ºClimate Day

Hey, Remember Bill C-311?

// August 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // Miscellaneous

Once upon a time, Canadians called MPs, wrote letters, signed petitions, occupied offices – they pulled out the stops – all for the passage of Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. Here’s a refresher from www.climateresponse.ca:

Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act passed third reading in the House of Commons on May 5th, 2010. Conservative MPs voted against it, while the majority of Opposition MPs supported it. The Bill is now before the Senate.

If passed into law, the Act will require the Canadian federal government to set regulations to bring emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Act will require the government to produce five year target plans, establish independent reviews and punish polluters who break regulations.

Of the total 105 Senators:

52 are Conservatives
49 are Liberals
2 are Progressive Conservatives
2 are Independents

Note: of the Conservatives, 13 were appointed by Mulroney, nominated the ‘greenest Prime Minister’ by Corporate Knights.

We are SO close! The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is lobbying the Senate to kill Bill C-311 – let’s not let it happen!

Climate Response is going to make this easy for you. Find a draft letter and all the resources you need to contact our Senators and urge them to support Bill C-311 right here.

10/10/10 – The Global Work PARTY

// August 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // Miscellaneous

Dear Canada,

If you have not already started planning a 10/10/10 event for this October 10th, it is not too late to get cracking! In Canada, the Global Work Party is conveniently taking place on our Thanksgiving weekend. Perhaps your family is already gathering for some holiday festivities which makes recruitment a breeze. This is an opportunity for the world to give a collective foot-tapping-arms-crossed-intense-stare to elected officials – “We’re getting to work, how about you?”

We know it seems like a lot to ask to organize a Work Party, BUT:

1. Refer to the ‘party’ bit. Yeah, we thought so.
2. What could be more important than building the movement we need? You know, the one that fosters political will to establish climate justice.
3. This is another one of those moments that we will look back on with pride. When the world rose up, armed with solar panels and trees, you were there with dirty hands and a shovel!

There are over 80 actions already registered in Canada and trust us, you want to be one more.

Here are some action ideas.

Make sure to take lots of pictures and post them with 350.org. Also, invite your MP or let them know that this Thanksgiving, we are getting to work!

From the desk of Gracen…

// July 10th, 2010 // Comments Off // Miscellaneous

Greetings! Not so long ago, I sent the following message to many friends of The Hill. It contains valuable information and my deepest affection so I would like to post it here for you as well.

Hello,

I recently returned from a semester in India, eating bananas and riding in rickshaws. Now that I’m back in Canada with a computer I’m trying to drop a line to the many connections I had the pleasure of making over the past year and a half in the process of making Fill The Hill a reality.

First, I would like to extend another sincere thank you for all of your support along the journey. I am fully aware how absurd it must have seemed to hop on board behind a raving 19-year-old and pull together thousands with almost zero resources. I should hope that in my life I will give my energy and trust so willingly as you have. You were essential to creating the improbable.

Second, I wish to introduce you to one of the offshoots of the C-Day movement. Cheryl McNamara of our communications team, and a small team of collaborators have been working hard since October to create the online community called Climate Response (www.climateresponse.ca). This is a citizens’ effort to raise the voice of reason. We all know that comment boards and shoddy journalism often trivialize or deny climate change and it can be very tempting to just ignore the nonsense. However, unless we can shift the comments and public opinion in favour of the truth, we will struggle to achieve serious change. Therefore, Climate Response is a platform where contributors can find resources and share their efforts to take back the playground from deniers. Cheryl is recruiting members (especially students), so please do check it out and share with friends. Grassroots is a continual source of hope and satisfaction.

Third, good news regarding climate change can be hard to come by. If nothing else, remember that we are all still in it for the long haul. Let’s keep our heads high, minds clear, and hands busy. Speaking of which, I’m sure we are all excited for 350.org’s Global Work Party on 10/10/10.

Thanks again!

Yours in action,

Gracen

Pictures Worth Thousands of Words

// June 4th, 2010 // Comments Off // Miscellaneous

See more at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

Let’s get the Robin Hood Tax ‘At the Table’

// May 24th, 2010 // Comments Off // Miscellaneous

Long time, no post.

So about that G20 coming to Toronto late June…

Once again, world leaders have the opportunity to put their heads and hands together and commit to climate action. Once again, we have the opportunity to show them collectively how gung-ho we are about turning the ship around before it is too late.

Around the world, governments have been embracing what is known as the Robin Hood Tax. This is a 0.05% tax on “speculative banking transactions – such as bonds, derivatives, currencies and hedge fund trading.” The funds generated by such a tax would be directed towards mitigating and adapting to climate change, meeting Millennium Development Goals, and other noble causes. It’s a simple concept with huge potential. Please check it out and get involved.

Robinhoodtax.ca