Get informed? Get active? 'Scuse me, but blogs seem to go blooey at some critical moments. I can't get my blog to budge this morning on this item (happening this afternoon):

de Jong will hold a press conference at 4:10 Wed. 22nd, topping off the 2:00 PM public rally on Legislature steps asking for full Fall Session

A real B.C. mini-hearing will happen on the steps of the Legislature on Wednesday November 22nd, at 2:00 PM, featuring the Raging Grannies.

They will ask, in song, why the full House of M.L.A.s is gathering for only 1 day instead of a full Fall Session. They will describe the B.C. issues in desperate need of open debate on the floor of the Legislature.

Will the Raging Grannies get answers? Sure, if enough people ask.

The Legislature Raids
http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/

documentary ??

cheap political propaganda in a vain attempt to generate another election campaign for Al "I invented the Internet" Gore.

riddled with errors.

jammy,

Please clarrify "riddled with errors". you seem to be an authority on the subject of global warming, so let's hear it.

Also, you want to source your quote about Al Gore inventing the internet, because he never actually said that and if right-wing reactionaries looking for a counter to Dan Quayle's classic f**k ups would actually add some context to what Gore actually said, this late-night TV fodder would be a non-issue.

Although the issue of global warming demands attention, this piece of documentary work is a piece of incognito fear mongering. Gore plays on the altruistic fear of children by claiming we must act now to protect our children. Children have long been an icon of fear in mass media and popular culture. He also pulls at the greatest fear of all of the danger that we may all die and our civilization will not be able to continue. Although this may be true, it is none the less playing into the discourse of fear. Another icon of fear, more dominant during the cold war is the image of an exploding nuclear bomb. Gore includes an image of this as well in his documentary although I'm not sure what a nuclear explosion has to do with global warming so it is obvious that this is a blatant play at the discourse of fear imposed on the viewer. Fear is used as a tool of social control and the discourse of fear as presented in popular culture is used by the elites to push their own agendas. If we need to change our ideologies as Gore claims, than why does he perpetuate the discourse of fear? To truly save our civilization we must give up the discourse of fear as well as our outdated ideologies. Through this we will create a truly sustainable society.

The best place to hide something is out in the open. Al Gore's direct connection with the nuclear industry is freely acknowleged.

This may be the reason CO2 has been made the villain when methane is in fact more of a problem.... and the whole of the solar system seems to be warming. There are real things to be done in preparation for a long term warming, but worrying about CO2 may not be one of them.

It was the hockey stickthat convinced me that we are the cause of global warming...then I find out that you can manipulate data to make a hockey stick for anything. Uh,oh, here we go again...yet another case of corrolation being equated with causation

We all stampede off...to do good... in the wrong direction. The people who manipulate us are brilliant. Let Harpo and the Shrub carry the ball for getting particulate matter handled (although I think the standards they wanted were below present standards) and we will automatically get turned away from the idea.

I haven't seen the film but I just found it on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwY4VU7zhsw&mode=related&search=

The first few minutes are a hypnotic induction. I studied NLP for about three years and the first thing one does is induce a light trance. That is exactly what is being done when you are asked to imagine and feel while watching a visual.

After not being able to drink tap water for 6 straight days, I think much of the GVRD may be a little aware that something is not quite right with our ecology. I'm sure some of the people on the Eastern Seaboard may share similar views as well after having some of the worst hurricane seasons on record.

Regardless of which gases are causing this and what factors, I think its pretty clear that the status quo isn't the way to go. We are experiencing massive climate instability, and there is no reason why we shouldn't go about getting rid of an emission based economy, and figuring out ways to go on living that don't change the composition of our water or our air.

Nana: I'm not sure what you are talking about when you point out that the Solar System's temperature rising. Did you miss the whole fact we're talking about ecological change in years, as opposed to "light years". Studies have shown that yes, there is a regular solar cycle, but nothing predicts the dramatic changes that are being seen.

From reading these comments it appears that many readers are getting their information about global warming from unqualified sources linked to the oil industry. If you want the truth (based on facts rather than public opinion) you must listen to the experts.
If you would like to learn about the climate change skeptics and who they really are then visit:

http://www.desmogblog.com

Climate change is real on Earth, but also on Mars, Jupiter and Pluto.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_warming_021009.html
http://www.mos.org/cst-archive/article/80/9.html
http://motls.blogspot.com/2006/05/global-warming-on-jupiter.html

What I find really interesting is that the oil interests are one in the same as the nuclear interests. The oil companies also own most of the patents on solar energy.

What might be happening is that the financial interests want nuclear brought in because they profit from the economic activity, much in the same way the railroad interests abandoned trains to get us all into planes.

Here's an interesting piece on the nuclear merry-go-round during the time of the Clinton/Gore administration.
http://www.counterpunch.org/nukes.html

I wish a hybrid car, an energy saving house and kids that turn off the lights when they leave the room for everybody on earth. There are plenty of good reasons to be energy efficient other than trying to keep the lid on greenhouse gas production....like stopping the horrors of the tar sands development.

I watched the whole film on You tube this afternoon and it was very well done. Gore seems to be a lovely man and maybe he is sincere. But one thing I do know, is that he took a dive at election time in 2000...but then maybe he didn't want to go the way all the Kennedy's did.

These Brand X versions of " absolute truth" tend to lean one into believing a certain premise...and all sides of the political spectrum admittedly do it as they build their own cases regarding a given cause.

As an ex classmate - now Lawyer and I discussed the issue of commodities in general, I stated to her one of the top classic commmodities is fear...and the creating and perpetuating of "Fear Ltd ".

In the TYEE blog re: the proposed Princeton coal fired plant topic(NOTE: still on- line , recommended reading )..."Rob" joined in and discussed solar powered options,IN DETAIL, and he gave much good useful info, cited an example with ACTUAL address in Vancouver...but how many are going to ACTUALLY go out and install one, vs lip service and TYEE ranting ???

The SUN had a article on Eco Rage....ie public attitude to the enviro fears. One letter writer made some excellent points ...he was quite tired of Eco ranting...and all the fear mongering.ie

The letter writer asked what happened to the "OZONE LAYER FEARS"...or "ACID RAIN FEARS " ....are the all fixed/repaired ???, or more indicative of the " FEAR LTD." industry, where they tap the public mood and boredom factor and find something new to rage and fear monger...and request good old donations $$$$... ? Again does the public feel "problem X" was fixed due to the actions of enviro -lobbyists they donated to...or does the problem still exist...or was it all blown out of proportion ? Perhaps much of it is actually formulaic ..START fear mongering... donations made...move on...public equates as "problem solved" and a heroes welcome to the fear mongerers...is this a nice sideshow scam???

Enviro- groups can be more corporate than the corporations they rail against. What happened to GreenPeace..are they on the endangered list too???

A final point is the letter's author stating some major NATURAL climate changing event...one or two good VOLCANIC eruptions can trump anything man has allegedly done...and most certainly have a far more expeditious and major impact on climate change etc....perhaps research the Krakatoa event.

Al Gore is a nice guy,likely sincere, but perhaps he should be careful not to follow the Michael Moore modus- operandi of truth in any of his public dealings, as credibility is key...even if he did invent the Internet.lol

"I wish a hybrid car, an energy saving house and kids that turn off the lights when they leave the room for everybody on earth. There are plenty of good reasons to be energy efficient other than trying to keep the lid on greenhouse gas production....like stopping the horrors of the tar sands development."

I agree, with the solution above, less debate, more personal responsibility, that means, sell your car, take the bus, become motivated to advocate for every city in B.C. to be car free and have alternative public transit paid for by people who can afford to own the property surrounding it.

The letter writer asked what happened to

First noting that "Fear Ltd." has fear promoters on both sides, that of which the Republican whitehouse is also well known for, some answers to your questions.

Ozone: The ozone is anything but fixed. While the U.S. has taken credit for solving the ozone hole crisis in banning the production of CFC's, no efforts have been made to collect known CFC pollutants in the public domain, i.e., older fridges and air conditioners.

This year marks the largest ozone hole ever recorded at the North pole, a hole the size of North America. The ozone hole is still very much so a crisis, as CFC's have a substantially long half life and we have by no means peaked with CFC levels due to older fridges and air conditioners yet to leak their CFC's into the atmosphere.

Acid rain is also still very much so a fear as most know enough not to live downwind from any major city or highway. (Sometimes fear is a good thing) While major changes have taken place to reduce amounts of sulfer from petroleum imports and exports (to a lesser degree), Refining hasn't taken it all out of petroleum products. It is still perhaps most evident in Canada downwind from Toronto and Montreal and the major highway connectors, where the traffic is heaviest.

But with global warming, the effects are undeniable. While Al Gore spends most of his time talking about rising CO2 levels not seen in Earths 900,000 year proven atmospheric history from Epica antartica ice assays, without mentioning the natural cycles to glacial retreats and formations(google EPICA and Milankovitch theory), the concerns are very real. The North and South poles are going through dramatic change.

Four factors determine the formations and retreats of ice ages. (and we're seeing a major retreat right now)
- Earths 3 dimensional orbit. (google Milankovitch theory)
- Increased levels of radiation from the sun, as Nana has alluded to.
- Increased greenhouse gases.
- deteriorating ozone.

The largest factor that determines global warming is the eccentricity of the earths orbit over long timelines, and the chart, the chart that Al Gore refers to with Earths 650,000 year data established by EPICA (which should have completed 3.2kms of drilling this summer through the largest icepack in Antartica establishing a 900,000 year timeline, google Epica) establish's this inconvenient truth with very pronounced spikes in CO2 and temperatures associated with a global warming trend.
Cont.

In summary, the eccentricity of earths orbit is bringing the earth closer to the sun and its radiation at a time where the radiation being emitted from the sun is considered to be increasing but even so, levels of emitted solar radiation are much less so a factor than the Earths orbit and its effects on the Earths atmosphere.

At the same time, the ozone is deteriorating from increased levels of CFC's with long half live's, allowing more radiation to penetrate the Earths atmosphere and surface. To top it off, CO2 and methane levels are at unprecidented levels and rising. The result of increased solar radiation from changes in earths orbit, possible increases in solar radiation from sources, increases of radiation penetration from depleted ozone, and increases in greenhouse gases?

Global warming.

What you are reading has nothing to do with fear, and everything to do with common sense. This is what science is telling us... and life in general. WE ARE PRODUCTS OF OUR OWN ENVIRONMENTS.

Some environments are controlled. Some are uncontrolled. We don't have control over the Earths orbit, or the levels of radiation from the sun. But just as humanity is collectively altering the atmospheric and ocean environments in a negative way, so too, can we do the opposite, perhaps even balance the threshholds of these environments to create a world that can withstand the forces of nature that are beyond our control to extend our timelines and live up to all that evolution speaks of the product of survival given birth from good will.

But to accomplish this, we need to take control of the environments we can control... our own political will, ability to present the facts, the fully revealled truth that reveals reality to its fullest extent, and the implimentation of the solutions needed to respond to such truths. And when we've finally heard and accepted them, we'll know our true collective potential to control our atmospheric and trophosperic environments for the greater good of all life on earth.

The choice, collectively, is ours. Its not the choice of any one corporation or nation, its the collective choice of us all and the sooner our voice speaks as one, even under Kyoto targets that aren't stingent enough... its a start.

Fear, hype, PR, what eliminates the fear and the fallacies and half truths and lies, are the complete facts. Knowledge. But what good is the evolution of knowledge, without the evolution of honesty that reveals all that is real, all that is needed to accept the truth for what it is? What good is knowledge without the wisdom love brings to guide it? For this is the inconvenient truth of it... do we have what it takes? Do we have enough good will?

I believe we do.

But there are only two solutions.

One is the replacement of coal, gas, and nuclear fired power plants and gas driven transportation with the discovery and use of new technology that is safe to Earths environments that keep us alive, perhaps even prolonging our lifespans in a signifigant way. Hydrogen, Geothermal, solar, tides, wind, cold fusion, efficiency... we need a complete change in how all power is generated and consumed, including areas of transportation.

The other is birth control, putting ceilings on populations based on national and international resources and sustainability until better technology comes along to replace what we have now... environmental failures and the threat of Earths life extinction.

Neither of these solutions will take place without political will... good will. There is, I believe, simply no other way.

Want to help move BC out of the fossil fool age and into the era of renewable energy?! Then I urge you to promote non-polluting, ultra-high density tidal (current) energy. Tidal energy is perfect for BC, and unlike wind and solar tidal is entirely predictable many years in advance, to the minute. As well, we are blessed with abundant excellent locations nearby to the grid, also unlike wind and solar. BC Hydro has done its own analysis (2002) and reported that using present generation tidal technologies, tidal energy could generate "up to 40%" of Hydro's annual generating capacity, at near-competitive pricing. That makes more more sense than Alcan-premium power, Duke Point co-gen, coal, offshore oil-gas, yes?! Right now, Blue Energy Canada, based in Vancouver, is testing a prototype in the Ocean Energy Research Centre (testing tank) at UBC. for more info go to bluenergy.com.
Let's do it, let's make renewable energy a reality in BC in our lifetime. - Michael Maser, Blue Energy Canada

Wow, the arguments of the pro-pollution lobby just keep getting more bizarre. "The whole solar system is warming"????

For a scientific refutation of this nonsense see:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/10/global-warming-on-mars/

btw, From 1999 to 2005, the Sun became less luminous, because of the 11 year solar cycle.

There is another free screening coming up:

Friday, November 24th, 6 pm to 9 pm
SFU Harbour Centre, Fletcher Challenge Theatre, 515 W. Hastings St.,
Vancouver
Free film screening of AN INCOVENIENT TRUTH, with commentary from leading
climate change researcher Dr. Stuart Cohen

Maybe some of you that think that the film is “riddled with errors” should attend and try to pass your wacky theories by a real climate scientist.

If not mistaken, " AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH " is now available on DVD...or so say the TV ads.

Wait just a minute Rob accusing someone of being pro pollution because they try to bring out an important factor which needs to be explored realistically is pretty much like Scrub's saying "You're either with us and against the terrorists.

There now exists reason to think that the Sun is also at the effect of, rather than the cause of planetary warming throughout the Solar System and that is that Pluto's eliptical orbit is taking it farther away from the Sun and therefore any effect from the Sun is lessening. It points to interior heating of the planetary bodies. This may be part of the 13,500 year cycle and must be factored in, because we could be in for a very long ride and we'd better prepare for the eventuality.

That doesn't mean we don't try to do something to alleviate our own impact on the situation.

Nana,

I didn't accuse you of being pro-pollution (and I am sorry if that was implied). You are simply parroting an unscientific theory that has been injected into the debate by PR hacks hired by the pro-pollution lobby. They are the ones that created this argument, not you.

If you truly believe that this issue should be “explored realistically” then look at the science.

As the first article you linked clearly points out, the science seems to indicate that any warming that may be happening on Pluto is probably caused by volcanoes, seasonal changes or atmospheric changes on Pluto. None of which could be causing global warming on earth.

But we really don't know if Pluto is warming because Pluto has not been observed for a full orbit, so we have no data on secular changes in its mean temperature.

Again, from 1999 to 2005, the Sun became less luminous, because of the 11 year solar cycle. So I don't know how people can some how claim that this is causing solar system warming.

I do not want us to fall into thinking we have to go nuclear. Leaving aside the solar system, as has been pointed out there are other technologies far more attractive than something that gives off a dangerous waste product we have no way of rendering safe for the eons it needs to be watched.

and if you have a minute, a little woody harrelson contribution

http://bulletin.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&messageID=2051994483&MyToken=62e19ce0-9904-4f96-8b6f-d171ac6e5a41

oh and thanks for the second notice rob, couldn't make it to ubc because the shuttle service is so crappy and illogical. did anyone talk about transit access (or lack of) to ubc centres like Frederic Wood, Belkin Gallery, Chan etc.? or the reduction of the need for cars on campus. "university town" my foot (really).

Thats another thing I don't understand, Bill Rees' school of regional planning is on campus, but they don't participate in transit planning on campus. Am I missing something?

Global warming is a human rights issue. The World Health Organization estimates that 150, 000 people are currently dying from climate change.

We need movies like the Incovenient Truth, to create awareness of the issue as the public relations industry has poured billions of dollars into spinning the science of global warming in an effort to suppress the issue.

A great thanks to the Tyee and the David Suzuki foundation for sponsoring this event to create more dialogue amongst the public and create awareness of the issue. Hopefully, more events such as this one will occur as we need to take action on this issue now before it is too late.

Jaskiran Uppal
SFU Communications Student

Juppal
what is happening with transit at SFU? What are SFU activists doing to get students to take transit instead of their cars?

OK, what do you do after watching Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"? Most of us are just helpeless, because we don't have REAL CHOICES when it comes to 'hardware' such as cars which burn carbon-producing gasses, eh? NOT!! Check out real 'hardware' at ..

Invitation to Coop. Auto Netwk's event at Oakridge mall, December 9th, 1pm-4pm

EVENT OVERVIEW:
Help celebrate Cooperative Auto Network's newest branch location at Oarkridge Centre, on December 9, 2006 from 1pm-4pm, at the mall's auditorium. The public is invited to this free event. Please drop in to inquire about the advantages of car sharing, at the C.A.N. booth. Everyone is welcome.

EXHIBITORS/PARTICIPANTS:

Don Lum Ensemble, a 20+ member violin, cello, and viola orchestra
Will play popular (e.g. Henry Mancini) and seasonal songs, every hour on the hour, to 10-15 minutes past each hour

Silbury School & Resource Centre
Independent school in the neighborhood for gifted kids

Atomic Bikes' "black tie" free bicycle service
Free minor bike tune ups, parts extra if needed. Steve will wear a black tie, hence its called a black-tie bike tune up!

Junkology
Kids arts & crafts table using recycled materials

Al Pasternak PhD. Indoor Composting
Learn about an indoor composting method that produces no foul odours and attracts no insects. This makes it ideal for use indoors in apartments and offices before taking it outside putting it into the ground
or a regular compost bin.

Gordon Wong of Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association
Demonstrate long-term durability of electric cars, scooter, & skateboards
Will also have a display of electric vehicles outside the auditorium.

Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition
Represents Vancouver cyclists and has pushed for more bike lanes

Gifted Children Association of BC
Stages workshops and meetings in Osler school (in this neighborhood)

Solar Power Roadshow
Solar car building and races for kids of all ages.
Will provide free batteries for the pubic library cross-promotion (see below)

Vancouver Public Library
The libraries will advise their patrons that they can obtain free batteries at this event by presenting a library fine receipt dated from December 1st to December 9th inclusive. Batteries will be supplied by Solar Power Roadshow. (A felt-tip marker will be used to mark receipts.)

Sustainable Building Centre
Educates and informs about green buildings.

Hope to see you there!
Please pass this on, to everyone, everywhere.
Rob Matthies
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