People's Voice April 16-30, 2007

IPCC Report: doing nothing is not an option

(The following article is from the April 16-31, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 173 West Ave. North, Hamilton, ON, L8L 5C7.)

By Kimball Cariou

More canaries are keeling over in the mine shaft. In Germany and the United States, bee populations are declining rapidly. Suspected causes range from Asian vorroa mites to chemical spraying, monoculture farming practices, and genetically-modified crops. The results could prove deadly for agriculture and the entire global economy.

     In the oceans, the massive slaughter of sharks for soup is also raising profound fears. What will happen if these predators at the top of the maritime food chain are largely wiped out? One possible scenario is that fish species which had been kept in check by sharks may increase in numbers, eating much more of the plankton which supply a large part of the atmosphere's oxygen.

     And now, the bleakest report yet on global warming and climate change warns that "many millions" of poor people face hunger, thirst, floods and disease. Mass extinction of species is likely within 60-70 years, on a scale larger than most of the five major extinction events that have occurred in the earth's history.

     Huge numbers of people will be at risk due to sea level rise, storm surge and river flooding in the Asian mega-deltas such as the Ganges-Brahmaputra (Bangladesh) and the Zhujiang (Pearl River). Warming of more than another degree could trigger a multi-metre sea level rise over several centuries from the partial or total loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets.

     The report is the second of four to be presented this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations network of 2,000 scientists. An earlier report in February said the scientists are "highly confident" that human activity is the main cause of global warming.

     The new document looks at the implications of global warming across the planet, and warns that drastic action is necessary. All regions of the world will change, and nearly a third of the Earth's species may be wiped out if global temperatures rise 3.6 degrees above the average temperature in the 1980s-90s.

     That projection is not the worst scenario, since the report was the result of compromises hammered out between scientists and diplomats. Even so, Greenpeace still calls it "a glimpse into an apocalyptic future."

     In Africa, tens of millions more people may run out of drinking water by 2020, and deadly diarrhoeal diseases associated with floods and droughts will increase in Asia, in both cases due to global warming.

     "The poorest of the poor in the world - and this includes poor people in prosperous societies - are going to be the worst hit," said IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri. "People who are poor are least able to adapt to climate change."

     "Don't be poor in a hot country, don't live in hurricane alley, watch out about being on the coasts or in the Arctic, and it's a bad idea to be on high mountains with glaciers melting," said Stephen Schneider, a Stanford University scientist who was one of the study authors.

     While increases in average temperatures may initially raise global food supplies, production will then decline, according to the IPCC. Unlike previous studies which relied heavily on computer models, this report is based on 29,000 sets of data from across the planet, taking the level of scientific certainty to a new high.

     The Panel also stresses that many of the worst effects can be averted, by reduction of greenhouse gases and taking actions to reduce the impact of climate change.

     "There are things that can be done now, but it's much better if it can be done now rather than later," said David Karoly of the University of Oklahoma, one of the report authors.

     "We still have options," said Stephanie Tunmore of Greenpeace International. "There is still time for an energy revolution that will dramatically transform our energy system and create a carbon free economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level that keeps the global average temperature increase well below 2 degrees C, avoiding the most catastrophic impacts. The one option that is clearly no longer open to us is to continue to sit on our hands and do nothing."

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Millions of workers killed every year

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Islanders unite against log exports

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Yes, we have global warming

(The following article is from theApril 16-30, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 173 West Ave. North, Hamilton, ON, L8L 5C7.)By Ed Bil, Toronto

Twenty thousand years ago most of Canada was covered in ice, as was much of the Northern Hemisphere. Today, scientists tell us the earth's atmosphere, oceans and land are warming up.

     What accounts for this change in the environment? Are these claims true? Are these phenomena natural or are we humans contributing to the global warming? If so, can we prevent the predicted catastrophes of global warming?

     Before the year 2000, Dr. Jerry Mahlman, now a senior researcher at the U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, studied how the earth's troposphere and stratosphere work, and developed models showing how natural force and chemicals interact in the atmosphere. These consistently showed that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are likely to heat up the air, water and land.

     It should be noted that the earth's atmosphere is naturally composed of various gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. These absorb infrared radiation from the earth's surface and so contribute to the "greenhouse effect" which makes the planet around 30 degrees C warmer than it would otherwise be. It's the increase of these gases to the natural amount which further increases the global temperature, resulting in what is called "global warming."

     Today, statistics indicate that the earth's temperature has risen; the question being, will it get worse, and are we humans a contributing factor? Recent evidence suggests that concentrations of CO2 started to rise about 8000 years ago with human agricultural activities. Rice paddies flooded by irrigation and animal husbandry generate greenhouse gases such as methane; deforestation increases CO2 from burned or rotting trees, as does burning grasslands. Long before the industrial revolution, Europe and southern Asia had been heavily deforested contributing to the CO2 increase.

     With the industrial revolution, coal burning factories, power plants and the more recent advent of motor vehicles have all added more CO2 and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

     Unquestionably humans have contributed to global warming, but are not the sole factor. Natural phenomena also cause global warming and cooling.

     According to scientists, various natural cycles of the earth's orbit around the sun account for variations in the amount of sunlight received in the northern hemisphere. In the past million years, these variations have contributed to the ups and downs in atmosphere temperatures and concentrations of CO2 and methane, producing long sequences of ice ages separated by shorter warm inter-glacial periods.

     Recent climate model projections by the University of Wisconsin-Madison state: "current temperatures would be well on the way toward typical (lower) glacial temperatures had it not been for the greenhouse gas contributions from early farm practices and later industrialization". Current data confirm the earth has been warming up considerably instead of cooling.

     These higher temperatures have raised considerable controversy. On April 15/06 sixty scientists (19 Canadian and 41 international) wrote to Prime Minister Harper to revisit the science of global warming, as no formal independent climate science review has been conducted in Canada. This letter amounts to denial of climate change and is suspect considering the background of some of the signatories. For example: Dr. Sallie Baliunas is listed as an astrophysicist and a climate researcher in Boston, Mass., USA. She is also a senior scientist at the George C. Marshall Institute, which received $310,000 from Exxon Mobil.
    Another signatory is Canadian Tim Ball, a former professor of climatology at the University of Winnipeg and an environmental consultant. His views are supported by the National Center for Public Policy (which has received $225,000 from Exxon Mobil) and he has given briefings to organizations such as the Fraser Institute. Ball and Baliunas were both a conference in Ottawa in Nov. 2002 just before our Parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol. This conference paid for by Imperial Oil (the Canadian subsidiary of Exxon Mobil) and Talisman Energy, was promoted by P.R. firm APCO Worldwide, urged the Canadian government not to proceed with the ratification. APCO's specialty is supporting scientists financed by industries to challenge established scientific thinking. It also organized the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition which funded the Philip Morris Co. in the anti-smoking debate and currently was assigned a lead role in opposing "Kyoto".

     In February 2004 the Union of Concerned Scientists issued a statement by over 10,000 leading US scientists, calling for the restoration of scientific integrity to US federal policy making. Signatures included 52 Nobel Laureates, 63 National Medal of Science recipients and about 200 members of the National Academies of Science. The scientists also released an "A to Z" guide that documents dozens of recent allegations of censorship and political interference in science.

     In response to the anti-Kyoto letter of April 11, 2006, ninety climate science leaders from academic, public and private sectors across Canada wrote to Harper indicating the evidence is conclusive that global warming has occurred and most of it is attributable to human activity.

     What are the consequences of global warming? According to James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in New York in Sept 2006 stated that the earth has been warming at the rate of 0.2 degrees C per decade for the past 30 years is the warmest in the current inter-glacial period which began about 12,000 years ago. The warming has been stronger in far north, where melting ice and snow exposes darker land and rocks resulting in more absorption of the sun's heat. The 0.2 C degrees may appear minor, but scientific analysis has shown that very profound changes will result from this steady rise in temperature.

     Environment Canada has projected global trends to the year 2100; if model projections are correct, the annual mean temperature in Canada could increase between 5 to 10 degrees C over the next century.

     Rising average temperatures do not simply mean balmier winters. Some regions will experience more extreme heat, while others may cool slightly. Flooding, drought and intense heat could result. Violent storms and other extreme weather events could result from the increased energy stored in our warming atmosphere".

    More specifically, "climate change will seriously affect water resources around the world, which will in turn affect food supply, industry, transportation and ecosystem integrity, the health of future generations through increased disease, fresh water shortages, worsened smog etc. Predictions also indicate major changes in the ice coverage in the northern hemisphere decreasing by 40% by 2050 and virtually disappearing by 2100. Land-based ice sheets near the poles also appear to be vulnerable. Their collapse could cause the sea level to rise many meters in a matter of centuries, disrupting human habitats and ecological systems".

     "Weather related disasters are increasing at an enormous rate. From the 1950's to the 1990's, the number of catastrophes world-wide increased fourfold, while economic losses, after adjusting for inflation, increased by an astonishing factor of 14. In Canada. the rise in disaster losses mirrors the global trend, far outstripping the growth in the GDP. The amount lost in 1998 alone is more than the preceding five year period (due in large part to the expense of the ice storm)."

     The recent British report "The Economics of Climate Change" says that if no action is taken, 200 million people could be displaced by the middle of the century; and that unabated climate change would eventually cost the world the equivalent of between 5 to 20 per cent of the global gross domestic product each year.

     Can we do anything about the global warming? The Union of Concerned Scientists have stated that "we have the technology and ingenuity to reduce the threat of global warming today. Solutions

are already available that will stimulate the (American) economy by creating jobs, saving consumers money ... by investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency ... including the vehicles we drive, by taking essential steps towards reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels that cause global warming". The British report also tries to persuade the world that environmentalism and economic growth can go hand in hand in the battle against global warming.

     The world's 10 warmest years have occurred since 1994 in a temperature record dating back to 1850, according to the United Nations weather agency, and there is no sign that the greenhouse gases are starting to level off. Under the Kyoto accord, which took effect in 2005, 141 countries have committed to reducing emissions averaging 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. The U.S., China and India did not sign. Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol, but since then both Liberal and the present Conservative government have been negligent; the Liberals dragging their feet in implementation and the Conservatives backing out of the Kyoto commitment with its inadequate Clean Air Act.

     With their new leader, Stephane Dion, the Liberals intend to make global warming a priority, which prompted the Conservative government to change tactics on this issue. One can bet that with the oil industry "calling the shots", the Conservatives will come up with a questionable program to fight global warming.

     What is needed is leadership which is not subservient to big business, but carrying out the wishes of most of the citizens who want strong action taken on our commitment to Kyoto. In the Environics poll of Nov 9/06, Canadians indicated that health care was most important, followed by environmental issues including global warming, and that 71% felt that the current (Conservative) government was not tough enough on the environment. This is an indication our citizens are in favour of collective action benefitting people rather than profit-hungry corporations.

     The Kyoto issue in Canada epitomises the basic contradiction of "capital" (i.e. bourgeois ruling class) and "labour (i.e. working class). The democratic solution to this and many other issues depends on the will of working people who compose the overwhelming majority of the electorate.

     As the program of the Communist Party of Canada declares, "Humanity's knowledge and energy must be used to safeguard the earth for future generations".

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Six Nations act to protect land and environment

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YCL Canada back in the struggle

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Youth: Reclaim Earth Day!

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Support the June 29 Aboriginal Day of Protest

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Oppose Conservative deception;
support single-desk barley purchasing

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Tribute planned for Rideau Canal navvies

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Ontario's hidden democratic heritage

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To get Green, go Red - Editorial

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Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Association formed

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U.S. preparing genocide against Iran - Venezuelan MP

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What's Left

BURNABY, B.C.

Mother's Day Pancake Breakfast - PV Fundraiser, 10 am-1 pm, Sun., May 13, 5435 Kincaid St., $8 (kids under 12 $6), for info call Anna, 604-294-6775.

VICTORIA, BC

26th Annual Earth Walk - Sat., April 21, begins 12:30 at Centennial Square, arrive 1:00 pm at the Legislature, for info contact Earth Walk Committee, fknott@shaw.ca.

VANCOUVER, BC

Solidarity Sunday - Justice for Immigrants, Migrants & Refugees! Sun., April 15, 1-6 pm, WISE Hall, 1882 Adanac St., food, music, performances, organized by STATUS Coalition.

May Day March for Immigrant Rights - Tue., May 1, 6 pm, from Clark Park (Commercial & 14th), organized by STATUS Coalition and May Day Organizing Ctee., call 778-885-0040.
Russian Hall Concert and Dinner,

Russian Hall Concert and Dinner - 2 pm, Sunday, May 6, 600 Campbell Ave., tribute to mothers, buffet dinner, admission $20 to concert and dinner.

Reception for David Rovics - meet and hear the U.S. folksinger, and enjoy Arabic snacks and refreshments, admission by donation, Thursday, April 26, 7-9:30 pm, Palestine Community Centre, 1874 Kingsway, 604-676-3611.

PV Victory Banquet - Sat., PV Victory Banquet, Sat., June 9, 6 pm, Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., call 604-255-2041 for tickets and info.

StopWar.ca - coalition meetings on 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 5;30 pm, Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St., see http://www.stopwar.ca for updates.

Annual Spring Bazaar - Sat., April 21, 11-3, at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., donations welcome.

WINNIPEG, MB

Annual Walk for Peace - Saturday, June 9, watch for details from Peace Alliance Winnipeg.

TORONTO, ON

Cuban Palador - (Cuban Restaurant in a private home)- Sat., April 21, 209 Oakwood Avenue W., 6-9 pm, $15 for Cuban food, coffee, flan and music, proceeds to People’s Voice, sponsored by Public Sector Workers Club and Parkdale Club. For info or reservations, 416-654-7105.

Callenge Corporate Globalization - Sat., April 21, 10-4, forum with movement-building organizers, educators, advocates from unions and grassroots groups, Sheraton Centre, 123 Queen St. W. (2nd Floor), call 416-537-6532 ext. 2215.

Reclaim Earth Day - Sunday, April 22, 1 pm, send a wake-up call on the climate crisis, followed by street festival on John St., 2-6 pm, for info see www.weathertaskforce.ca.

Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts - April 28 - May 6, for info on events visit http://www.mayworks.ca, or contact publicist Matthew Adams, 416-762-0260.

People's Voice Forums - at the GCDO Hall, 290 Danforth Ave. Thursday, April 26, 7:30 pm, topic to be announced; Thursday, May 31, 7:30 pm, lawyer Barbara Jackman on “Security Certificates”. Call 416-469-2446 for details of April event.

OTTAWA, ON

Women Resisting Poverty & Exclusion - May 4-6, conference organized by Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, for info, visit the CRIAW website: http://www.criaw-icref.ca/indexFrame_e.htm

MONTREAL, QC

Vigil against occupation of Palestine - every Friday, noon to 1 pm, at Israeli Consulate, corner of Peel and Rene Levesque. For info: Palestinians And Jews United, 961-3928.

People's Voice deadlines:
MAY 1-15 issue: Thursday, April 19
MAY 16-31 issue:
Thursday, May3
Send submissions to PV Editorial Office, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3J1, pvoice@telus.net

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People’s Voice: News for
people, not for profit!
PV Fund Appeal passes $22,000

The 2007 People’s Voice Fund Drive went into high gear in late March and early April. Since our previous issue, another $13,000 has been raised towards our annual target of $50,000. We are now at the 44% mark, with a total of $22,129 contributed as of April 7. Ontario now leads the way, with $12,015, or 60% of their $20,000 target. In second place is British Columbia, with $8214 turned in, or 37.4% of the provincial target of $22,000. Other provinces and regions have raised a further $1900 - look for more details in our May Day issue.

Why is People’s Voice an important vehicle to build popular resistance? Because instead of printing platitudes about the state of the world, we stand for united people’s struggles and for the goal of socialism. To mark Earth Day (April 21), we will distribute this issue of PV at environmental events across the country, bringing a message that serious social and political changes - not “green capitalism” and dangerous “solutions” like ethanol - are needed to avert catastrophic climate upheaval. This issue also marks the Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the Job (April 28), placing the blame for workplace deaths and diseases squarely on the corporate drive for profits.

Lower Mainland readers can look forward to another scrumptious Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast for People’s Voice on Sunday, May 13. Hosted by the Burnaby Club CPC, it takes place at 5435 Kincaid St., Burnaby, starting at 10 am; last call for pancakes is 12 noon. For just $8 (kids under 12 $6), it’s a deal you can’t beat!

Toronto readers - reserve now for the Cuban Palador (Cuban Restaurant in a private home), Sat., April 21, at 209 Oakwood Avenue W., 6-9 pm. For just $15, you can enjoy Cuban food, coffee, flan and music. All proceeds go to People’s Voice, sponsored by Public Sector Workers Club and Parkdale Club. For info or reservations, 416-654-7105.

The 15th Annual People’s Voice Victory Banquet will take place at the Russian Hall (600 Campbell Ave.) in Vancouver on Saturday, June 9 - even if an election is underway! Our guest speaker this year will be Brigid Kemp, President of the South Okanagan Boundary Labour Council, bringing a message of labour militancy in the struggle for peace, jobs, democracy, and social justice.

Here’s another reminder about our “People’s Voice Shopping Bag” special Fund Drive promotion. As the ad on this page shows, we have several items to offer for your contributions, ranging from music to clothing to great reading. Also, all PV subs renewed in the first four months of 2007 will be credited for 13 months at the price of 12 months.

And remember that while People’s Voice is still produced at our editorial office in Vancouver, our business office is now located in Hamilton, where our manager Sam Hammond is located. Send all requests and donations to: 173 West Ave North, Hamilton, ON, L8L 5C7.

People’s Voice
SHOPPING BAG

BOOK

Not One More Death, essays condemning the US war against Iraq, by John le Carré, Richard Dawkins, Brian Eno, Michel Faber, Harold Pinter, and Haifa Zangana

CALENDAR

People’s Voice 2007 antiwar calendar

SUBSCRIPTION

a 12 month complimentary subscription to People’s Voice (keep it or give it to a friend)

Che T-Shirt
Surprise Music CD

Send your phone number with your donation, and we will contact you about your choice of music CD, or your T-shirt size before shipping

Here’s How It Works:

For a $100 Donation ... One item of your choice
$200 Donation ............ Choose two items
$300 Donation ............ Choose three items
$400 Donation ............ Choose four items
$500 Donation ............ Choose five items

For a donation of $1000 or more, take the whole bag and we will provide a lifetime subscription for you or a friend of your choice.

All subs renewed in the first four months of 2007 will be credited for 13 months at the price of 12 months ($25). Offer expires April 30.

Send all requests and donations to PV Business Office: 173 West Ave North, Hamilton, ON, L8L 5C7.

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April 16-31, 2007
Volume 15 - Number 7
$1

REDS ON THE WEB

April 16-31, 2007 Volume 15 - Number 7 $1

REDS ON THE WEB

April 16-31, 2007
Volume 15 - Number 7
$1