The Ecosocialist Resources column is published at irregular intervals. It features links to new articles, reports, talks and videos that are relevant to Climate & Capitalism’s mission and goals.
Inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement, or that we agree with everything (or even anything!) the item says.
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- Why cutting population won't end poverty…Capitalism will always be a system of profound inequality, no matter what happens to the birthrate …. Discussions of population and food supply which leave out power relations between different groups of people will always mask the true nature of food scarcity — who gets to eat and who doesn’t — and lead to “solutions” that ...---READ-->>
- The Political Economy of Carbon MarketsBook Review. Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets. Edited by Steffen Böhm & Siddhartha Dabhi. UK: MayFlyBooks, 2009 reviewed by Martin Empson (from Socialist Review, February 2010) The failure of the Copenhagen climate talks to reach agreement on limiting emissions has angered millions of people. But this masks a far greater systemic problem with strategies to ...---READ-->>
- Tell the EU: Palm Plantations Aren't Forests!A leaked document reveals that the European Union wants to require member states to use biofuel from destructive palm plantations — and to do that it wants to define plantations as “forests” An alert from Rainforest Rescue European Union renewable energy legislation states that 10% of all road transport fuel in the EU will need to be ...---READ-->>
- Time to revoke the greens' award to BC Premier?The politician who was honored by Canada’s pale greens has attacked the environment again by Marc Lee from The Progressive Economics Forum, with the author’s permission Back in December, during the Copenhagen negotiations, a group of environmentalists provided BC Premier Gordon Campbell with an award for climate leadership. Based primarily on the creation of a BC carbon tax ...---READ-->>
- The Lying Politics of Climate Science DenialThe politics of climate denial and climate greenwash share much in common — both are ways of denying reality. The comeback of climate denial is out of step with views on climate change in most of the world. By Simon Butler Climate Change Social Change, Feb 4, 2009 It might seem bizarre that although the science ...---READ-->>
- How the U.S. Could Help HaitiTwo measures would immediately help Haitians: cancellation of the foreign debt and overhauling an immigration system that discriminates against them. by Helen Scott Socialist Worker, February 5, 2010 Asked earlier this week by an Associated Press journalist what the U.S. should do to help Haiti, Haitian author Robert Fatton replied: “The international community must shift its ...---READ-->>
- Palm Oil Monocultures Will Never Be SustainablePale green NGO supports destructive palm oil plantations in Asia, Africa and South America An Open Letter to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO) and the WWF, published November 2, 2009 One year ago, the International Declaration Against the ‘Greenwashing’ of Palm Oil by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was published, signed by over 250 ...---READ-->>
- ‘Population Justice’ — The Wrong Way to GoThe combination of population reduction and women’s rights was already like oil and water. Adding CO2 reductions to the mix only makes things worse.---READ-->>
- War is PeaceCan you read this sentence without bursting out laughing (or crying)? “The Obama administration plans to ask Congress to increase spending on the U.S. nuclear arsenal by more than $5 billion over the next five years as part of its strategy to halt the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually rid the world of them.” (McClatchy ...---READ-->>
- Manchester Ecosocialists Discuss PerspectivesOn January 23, Green Left and Socialist Resistance held a successful Climate and Capitalism Day School in Manchester, England. Here, two of the organizers discuss how to go forward … by Gayle O’Donovan (for Green Left) and Ian Parker (for Socialist Resistance) The Climate & Capitalism Day School in Manchester on 23rd January was, we think, ...---READ-->>
- A People’s Submission on Canada, Climate Change and the Copenhagen AccordClimate and Capitalism readers are sharply critical of this letter and statement, sent on January 28, from Climate Action Network Canada, to Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Dear Mr. de Boer, On behalf of the people of Canada, we are making a “Peoples Submission” to the Copenhagen ...---READ-->>
- A death sentence for Pacific IslandersIt is no longer a “hidden cost” of climate change. Climate refugees have become very real and very desperate. by Jay Fletcher Green Left weekly, 24 January 2010 A global temperature rise of 2° Celsius — the target set at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December — is a death sentence for Tuvalu. It means disaster ...---READ-->>
- Venezuela Cancels Haiti's Oil DebtOnce again, the Bolivarian Republic sets an example for the world … CARACAS – President Hugo Chavez announced Monday that he would write off the undisclosed sum Haiti owes Venezuela for oil as part of the ALBA bloc’s plans to help the impoverished Caribbean nation after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. “Haiti has no debt with Venezuela, ...---READ-->>
- Should Climate Activists Support Limits on Immigration?by Ian Angus and Simon Butler Immigrants to the developed world have frequently been blamed for unemployment, crime and other social ills. Attempts to reduce or block immigration have been justified as necessary measures to protect “our way of life” from alien influences. Today, some environmentalists go farther, arguing that sharp cuts in immigration are needed ...---READ-->>
- Just like a Waving FlagK’naan sang this powerful song on the Hope for Haiti telethon on Canadian television last night …. By coincidence, I heard Wavin’ Flag for the first time earlier this week, and haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. Somalia born K’naan moved to Canada in 1991, when he was 13. Much of ...---READ-->>
- The 'Copenhagen moment' must become the 'people’s moment'“Our challenge today is to re-write the story of the kind of victory that we’re fighting for. Our new story needs to be believable, irresistible, and worth fighting for.” by Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan In December, a delegation of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizers went to Copenhagen for the UN Climate Negotiations. They were there fighting for real ...---READ-->>
- If the climate were a bank, they’d have saved it by nowThe rich countries went to Copenhagen to defend their stakes in the capitalist world economy ahead of all else. Green Left Weekly Editorial January 16 2010 The formal outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit was a huge fiasco. It confirmed the world’s corporate rulers were simply unwilling to act in defence of people and the planet. Human civilisation stands ...---READ-->>
- The Birth of a New Global Movementby Jonathan Neale (SWP Online) Copenhagen saw the birth of a new global movement. The first reason was the demonstration on Saturday. The official police estimate was that there were 100,000 marchers. The march was long, loud, cold, bouncy, and energetic, about half Danes and half foreigners. I moved up and down the line, and everywhere people were chanting. ...---READ-->>
- Women’s Rights, Population and Climate Change: A DebateShould supporters of women’s rights campaign for population reduction? Two very different feminist perspectives … Introduction The articles below were originally published in the Fall 2009 issue of On the Issues: The Progressive Women’s Magazine. They are reproduced here by permission. Betsy Hartmann, author of “The ‘New’ Population Control Craze: Retro, Racist, Wrong Way to Go,” is the ...---READ-->>
- Hugo Blanco on Copenhagen: 'Only extinction of capitalism will ensure the survival of our species’It is naive to think that the world’s major polluters will do anything about climate protection. by Hugo Blanco translated by Richard Fidler for Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal “The concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is already so high that the climate system has been brought out of balance. The CO2 concentration and global temperatures have ...---READ-->>