For the first time in human history, the North Pole can be circumnavigated
Melting ice opens up North-west and North-east passages simultaneously.
Scientists warn Arctic icecap is entering a 'death spiral'
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
*Sunday, 31 August 2008*
Open water now stretches all the way round the Arctic, making it possible for the first time in human history to circumnavigate the North Pole, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. New satellite images, taken only two days ago, show that melting ice last week opened up both the fabled North-west and North-east passages, in the most important geographical landmark to date
to signal the unexpectedly rapid progress of global warming.
Last night Professor Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist at the official US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), hailed the publication of the images – on an obscure website by scientists at the University of Bremen, Germany – as "a historic event", and said that it provided further evidence
that the Arctic icecap may now have entered a "death spiral". Some scientists predict that it could vanish altogether in summer within five years, a process that would, in itself, greatly accelerate.
But Sarah Palin, John McCain's new running mate, holds that the scientific consensus that global warming is melting Arctic ice is unreliable.
The opening of the passages – eagerly awaited by shipping companies who hope to cut thousands of miles off their routes by sailing round the north of Canada and Russia – is only the greatest of a host of ominous signs this month of a gathering crisis in the Arctic. Early last week the NSDIC warned that, over the next few weeks, the total extent of sea ice in the Arctic may shrink to below the record low reached last year – itself a massive 200,000 square miles less than the previous worst year, 2005.
Four weeks ago, tourists had to be evacuated from Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park because of flooding from thawing glaciers. Auyuittuq means "land that never melts".
Two weeks later, in an unprecedented sighting, nine stranded polar bears were seen off Alaska trying to swim 400 miles north to the retreating icecap edge. Ten days ago massive cracking was reported in the Petermann glacier in the far north of Greenland, an area apparently previously unaffected by global warming.
But it is the simultaneous opening – for the first time in at least 125,000 years – of the North-west passage around Canada and the North-east passage around Russia that promises to deliver much the greatest shock. Until recently both had been blocked by ice since the beginning of the last Ice
Age.
In 2005, the North-east passage opened, while the western one remained closed, and last year their positions were reversed. But the images,gathered by Nasa using microwave sensors that penetrate clouds, show that the North-west passage opened last weekend and that the last blockage on the north- eastern one – a tongue of ice stretching down to Russia across Siberia's Laptev Sea – dissolved a few days later.
"The passages are open," said Professor Serreze, though he cautioned that official bodies would be reluctant to confirm this for fear of lawsuits if ships encountered ice after being encouraged to enter them. "It's a historic event. We are going to see this more and more as the years go by."
Shipping companies are already getting ready to exploit the new routes. The Bremen-based Beluga Group says it will send the first ship through the North-east passage – cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan – next year. And Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper,
last week announced that all foreign ships entering the North-west passage should report to his government – a move bound to be resisted by the US, which regards it as an international waterway.
But scientists say that such disputes will soon become irrelevant if the ice continues to melt at present rates, making it possible to sail right across the North Pole. They have long regarded the disappearance of the icecap as inevitable as global warming takes hold, though until recently it was not expected until around 2070.
Many scientists now predict that the Arctic ocean will be ice-free in summer by 2030 – and a landmark study this year by Professor Wieslaw Maslowski at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, concluded that there will be no ice between mid-July and mid-September as early as 2013.
The tipping point, experts believe, was the record loss of ice last year, reaching a level not expected to occur until 2050. Sceptics then dismissed the unprecedented melting as a freak event, and it was indeed made worse by wind currents and other natural weather patterns.
Conditions were better this year – it has been cooler, particularly last winter – and for a while it looked as if the ice loss would not be so bad.
But this month the melting accelerated. Last week it shrank to below the 2005 level and the European Space Agency said: "A new record low could be reached in a matter of weeks."
Four weeks ago, a seven-year study at the University of Alberta reported that – besides shrinking in area – the thickness of the ice had dropped by half in just six years. It suggested that the region had "transitioned into a different climatic state where completely ice-free summers would soon
become normal".
The process feeds on itself. As white ice is replaced by sea, the dark surface absorbs more heat, warming the ocean and melting more ice.
VANCOUVER — Environment Canada has terminated a funding contract to the B.C. chapter of the Sierra Club of Canada, causing the possible closing of a climate-change program initiative.
Pat Dolan, executive director of Environment Canada's outreach and biodiversity priorities division, telephoned the environmental non-profit group last week to say that the $100,000 funding contract, signed May 16, was terminated.
The grant had been approved through the EcoAction Community Funding program, a federal initiative created by the Chrétien government in 1995 and supported by subsequent administrations.
"I was informed that our application had been reviewed - after the signing of our contribution agreement - against the priorities of the program, that sometimes adjustments in priorities occur, and that as a result of that review our funding was terminated," said Jenn Hoffman, development director of Sierra Club B.C. "I was told that we are not the only organization being impacted."
The money had been targeted for the Sierra Club's new House Cooling initiative, in which groups of workers, neighbours or others gather in one member's house to discuss climate change and how they, as individuals or as a group, can reduce their carbon footprint.
Sierra Club B.C. supplies materials that give information about the practical steps people can take to reduce household greenhouse-gas emissions. At the end of the gathering, guests are invited to form their own Carbon Emission Reduction Club that will meet regularly so people can support each other in their greening efforts.
Sierra Club B.C. executive director Kathryn Molloy said she was outraged by the decision to cancel funding.
"I would like clarity as to why the program has been terminated," she said. "I was told this was the best proposal EcoAction had ever seen. This issue of climate change and empowering people to make decisions to reduce their own impact and to educate them on these issues - it has never been more salient.
"It has never been more prudent for the government to be supporting this kind of work and we've never had this level of interest. In my view, right before an election, this is voter suicide on their part."
Asked for a response, Environment Canada said in an e-mailed statement: "The department regularly reviews all of its grants and contribution funding projects to ensure that taxpayers' dollars are respected. The Department is informing project proponents on the results of the annual review. As per the terms of agreements, payments will be issued where money is owing for work already done. Any money freed up will be redirected to other programs and services to help protect our environment."
An Environment Canada spokesman did confirm that Environment Minister John Baird is sometimes involved personally in the application review process. He could not confirm which, if any, other organizations might be affected, nor which specific issues had caused Sierra Club's application to suddenly be deemed ineligible.
here are many companies who are trying to improve their image to look like they are more responsible in how they operate and the impact that they have on the environment. Here is a great resource on Greenwashing.
What is Greenwashing?
It’s Whitewashing, But With a Green Brush.
Everyone’s heard the expression “whitewashing” — it’s defined as “a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts, especially in a political context.”
“Greenwashing” is the same premise, but in an environmental context.
It’s greenwashing when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact. It’s whitewashing, but with a green brush.
A classic example might be an energy company that runs an advertising campaign touting a “green” technology they’re working on — but that “green” technology represents only a sliver of the company’s otherwise not-so-green business, or may be marketed on the heels of an oil spill or plant explosion.
Or a hotel chain that calls itself “green” because it allows guests to choose to sleep on the same sheets and reuse towels, but actually does very little to save water and energy where it counts — on its grounds, with its appliances and lighting, in its kitchens and with its vehicle fleet.
Or a bank that’s suddenly “green” because you can conduct your finances online, or a grocery store that’s “green” because they’ll take back your plastic grocery bags, or …
Two degrees of separation between hope and despair
A young people's summary of the United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008
The young people of the world have produced a Youth Booklet that includes drawings, poems and human stories on climate change and development, entirely made by and for young people!
The booklet has been developed by Peace Child International jointly with HDRO, and launched on Youth Day 2008.
Rapport du JEDCOM 1 (Jeunesse, Eco citoyenneté et Développement Communautaire) du 04 au 13 Août 2008 à San Pedro(Région du Bas Sassandra en Côte d’Ivoire)
J’ai l’honneur de vous faire part de la mission de l’ONG des Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement - Côte d’Ivoire concernant la première phase de son programme d’éducation à l’Environnement dénommé « Jeunesse, Eco citoyenneté et Développement Communautaire » ayant pour thème : « Notre Planète en Danger, Agissons maintenant » dans la Région du Bas Sassandra en Côte d’Ivoire précisément à San Pedro du 04 au 13 Août 2008.
Jours 1-2-3 :Arrivée des délégations d’environ 6000 jeunes leaders communautaires et scouts de Togo, Burkina Faso, France, Canada et Côte d’Ivoire sur le site du Lycée Municipal de San Pedro.
Jour 4: L’on a procédé au lancement officiel des activités avec la participation effective des autorités régionales de San Pedro.Les différentes délégations ont procédé au défilé suivi par des sketchs pour sensibiliser les participants à la cohabitation pacifique.
Jour 5 : Le lancement des activités du village communautaire où les Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement - Côte d’Ivoire (JVE -Côte d’Ivoire) ont animé un stand avec pour thème : « Notre Planète en Danger, Agissons maintenant ». Nous avons reçu pour cette journée les leaders communautaires et scouts de la branche des éclaireurs et routiers. A cet effet le Président de JVE Côte d’Ivoire Mr BAIMEY Ange David et le Secrétaire Général Mr DIOMANDE Moussa ont présenté JVE Côte d’Ivoire à tous les visiteurs et répondu à toutes les questions relatives à l’association et à l’Environnement. Après ceci Mr BRIDA Bawa Franck, chargé de projets de JVE Côte d’Ivoire a renforcé la capacité des participants en écologie et conscience pour la préservation de l’Environnement et la sauvegarde des ressources naturelles.
Jour 6: Dans la matinée, Mr DIOMANDE Moussa, Secrétaire Général des Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement et Mlle SAKA Mariam Merry de la commission chargée des projets ont reçu tous les leaders communautaires et scouts au stand JVE Côte d’Ivoire. Dans leur allocution, ils ont sensibilisé les participants à un changement de comportement pour la protection de l’Environnement et la préservation des ressources naturelles. Par la même occasion, ils ont entretenu l’auditoire sur les questions de changements climatiques et la gestion des déchets en proposant le compost comme solution sur le site qui a accueilli toutes les délégations. Mrs
TOGBA Arsène et SIE Dimitri de la commission chargée des projets ont pour leur part renforcé la capacité des participants à travers le Programme d’Ecologie et Conscience en vue d’un changement de comportement favorable à la protection de l’Environnement et à la préservation des ressources naturelles.
L’après midi a été marqué par le stage de formation de 21 leaders communautaires et scouts sur les questions des énergies renouvelables : solution aux changements climatiques.
Après l’allocution de Bienvenue de Mrs BAIMEY Aubin de la commission chargée des projets de JVE Côte d’Ivoire et le représentant de l’ONG Produire Nos Moyens , L’expert de JVE Côte d’Ivoire en l’occurrence Mr BRIDA Ange, doctorant en sciences de l’Environnement à l’Université d’Abobo Adjamé a renforcé la capacité des participants sur le thème suivant: « Les énergies renouvelables : solution aux changements climatiques ».Après avoir étanché la soif de connaissance des participants sur les questions de changements climatiques, l’éminent expert a proposé les énergies renouvelables comme solutions aux changements climatiques.
Dans la soirée, JVE Côte d’Ivoire a diffusé le film de l’un de ses partenaires en l’occurrence les chercheurs suisse BOESCH du World Wild Chimpanzee Foundation ; film relatif à la vie des chimpanzés du parc national de Taï et aux différents problèmes auxquels ils sont confrontés notamment celui du braconnage qui constitue une menace pour la survie de la communauté des chimpanzés. Ce film a permis de sensibiliser sur la protection des chimpanzés qui sont en voie de disparition .A la fin du film, JVE Côte d’Ivoire est passé au jeu crack en posant des questions relatives au film diffusé et a offert des kits d’éducation à l’environnement dénommés « paroles de la forêt ».
Jour 7: JVE Côte d’Ivoire a procédé à l’ouverture de sa bibliothèque en mettant à la disposition des jeunes tous les manuels relatifs à l’Environnement. Mr BRIDA Bawa Franck et Mlle SAKA
Mariam Merry de la commission chargée des projets ont orienté les lecteurs vers la bibliothèque de JVE Côte d’Ivoire. A l’intérieur de ce temple du savoir, Mr TOGBA Doua Arsène de la commission chargée des projets et Mr DIOMANDE Moussa Secrétaire Général de JVE Côte d’Ivoire ont entretenu les lecteurs en leur expliquant les difficultés de compréhension auxquels ils étaient confrontés. Cette journée a été marquée surtout par la visite des tout-petits lecteurs âgés de 05 à 11 ans. Mr TOGBA Doua Arsène et Mr DIOMANDE Moussa ont renforcé la capacité de ce public cible âgé de 05 à 11 ans en dispensant un essai de définition sur l’Environnement. Mr DIOMANDE Moussa a raconté une histoire aux enfants dans laquelle il a mis en exergue les six éléments principaux de l’Environnement qui sont l’Eau, le Sol, l’Energie solaire, les Végétaux, les Animaux et l’Air.
Cette histoire a permis aux tout-petits de comprendre l’importance de l’Environnement puisque la morale était basée sur le fait qu’il faut prendre soin des cadeaux qui sont l’eau, sol, air, énergie solaire, les végétaux et animaux que Dieu nous a offerts au risque de voir sa colère s’abattre sur nous par les manifestations de changements climatiques et son corollaire.
Pour perpétuer la lecture hors de la bibliothèque, JVE Côte d’Ivoire a offert gratuitement des manuels d’éducation à l’Environnement à tous les enfants.
L’Après midi a été marqué par un stage de formation de 21 leaders communautaires et scouts sur le compost. L’Expert de JVE Côte d’Ivoire en l’occurrence Mr BRIDA Ange, doctorant en Sciences de l’Environnement à l’Université d’Abobo Adjamé a renforcé la capacité desdits leaders communautaires et scouts sur la confection d’une compostière.
Les activités du Jour 7 se sont terminées par la diffusion d’un film des chercheurs Suisse BOESCH de la World Wild Chimpanzee Foundation relatif aux chimpanzés du parc national de Taï et aussi à la projection d’un dessin animé intitulé « Simba le roi Lion » pour le plaisir et surtout l’éducation de nos tout-petits en vue de les inspirer et faire naître en eux un engouement pour l’Environnent.
Jour 8 : JVE Côte d’Ivoire et les 21 leaders communautaires et scouts ayant suivi le stage de formation de JVE Côte d’Ivoire sur « les énergies renouvelables : solution aux changements climatiques » et sur « le compost » se sont rendus sur le site d’installation de la délégation de Bondoukou (ville de Côte d’Ivoire) pour confectionner une compostière et expliquer le bien fondé du compostage dans la production d’engrais naturel. Ainsi les leaders communautaires et les scouts ont été appelés à suivre cet exemple en mettant en pratique les connaissances acquises lors des différents stages de formation.Les travaux ont été supervisés par Mr Anon Fidèle membre de JVE Côte d'Ivoire en ingenierie agronome à l'Institut National Polytechnique Houphouet Boigny de Yamoussoukro.
Après l’installation de la compostière sur le site, les Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement de Côte d’Ivoire (JVE-Côte d’Ivoire) ont reçu les branches des cheminots des scouts.
A cet effet, Mr BAIMEY Aubin de la commission chargée de projets de JVE Côte d’Ivoire a procédé à la présentation de JVE Côte d’Ivoire et a sensibilisé les jeunes scouts à un changement de comportement pour l’Environnement et surtout à prendre conscience que notre planète est en danger.A cet effet, les cheminots étant considérés comme les serviteurs des scouts ont été appelés à porter le message plein de vertus de protection de l’environnement partout dans le monde. Messieurs BRIDA Bawa Franck , SIE Dimitri ,TOGBA Doua Arsène et DIOMANDE Moussa de JVE Côte d’Ivoire ont bouclé la rencontre avec les cheminots des scouts en renforçant la capacité des participants en écologie et conscience pour leur permettre de prendre conscience que notre planète est en danger et que par conséquent il faut vivre en harmonie avec les éléments qui nous entourent en adoptant un comportement qui œuvre pour le développement durable et surtout pour la préservation de l’Environnement et la sauvegarde des ressources naturelles.
Jour 9: JVE Côte d’Ivoire a célébré la journée mondiale de la jeunesse 2008.
Nous avons inspiré la jeunesse toute entière à œuvrer pour un monde sain à travers le volontariat pour l’Environnement ; à prendre conscience du défi à relever pour ce qui concerne les changements climatiques.
A cet effet, JVE Côte d’Ivoire et l’ONG Produire Nos Moyens ont célébré l’excellence en décernant officiellement et publiquement 21 diplômes de participation aux leaders communautaires et scouts qui ont suivi avec assiduité les différents stages de formation théorique et pratique en énergies alternatives comme solutions aux changements climatiques et sur le compost. JVE Côte d’Ivoire a ainsi habilité les leaders à porter haut et loin le flambeau des actions relatives au volontariat pour l’Environnement.
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A la fin de la cérémonie commémorant la journée mondiale de la Jeunesse 2008, JVE Côte d’Ivoire et l’ONG Produire Nos Moyens ont procédé à la clôture officielle des activités de la première phase du Projet Jeunesse, Eco citoyenneté et Développement Communautaire.
Jour 1O : Départ des Délégations
Fait à San Pedro le 13 Août 2008
DIOMANDE Moussa
Secrétaire Général des Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement
Côte d’Ivoire
JVE Côte d’Ivoire a célébré la journée mondiale de la jeunesse 2008 le 12 Août 2008 à San Pedro( ville de Côte d'Ivoire).
Nous avons inspiré la jeunesse toute entière à œuvrer pour un monde sain à travers le volontariat pour l’Environnent ; à prendre conscience du défi à relever pour ce qui concerne les changements climatiques.
A cet effet, JVE Côte d’Ivoire et l’ONG Produire Nos Moyens ont célébré l’excellence en décernant officiellement et publiquement 21 diplômes de participation aux leaders communautaires et scouts qui ont suivi avec assiduité les différents stages de formation théorique et pratique en énergies alternatives comme solutions aux changements climatiques et sur le compost. JVE Côte d’Ivoire a ainsi habilité les leaders à porter haut et loin le flambeau des actions relatives au volontariat pour l’Environnent.
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A la fin de la cérémonie commémorant la journée mondiale de la Jeunesse 2008, JVE Côte d’Ivoire et l’ONG Produire Nos Moyens ont procédé à la clôture officielle des activités de la première phase du Projet Jeunesse, Eco citoyenneté et Développement Communautaire.
So I finally arrived at the 4th World Youth Congress which is taking place in Quebec City, Quebec Canada on August 10th in the early hours of the morning. I had started my journey at 10am from the small town in England where I was living and took the public transit bus to the Stansted airport where I then took a National Express bus to the Heathrow airport. The traffice was slow due to the time of day and it would be a general summary of the over all trip to Canada but once I arrived at Heathrow things went smoothly checking in all the camera equipment that I would be using to bring the congress to youth who are interested but could not attend though the World Youth Congress YouTube Channel. The flight across the Atlantic was long but it allowed me to catch up on some applications and scholarships that I was getting close on the deadline to but I was glad to have finally arried back in Canada. The trip trough Canadian customs was quick and painless and I was soon on my third bus from the Montreal airport to the downtown bus station where I would cathc my final bus to Quebec City. When I finally arrived to Quebec City it was 1am Eastern and I was looking forward to getting rid of my luggage and getting to sleep in a bed but that was not to be the case. With things not being to organized I had arrived to Laval University with no where to check into a room, while I knew the othe Peace Child International staff who had flown two days prior were somewhere on campus without any contact information it would have to be a combination of sleeping on a chair and some times leaning on a table to get some sleep until 7am when I was hoping to finally made the end of my journey finished by checking into a room. I did get to see a former Peace Child intern, Annas who I had breakfast with him and his wife Claire which was a not to bad way to wrap up a very long journey to the congress. With all of my recent work on an UNDP Youth Climate Change Project will the emissions from my travel be worth me attending the congress? I will find out in the upcoming days.
Here is a very amazing story of someone who is making huge waves for African women with HIV-AIDS. Kristin Roe who has swam from my little province of Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and then straight back again.
BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — After just under 15 hours of swimming in 19-degree water, a Nova Scotia woman completed a marathon swim Saturday that took her from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and back, all in less than a day.
Kristin Roe, 27, touched shore in P.E.I. Saturday evening after finishing a gruelling 30-kilometre double-crossing of the Northumberland Strait, the body of water between P.E.I. on the Maritime mainland.
"I'm really glad I finished, I'm really glad I'm on land," said Roe after her swim. "It was a long-haul."
Roe left P.E.I. just after 4 a.m. and was ahead of schedule before she was confronted with strong tides just off the coast of New Brunswick. She had to power through the tides in order to make it to shore around noon.
"I was feeling frustration throughout most of it," said Roe. "It wasn't really a great weather day, and I didn't swim as fast as I had hoped...I was swimming against the wind at the end of the first crossing."
Roe waded on shore in New Brunswick to eat and get a medical check-up before diving back in the water.
"The second crossing was better, but still really hard," she said. "I was so tired from the first, and I just did the best I could."
Following her throughout the entire swim was a boat carrying her family, best friend, a paramedic and the boat captain.
Roe has three brothers who joined her from time to time in the water.
Her older brother, Christopher, brought along a surf board and paddled next to Roe to motivate her and keep her company.
"I was feeling pretty frustrated at the end of the first crossing, and I almost couldn't look at him because I started to cry when I saw him paddling next to me," said Roe. "I thought it was pretty amazing."
Roe, who now lives in Halifax, did the marathon to raise money for two Canadian aid organizations with a focus on Africa and helping women with HIV-AIDS.
The Hamilton, Ont., native estimates she's raised close to $30,000 toward her goal of $100,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Farmers Helping Farmers, an organization that assists women farmers in Kenya.
It's a cause that's close to Roe's heart. In 2006, she spent six months living in South Africa and while there she became the first Canadian to swim from Cape Town, South Africa to Robben Island, in a fundraiser for women living with HIV-AIDS.
"I think it's created a lot of awareness in the country, and I think it's benefiting women in Africa," said Roe of her swim. "These are very much grassroots projects for women affected by AIDS and women involved in the agriculture sector who are also affected by HIV-AIDS."
After you make your $20 donation you will be able to use an emailed status of membership until your official Sierra Youth Coalition membership card arrives. All you then need to do is mention the discount code (11261) when booking your train ticket with VIA Rail and have proof of membership and your ID when you pick up your ticket.
Now you can still enjoy travel and exploring with having a smaller impact on the planet.
The following is an article from CBC News, this greatly saddens me to read this story and puts even more anger in me to know that as a Canadian tax payer that the citizens of Canada are funding this so called "expansion of democracy".
If this our country exporting democracy I wonder what the reaction of Canadian citizens would be if an outside country send an army to Canada to protect us and the same event would happen.
The death of children's lives no matter where they live is still not justified by any countries government.
Canadian troops kill 2 children after car nears convoy
Monday, July 28, 2008 | CBC News
A two-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister have died after Canadian troops opened fire on a car they feared was about to attack their convoy in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces said Monday.
A gunner in a light-armoured vehicle pulled the trigger on a 25-millimetre cannon after the driver of a car ignored repeated signals to keep a safe distance, officials said.
The incident happened around sunset Sunday when the car approached within 10 metres of the convoy, a Canadian military statement said.
Witnesses reported the little girl was struck in the head and her younger brother in the chest.
The children's grief-stricken mother was seen pacing the hallway at the local hospital, sobbing and shrieking that her children had been killed by foreigners for no reason. The father was treated for lacerations.
"We deeply regret this incident, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased during this difficult time," the Canadian military said in a statement.
"Our soldiers are trained to take all appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties. However, they must take action to protect themselves when they believe they are being threatened."
The statement said the fourth and fifth occupants of the vehicle were not injured.
Afghan police and coalition forces will be investigating Sunday's incident.
Coalition forces run frequent advertising campaigns to warn locals to keep a safe distance from convoys and many locals are scared of getting close to military vehicles.
NATO commanders say they take all reasonable precautions and that militants, who regularly use civilian cars loaded with explosives in suicide missions, are to blame for endangering innocents.
Human Rights Watch estimates at least 300 Afghan civilians were mistakenly killed by coalition forces in 2007, with thousands dead since the mission's start six years ago.
Afghan and United Nations officials have urged international troops to take extra precautions to prevent civilian casualties.
The UNDP Youth Climate Change Publication is reaching its final stages and will be sent off to the printers in the next few days. The process to create a summary of this years United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008 has been a long road but very rewarding one. We have had some amazing young editors come to work work at the Peace Child International office, worked along side some of the UNDP's staff and had many wonderful submissions to the project.
We will be launching the publication at the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City, Canada on August 12th.
If you are attending the congress make sure to come up to the Peace Child staff afterwards but if you are not attending you can still how everything unfolds and be involved through the Virtual Congress.
Since a main portion of this years World Youth Congress is focused on Climate Change I thought I would share this article on how the Canadian government is trying to sweep dirt under the mat. I also wanted to extent anyone who is using Facebook to join the growing International Youth Climate Movement.
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.
Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.
Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.
McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.
“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“
Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.
The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.
Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.
Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.
Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.
At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.
Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.
Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.
“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.
Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.
Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.
McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.
“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“
Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.
The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.
Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.
Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.
Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.
At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.
Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.
Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.
“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”
At the 4th World Youth Congress there will be the creation of, 'A Celebration of Youth-led Development' book, supported by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The congress will be taking place in Quebec 10th-21st August and the creation of this publication will also take place during this time.
We are looking for your stories on how you, your organization or your friends are involved in youth-led development. We are particularly focusing on the work that young people are doing toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We will be including stories from groups attending the congress in Quebec as well as stories from those who can't attend. This book will have a 'by youth' focus: we'd like to hear your experience of youth-designed and delivered projects.
If you have such stories, reports or evaluations, please send them to us. Ideally, we are looking for a 250-word summary of the project (with, if possible, some first person statements / opinions from the young people who did the project), plus 2-4 photographs illustrating the faces of the young person or team who designed and delivered the project, the need their project addressed, and a photo that confirms that they did what they set out to do. Send it to: publications@peacechild.org
Alternatively, if you have no specific project stories that you would like to highlight – but would like to be identified in the book as an organization that supports the notion of youth-led development (community improvement projects designed and delivered by young people under the age of 30) – please write to the Publications email address provided and they will recognize your support in the publication.
