Climate doublespeak
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Drought. Heat domes. Wildfires and tornadoes.
At 1.5°C warmer than it was pre-industrial era, the planet is teetering on the edge of further severe and more frequent extreme weather events and the havoc on society that ensues.
And yet, as Chuka Ejeckam writes this week: Strategies like reducing one's own carbon footprint, "voting for the climate," or attempting to persuade profiteering firms with purchasing decisions have all proved largely insufficient -- despite our governments' and corporations' attempts to convince us they are working.
For that reason, Ejeckam argues we should not hold fast to strategies that are clearly failing us, but instead seek more effective ones.
The climate crisis is here, and like anything else, its impacts will be felt by the world's most marginalized populations.
"It cannot be the case that the poorest people, in greater numbers than ever before, pay for the crimes of the wealthy with their lives." writes Ejeckam.
As Matthew Behrens points out, that is precisely what is happening with energy development in Canada. He details the injustices of Canada's dams in a new series titled "Silence of the dams: Canada's faux-green genocide."
In part one, Behrens relays how Manitoba Hydro's Keeyask dam runs roughshod through Cree land, flooding the site of a memorial of a seven-year-old boy. Manitoba Hydro has done well to acknowledge all of the harm its dam will impose on the region and its people, but appears to expect that acknowledgment is absolution.
Read the rest of that story here.
Toronto police continue their assault on the city's encampments, the people who live there, and allies who try to protect them. "The City of Toronto knows how to throw a military operation," writes street nurse and activist Cathy Crowe. The tactics so far have been to surveil, kettle people inside a park, limit journalists' access, make violent and forceful arrests, and bulldoze it all down afterwards.
As smoke fills the air this summer, hope continues to poke through. In the midst of a heat wave that has killed hundreds of people in British Columbia, the blasting of trees to build roads for the clearcutting of rare old growth forest has continued despite the extreme fire danger. And yet, the Fairy Creek forest defenders hold fast. Rita Wong reports from the front lines.
Fighter jets and rockets and billions of dollars
Jeff Bezos made history this week as the world's richest man flew to space in what looked like — well — a penis, dear reader. (Sometimes symbolism is best blatantly on the nose.) Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan contrast that exercise in ego with a Mexican migrant's likely fatal journey through the desert over which Bezos flew.
Brent Patterson writes about the federal government's decision to spend $76.8 billion on new warplanes, and explains how challenging that decision includes understanding the business logic of NATO.
In cahoots advertising
With the release of a report from Sick Kids and the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, Ontario elementary teachers are urging the government to take a cautious approach to the reopening of schools.
Even small spaces can be transformed into diverse, delicious and beautiful abundance with an edible-ecosystem design. Read how you can transform your patch of grass into a biodiverse garden guild in Harrowsmith Magazine.
Cuba
Ish Theilheimer blasts U.S. President Joe Biden for his Trump-like approach to Cuba. "Instead of normalizing relations, Biden has deepened the strife between the two nations by following Trump in his sanctions. As a result, Cubans are experiencing real misery," writes Theilheimer.
Plus, Rick Salutin writes about the revolutions of Cuba, Haiti, and the price of independence imposed by imperialists.
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Lois Ross: Poison with your cereal, anyone?
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Evelyn Lazare: Groundhogs, sunscreen, and COVID-19
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Summer Mahmud and Rahul Varma: Whitewashed: Canada is shackled by its history of denial
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Brent Patterson: Canadian-made armoured vehicle stops human rights defenders in Colombia
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David Suzuki: The climate is changing rapidly, but the oil industry is not
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