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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- World at a Crossroads: Sydney in AprilIan Angus, editor of Climate and Capitalism, will be a featured speaker at the World at a Crossroads conference in Sydney Australia, April 10-12, 2009 “World at a Crossroads” will be hosted by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the socialist youth organisation Resistance, and is sponsored by Green Left Weekly. For more information go to http://www.worldatacrossroads.org/---READ-->>
- Carbon Trading: The Next Sub-PrimeClimate and Capitalism has long argued that carbon trading is a scam to boost profits without reducing emissions. Here’s confirmation from an unexpected source: the CEO of a major European energy company. By Terry Macalister The Guardian, Friday 30 January 2009 The row over the working of the European Union’s emissions trading scheme intensified last night when EDF Energy warned ...---READ-->>
- WSF 2009: Indigenous Activists Send SOS for the Amazon“We are raising our voices as a wake-up call to the world, especially the rich countries that are hastening its destruction.” —Edmundo Omoré, Xavante indigenous community By Mario Osava (Inter Press Service, January 27, 2009) A human banner made up of more than 1,000 people, seen and photographed from the air, sent the message “SOS Amazon” to the world, ...---READ-->>
- Socialists Adopt 10 Point Action Plan to Stop Climate ChangeAustralia’s Socialist Alliance proposes a program for slashing greenhouse gas emissions. Atmospheric CO2 must fall below 325ppm. Our Common Cause: Climate Change — the Danger is Now (From Green Left Weekly, January 24, 2009) The fate of advanced human civilisation — and perhaps of our species itself — hangs in the balance. Fuelled by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, ...---READ-->>
- Gaza: The Facts Are Insufficiently ImpartialThe BBC’s refusal to broadcast a charity appeal for Gaza will prevent essential aid from reaching the victims of Israel’s assault From Lenin’s Tomb Facts are awkward. They take sides. They do not conveniently distribute themselves evenly along the spectrum of opinion and, therefore, they lack balance. They must either be suppressed or complemented by some lies. ...---READ-->>
- How Climate Change Threatens Food SecurityClimate change is a contributory factor to the food price crisis, and its impact on agriculture and food security in developing countries is expected to get more serious. by Brett Harris from People and Planet Climate change is already affecting food security and it is expected to have even greater impacts in coming years. There are at least ...---READ-->>
- World Social Forum, Brazil, Jan. 27-Feb. 1The Ecosocialist International Network will meet in Belem, Brazil, on the day following the World Social Forum, which opens on Tuesday January 27. Here’s an overview of the WSF itself… by Mario Osava (Inter Press Service) A World Social Forum (WSF) revitalised by a global crisis that has awakened new interest in the proposition that “another world is ...---READ-->>
- 'Next Generation' Biofuels: Bursting the New 'Green' BubbleThe massive new demand for agrofuels is escalating deforestation and resulting in conversion of biodiverse and carbon-rich native forests and grasslands into biologically barren and carbon-poor industrial tree plantations and other crop monocultures. Introduction A diverse alliance of organizations has published an open letter in the U.S. and internationally warning of the dangers of industrially produced ...---READ-->>
- Climate Change Threatens Food Security in Southern AfricaErratic rainfall has already caused food shortages in southern Africa. Yields will fall in nine percent between now and 2045. By Miriam Mannak Inter Press News Service, January 19, 2009 Climate change will have a significant impact on southern Africa’s already compromised food security, environmental experts warned at the fifth Alexander von Humboldt International Conference at the University ...---READ-->>
- Defenders of the Land Take Action Across CanadaA new organization of grassroots activists who are in the forefront of the fight for Native rights was created at the Defenders of the Land Gathering By Carmelle Wolfson From rabble.ca, January 8, 2009 The colonization of North America began over 500 years ago. But the process continues today through government policies that actively create divisions within Native communities. ...---READ-->>
- Production-Side Environmentalism: Can we produce less and consume more?Introduction: In this important contribution to the ongoing debate over “individual” versus “social” solutions to global warming and ecological destruction, the editor of Synthesis/Regeneration directly and convincingly challenges the mainstream myth that the capitalist economy is based on “consumer sovereignty. He poses a societal approach that is compatible with and expands on the ecosocialist perspective that Climate ...---READ-->>
- Mushkegowuk Council Bans Mining on Traditional Lands“The government needs to recognize that First Nations have the legal and constitutional right to be consulted and now we demand that consent be part of the equation.” from Intercontinental Cry January 8, 2009 Mushkegowuk Council First Nations in northern Ontario recently passed a resolution that bans mining and exploration projects on their traditional lands. Initially signed on ...---READ-->>
- Obama’s Energy Plan: New Policies, New DangersObama’s victory marks a real turn in the energy and climate policy of the United States, one that will be carried out at the expense of American workers and the peoples of the world By Daniel Tanuro From International Viewpoint The energy-climate question is one of those areas where the policy of Barack Obama could be most radically ...---READ-->>
- Offsets Under Kyoto: A Dirty Deal for the SouthThe ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ is grossly ineffective and enormously unjust By Kevin Smith Transnational Institute Despite driving poor communities off their land and patently failing to deliver carbon emissions reductions, lobbyists for big industries and institutions such as the World Bank were active in Poznan climate negotiations pushing for further deregulation and expansion of the market-based Clean Development ...---READ-->>
- Poznan Climate Talks: Fiddling While the Earth BurnsThe UN Climate Conference failed to achieve any breakthrough towards a global climate deal — a sign not merely of bad timing, but of a flawed system that takes no account of climate justice By Oscar Reyes From rabble.ca Eleven thousand delegates (including 1,500 corporate lobbyists), 13,000 tonnes of carbon consumed, and two weeks wasted: the UN Climate ...---READ-->>
- Belem Ecosocialist DeclarationThis Declaration was prepared by a committee elected at the Paris Ecosocialist Conference of 2007 (Ian Angus, Joel Kovel, Michael Löwy), with the help of Danielle Follett. It will be distributed at the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil, in January 2009. The Belem Ecosocialist Declaration “The world is suffering from a fever due to climate change, and ...---READ-->>
- Radical New Agenda Needed To Achieve Climate JusticeMembers of Climate Justice Now! — a worldwide alliance of more than 160 organisations — have been in Poznan for the past two weeks closely following developments in the UN climate negotiations. This statement is our assessment of the Conference of Parties (COP) 14, and articulates our principles for achieving climate justice. The Urgency of Climate ...---READ-->>
- Book Review: Psychology, Culture and Climate ChangeAlastair McIntosh. HELL AND HIGH WATER: CLIMATE CHANGE, HOPE AND THE HUMAN CONDITION. Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, 2008. ISBN 978-1841586229 reviewed by Simon Butler Climate change is undoubtedly the greatest challenge the world has ever faced. For many, just coming to terms with the scale and scope of the problem, let alone acting upon it, can be a ...---READ-->>
- Canada's Role at UN Climate Talks: "Profoundly Hypocritical"Welcome to diplomatic doublespeak 101 By Richard Littlemore (From DeSmogBlog.com, December 9, 2008) Canada’s lead negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Michael Martin, has declared – unequivocally – that Canada is not blocking progress at the talks this week. But in a morning briefing to the Canadian arm of the International Climate Action Network today ...---READ-->>
- 4 out of 3: Canada Sets a New 'Fossil of the Day' RecordA year ago, in Bali, Canada’s government embarrassed itself by winning multiple “fossil of the day awards” for its efforts to block concrete action on climate change. This year, in Poznan, Canada continues its “winning” streak … On Thursday, December 4, Canada won an unprecedented four out of three possible fossil of the day awards … ...---READ-->>