Thursday, October 04, 2012

I challenged politicians to work together to fight global warming


On September 20, 2012, the Toronto chapter of 350.org held an event to talk about global warming. Afterwards, a panel talked about the importance of people being more green, government being more green and of people demanding eco policies from government. The last person to ask a question, I challenged the panel with my observation that a majority of Canadian voters vote for a party that cares about the environment, and so we must work together rather than let egos and in-fighting allow the destruction of the environment.

From left to right in the video, the panel was:
1) Tim Grant - Chair of the Harbord Village Residents' Association, and co-creator of the Green Teacher Magazine
2) Peter Tabuns - Member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Toronto-Danforth (NDP)

3) Matthew J. Hoffmann - Associate Professor of Political Science at U of T





Here are details about the event, from the Facebook event page:

Riverside Public House, 725 Queen St. E., Toronto, ON, M4M 2H5
350.org Toronto presents:

A tongue-in-cheek tribute to Minister of the Environment Peter Kent – we will be screening the 30 minute, 1984 documentary “The Greenhouse Effect and Planet Earth” (written, hosted, and narrated by Kent) which explains the science behind climate change and states in no uncertain terms that “the greenhouse effect must be considered as the world’s greatest environmental concern.”

Since making the move from journalism to politics, Kent has abandoned any semblance of environmentalism: in December 2011 he formally withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol, he used the 2012 Omnibus Budget Bill C-38 to eliminate funding for energy efficiency programs and drastically limit environmental assessments for industrial projects, and he has supported tar sands development at every turn, pushing to maintain the $1.4 billion in subsidies the Canadian government gives to fossil fuel corporations annually.

The film will be followed by three speakers, Matthew J. Hoffmann, Associate Professor of Political Science at UofT, Peter Tabuns, member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Toronto-Danforth (NDP), and Tim Grant - chair of the Harbord Village Residents' Association, and co-creator of the Green Teacher Magazine. They will comment on the current state of the climate and what we, as concerned citizens, can do about it, as well as fielding questions.

After that you will have a chance to meet the Toronto 350 team while enjoying the musical stylings of Juan Pablo Bermudez Rey.

Questions? Post here or email toronto350@gmail.com

High-res poster available here: https://www.sindark.com/350/kentposter.png

Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toronto350.org
Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/Toronto350
Join our 350.org Local page: http://local.350.org/350-toronto/

Matthew J. Hoffmann: https://matthewhoffmann.wordpress.com/
Peter Tabuns: http://petertabuns.ca/
Tim Grant: https://www.facebook.com/tim.grant.77985
Music: http://individual.utoronto.ca/juanpa/

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