All posts by stephanie

Interesting point – not that I want anybody leaving the Paris Agreement (or other valuable international agreements), but at least others are stepping up to make up for the shortcomings that are risked by the US pulling out of Paris.
If a country as powerful as the US, with emissions and economy to match, can pull out of an agreement like this and have the agreement go on largely unchanged – due to the efforts of other state and non-state actors – what does this mean for global power balances? What does this mean for the relationship between state and non-state? What might this mean for future agreements? Will be interesting to see where this goes in the future.
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US Embassy, Berlin, with a bit of help from Greenpeace Op-ed by Tim Gore, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research of Oxfam’s GROW Campaign Oxfam began campaigning for a global climate agreement in 2007. We have sent teams to every COP and every single negotiating session ever since. Along with many partners and allies, we…

via There was never a better time for the US to leave global climate talks — From Poverty to Power

World leaders react after Trump rejects Paris climate deal
The only sliver of good news in a terrible decision from Trump is that it looks like this will help motivate the rest of the world to work twice as hard to do the right thing… 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/01/trump-withdraw-paris-climate-deal-world-leaders-react?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Disappointed to see that the vote did not pass, and to see how little coverage there seems to be. I guess there is still more work to do to get change on this front – but I’m not sure how the Liberals, and Trudeau specifically, could have been more clear during the campaign that electoral reform would happen. 🙂
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/05/31/liberal-electoral-reform-pledge-ndp-vote_n_16900086.html
Interesting note: I was checking something on the Fair Vote Canada website http://www.fairvote.ca/ this morning and saw this  quote:

Not sure what else the current government needs to move towards PR. Maybe sending that quote to the PMOs office, and MPs would help! 🙂
 

http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw8p6jgTU  or here:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/5/31/15713838/inoculation-climate-change-denial
Interesting idea – particularly on the same day that it appears that Trump is planning on pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.  Anything that helps build support for climate facts and action is a gain, in my opinion. 🙂

Below is an email from Fair Vote Canada http://www.fairvote.ca/. Please spread the word and help ensure PR for Canada. Thanks!
………………………..
Please call your Liberal MP on Monday or Tuesday and urge them to vote yes to the Electoral Reform Committee Report!

When Justin Trudeau decided to break the campaign promise to make every vote count our Liberal Members of Parliament who campaigned on this promise did not get a vote.
That’s about to change.
On Wednesday, May 31, we expect there will be a free vote in the House of Commons on a motion to adopt the report of the all-party committee on electoral reform (ERRE). Read more here: http://www.fairvote.ca/errevote/
If the other parties vote yes – and we expect they will – we only need yes votes from 20 Liberal MPs for the motion to pass.
A yes vote by Liberal backbenchers would send a strong message to the government that many MPs did not agree with the Prime Minister’s decision and want the government to put the promise to make every vote count in 2019 back on the table. 
Can you call your local Liberal MP and ask your MP to vote yes? Click here to call now!
Phone calls make an impact. All you need to say to the constituency assistant who answers is something like, “My name is __________ and I’m a constituent in (your riding). I’m calling to ask MP _______ to vote yes to the motion to adopt the report of the electoral reform committee.”
Of course, you can add whatever else you want about why PR and this promise is important to you! (If you voted Liberal last time, please mention that, too).
In visits with MPs this week, we are hearing that some MPs are still undecided. They are being told that only a small group of people in their riding care about this. Enough people tying up their constituency office phone lines for the next two days could convince them otherwise! 
A few points to consider:

• Liberal MPs campaigned on a clear promise that 2015 was the last election using first-past-the-post and to make every vote count in 2019
• 63% of Canadians voted for parties who made this promise
• 88% of the experts who testified to the electoral reform committee and 87% of the public who participated recommended proportional representation
• The largest poll ever on this topic – 15,800 constituents in 20 Liberal ridings – shows that 70% of decided participants want their Liberal MP to advocate in the House of Commons that the Liberal government keep its promise, and change our system to proportional representation in time for the next election

This motion is not a bill. Liberal MPs do not have to agree with every recommendation in the report to vote yes.
There is still time to deliver this important promise for 2019! MPs willing to stand up for evidence, stand up for constituents, and stand up for their campaign promise can turn things around.
Please click here – https://fairvote.callmymp.ca/ – to call your Liberal MP now, and encourage friends to do the same!
Sincerely,
Anita Nickerson
Fair Vote Canada Action Coordinator
 
 

I was looking back at this article from a few years ago https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet and wondering how much has changed since it was originally published. The article summarizes the call from the UN for people to switch to a plant-based diet for a variety of reasons, including sustainability as a primary factor.
In my experience, there has been what appears to be a rapid expansion in terms of numbers of people who identify with a plant-based diet (myself included) in recent years, which I think is great news!
Here are a few of the questions that came to mind to me as I was thinking about this:

• Has the global shift to a plant-based diet happened more quickly or slowly than the report writers might have hoped for? Where will things be in five years? 10 years? Will the rapid pace of growth in plant-based eating continue at the same rate as it has in the last few?
• What does this movement need to help keep/expand the momentum? In my experience, eating plant-based is very easy in general – but is more challenging when I’m out with others etc.  How do we collectively move things forward? How much do we openly lead/advocate vs quietly setting an example? Being too vocal (or vocal in the wrong context) can turn others off from the idea of plant-based living, while being too quiet rarely contributes to positive changes that are needed. What’s the sweet spot in the middle?
• There seems to be significant growth in organizations/websites etc working to promote plant-based living. However, there doesn’t seem to be much coordinating between them. Is there something that I am missing. (I admit that I haven’t looked closely into this. Just noting my impressions.)

What else could/should be done to promote plant-based eating, and other changes (eg renewables instead of fossil fuels etc) that are equally important parts of a transition to sustainable living?
Thoughts?

Smaller, lighter, greener: are micro EVs the future of city transport?
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/11/micro-evs-city-transport-suemens-renault-green-air-pollution?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

When even Saudi Arabia is aiming to become a renewable energy leader, there really is no reason for the rest of the world to do anything less. Despite the political environment in some places, let’s work together to push for rapid fossil fuel divestment and renewable energy investment. 🙂
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1071091/saudi-arabia#photo/1

This interview just went up today – in response to the recent church bombings in Egypt. Admittedly, I am biased  – Freddy has been a friend of mine for 25 years, and I work with him/for him at his NGO. However, one thing that comes through in this interview, as it often does with Freddy, is his sense of the value of education and relationship building as key to peacebuilding – exactly what our Mennonite schools and other institutions promote every day in a variety of ways. 🙂 (In fact, those of you connected with Rockway, MCCO, 50 Kent etc will recognize him from when he was out here a few months ago. :))
The segment is quite long – interview starts after some preliminary background info on the current context etc.  – but worthwhile, as always. 🙂

Egypt: Isis claims responsibility for Coptic church bombings
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/09/egypt-coptic-church-bombing-death-toll-rises-tanta-cairo?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress
As details continue to emerge, it remains a sad day for Egypt, and the world…