Sudbury Social Justice News - April 6, 2014

EVENTS & MEETINGS:

1) Monday, April 7: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty
2) Tuesday, April 8: Green Infrastructure Panel
3) Wednesday, April 9: Climate Chaos with Guy McPherson
4) Thursday, April 10: Responding to Climate Chaos with Guy McPherson
5) Thursday, April 10: Meeting of Sudbury working-group of The Media Co-op
6) Tuesday, April 15: Science Cafe on the topic "Our health and our environment: How does 'responsibility' matter?"
7) Monday, April 28: International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed & Injured on the Job - Sudbury

NEWS, ANALYSIS & CALLS TO ACTION:

1) "Submit your concerns to the OEB about the Energy East Pipeline" by Citizens Climate Lobby Canada

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Monday, April 7: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty

Time: 6:30pm
Location: Offices of the Sudbury and District Labour Council (Suite 209 upstairs in 109 Elm Street, which is across the street from the Native Friendship Centre)

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Children are welcome to attend, or childcare support is available upon request.

S-CAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. We provide direct-action support work assisting individuals in their struggles with welfare and ODSP, housing, employers, and others who deny people what they are entitled to in order to meet their needs. In addition, we mount campaigns against and support educational work about regressive government policies as they effect working people and people living in poverty. We believe in the power of people to organize themselves. We believe in the power of resistance!

La coalition contre la pauvreté de Sudbury (S-CAP) est un organisme d’action directe luttant contre la pauvreté. Elle se trouve à Sudbury en Ontario.

Le travail de la coalition se base dans l’action directe et consiste à apporter de l’aide aux individus dans leurs luttes pour l’assistance sociale, l’invalidité, le logement, l’emploi et à les aider à faire face aux gens qui leur refusent ce à quoi ils ont droit pour rencontrer leurs besoins. De plus, la coalition fait des compagnes de sensibilisation et de dénonciation par rapport aux politiques gouvernementales régressives quant à leurs effets sur les travailleurs et travailleuses et les personnes vivant dans la pauvreté.

La coalition croit au pouvoir des personnes de s’organiser elles-mêmes; elle croit au pouvoir de la résistance!

Please call us (249-878-7227)

Email us at sudburyCAP@gmail.com

S-CAP on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/257339454351403/

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Tuesday, April 8: Green Infrastructure Panel

Time: 6pm to 8pm
Location: reThink Green (Suite 305, 176 Larch Street, Sudbury)

RSVP to info@rethinkgreen.ca

6.00 PM | Introductions and Welcome - Justin Carter, reThink Green
Justin will lead the introductions of our guest speakers and provide a brief description of reThink Green’s current and past initiatives.

6.10 PM | Clifford Maynes - Executive Director, Green Communities Canada
Clifford will be speaking on behalf of Green Communities Canada and their green infrastructure programming.

6.30 PM | Aviva Gluss - FEF Regional Manager, Ontario Nort / East Region
TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) is a national charity that funds environmental projects across Canada. Aviva is the Regional Manager for FEF’s Ontario North and East Region and she’ll discuss the history of FEF, how they support community-level environmental work, and the funding priorities for green development projects.

6.45 PM | Jeff Sampson - Owner, Eviro Paving
Jeff will discuss the advantages of environmentally friendly paving options and share the paving solution he’s offering his own business, Enviro Paving. His products are innovative, affordable solutions for people seeking a ‘green’ alternative to conventional paving.

7.00 PM | Mark H. Simeoni, MCIP, RPP - Manager of Community & Strategic Planning
Mark is the Acting Director of the Planning Services Division/Manager of Community and Strategic Planning, and will be speaking on behalf of the City of Greater Sudbury. The presentation will touch on green infrastructure and its connection to sustainability, with highlights on changing the way we think and work, the impact of big versus small green projects, and supporting local efforts.

7.15 PM | Questions and Discussion

This event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/221614248037716/

 
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Wednesday, April 9: Climate Chaos with Guy McPherson

Time: 6pm
Location: Steelworker’s Hall (66 Brady Street, Sudbury)

Dr. Guy McPherson, professor emeritus of Natural Resources and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (University Of Arizona), will give a tour of the climate science that you probably haven’t seen before. McPherson breaks the gag order that is climate change denial and disinformation to integrate the climate science with an emphasis on the non-linear nature of impacts.

At the same time, McPherson’s tour provides a history of the threshold revisions that continue to occur and which coincide with our inability to achieve even modest restraints on capitalism. McPherson also explores the positive feedbacks that have been activated so far, asserting that runaway global warming is already underway, and that we have a right to know so that we can direct our lives accordingly.

Dr. McPherson is visiting Paul Beckwith in Ottawa, which is why he was so easily able to visit Sudbury. One easy way you can help with this event is to share it as widely as possible so we can let as many people who would be interested know about this event. Also, let us know if you’re coming at: https://www.facebook.com/events/733922436640166/.

This event in being organized by One Struggle Sudbury. For more information contact Rachael Charbonneau at 705-670-1982 or rachaelcharbonneau@vianet.ca.

 
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Thursday, April 10: Responding to Climate Chaos with Guy McPherson

Time: Noon
Location: Meeting Room 1, Main Branch of the Sudbury Public Library (74 Mackenzie Street)

Guy McPherson will talk about his homesteading experiment, one he now considers to be a failure. Guy will share his experiences and insights to how we can prepare for climate chaos by working together to increase our resilience as a community.

Please help us share this event and let us know you’re coming at: https://www.facebook.com/events/278344602326295/.

For more information contact Rachael Charbonneau at 705-670-1982 or rachaelcharbonneau@vianet.ca.
 

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Thursday, April 10: Meeting of Sudbury working-group of The Media Co-op

Time: 10am to noon
Location: meeting room #1, downstairs, main branch of the Sudbury Public Library (74 Mackenzie Street, Sudbury)

Everyone is welcome to join us for our meeting from 10am to at the main branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

The Sudbury working group of The Media Co-op wants to support people in creating independent media in the North, to speak to our issues and outlooks on our communities as well as the world around us. Independent media provides an avenue for people who are wishing to gain critical perspective on the issues that matter most to us, and to give a voice to those people and stories that you won't find in the mainstream media.

Find our site at:
http://sudbury.mediacoop.ca/

Our new callout for content, some of which we might even be able to pay for:
http://sudbury.mediacoop.ca/blog/grassrootssudburymedia/19108

Contact the Sudbury Working Group to learn more about writing for us or to let us know about community issues and events at:
grassrootssudburymedia@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsMediaCollective
 

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Tuesday, April 15: Science Cafe on the topic "Our health and our environment: How does 'responsibility' matter?"

Time: 7:30pm
Location: The Laughing Buddha (194 Elgin Street, Sudbury)

More information coming soon!

Supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in partnership with the Canada Research Chairs Program, Laurentian University, Laurentian's Humanities M.A. Program, the Centre for Humanities Research and Creativity (CHRC), the Centre for Evolutionary Ecology and Ethical Conservation (CEEEC), and the Ethics Centre of the University of Sudbury.

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Monday, April 28: International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed & Injured on the Job - Sudbury

Time: 10am to 11:30am
Location: Fraser Auditorium, Laurentian University

The International Day of Mourning is observed yearly on April 28th. It commemorates workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness due to workplace related hazards and incidents.

The International Day of Mourning began in Sudbury in 1984. The Canadian Labour Congress officially declared it an annual day of remembrance the following year (1985). With the passing of the Workers Mourning Day Act, in 1990, the day became a national Canadian observance: April 28, 1991, was the first official “National Day of Mourning for persons killed or injured in the workplace”.

Since its inception in Sudbury, the observance has spread to over 80 countries around the world. April 28th was chosen because, on that day in 1914, the Workers Compensation Act received its third reading.

The purpose of Day of Mourning is twofold- to remember and honour those lives lost or injured and to renew the commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace – to prevent further deaths, injuries and diseases from work. Typically flags are flown at half-mast, and workers and employees observe this day in various ways including: observing moments of silence; lighting candles; and donning ribbons and/or black armbands.

NEWS, ANALYSIS & CALLS TO ACTION:

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"Submit your concerns to the OEB about the Energy East Pipeline"
by Citizens Climate Lobby Canada
(This callout on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/606655722743418/)

Please make a submission to the Ontario Energy Board.
Just click here: http://www.ontarioenergyboard.ca/html/oebenergyeast/have_your_say.cfm#.U...
And then cut and paste.
Canada needs climate and energy policies before we build any more pipelines.

THE ENERGY EAST PIPELINE WOULD DRAMATICALLY RAISE CO2
A Pembina Institute report claims the proposed Energy East pipeline will increase annual carbon emissions by the equivalent of seven million cars per year.

1) http://www.thesudburystar.com/2014/02/06/energy-east-would-dramatically-...

THE SCIENCE
The last stable Greenland icesheet is no longer stable (2) and the Pacific Ocean is acidifying faster than expected (3). The March 31, 2014 climate impacts report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are clear: on our current CO2 emissions trajectory we face a real threat to global security; the situation is not hopeless; and the solution is to cut emissions (4).
2) http://phys.org/news/2014-03-greenland-implicated-sea-level.html
3) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pollution-sours-pacific-ocean-...
4) http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/climate-change-five-k...

CANADA'S GHG EMISSIONS
However, Environment Canada’s own numbers show we are on track to blow past our 2020 emission targets by 20% releasing 734 Mt CO2 in that year. By 2030, our emissions will grow to 815 Mt CO2 and much of the increase will be from the oil sands (5).

5) http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/subm%60itted...

CANADA RANKS POORLY
As well, a March 2014 report from Globe International revealed that 62 of 66 Nations studied have either passed or are pushing for compelling and energy-relevant laws (6). Canada was not one of them. Germanwatch’s Climate Change Performance Index 2014 ranked Canada 58 out 61 countries for their combined climate and energy policies.(7)

6) http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/emerging-economies-enforce-climate-l...
7) https://germanwatch.org/en/download/8599.pdf

THREE CONCERNS: National Security, Financial Collapse and Missing out on the Clean Tech Revolution

1) National Security: A New Strategic Narrative for the USA was presented to the President of the United States in 2011. The report clearly highlights climate change must be addressed to achieve global and national security(8).
8) http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/A%20National%20Strategic...

2) Financial collapse: We can only burn about 24% of the known fossil fuel reserves or the impacts will become dire (9). This carbon bubble, caused by the intensification climate impacts, means there is a real risk for stranded assets and financial collapse. In October 2013, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was quite clear about the risks, “Unlike the financial crisis [2008], we do not have a 'climate bailout option' up our sleeves”. (10)

In March 2014, British Petroleum (BP) called for a price on carbon (11) to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and Shell (12) and Exxon (13) alerted their shareholders about the coming carbon bubble. Andrew Logan, director of the oil and gas program at Ceres said in a Globe and Mail article, “Of all the assets an oil company can own, the oil sands raises the most concern.” (14) This is not new news. A 2010 MIT report clearly stated that under carbon caps worldwide, Canada’s bitumen industry becomes economically non-viable through to the 2050 horizon even with carbon capture and sequestration. (15)

9) http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/26/432617/the-20-trillion-carbo...
10) http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24450438
11) http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/climatesnapshot/bp-calls-global-c...
12) http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2014/03/14/investors-warn-of-carbon-bubb...
13) http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/print/2014/03/exxonmob...
14) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-a...
15) http://globalchange.mit.edu/research/publications/2021

3) Missing out on the clean tech revolution: In a 2009 report in Scientific American , Jacobson and Delucci showed that we can meet the entire world's energy needs with renewables in 20 years and that we can do it for the same money that we'd be spending on fossil fuel power (16). A February 2014 study by the International Energy Agency found that any country can reach high shares of wind and solar power cost effectively (17).

16) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-path-to-sustainable-energy-b...
17) http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/pressreleases/2014/february/name,47...

CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICY = CLEAN TECH JOBS
Canada needs compelling climate and energy policies and British Columbia is showing us the way. A March 2014 report by Analytica Advisors found that between 2008, when British Columbia legislated a revenue neutral carbon tax, and 2010, the province’s clean technology sector grew by 48 per cent, their GHG emissions dropped and their GDP grew above the national average. (18)

Given these facts presented to the OEB, my recommendation is Canada needs to create a comprehensive climate and energy policy before we approve the Energy East pipeline.

18) http://citizensclimatelobby.ca/sites/default/files/files/CCCL%20Media%20...