Greenspiration News: jobs, smoking, nukes, ghost bikes

Angela Bischoff greenspi at web.ca
Tue Feb 10 09:50:43 EST 2009


Greenspiration News

“The earth does not belong to humans.” — Deep Ecologist Arne Naess,  
(1912- Jan. 12, 2009)

http://culturechange.org/cms/index.php? 
option=com_content&task=view&id=317&Itemid=1

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Green Jobs, Yes We Can
Tar Sands, No We Can’t

On February 19th President Obama will make his first foreign visit to  
Canada.

Let’s make sure that President Obama doesn’t give Stephen Harper a  
free pass on the Tar Sands.

In the build-up to President Obama’s visit individuals and groups in  
Canada and the United States will be standing up and speaking out  
against the Tar Sands and its many social, environmental and economic  
costs.

Take Action Now!

1.       Say “no” to the Tar Sands and sign the new open letter to  
President Obama:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/green-jobs-yes-we- 
can-tar-sands-no-we-cant
2.       Encourage your friends and colleagues to add their names to  
the open letter to President Obama.

Thanks,

The Tar Sands Watch Team

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How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic

On this site is a complete listing of the articles in "How to Talk to  
a Climate Skeptic," a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the  
most common skeptical arguments on global warming. A fantastic resource.

http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

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Stop Dumping Radioactive Water in the Ottawa River

Ottawa – Sierra Club Canada is calling for the Canadian Nuclear and  
Safety Commission (CNSC) to end the dumping of radioactive water into  
the Ottawa River, and the drinking water of millions of residents  
downstream from Chalk River. A recent high reading for tritium in  
water from the Ottawa River is a cause for concern. Recently- 
announced plans by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to  
deliberately dump radioactive water have also increased concerns  
about public safety.

“Radioactive water is a threat to our health and the environment, and  
there is no safe level of exposure. It is easily incorporated into  
our DNA, and can cause birth defects and cancer. We need better  
drinking water standards, and we need a public investigation to see  
what is going on at Chalk River,” says Mike Buckthought of Sierra  
Club Canada.

http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/media/item.shtml?x=2870

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Green Investments Needed for Canada's Economic Recovery: Prime  
Minister Harper's Budget Fails to Deliver


The 2009 federal budget is a far cry from the "green stimulus"  
package called for by thousands of Canadians. Unfortunately, Prime  
Minister Steven Harper's budget, announced January 27, was a missed  
opportunity to invest in the green economy of the future. In the 2009  
budget, investments in "clean energy" account for a mere five per  
cent of the total stimulus package, much of which appears to be  
destined for carbon capture and storage. In comparison, President  
Obama's stimulus package includes at least $55 billion for clean  
energy over the next eighteen months or so, four times more per  
capita than Canada's government proposed.

The federal budget leaves Canada lagging far behind the U.S. in  
fighting global warming. Moreover, the government's decision not to  
renew the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program puts millions of  
dollars of green investment and thousands of future jobs at risk.  
This failure to renew support could leave Canada without any  
meaningful renewable energy funding in six months, while countries  
around the world are doubling and tripling their efforts to invest in  
renewables.

Read related media releases from the Pembina Institute:
Over 850,000 Canadians Call for Focus on Green Jobs, Green Stimulus
Dark Days for Green Energy in Canada


Seven Ways Canada Could Have Stimulated A New Clean Economy


In December, the Pembina Institute submitted a set of recommendations  
to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for the 2009 budget. The policies we  
support produce significant new investment in clean technologies that  
have a track record in creating jobs and generating economic growth.  
They include:

Major new support for retrofitting and re-commissioning Canada's  
homes and buildings.
A Smart Energy Fund providing low-interest loans for energy  
efficiency and small-scale renewable energy systems.
Expansion of the successful ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.
A pan-Canadian research network focused on overcoming technical  
barriers to increased renewable energy deployment.
Major new direct investment in bus and light rail infrastructure.
Green retooling and higher fuel efficiency standards for the  
automotive sector.
A cap-and-trade system for GHG emissions that puts a price on global  
warming pollution and provides revenue for green investments.
Extending the government's home energy efficiency program was a  
positive step; however, overall the budget failed to make a  
meaningful investment in Canada's green energy future.

For further details, download Pembina's Recommendations for an  
Economic Stimulus.

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Champix -  quit-smoking aid - causes mood swings, depression,  
suicidal thoughts

A drug commonly used to help people quit smoking is the focus of more  
than 800 complaints from Canadian users, many of them reporting mood  
swings, depression or suicidal thoughts.

Of the 818 complaints about Champix (varenicline tartrate) Health  
Canada has received complaints on its adverse reaction database, 520  
involved psychiatric problems.

Angela's note: Champix is marketing name for Zyban, or Wellbutrin -  
an antidepressant.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/04/champix.html

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Nuclear Power Can’t Be a Solution to Global Warming Precisely because  
of Global Warming
Extreme Weather Events Multiply Existing Risks and Vulnerabilities of  
Nuclear Power: From Natural Disasters to Nuclear Disasters

The irony is that while nuclear proponents cite global warming as the  
key impetus for expanding nuclear power, it is precisely global  
climate disruptions and the associated extreme weather events which  
will significantly multiply and amplify the existing risks and costs  
of nuclear power to make it more costly, risky, lethal, and  
unreliable. With global warming, nuclear power threatens to turn  
ordinary natural disasters (such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes,  
wildfires, and droughts) into potential nuclear disasters. <snip>

The sensible solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not  
with more nuclear power, but with small, deconcentrated (as opposed  
to corporate monopolies), and decentralized power systems that can  
adapt to local conditions.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/02/nuclear-power-can’t-be-a- 
solution-to-global-warming-precisely-because-of-global-warming/
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Smart Transportation Economic Stimulation:
Infrastructure Investments That Support Strategic Planning Objectives  
Provide True Economic Development

  www.vtpi.org/econ_stim.pdf

Summary
This timely new report discusses factors to consider when evaluating  
transportation economic stimulation strategies. Transportation  
investments can have large long-term economic, social and  
environmental impacts. Expanding urban highways tends to stimulate  
motor vehicle travel and sprawl, exacerbating future transport  
problems and threatening future economic productivity. Improving  
alternative modes (walking and cycling conditions, and public transit  
service quality) tends to reduce total motor vehicle traffic and  
associated costs, providing additional long-term economic savings and  
benefits. Increasing transport system efficiency tends to create far  
more jobs than those created directly by infrastructure investments.  
Domestic automobile industry subsidies are ineffective at stimulating  
employment or economic development. Public policies intended to  
support domestic automobile sales could be economically harmful in  
the long-term.

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Ghost Bikes

Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are  
killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and  
locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small  
plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an  
otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support  
of cyclists' right to safe travel.

Ghostbikes.org is intended to be a site for the worldwide cycling  
community. For information on ghost bike work being done in your city/ 
country, click here.

http://www.ghostbikes.org/

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Book Review

THE INSTINCT TO HEAL: CURING DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS WITHOUT  
DRUGS AND WITHOUT TALK THERAPY
2003, RODALE PRESS

BY DAVID SERVAN-SCHREIBER, MD, PHD

This remarkable book is the record of a physician’s search for real  
cures to the most common ailments physicians see.  More than 50% of  
physician visits are related to stress.  Servan-Schreiber shares his  
personal story of his search for solutions, stating clearly his  
belief that a pill is not a cure if it only relieves symptoms (and  
only for some people) and does not cure the underlying cause.

Servan-Schreiber demonstrates that our emotional experiences affect  
us in many ways, including our heart rate variability.  He shows how  
‘heart coherence’ - a healthy pattern of heart functioning that  
corresponds to a positive emotional state - can be achieved.  He  
shows how visualization, meditation, and yoga can help to bring us  
into positive states even when dealing with very stressful situations.

Servan-Schreiber describes several other methods with strong track  
records for mood improvement, including EMDR (eye movement  
desensitization and reprocessing, a way of processing traumatic  
experiences), dawn light (waking to natural light), acupuncture,  
omega-3’s, exercise, touch, improved communication and enhanced  
meaning in our lives.

I found myself uplifted by this book; very grateful that a mainstream  
researcher is seriously considering alternatives that up to now have  
been eclipsed by reliance on chemical substances.  Servan-Schreiber  
is instead pointing us in the direction of a natural and long-lasting  
cure in the form of practices that enhance our lives.

by Lyn Adamson

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