Citizen actions: environment and climate change

Our PP Green Team is going great guns! We have an ongoing team that has affected big results in our downtown high-rise. It's inspiring.

The next hearing on two huge Vancouver Island fish farms is May 27. Write now to urge that the licenses be denied. Cut and paste the letter below, which references the Georgia Strait Alliance's detailed submission. Go to http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/872 directly if you need more info before writing. But write! Now! Tell your friends.

"Without public discourse, democracy is but a whisper."

Langara Dialogues presents a debate on whether private power has a
place on our rivers and in our economy. The debaters include Steve
Davis, president of the Independent Power Producers of B.C. and Gwen
Barlee of the Wilderness Committee.

Date/time: Wednesday, May 20, 7:30 PM

Hi all,

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPuJfbS2qMY

Perhaps you're not particularly political. Perhaps you weren't going to bother to vote. Perhaps you aren't sure now to vote. This could all change with this video, called

Protect BC Rivers and Public Power:

Yes, it's Easter, but salmon are dying right now because of open net fish farms. Two more big farms have applied for licenses and we must speak out. The info source is the Georgia Strait Alliance. Please read and write, and go if you can.

"Urgent Action Required on 2 Fish Farm Applications!!

Zoning Hearing in Sayward on Tues April 14th

Join Earth Hour -- This Saturday, March 28, from 8:30-9:30 pm:

"Earth Hour 2009 aims to reach more than one billion people in 1000 cities around the world..." Join millions, and switch it all off, Saturday, March 28, 8:30 pm, wherever you live in the world. Check out the details and get inspired at http://www.earthhour.org/home/

Sign up to increase the impact:

There are plans for massive expansion of fish farms, there has been little notice of these pending changes, and no public consultation. Go to http://www.georgiastrait.org/ and click on Hot Topics Fish Farm Expansion, or go directly to : http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/801

There you can click to sign a petition to the Premier and ministers, and/or send a fax.

Gateway Information Meeting in Bolivar Heights (Surrey)<

Protect our Parks, Say No to proposed Stadium waterfront location

Here is an easy (but urgent, by Thursday, June 14) way to take action to express your concern about TILMA. (Read the Council of Canadians COC backgrounder on TILMA  and Fact Sheet.

Attorney Gonzales may resign (True Majority) "You remember Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, right? He's the guy who signed off on the legal memo giving the O.K. to "waterboarding" and other types of torture; who told the President the Geneva Conventions were "obsolete"; who championed the notion that the President has power as Commander-in-Chief to ignore laws. Now it seems like his office may have fired U.S. Attorneys simply for not being "Bushie" enough. It's starting to look like Americans won't stand for a chief law enforcement official who doesn't believe in the rule of law, though."

Call for stronger, targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders (Avaaz) "In the last few days, Zimbabwe has plunged further into crisis, with key democratic activists beaten by their government. Click below to sign the petition calling for stronger, targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders:"

Urge Exxon to pay the punitive damaages it owes to Valdez victims (Save Our Environment) ) "It's been 18 years since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and ExxonMobil still has not paid the punitive damages it owes to the victims of the spill. The oil spill destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of Alaskan fishermen and others, and decimated wildlife. Instead of paying what it owes, ExxonMobil has dragged more than 30,000 people through 13 years of litigation by appealing every guilty verdict it's been given since 1994! During this time 6,000 people have died waiting for compensation." Send a fax to ExxonMobil's CEO and Board Chair and tell them to stop appealing the guilty verdicts and pay the damages they owe.

Awareness and actions on Climate Change/Global Warming issues are growing fast. A big leap forward in NRDC's ambitious campaign to save the world's last unspoiled gray whale nursery at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico. The Mexican government has just announced that 109,000 acres of federal lands surrounding this spectacular whale habitat will be donated for conservation.

Help put Polar Bears on the "threatened" list: (SaveOurEnvironment): "In December, officials at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Securing this "threatened" status will provide crucial protections that can help ensure the survival of our polar bears. Click here to send a message to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supporting increased protections for polar bears.

Good news: The US House and the Senate have both passed Iraq Accountabiity legislation more or less calling for ending the war and bring the troops home. Bush may veto it. Pressure is mounting and awareness is increasing.

Help stop the clash of cultures and pass it on. Petition for real peace talks in the middle east: (Avaaz) "First, watch our new 'Stop the Clash' video for a fresh, empowering take on the wider conflict, and why taking this first step toward Middle East peace matters: The video takes on the wider global crisis: from New York to Baghdad, Madrid to Beirut, talk is rising of a 'clash of civilizations' between the West and Islam.

Do your part to reduce global warming: 10 Tips for us. (NRDC National Resources Defense Council) "In a time when Fortune 500 companies and four major automakers (GM, Ford, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler) have announced their support for a cap on global warming emissions, it's clear that momentum is shifting. Pollution, especially from cars and from making electricity, is a major cause of global warming. Find out how YOU can make a difference. Get Tips to Fight Global Warming at home. 

Hi everyone,
I hope you've been keeping well over the last while.  I've been occupied with several projects and commitments, many to our grandchildren.  Two little ones, both girls, Lilly and Rowen, have been born this year, and they, together with their families, are doing well.  
Births strike me as renewed motivation to do all we can to make the world a kinder, saner, safer, healthier place.  We saw a poster recently that read    Justice, not Just Us.  
Along these lines, here is a quotation from a spiritual teacher I have found provocative and exhortative:
 “When we wake up in the morning, so often our first thought is some variation of “What about me?’  If this thought drives our lives, fear and self-absorption rule us.  We are so fixated on our own happiness that our mind begins to shrink, and with it, the possibility of happiness.What would real happiness be?  It would be egolessness, the lack of struggle, and a fundamental joy and sense of celebration, not only in our own happiness but also in the happiness of others.Considering others is the basis of any spiritual and worldly success, if we define success as having a fulfilled, meaningful, and permanently happy mind.  If we help others, we will all find the happiness we want.”                                    Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Happy Spring, Easter, warm regards, blessings, and peace to you all.  Be well, do good work and stay in touch.
Jill

This mailing contains lots of good news and information as well as many action opportunities.  Please take as many of the possible actions as you can, pass the websites and information on to your lists, and of course, let me know if you'd like to be removed from, or have some one added to, this list.
1. Climate changeGood news:   several items! a) Petition to put climate change at the top of the G8 agenda in June b) Do your part to reduce global warming:  10 Tips for immediate use at home.  c) Watch and share a video about our impact on climate change and its consequences.
2. War and peaceGood news: The House and the Senate have both just passed Iraq Accountabiity legislation. a) Keep up the pressure on your legislators to get out of Iraq and stay out of Iran. b) Help stop the clash of cultures and pass it on.  Petition for real peace talks in the middle east. 3. EnvironmentGood news: several items! a)   Help put Polar Bears on the "threatened" list. b)  Help sponsor TV ad to alert millions of viewers to the polar bear's plight. c)  Protest massive dam by mining company in Patagonia. d)  Help save the Ocelot in north America.   e)  Speak out again international whaling. 4. Social justiceGood news:  Attorney Gonzales may resign. a)  Call for stronger, targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders.  b)  Urge Exxon to pay the punitive damaages it owes to Valdez victims.  c)  Petition to close Guantanamo.
5 Politics and electionsGood news: The Democratic Party of Nevada is dropping Fox as the host of its presidential debate! a)  Support bill for public financing for fair elections. b)  Help ban paperless voting machines. c)  Support bill for Common Sense budget. d)  Support funding for NPR and PBS 6. Smiles :-) :-)    a) A cute Mouse story, along the lines of the theme "Thinking of others is part of our own well being." b) Washington Post Neologisms  7) Co
Here are the details:
1. Climate change Good news:

•  It's the latest buzz!  Here's the Environmental Defense version of this great event :  "In a groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court ruled today that the federal government has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate America's global warming pollution.