Protest - Revolt

Even Vladimir Lenin was surprised when the Russian Revolution began in 1917. Is this just an interesting historical tidbit or a profound example of how fast seemingly stable political, social and economic systems can collapse? The subject of how long lasting our current system really is comes up frequently in discussions about global warming and what we can do about it. Usually the conversation goes something like this: "Scientists tell us we're getting close to the point of no return. We don't have much time left to drastically cut our carbon emissions."

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In December 2010, First Nations across BC and Alberta came together in a show of unprecedented solidarity to stop the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline by signing the Save the Fraser Declaration. Representatives of over 130 First Nations throughout BC and Canada are now signatories to this powerful legal document that protects the lands and waters we all rely on from devastating oil spills for all people and all generations. This is the critical time to show that citizens of British Columbia and Canada stand with First Nations to hold this wall.

UBCC350, a campus group dedicated to fighting climate change, recently earned fossil fuel divestment a spot on the January referendum after successfully petitioning for 1,000 student signatures. Launched in early November, UBCC350′s Divest UBC campaign asks the university to pull its investments from fossil fuel companies. Currently, $100 million of UBC’s $1.06 billion endowment fund, which helps to fund university operations, is invested in fossil fuel companies.

COAST SALISH TERRITORY – Activists blocked access to the federal Port of Vancouver for an hour early this morning as part of an International Day of Action in Support of  Elsipogtog Land Defenders in New Brunswick. Access to the Port at the foot of Clark Drive was blocked for an hour. Traffic was backed up as far as as the eye could see.

On a cold and overcast morning, approximately 50 people gathered outside the RCMP station at the University of BC in Vancouver to denounce the RCMP assaults on Mi'kmaq in New Brunswick and to stand in solidarity with the struggle against fracking.  Members of the Musqueam nation, along with UBC students and anarchists from East Vancouver, participated in the rally.

“In addition, allowing ourselves to balance our left-brain tendencies with what our hearts and emotions naturally seek in times of both ego and literal death is crucial. Now is the time for reading and writing poetry, speaking it to another person, composing and sharing music, creating works of art, dancing, drumming, cooking a nourishing meal for a friend, and engaging in all manner of ritual, whether spiritually-based or rituals of our daily routine that we savor with unprecedented gratitude.”

Dozens of protesters calling on The Bay to protect factory workers snaked their way through the store’s flagship location in Vancouver Monday, yelling "Sign the Accord" as they marched through the department store. The demonstrators, which include garment factory workers and members of the B.C. Federation of Labour, want The Bay and its chain of stores to sign The Bangladesh Accord -- which promises independent safety inspections, public reports on factory conditions and that companies will cover the cost of needed repairs.

There is a pressing need for a coherent left strategy on climate change and in relation to the planetary environmental threat in general. The current scientific consensus indicates that we have at best several decades before the earth’s average surface temperature rises by 2°C, viewed as the point of irreversible climate change. This means that decisive action must be taken quickly if the world is not to go off the planetary climate cliff.

Environment and development groups together with young people, trade unions and social movements will walk out of the UN climate talks on Thursday in protest at what they say is the slow speed and lack of ambition of the negotiations in Warsaw. Greenpeace, WWF, Oxfam, 350.org, Friends of the Earth, the International Trade Union confederation and ActionAid have all said they will leave the talks and not return.