Student Strikes for Climate Change

Tue, 2019-09-17 01:20

#2

jerrym

Aware that Montreal has been one of the world's strongest cities in supporting Student Strikes for Climate Action, Greta Thunberg, the autistic 15 year old girl who started what started a global movement in August 218 by protesting outside Swedish Parliament alone about political inaction on climate change (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg), has agreed to attend Montreal's student strike on September 27th.

"The young activist has previously expressed support for activism in Montreal during the 'student strike' demonstrations back on March 15. "The Montreal march was one of the largest demonstrations in the world during the Friday for the Future Global Walkout, with more than 150,000 students taking part. " (https://www.mtlblog.com/news/canada/qc/montreal/greta-thunberg-wants-to-...)

Quebec Solidaire co-leader Mannon Massé has asked that Thunberg be allowed to speak to Quebec's National Assembly, although the Speaker has not ruled on the issue.

Climate change is now the number three issue in the 2019 Canadian election campaign 29%, behind only the cost of living at 35% and health care at 34%, according to an Abacus poll this month. (https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/climate-change-canada-election-2019_...)

16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg holds a placard reading "School strike for the climate" during a manifestation against climate change outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm, Sweden November 30, 2018.

Young activist Greta Thunberg says she is coming to Montreal. The Swedish 16-year-old is set to attend a scheduled climate protest on Sept. 27 to call on governments to take concrete action to combat climate change. ...

Thunberg had praised Montreal on social media for its large-scale turnout in the previous global demonstration back in March. ...

Thunberg has made headlines around the world by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a zero-emissions sailboat to attend the United Nations climate summit on Sept. 23 in New York.

Manon Massé, co-head of second opposition party Québec solidaire, has already asked that the activist be formally invited to address elected officials in the National Assembly. The speaker, François Paradis, will have to decide on the issue. "Greta, Montreal and I are waiting for you with open arms," Massé said on Twitter Sunday evening.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/greta-thunberg-1.5275586

Quebec climate action group La Planète s’invite au Parlement has invited Thunberg to attend the Montreal event on Sept. 27 that will encourage people to walk out of work and school to march for the environmental cause. ...

“She is one of the loudest voices we have to call attention to the degrading environmental condition and emergency we have on the planet,” said Clarkson. ... “(Thunberg) represents simple plain common sense that only a young person that hasn’t been disciplined enough to tow the line can bring,” said Clarkson.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5825359/greta-thunberg-climate-march-montreal/

Thu, 2019-09-19 15:02

#3

Pogo

This is a great speech. We need to look past climate change as a tool to fix our political system.

And the science doesn’t mainly speak of “great opportunities to create the society we always wanted”. It tells of unspoken human sufferings, which will get worse and worse the longer we delay action - unless we start to act now. And yes, of course a sustainable transformed world will include lots of new benefits. But you have to understand. This is not primarily an opportunity to create new green jobs, new businesses or green economic growth. This is above all an emergency, and not just any emergency. This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/greta-thunberg-congress-speech-climate-change-crisis-dream-a9112151.html

Thu, 2019-09-19 23:24

#4

jerrym

Since Tuesday of this week the number of Student Strikes for Climate Change scheduled from September 20-27th around the world has grown from 3,395 to 4,118 in more than 150 countries. This set of student strikes is expected to exceed the 1.5 million student strikers for climate action that occurred on March 15th.

Student Strikes for Climate Action come just before the United Nations meeting for the Climate Action Summit which will be held on September 23, where countries are supposed to ramp up their ambitions to dramatically cut greenhouse gases under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. A second worldwide strike is planned for September 27.

Sat, 2019-09-21 18:11

#5

jerrym

Rabble outlines the reason for Canadians to strike for climate action:

Here's why we strike:

Because anything less than system change means jeopardizing the future of our planet.

Because Canada owes the rest of the world a massive climate debt.

Because Canada needs a Green New Deal.

Because workers deserve a just transition to clean, good jobs.

Because climate justice is migrant justice is racial justice.

Because we need to build a new economy that is based on caring for each other and our Earth.

Because air pollution alone contributes to more than 7 million respiratory-related deaths annually around the world.

Because Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and there can be no reconciliation without climate justice.

Because we believe in a better world and just future for all.

Because austerity logic has harmed teachers, domestic workers, artists, educators, students, and other people who already work in low-carbon industries -- and it's time to reverse that logic.

Because our universities and institutions are invested in the fossil fuel industry.

Because our prime minister just bought a pipeline.

Because real coverage of the climate crisis requires independent, activist-fuelled media.

Because we need sustainable food systems.

Because climate change is a top concern for Canadians going into the election and our political parties aren't listening.

Because a carbon tax just isn't enough.

Because we need massive investment in fully free, excellent, and universal public services, including health care, pharmacare, child care, and transit.

Because climate change isn't a single issue, it's every issue.

Because it's climate justice now, or eco-fascism later.

Because the time is up.

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/views-expressed/2019/09/20-reasons-strike

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:32

#6

jerrym

In Vancouver 100,000 marched in the Student Strike for Climate Action. I attended the protest there were many chants of

"No Trudeau Pipeline, Not Now Not Ever" and

"What do we want?"

"Climate justice"

"When do we want it?

"Now."

Vancouver police, who estimated the crowd downtown at 100,000 people, said no major incidents were reported. ....

Holding signs that read “rise up before the ocean does,” and “the planet is hotter than my boyfriend” were Nikola Toma, 13, and Aaron Albindia, 12. They took the day off from Kwantlen Park Secondary in Surrey because they are concerned about environmental issues, such as plastic waste and rising sea temperatures.

“I have a lot of dreams and ambitions that I’d love to live out but the way the world’s going now, I can’t see many of them happening,” Nikola said. “That’s definitely a big bummer so I think we should say something.”

Tens of thousands attended the Global Climate Strike at Vancouver city hall Sept. 27 before marching over the Cambie Street Bridge into downtown. Photo Dan Toulgoet

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/live-vancouver-demonstrators-jo...

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:35

#7

jerrym

More than 300,000 people attended the Montreal Student Strike for Climate Action march. Trudeau was heckled extensively for buying the Trans Mountain pipeline and his brown/blackface costumes in the past.

An estimated 315,000 people took part in the Montreal march.

Waves of Canadians led by global climate change fighter Greta Thunberg marched the country’s streets Friday to demand leaders take action to put a halt to rising temperatures. ...

In Montreal, Indigenous teenagers and Ms. Thunberg arrived about 20 minutes before the last stragglers left the starting point of the city’s walk. Marchers spilled into side streets along the planned route, taking over much of the downtown. The 4.4-kilometre continuous stream of humanity defied precise counting, but the city’s emergency services estimated 315,000 people were there.

Teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who is spearheading a climate change strike in Montreal, said on Friday that people want to 'silence' her because she and other young activists are 'becoming too loud.'

The Liberal Leader joined the Montreal march for a short time as he campaigned for re-election Oct. 21. The reception was hostile as protesters marched near him yelling “No pipeline” and heckled him for his history of wearing brownface and blackface before he entered politics.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadians-take-to-streets...

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:36

#8

jerrym

Greta Thunberg has received heavy criticism, been called mentally ill because she is on the autism spectrum, including from Canada's Maxime Bernier, and even had death threats from extreme right-wingers in her fight against climate change. She is not the only young person being attacked because of their support of climate action.

This url describes the death threats against Greta Thunberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChDcw09QCk

On the morning of August 25, 11-year-old Lilly Platt tweeted a video clip of a Brazilian Amazon tribe speaking out against deforestation. Awareness of the Amazon wildfires was already at a fever pitch, and the tweet exploded. Then, within an hour, a swarm of troll accounts started flooding her mentions with porn.

Shortly after the attack, her mom, Eleanor Platt, made an online plea for help: “Dear Friends of Lilly, this is Lillys mum she is being targeted by revolting trolls who are spamming her feed with pornography. There is only so much i can do to block this. Please if you see these posts report them.” Over the course of the day, some of Lilly’s nearly 10,000 followers did just that. ...

Personal attacks have always been a part of the climate denial playbook, even as fossil fuel companies secretly funded campaigns and researchers to question the scientific consensus on climate change. The most famous incident, 2009’s Climategate, involved scientists getting their emails hacked and then facing death threats. ...

The clearest example of this is what's happening today with climate activism’s biggest star, Greta Thunberg. The 16-year-old Swedish crusader single-handedly launched the climate strike movement last year and has become the biggest target for attacks on climate activism online. Climate science deniers, right-wing media pundits, and politicians are the most high-profile figures fixating on everything from her braided hair to her Asperger’s to the motivation behind her strikes. ...

On August 14, as Greta set sail across the Atlantic for a packed trip involving multiple strikes, testimonies to Congress, and the United Nations climate summit in New York, former UK Independence Party funder Arron Banks tweeted that “Freak yachting accidents do happen in August.” Shortly after Greta’s arrival in the US, Maxime Bernier, a Canadian politician associated with extreme far-right groups, wrote: “She should be denounced and attacked.” A viral tweet from conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza after the global climate strike hit at another recurring theme: comparing Greta to children in Nazi propaganda. On Monday, a Fox News guest called her “mentally ill,” a jab at her Asperger’s diagnosis, prompting the outlet to issue an apology. Shortly after the UN summit, President Donald Trump tweeted sarcastically, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” ...

Meanwhile, upward of 5,000 tweets by suspected bots have mentioned Greta, according to an analysis by Bot Sentinel provided to BuzzFeed News.

But it’s not just Greta. Other young girls in the movement are facing a flood of online abuse. It’s less clear where those attacks are coming from, but they involve a mix of regular accounts, trolls, and bots. While the youngest activists are often shielded from this, due to constant monitoring of their social media by their parents, there’s no filter for many of the teens. Jamie Margolin, a 17-year-old climate activist in Seattle, described how it felt experiencing a recent Twitter swarm: “You start getting so much anxiety.”

“The ugly truth is that these girls are subject to the deepest darkest evil side of social media on a daily basis,” Bethany Edwards, mom of 8-year-old climate activist Havana Chapman-Edwards, told BuzzFeed News in an email. Havana, who is black, has gotten racist messages, death threats, and was contacted by one man who the family later discovered was a registered sex offender.

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University said she adds someone to her Twitter block list “on average at least once a day, if not more.” For Hayhoe, as the voices of the climate teens grow louder, there is increasingly a target pointed squarely on their backs. “They will attack anyone who is perceived as being effective,” she said. “The more effective we are, the greater the attacks.”

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/greta-thunberg-climate-t...

Sun, 2019-09-29 13:25

#9

Paladin1

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

Is she a "prophet" like David Suzuki suggests? Or is she being catapulted to stardom by a society that's always looking for the next new young face to obsess over for a couple weeks or months before moving on to the next in thing? I'm sure Greta Thunberg is being bombarded with sponsors. Under armor and Nike fighting to see which brand they can try and show her wearing on TV. What brand of shoes does Greta Thunberg wear? I need to own the same ones. And it's entertainment to see who this 16 year old girl calls out, did you see what she said about Trump? lol

I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

Sun, 2019-09-29 15:25

(Reply to #9) #10

Aristotleded24

Paladin1 wrote:

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

She and her generation understand that, unlike many of us who have had a chance to live lives, get jobs, travel, get married, have children etc that they may never have those chances or those chances, on the current trajectory, look very different than what we have experienced. For most of us, it's theoretical. For her and her generation, it's personal.

Paladin1 wrote:
I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

Did you see the crowds in the streets all over the world on Friday? The big success of this movement is that it actually got people off Facebook and into the streets, which is where change happens. This was built on the first climate strikes that hit last March, and will only grow bigger from here.

Mon, 2019-09-30 01:52

(Reply to #10) #11

jerrym

=jerrym wrote:

Greta Thunberg has received heavy criticism, been called mentally ill because she is on the autism spectrum, including from Canada's Maxime Bernier, and even had death threats from extreme right-wingers in her fight against climate change. She is not the only young person being attacked because of their support of climate action.

This url describes the death threats against Greta Thunberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChDcw09QCk

The url below describes the attacks, including death threats, on Greta Thunberg and some of the other young Student Strikers for Climate Action that are part of an organized campaign that includes the use of thousands of bots by the extreme right-wing.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/greta-thunberg-climate-t...

Paladin1 wrote:

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

Is she a "prophet" like David Suzuki suggests? Or is she being catapulted to stardom by a society that's always looking for the next new young face to obsess over for a couple weeks or months before moving on to the next in thing? I'm sure Greta Thunberg is being bombarded with sponsors. Under armor and Nike fighting to see which brand they can try and show her wearing on TV. What brand of shoes does Greta Thunberg wear? I need to own the same ones. And it's entertainment to see who this 16 year old girl calls out, did you see what she said about Trump? lol

I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

You are trivializing both what Greta Thunberg has helped activate in terms of fighting global warming and the massive assault, including death threats on her and other young well-known protesters by the extreme right. You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence, which is the same strategy employed by the fossil fuel industry (https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-denial-machine-how-fo...), its climate denying researchers like Willie Soon who the oil companies paid over $1,200,00 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Soon), its PR flunkies hired from the cigarette industry (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-and-oil-industries-us...), and the alt-right (https://jewishcurrents.org/what-happens-when-alt-right-believes-climate-...).

Mon, 2019-09-30 08:12

#12

Misfit

This is what I am referring to:

There is nothing wrong with him attending the demonstration and making a political speech, but the optics of this are just awful.

Mon, 2019-09-30 08:58

(Reply to #12) #13

Paladin1

Aristotleded24 wrote:

She and her generation understand that, unlike many of us who have had a chance to live lives, get jobs, travel, get married, have children etc that they may never have those chances or those chances, on the current trajectory, look very different than what we have experienced. For most of us, it's theoretical. For her and her generation, it's personal.

Aristotleded24 I appreciate you taking my post seriously thank you.

Those are very uplifting things to say. I hope you're right. Without trying to sound too disparaging, her generation also see something on the internet and race to try and and be included. Like the crazy youtube challanges we keep seeing. (hot peppers, biting tide laundry soap pods, choking each other until someone passes out, swallowing spoons of cinnamon, little older generation getting out of moving cars to dance).

I mention that because I'm hessitant to fall into this "they're so woke, they get it! We have to listen to teenagers!" following. I

Quote:

Did you see the crowds in the streets all over the world on Friday? The big success of this movement is that it actually got people off Facebook and into the streets, which is where change happens. This was built on the first climate strikes that hit last March, and will only grow bigger from here.

I did and it's pretty damn awesome to see. I couldn't believe how many people got involved, again it's a very uplifting thing to see. I wouldn't agree it got people off facebook, people just logged in, streamed and facebooked from the protest but I get what you mean. It got people out of the house and 'doing something' so that's a huge win.

But what comes next? What's the next step? The Liberals declared a climate emergency, which everyone cheered about. Then they bought a pipeline. I'm excited to see what happens next. I hope there's some kind of plan to move from marches in the street to governments actually doing something. Know what I mean?

Mon, 2019-09-30 09:27

(Reply to #13) #14

Paladin1

jerrym wrote:

Greta Thunberg has received heavy criticism, been called mentally ill because she is on the autism spectrum, including from Canada's Maxime Bernier, and even had death threats from extreme right-wingers in her fight against climate change. She is not the only young person being attacked because of their support of climate action.The url below describes the attacks, including death threats, on Greta Thunberg and some of the other young Student Strikers for Climate Action that are part of an organized campaign that includes the use of thousands of bots by the extreme right-wing.

Yea. It's fucking disgusting how people treat each other online. Hell I've had someone here tell me they hoped I stepped on a land mine. I have young kids in my house and I'm constantly vetting Youtube and online content. People think it's funny to take a kids show or kid videos on YouTube (how to make slime) and splice in porn or swearing or dead animals. My daughter wanted to make her own youtube channel to stream an online kids game she plays- not a chance.

I don't think Greta is being singled out because of her views per say, getting death threats online seems to be the standard for our society now. Again, it's super disgusting. You'll get death threats whether you're a Liberal, Conservative, NDP or Green party. Pro-life, pro-choice. Hunter, non-hunter. Climate change advocate, vegan, Muslim, Christian, Xbox or Playstation, you name it. That doesn't make it okay or acceptable. How do you combat that?

[/quote]

You are trivializing both what Greta Thunberg has helped activate in terms of fighting global warming and the massive assault, including death threats on her and other young well-known protesters by the extreme right.[/quote]

I certainly hope I'm not. If I am it's not my intention. Depending on how you characterize what constitutes as achievement she's surely did more "for the world" than I have. I really respect what she's been able to do.

Quote:
You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence

That's not what I said at all. I never accused her of looking for corporate sponsorship. I do think companies are like blood hounds and the minute they see someone like Greta pop up in the news they're climbing over each other to try and put a logo on her. Nothing to do with her but says a lot about or corporate and materialistic society.

Mon, 2019-09-30 11:27

#15

Unionist

Canadian Indigenous water activist Autumn Peltier addresses UN on clean water

Mon, 2019-09-30 12:28

#16

Mobo2000

I thought this discussion on Counterpunch was very interesting. For me the most exciting aspect of the climate strikes is the attempt to make the contradiction between the necessary and endless expansion capitalism requires and the finite resources we can expand "into" obvious and urgent. The climate strikes have the potential to become a truely anti-capitalist force for change. Though I must confess I am not optimistic they will.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/30/veritable-uprising-or-the-faux-r...

"But this is because there is a real fear, reinforced by example, of how powerful disruptive protest can be. Throwing a wrench into the gears actually gets attention and action. It also shows how brutal and ruthless the current order is against anyone who stands against the status quo in this manner. Occupy and Standing Rock are a couple of those examples. A flood of violence and intimidation washed over those uprisings. So with that in mind, there is a conformity to how many people in so-called Western democracies behave when it comes to protesting power today. And certainly this is what the ruling class wishes. Accepted discourse and dissent within the designated boundaries. There have been a flurry of laws since those protests that seek to criminalize dissent and maintain these boundaries, even branding certain activities or associations as terrorism.

The Mouvement des Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vest Movement, in contrast to today’s climate demonstrations reveal how the neoliberal state treats those who dissent in a way that upends power structures. I am not referring to Yellow Vests in Canada or some other places which have taken on a racist, fascistic or xenophobic character, but in France where working people took to the streets, walked out of jobs, and shut down the machinery of society. It was met with breathtaking violence by Macron’s government, and scant mass media coverage. So without a doubt, when people confront actual power structures they will be met with the aggressive repression of the state, not be escorted and protected by police because they got the right permits for free speech zones on the weekends. And their struggle will not get put in glossy photos on the cover of corporate owned magazines."

...

On Greta:

"Up to the present, she has followed a vague and wonky storyline — thus she has not, as of yet, been considered a threat to capitalist power and has been regarded by the powerful as being relegated to the role of Climate Muppet; hence, she has been provided wide exposure in the capitalist media. To wit, the observation has been posited, if she presented a threat to the status quo of capitalist imperium and the US military (the latter is a major contributor to global wide pollution and the Climate Crisis) she would have remained in obscurity."

Mobo: I think the above comment on Greta is perhaps too cynical and pessimistic. But there is a stark difference between the media's treatment of the climate strikes and more overt anti-capitalist movements of the past like Occupy or the Yellow Vests. Why is that?

Mon, 2019-09-30 13:41

#17

NorthReport

Trudeau setting up Canada for global ridicule over his climate change antics.

Greta Thunberg’s enemies are right to be scared. Her new political allies should be too

Liberal leaders line up to praise her, yet their inaction on the climate crisis shows they are not really listening to her message

‘Greta Thunberg styles herself as a climate populist: she invokes a clear moral vision, a corrupt, unresponsive system, an ‘us’ and a ‘them’.’ Thunberg at a climate rally in Montreal. Photograph: Valerie Blum/EPA

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/30/greta-thunberg-enemies-inaction-climate-crisis

Mon, 2019-09-30 16:37

#18

jerrym

Paladin1 wrote:

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

I'm sure Greta Thunberg is being bombarded with sponsors. Under armor and Nike fighting to see which brand they can try and show her wearing on TV. What brand of shoes does Greta Thunberg wear? I need to own the same ones. And it's entertainment to see who this 16 year old girl calls out, did you see what she said about Trump? lol.

jerrym wrote:

You are trivializing both what Greta Thunberg has helped activate in terms of fighting global warming and the massive assault, including death threats on her and other young well-known protesters by the extreme right.

Paladin1 wrote:

I certainly hope I'm not. If I am it's not my intention. Depending on how you characterize what constitutes as achievement she's surely did more "for the world" than I have. I really respect what she's been able to do.

Paladin1 wrote:

You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence

That's not what I said at all. I never accused her of looking for corporate sponsorship. I do think companies are like blood hounds and the minute they see someone like Greta pop up in the news they're climbing over each other to try and put a logo on her. Nothing to do with her but says a lot about or corporate and materialistic society.

jerrym wrote:

You are trivializing both what Greta Thunberg has helped activate in terms of fighting global warming and the massive assault, including death threats on her and other young well-known protesters by the extreme right. You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence, which is the same strategy employed by the fossil fuel industry (https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-denial-machine-how-fo...), its climate denying researchers like Willie Soon who the oil companies paid over $1,200,00 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Soon), its PR flunkies hired from the cigarette industry (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-and-oil-industries-us...), and the alt-right (https://jewishcurrents.org/what-happens-when-alt-right-believes-climate-...).

I am glad to see you the importance of dealing with climate change. However some of your earlier comments seemed to point in the opposite direction.

You left the evidence that I presented after "shred of evidence" that the fossil fuel industry has been a widespread forty year campaign to deny global warming is happening, to attack those who bring it to the public's attention, and to trivialize the issue when they are forced to admit to it. We cannot afford to trivialize the problem anymore. More young people understand that because their futures depend on that for more than boomers' futures do.

Tue, 2019-10-01 21:31

(Reply to #18) #19

Paladin1

jerrym wrote:

I am glad to see you the importance of dealing with climate change. However some of your earlier comments seemed to point in the opposite direction.

Thanks. The cult of climate change really turned me off to learning more about climate change initially. It took patience and level headed posters and commentators to really start opening my eyes and listening. Glad I did too.

I probably do come across as looking in the opposite direction at times. I think playing the devils advocate and nay-saying help with critical thinking and testing ones argument.

Quote:
You left the evidence that I presented after "shred of evidence" that the fossil fuel industry has been a widespread forty year campaign to deny global warming is happening, to attack those who bring it to the public's attention, and to trivialize the issue when they are forced to admit to it. We cannot afford to trivialize the problem anymore. More young people understand that because their futures depend on that for more than boomers' futures do.

Sorry about that, very much unintentional.

It only stands to reason fossil fuel industry would do their best to deny global warming. Lots of lost money, jobs, golden pensions etc.. I'm not surprised in the least.

Sun, 2019-10-06 08:59

#20

lagatta4

The Yellow Vests movement in France was very contradictory from the outset. I am most certainly against Macron's violent repression of it - and many other social movements - but their initial demands were certainly not fully progressive. They were from certain popular sectors outside the major cities and their immediate suburbs, and they were calling for lower taxes on polluting fuel, not for better public transport in their areas.

Wed, 2019-10-16 16:38

#21

jerrym

Young and indigenous people around the world have taken climate action to another level.

Greta and the young people worldwide urging adults to care about their future don't need a Nobel. They need grown-ups to take them seriously and heed the scientific evidence about global warming. From her solitary school strike in Sweden last year to massive worldwide climate strikes in late September, Thunberg has rallied millions of young people and adults to demand change. She and the youth who have joined her cause understand the world offers all we need, if we don't destroy the natural systems that make our health and well-being possible. They also know it isn't a lack of solutions holding us back, but a lack of political will.

And they know, as scientists worldwide have warned through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that we have little time to address the crisis we're creating by wastefully burning excessive amounts of fossil fuels and destroying ecosystems at an alarming rate.

Most of them understand, too, that it's about more than protecting humanity from climate chaos; it's also about human rights and justice, about changing systems that have spawned massive inequality and a greedy race to rapidly exploit Earth's resources, simply to earn money for shareholders and CEOs.

Sioux youth Tokata Iron Eyes invited Greta to Standing Rock, North Dakota, where the Sioux and their allies tried for years to block construction of a pipeline that now carries fracked Bakken shale oil to an Illinois refinery, saying it puts water, rights and climate at risk. She said she and Greta shouldn't have to do this. "No 16-year-old should have to travel the world in the first place sharing a message about having something as simple as clean water and fresh air to breathe," she told The Guardian.

But those racing to extract as much of Earth's limited fossil fuel supplies as possible before markets fall in the face of better, less-expensive alternatives and an accelerating climate crisis don't seem to care about clean air, water and land. Politicians see fossil fuels as a way to boost short-term economic growth, often blinded to any vision extending beyond the next election. Industry heads see massive profits and continuation of privilege.

All offer token responses to climate disruption. Politicians say they're doing their best but change won't happen overnight (an excuse they've been using over many nights, days, week, months, years…) and that more fossil fuel infrastructure designed to last decades, including pipelines, is needed when the world's scientists say we must leave most remaining fossil fuels buried. ...

Some people feel so threatened by a young woman's truth that they stoop to vicious personal attacks, logical fallacies and insults rather than addressing the science she speaks so clearly.

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/david-suzuki/2019/10/we-owe-greta-and-yo...

Wed, 2019-10-16 16:45

#22

jerrym

Greta Thunberg arrived in Calgary today to protest against Alberta's fossil fuel industry. On Friday, she will be leading a Friday for Future Strike in Edmonton. Of course the fossil fuel industry fought back. Many indigenous people from Alberta First Nations are planning to take part in the protests.

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg has followed through on her pledge to visit the heartland of Canada's oil and gas industry, showing up in downtown Calgary on Wednesday and planning to join a climate strike at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Friday. ...

Her visit drew a mixed reaction even before she got to the western province. Alberta's environment minister has said Thunberg "doesn't understand" the province, and signalled the government wouldn't be laying out the welcome mat for the teen's upcoming visit.

Speaking to reporters outside the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Tuesday, Environment Minister Jason Nixon said Thunberg hasn't reached out to the United Conservative Party government, and it has no plans to contact her. "I do hope that if she does come to our beautiful province, she takes the time to talk to our state-of-the-art industry partners, who are working tirelessly to continue to produce the most ethical and environmentally friendly oil and gas products in the world," Nixon said. "When you look at some of Ms. Thunberg's comments, she doesn't understand our province," Nixon said later, adding Thunberg needs to realize that Alberta must be an active partner in any global climate-change strategy. ...

Chief Lee Crowchild, of the Tsuut'ina Nation southwest of Calgary, said he sees Thunberg's visit as a learning opportunity for her and for the world. "I am pleased that a high-profile climate change activist is coming to Alberta. I hope her visit is not just a fly-over, but a genuine effort to learn how Canadians contribute to climate solutions," he said.

"In this case, I think it's critical that Ms. Thunberg understand that it is possible to do economic development sustainably. It is possible to balance the goals of development and protection of the environment. What better place for her to see that balance at work, than at Tsuut'ina?"

Climate Action Edmonton says people of all ages from across Treaty 6, 7, and 8 territory will take part in the strike in Edmonton on Friday.

While Edmonton's mayor, Don Iveson, extended an invitation to meet with Thunberg, Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston expressed skepticism about her overall cause. "No one's ever asked me to declare a climate emergency," Clugston told the Medicine Hat News. "I'm tired of people calling carbon dioxide 'pollution.' It's a basic building block of life." "I'll listen to qualified scientists."

Priya Migneault, with the activist group Fridays For Futures YYC, said Thunberg's trip to Alberta has her and her friends excited. "But I do hope that she is aware that this is oil and gas country, which I'm assuming she had been aware of that for a while," she said. "A lot of us environmental activists here are not against oil-and-gas workers because we are aware that they are doing a supply-and-demand industry. And we hope that Greta sees that as well, and that's what a lot of Albertans make their money on, and that's how a lot of Albertans are fed."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/greta-thunberg-alberta-visit-clim...

Sat, 2019-10-19 02:02

#23

jerrym

Kenney and the oil industry continue to pump out their fossil fuel propaganda as Greta Thunberg visited Alberta.

When Greta announced that she, herself, would visit Alberta, Kenney’s government began issuing smug missives: the climate oracle should make her next visit to oil-producing "dictatorships" like Saudi Arabia. ...

Then she’d learn about "Alberta’s leading human rights and environmental standards" and that our fossil fuels are much better than theirs.

The tortured logic seems to be that, because Alberta doesn’t carry out stoning or saw the limbs from pesky journalists, climate change doesn’t matter. The argument behind ethical oil has been pumped out by Rebel Media, the oil industry’s attack dogs at CAPP and Postmedia. But it’s never been clear just what audience these arguments are intended to sway. “At least we don’t dismember our critics” wouldn’t be the first message you’d pick to win over the growing majority of the world increasingly panicked about tepid government response to looming catastrophe. ...

Part of Greta’s transcending power is that she so piercingly articulates the big picture. The house is on fire and anyone still throwing fossil fuel on the flames is guilty, at best, of child endangerment and, probably, of much worse.

Right there is where Alberta has a big problem. It’s not just that the oilsands exist ⁠—so do many other fossil fuel projects around the world. It’s that Canada is already the fifth-largest oil producer in the world and is enthusiastically, massively expanding the size of fossil projects. Right at this moment, Alberta is actively preparing to add its largest oilsands mine ever, Teck Resources’ Frontier project(rolling over the opposition of First Nations and siting the project right next to Wood Buffalo National Park). ...

Kenney didn’t just take an immediate wrecking ball to climate policy (even Easterners like Doug Ford can do that); he launched the province into all-out war with environmentalists. Thirty million dollars for a “war room” (yes, unbelievably, Kenney’s own words) to take the evil greenies to a kangaroo court and pay to advertise the bonesaw argument across the country and around the world.

Alberta is now spending more dollars fighting people concerned about climate change than it spends on monitoring the toxic effluent and air pollution from oil extraction. ...

This could have been a moment to take stock. To think clearly about the formidable challenges facing any government sitting on reserves of oil, gas or coal. It still could be.

Barely a week seems to go by without another international financial giant exiting the oilsands. Without another record-setting low price for green energy, for batteries or other clean tech. Without another government committing to take its jurisdiction to zero carbon, ban coal or phase out gasoline cars or natural gas.

And each week the weather gets crazier. Another hundred-year storm coming mere months on the heels of the previous. Floods drowning entire regions. Fires incinerating seniors as they race to evacuate.

Governments with fossil fuel reserves, no matter where on the planet, need clear eyes and open minds to navigate the daunting challenges ahead. We need strategies to support workers now working in coal, oil and gas. Preparation for the known climate impacts bearing down on our cities and communities. We need innovative thinking to create economies that can thrive into the future.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/10/17/opinion/greta-has-landed-ken...

Sat, 2019-10-19 02:20

#24

jerrym

Many First Nations people participated in Student Strike for climate action in Edmonton on Friday, as they have often suffered the most from the environmental damage caused by the Alberta Tar Sands because many of them live so close to extraction sites.

Sat, 2019-11-02 01:53

#25

jerrym

Greta Thunberg was at the Friday for Futures climate strike in Vancouver last Friday outside the Vancouver Art Gallery morning. Between 8,000 and 10,000 attended. First Nations outlined their plans to stop Trans Mountain. Ten of the fifteen youth who sued the federal government in BC court on this day attended the protest and described how climate change is threatening their futures. This was the fourth climate protest in the last month in Vancouver.

Another massive climate strike has taken over the streets of Vancouver. It's estimated that there are 8,000 people marching in the Vancouver climate strike this Friday, October 25, CTV News reports. Leading the march is 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. She's set to speak in front of the crowd as the march wraps up.

Climate strikes have been taking place all over Canada for the past several weeks. Hundreds of thousands of people have marched together, colourful and impactful signs in hand, to demonstrate to world leaders that something needs to be done about the climate crisis.

Greta Thunberg has been at the forefront of many of these strikes in Canada. She gave a speech in Edmonton last week and spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on one occasion. After respectfully declining her invite to Victoria, Thunberg is now in Vancouver to take part in the march.

Thunberg is expected to address the crowd with one of her iconic speeches this Friday. Thousands have taken over the streets, shutting down traffic and flooding every corner of the rally space. Police are facilitating the crowds and warn drivers that delays are expected in the area.

Thunberg has led over 60 Fridays for Future rallies so far, so the fact that she drew this large of a crowd in Vancouver is not that surprising.

https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/bc/vancouver/vancouver-climate-strike-wi...

Sat, 2019-11-02 01:56

#26

jerrym

The four principles of climate justice:

Climate change, caused by human activities, is threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions of people and the existence of millions of species. We need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions dramatically, while at the same time raising the quality of life for the majority of the world's people.

1 RICH TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

The burden of adjustment to the climate crisis must be borne by those who created it. This means:

2 LEAVE FOSSIL FUELS IN THE GROUND

Climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels. We need to *stop it at source*. Leave the coal in the hole, the oil in the soil. Invest instead in energy efficiency and a massive expansion of *community-controlled renewable energy*.

3 FAIR AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Climate solutions should actually work, and not create further problems. This means:

4 EQUAL ACCESS TO RESOURCES

Natural resources must be conserved for the common good, not privatized and unsustainably exploited. *People’s sovereignty over land, energy, forests and water* must be upheld and reclaimed.

https://newint.org/features/2009/01/01/principles-climate-justice

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:14

#27

jerrym

On November 29th, as global climate action strikes were getting under way, climat action leaders Greta Thunberg of Sweden, Luisa Neubauer of Germany, and Angela Valenzuela of Chile wrote an op-ed to the UN Climate Change Conference occurring in Madrid next week as student strikes continued.

Thousands of students participated in the global climate strike on Nov. 29, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo: Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

People worldwide poured into the streets Friday for a youth-led climate strike that aimed to pressure global governments to step up their efforts to tackle the planetary emergency at a key United Nations summit scheduled to start Monday.

"Striking is not a choice we relish; we do it because we see no other options," youth climate leaders Greta Thunberg of Sweden, Luisa Neubauer of Germany, and Angela Valenzuela of Chile wroteFriday in an op-ed for Project Syndicate.

"We have watched a string of United Nations climate conferences unfold," they added. "Countless negotiations have produced much-hyped but ultimately empty commitments from the world's governments—the same governments that allow fossil fuel companies to drill for ever-more oil and gas, and burn away our futures for their profit."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/29/we-see-no-other-options-you...

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:16

#28

jerrym

In South Africa

Demonstrator show their placards during climate change protest outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, Nov. 29, 2019.

Protesters in cities across the world staged rallies Friday demanding leaders take tougher action against climate change, days before the latest global conference, which this year takes place in Madrid. ...

Further rallies took place in Germany, Hungary, Belgium, South Korea, Poland, England, Turkey, Italy, Spain and France — where environmental protesters took a swipe at Black Friday. ...

In South Africa, a few dozen people holdings signs saying “Not Cool” and “Stop Pollution Now” protested outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the summer heat of the Southern Hemisphere.

One protester lay on the ground faking death, holding a sign saying “Black Friday Reason to Grieve.”

Africa contributes least to climate change and is the least prepared to deal with it. Temperatures in parts of the continent are projected to rise more quickly than the global average.

“The reality is that we have a climate change emergency,” protest organizer Elana Azrai said. She noted water shortages in parts of the country amid a drought in southern Africa.

https://www.columbian.com/news/2019/nov/29/global-climate-protests-ahead...

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:19

#29

jerrym

On Friday November 29th, there was another set global student strikes for climate action with 630,000 strikers coming out in Germany alone. Around the world there were 2,300 student strikes in 152 countries. The strikes focused on the links between Black Friday consumer capitalism on the day when there is the greatest level of retail sales and global warming.

Participants of the Fridays for Future movement demonstrate at the Global Climate Action Day on Simsonplatz. dpa/picture alliance via Getty I—(c) dpa-Zentralbild

For years, Black Friday has been sold as a holiday day for the consumer. In the 2018, Black Friday resulted in $6.22 billion in online sales alone, per CNBC. This year, climate activists wants people to stop and reconsider such rampant consumption.

Climate protests are taking place around the world this Black Friday to raise awareness about the dangers of climate change. The protests are also timed to demand action during the U.N. climate negotiations, COP25, which will begin in Madrid, Spain on Dec. 2.

Climate activists say more than 80 strikes are happening in the U.S. alone. Protests have already happened in Asia and Europe. In Germany alone, activists say 630,000 turned out.

According to organizers, protesters plan to disrupt large shopping centers in Chicago and hold a march and a rally in Los Angeles called “Don’t Shop. Strike!” According to Reuters, organizers expect strikes to take place in 2,300 cities in 152 countries around the world.

https://time.com/5741593/black-friday-climate-strike/

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:22

#30

jerrym

More on student strikes for climate action around the world below:

The climate strike in Lisbon, Portugal. Photograph: Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of young people have taken to the streets from Manila to Copenhagen as part of the latest student climate strikes to demand radical action on the unfolding ecological emergency.

School and university students around the world walked out of lessons on Friday with large turnouts in Madrid, where world leaders will gather on Monday for the latest UN climate summit, and Sydney, where protesters demanded action after devastating wildfires.

In London, crowds called for the climate crisis to take centre stage in next month’s election and condemned Boris Johnson for not taking part in Thursday night’s televised climate debate.

Millie Hedley, 17, from Watford, said: “I can’t vote, which is very annoying, but I try to do as much as I can to let the government know that all these students here, we want our voices heard.”

Frida Roper, 17, said she was suffering from severe “eco-anxiety” as evidence mounted of the scale of the climate breakdown. ...

“World leaders say they hear us and that they understand the urgency. But in one year of climate strikes, nothing has changed, nothing,” she said.

“For every step made forward, we went five steps back. The scientists say we have never been less likely to stay below 1.5C [above pre-industrial levels].”

In Manchester several hundred young people gathered outside the Central Library at St Peter’s Square, accompanied by lecturers on strike from Manchester University.

Holding a placard saying “I’m the only one allowed to fuck up my future”, Keyleigh Waterhouse, 18, said she was striking because politicians were not taking the climate emergency seriously enough. “Boris Johnson not showing up to the Channel 4 debate on the climate showed he doesn’t care. He’s not understood and he’s not bothered.” ...

Friday’s action comes after more alarming news on the scale and scope of the climate crisis. This week scientists warned the world may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points posing an “existential threat to civilisation”.

Two days earlier a separate study from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization revealed that the concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere had hit a record high.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/29/hundreds-of-thousand...

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:25

#31

jerrym

A large crowd protested at the student strike for climate action in Toronto

Mobs of shouting people convened in downtown Toronto this afternoon — not to shop, as one might expect on Black Friday, but to demand that immediate action be taken to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Because you can't enjoy a half-price big screen 4K TV when your entire home is underwater, now can you? ...

Like the massive international climate strike that brought thousands out to protest in Toronto a few months ago, today's march saw activists walk from Queen's Park to Toronto City Hall with all sorts of creative signs. ...

"On November 29th, we will be joining people around the globe to demand climate justice for all before the COP 25 meeting in Madrid, Spain on the implementation of the Paris Agreement," reads a description for the event on Facebook.

"Here in Canada, in the wake of the federal elections, it is also crucial for us to hold our newly elected officials accountable to their electoral promises, and to push all levels of government to be more ambitious in their climate action."

https://www.blogto.com/city/2019/11/toronto-climate-strike-black-friday-...

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:27

#32

jerrym

Victoria BC also held a student strike for climate action on November 29th that focused on the Green New Deal and ending BC's LNG projects.

Traffic was diverted along Blanshard Street on Friday as Victoria students marched in a climate rally: Nov. 29, 2019 (CTV News)

The rally began in Centennial Square at approximately noon before youth activists marched southbound on Blanshard Street towards the office of B.C.'s Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources.

Student activists say they are calling on the government to begin a structured transition into greener sources of energy so that the province can become less dependent on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG). ...

"So this specific strike we're targeting LNG and the Green New Deal and right now, the B.C. government is putting millions of dollars into LNG projects that will lock B.C into decades of GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions and we have to stop that," said Victoria student Grace Sinats. "If we allow them to put this much money into projects that will destroy our planet, there is no hope," said Sinats. ...

"There are now people that think they can have this energy transition in 10 years, well, be my guest," said van der Hoeven. "It's impossible."

"It's not only about energy transition, it's also about an economic transition and it's about a societal transition," said van der Hoeven. "You know, the biggest issue ... is there will be new winners and new losers. That means if people feel they are being left behind, they will be protesting because they are not going to accept this.”

Students at Victoria's youth protest said that while they are calling on the government to transition away from LNG, they were aware of the challenges that workers in the industry may face.

"Not only do we wish for LNG and fracking to have a smooth decline, but we need a just transition for all workers," said Victoria student Elliott Anderson. "If we just stop plain-out and there’s no training for workers to go to a new place, our economy will collapse and there's nothing we can do about it. We need a just transition so that workers can continue to sustain families and themselves," said Anderson. ...

"I feel like a lot of the time people can forget about the strikes pretty quickly," said Sintas. "Like it’s this big event and then not a lot happens. So, I feel like having regular strikes is really important to remind people that this is still an issue and it’s not going to be solved overnight."

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/student-activists-occupy-downtown-vic...

Sat, 2019-12-07 14:29

#33

jerrym

There were 500,000 protesters at the climate strike in Madrid led by Greta Thunberg on Friday where the UN COP 25 climate change conference was being held.

As Greta Thunberg and other activists spoke at a rally, an estimated 500,000 people took part in a climate justice protest in Madrid on Friday, December 6, 2019. (Photo: @GretaThunberg)

Before taking part in a 500,000-strong climate march in Madrid, teen activist Greta Thunberg spoke plainly yet forcefully Friday about the impact the global climate strike movement has had thus far and reiterated the demand of the climate justice movement for global leaders to act with the urgency the planet's ecological emergency mandates.

Speaking to reporters at the cultural center La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Spain—where COP 25 is underway—Thunberg called herself "just... a climate activist—a small part of a big movement" that needs even more activists to effect change. ...

"I sincerely hope that the COP 25 will lead to something concrete and that will lead to also an increase in awareness among people in general." She said she hopes that those in power "grasp the urgency of the climate crisis because right now it doesn't seem like they are. I know that we will do everything we can to make sure that this is something that cannot be ignored anymore, that they cannot just hide away anymore," Thunberg said. Some world leaders "are afraid of change," she said, but the status quo must be disrupted.

"Some people want everything to continue like now, and change is what we young people are bringing. And that's why they are trying to silence us. But that is just proof that we are having an impact, that our voices are being heard," Thunberg said, and is the reason powerful opponents "try so desperately to silence us." ...

Thunberg suggested that COP 25 may be viewed "as a kind of middle year," with next year's COP 26 seen as "the big event. But we cannot afford middle years," the Swedish teen said. "We cannot afford more days going by without real action being taken." COP 25, said Thunberg, mustn't be brushed off "because every chance we get to improve the situation we must take." ...

"We have been striking now for over a year and still, basically, nothing has happened," said Thunberg. "The climate crisis is still being ignored by those in power and we cannot go on like this. It is not a sustainable solution that children skip school." The strikers, Thunberg said, "don't want to continue. We would love some action from the people in power... because people are suffering and dying from the climate and ecological emergency today and we cannot wait any longer."

A lot has been achieved, added Thunberg. "We have have raised public awareness and we have created opinion and that is a big step in the right direction. But of course it's nowhere near enough. The CO2 emissions aren't reducing. They are in fact increasing," Thunberg continued, "so of course there is no victory because the only thing we want to see is real action and real action has not been happening. So of course we have achieved a lot," she added, "but if you look at it from a certain point of view we have achieved nothing."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/06/even-500000-march-madrid-gr...

Sat, 2019-12-07 15:13

#34

jerrym

Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek, who is taking part in the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform of the UN COP 25 Climate Change Conference in Madrid, answered questions on the concerns of indigenous and others living in northern Canada just before she left for COP 25.

Kluane Adamek Yukon Regional Chief and UN COP 25 Climate Change Conference Delegate

As the regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Yukon Region, and national chair for the AFN environment and climate change portfolio and committee, I am deeply honoured to be representing the AFN and First Nations, and the North, at my second United Nations Conference of the Parties event — this year in Madrid, Spain — as head of the AFN delegation. ...

One of the focus areas for involvement at the conference will be the Indigenous Peoples platform [formally called the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform], uniting voices of Indigenous Peoples from across the world. My hope for this conference is that the recognition of Indigenous rights be at the forefront of all discussions, and that Indigenous Peoples are recognized as leaders in creating the pathways forward that will mitigate the impacts of climate change and create a just future for all beings on the planet. ...

When it comes to environmental priorities and policy concerns, we need to acknowledge and appreciate that things are very different in the northern and rural communities and especially in the North. Decisions that impact the North need to be made by northerners. The impacts of climate change affect northern regions two to three times faster than the rest of the globe. So, we experience firsthand the accelerated and disproportionate impacts of climate change, particularly in our First Nations and remote communities. I’m talking about changes happening on the land that are directly impacting ways of life for our people. I will continue to push for full implementation of our modern treaty agreements, including self-government and land claims agreements, and I will continue to elevate the environmental and cultural strides being made by our Yukon First Nations. ...

This includes advocating for change with respect to climate action at all levels, honouring the spirit and intent of modern treaties and advancing the Calls for Justice identified in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. ...

The Yukon continues to demonstrate exceptional leadership at all levels, from the community level to First Nations and municipal and territorial governments. Collectively, this leadership has contributed to an increased momentum and political traction for climate action and the implementation of solutions. Yukon First Nations have an important history of governance leadership stemming from the monumental 1973 document titled Together Today for our Children Tomorrow. On climate specifically — an issue that affects our health, economy, culture, virtually everything — we are driving forward on a “Yukon that Leads” vision that builds on the important history of leadership in this region and elevates the work being done today.

There are some particularly important things to highlight from the Yukon region in terms of the development of a climate action strategy across governments and communities. In May, Chief Tizya-Tramm of the Vuntut Gwiychin First Nation declared a climate state of emergency, which really communicated the urgency of addressing climate change impacts on our communities in the North. This set a precedent not only in the Yukon, but across Canada and beyond.

This June, at the AFN Yukon Regional Annual Summit, our leaders passed a climate action resolution, calling for the development of a Yukon First Nations climate gathering — a forum dedicated to highlighting and building on the important environment work being done in our communities and uniting Yukon First Nations around this incredibly complex challenge. My team and the Council of Yukon First Nations are working collaboratively to plan this gathering and create a unified Yukon First Nations declaration on climate action that can serve as the foundation for a Yukon First Nations Climate Strategy. ...

Simultaneously, two other important actions are taking place: First, the AFN national environment sector is working to develop an Indigenous lens for climate strategy. Second, the Yukon territorial government is in the midst of developing a climate strategy. ...

I strongly and continually advocate for the creation of space and platform for those voices that don’t generally take the main stage. I am incredibly passionate about giving our youth — our leaders of the future — every opportunity that we can to ensure that their voices are heard. We need to lift up and celebrate our young leaders, and the countless others — including our elders and women — that work diligently and tirelessly to strive for the equality of our people and the healing of our planet.

https://www.opencanada.org/features/five-questions-with-yukon-regional-c...

Sat, 2019-12-07 15:13

#35

jerrym

Indigenous youth from around the world are demanding action on climate change and social justice issues at COP 25 in Madrid.

An activist speaks at a protest about the destruction brought by carbon markets and carbon offsets at the venue of the UN climate change conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain, Dec.5, 2019.

A worldwide climate change movement is well underway, highlighted by strikes, protests and school walkouts increasingly led by young people. And this week in Spain, that message is being delivered by a diverse group of young, Indigenous people from around the globe to the United Nations. ...

“We’re realizing that our leadership ... is not taking the mandatory steps to save our future and [we have] to step into that position …" (Nanieezh Peter, 15, Alaska Federation of Natives convention, Fairbanks, Alaska)

Peter Nanieezh and his best friend, Quannah Chasing Horse Potts, 17, both Alaksa Native, successfully convinced their leaders to declare a climate change emergency in Alaska, the northernmost state in the US. Their request for the emergency declaration on the debate floor in a hockey arena in Fairbanks, Alaska, sparked a fervent and hours-long debate during the annual convention.

Indigenous youth voices have historically been silenced in the fight against climate change. For many decades, if not centuries, Indigenous people in Alaska, Canada and elsewhere were forced to abandon their cultural heritage, traditions and in some cases, their homelands. Those who spoke out were often punished. But now, their grandchildren are finding a voice.

On Thursday, Dec. 5, the Indigenous Climate Action Youth Delegation sent a letter to Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Johnathan Wilkinson. The delegation is concerned that the international agreement on greenhouse gas mitigation, the Paris agreement, is “disproportionately focused on market-based climate solutions.” They wrote carbon-based markets “further enable the colonial legacy of dispossession, privatization, violence against Indigenous women and girls and destruction of Indigenous lands and culture for fossil fuel extraction.”

“Young people in this period of history, they’re no longer afraid to speak up, they’re no longer afraid of policy, they’re no longer afraid of the government, they’re no longer afraid of speaking their mind .... (Ben Charles, Inuit Circumpolar Council)

Ben Charles, who is also Alaska Native, and recently named an emerging leader by the Inuit Circumpolar Council, said, “Young people in this period of history, they’re no longer afraid to speak up, they’re no longer afraid of policy, they’re no longer afraid of the government, they’re no longer afraid of speaking their mind …" The international organization represents more than 180,000 Indigenous people in four Arctic nations. ...

Inuit aren’t the only Indigenous people represented at the meeting. Representatives of the Rapa Nui and Mapuche Indigenous Peoples of Chile are also in Spain for the meeting. SustainUS, an American nonprofit, has sent its first-ever delegation of Indigenous young people to Madrid.

In New Zealand, a group of young Maori adults who are indigenous to the region spent at least a month fundraising to cover their travel expenses to the UN Climate Summit. And on Friday, a group of First Nations kids will premiere a documentary film they produced about their first-hand climate change experience in northern Canada.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-12-05/indigenous-youth-take-global-stag...