Quadra by-election candidates on climate change, peak oil and relocalization

On March 6th, I attended the Quadra By-Election Candidates debate on climate organized by VTACC (Voters Taking Action on Climate Change). Liberal candidate Joyce Murray, NDP candidate Rebecca Coad and Green candidate Dan Grice were in attendance. For a full recap, go to www.vtacc.org – you can view the full recording of the candidates’ climate change town hall.

Last week, after seeing Andi Hazelwood’s candidates’ discussion for the Bundaberg, Australia, regional council election, I sent a quick email to all of the candidates asking them these three questions:

1. What are your thoughts on peak oil and climate change and their potential effects on the Metro Vancouver region?

2. Do you support the relocalization of the Metro Vancouver region, and other communities across Canada?
(relocalization means reducing consumption and sourcing daily needs as locally as possible to reduce dependence on declining fossil fuelsupplies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support our local economyand local producers)

3. What motivates you most about being involved in politics? at a federal level?

Filed under: Vancouver, climate, politics , green party, liberal, NDP, politics, Quadra, Vancouver

Canada put to shame at UN Climate Conference in Bali

This is an ad running in Ottawa and Calgary papers put out by the Avaaz team:

If you haven’t SIGNED THIS PETITION YET, there’s still a few hours left – go to http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/9.php?cl=46187661

Here are some articles reporting on Canada’s participation at the UN talks in Bali:
The Globe and Mail
The Star

Here is a message from Avaaz about the petition (Dec13/07):

Dear friends,

Wow – on Tuesday we aimed to get 25,000 Canadians to join the emergency call to Prime Minister Harper to stop blocking the crucial UN climate change talks in Bali – and we hit that target in just 18 hours!! In two days, 71,187 of us have signed the petition, and rising fast [it's now at 98, 607]- one of the largest online petitions in Canadian history!

The petition ads are running in papers tomorrow, including the Ottawa Citizen and the Calgary Sun. At the Bali summit, it is touch and go – with almost the entire world vs. Canada and the US over whether to accept targets on harmful carbon emissions. The draft agreement changes every hour, with carbon targets dropping in and out. We now have just over 24 hours left for an all-out push to get Harper to do the right thing. Let’s ramp it up and hit 100,000 voices by Friday! If you haven’t yet, please click below to sign up, see our ad, and then forward this email to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/9.php

Let’s make sure that experts never again give Canada the “fossil” award for worst country in the world on climate change! If you’ve already told your friends and family about the petition, try calling Prime Minister Harper’s office directly at 613 992 4211, or calling the House of Commons toll free on 1 (866) 599-4999 to talk to your MP about getting Parliament to act on this issue. Harper leads a minority government, he shouldn’t be able to get away with ignoring the large majority of us who want real action on climate change.

Our incredible momentum is a wonderful and powerful statement about the Canada we all love and want to see – one that does the right thing in the world, whose flag stands for people and principles — not the short term profits of big oil corporations. Let’s forward this email round, blog this issue, talk about it at the dinner table and at work, and get an emergency people-powered movement going that reaches 100,000 by tomorrow!

With hope,

Ricken and the Avaaz team

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, New York, Paris, Washington DC, Geneva, and Rio de Janeiro.

Filed under: climate, politics , Avaaz, Canada, climate change, conservative, petition, steven harper, UN, United Nations

Jon Stewart on CNN Crossfire

Also, about a year old – from the beginning of 2006:

Filed under: humour, politics, video