . . FORESTS . . . .THIS . . .MAY ..BE..A GOOD ..WAY TO PROTECT . . THE . . AND . .ENVIRONMENT . .AT . .THE . . SAME . .TIME .PROMOTE . . . .VEGETARIAN . . .LIFE . .STYLE . .WHICH . .IS . .MORE . .HEALTHY THAN . .BEEF . .PRODUCTS.

Jim Harris on 1 February 2008 - 9:48am. The Conference Board of Canada yesterday released a report calling for a $25 a tonne carbon tax. Entitled Use Green Taxes and Market Instruments to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions the report adds to a growing list of business reports and groups calling for a carbon tax. Last month the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy called for a carbon tax.The Green Party is the only national political party in Canada with the courage to call for a carbon tax. At $25 a ton the carbon tax proposed by the Conference Board would raise $19 billion to fight climate change. Investing this amount in energy efficiency for businesses and residences would dramatically improve Canada's energy efficiency -- reducing over time what Canadians pay for energy. Currently Canada has the most energy inefficient economy of all the G8 and OECD countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . J.HARRIS IS THE FORMER LEADER OF

. . . . . . . . . . I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DID IT BUT APPARENTLY THE NORTH KOREAN PEOPLE MANAGED TO BUILD A ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE STORY CONCRETE HOTEL IN PYONYANG, A CITY OF THREE MILLION PEOPLE AND KEEP IT A SECRET FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD. . . . . . .I WAS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THIS AND I THOUGHT THAT I WAS UP TO DATE ON ALL THE LATEST NEWS. . .THIS EMPTY "HOTEL"(NOT OCCUPIED) HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR MANY YEARS AND CAN EVEN BE SEEN IN A YOUTUBE VIDEO . . . . . . .WHO . . .KNEW ?