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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- Canada: Secret government memo warns tar sands damage may be irreversibleOver the coming decade, emissions growth from the Alberta tar sands is projected to be greater than all other Canadian economic sectors combined ++++++++++++++++ by Mike De Souza Calgary Herald, February 21, 2012 Collateral damage from Canada’s booming oilsands sector may be irreversible, posing a “significant environmental and financial risk to the province of Alberta,” says a secret memorandum prepared ...---READ-->>
- Get political! Occupy activists urged to study and learn from revolutionary giantsLuxemburg, Trotsky and Lenin were among the most perceptive and compelling revolutionaries of the 20th century. Critically engaging with their ideas can enrich today’s struggles for a better world. Fifty leading figures on the international left, including Ian Angus, John Riddell, Patrick Bond, Paul Le Blanc, China Miéville, Lindsey German, Alex Callinicos, Phil Gasper, Michael Yates, and ...---READ-->>
- Global ice loss: 500 billion tons a yearBetween 2003 and 2010, the ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth’s glaciers and ice caps was enough cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep. +++++++++++ In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth’s melting ...---READ-->>
- Why corporate fat cats love 'ethical consumerism'… and five reasons why voting and shopping are not the same thing These two articles appeared this month on Treehugger.com. The author, Sami Grover, is obviously not a socialist, but his comments are insightful. It is a mark of growing awareness of the inadequacy of personal solutions to the environmental crisis that such views are expressed on a ...---READ-->>
- Oil exec's son explains why the Northern Gateway pipeline must be stoppedIntroduction. A Canadian regulatory panel is now hearing testimony on a proposal to build a pipeline to carry oil from the Alberta Tar Sands through the mountains of British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, where it would be put into supertankers for delivery to China and other countries. Thanks to Michael Lebowitz for drawing our attention ...---READ-->>
- Toronto meeting challenges Canada's tar sands criminalsActions against tar sands and pipelines are an opportunity to revitalize the movement to stop climate change ++++++++++++ by John Riddell The historic confrontation now shaping up over plans by Enbridge Corp. to build a new pipeline across the Canadian Rockies to export dirty tar-sands oil was discussed at a protest meeting inToronto, February 16. The meeting, attended by ...---READ-->>
- Bolivia’s García Linera: ‘Moving beyond capitalism is a universal task’“We have nothing against the US government or its people. But no one – absolutely no one – should come here and tell us what to do, say or think. “ Introduction by Felipe Stuart Cournoyer Bolivia’s vice-president Álvaro García Linera brought a message of hope and anti-imperialist commitment to Mexico in the ...---READ-->>
- Canada threatens trade war to protect dirty oil exportsHarper government threatens retaliation if European Union accurately labels oil from tar sands as highly polluting ++++++++++++++ by Damian Carrington Guardian, February 20, 2012 Canada has threatened a trade war with European Union over the bloc’s plan to label oil from Alberta’s vast tar sands as highly polluting, the Guardian can reveal, before a key vote in Brussels on 23 ...---READ-->>
- Activist exposes the lies of Australian's gas frackersAn advertising campaign by Australia’s Coal Seam Gas industry claims to provide ‘facts’ about the benefits of fracking. Their claims don’t stand up. Australian activist Jess Moore is a member of Stop CSG Illawarra, the Socialist Alliance, and won the New South Wales Nature Conservation Council’s 2011 “Rising Star” award. ++++++++++++ By Jess Moore Green Left Weekly, February 18, 2012 A coal ...---READ-->>
- Anti-nuclear conference in Japan calls international day of action, March 11“We now stand at a crossroads. We have the choice to break out of the nuclear fuel chain and move towards efficient, renewable and sustainable energy that does not threaten health or environment.” The Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World was held at Pacifico Yokohama on 14 and 15 January 2012. 6000 people on ...---READ-->>
- Murray Bookchin: Anthropocentrism versus biocentrism – a false dichotomyIntroduction by Ian Angus — Some green writers, particularly those who support the viewpoint known as deep ecology, accuse socialist environmentalists of anthropocentrism, of giving absolute priority to human needs and ignoring or downplaying the needs of non-human nature. To that, they counterpose what is variously called biocentrism or ecocentrism – the view ...---READ-->>
- Obama's anti-climate crusadeby Donna Goodman President Obama’s State of the Union speech Jan. 25 contained distressing news for opponents of global warming who recognize the need to begin substantially reducing reliance upon carbon based fossil fuels. “Over the last three years,” Obama said, “we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration. And tonight, I’m directing my ...---READ-->>
- Announcement: Climate & Capitalism and Monthly ReviewClimate and Capitalism is five years old this month. I’m excited to mark this anniversary by launching an alliance with Monthly Review, the world’s …---READ-->>
- UN biodiversity plan: neoliberal measures to commodify natureAcción Ecológica is gathering signatures for this letter, in advance of the Global Dialogue Seminar on Scaling up Finance for Biodiversity, to be held in Quito, Ecuador, March 6-9 ++++++++ Open letter to the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the governments of Japan, India, Norway, Sweden and Ecuador On 6 to 9 March 2012 the Global Dialogue ...---READ-->>
- Eight ways Monsanto fails at sustainable agricultureMonsanto has held back the development of sustainable agriculture, and continues to do so. None of its competitors come close to matching its impact on global agriculture ++++++++++ Monsanto Company is the dominant player in commercial genetically engineered (GE) crops, the biggest seed company in the world, and—to hear them tell it—a leader and ...---READ-->>
- Stop Signs: Cars and capitalism on the road to economic, social and ecological decayCars and capitalism go together, destroying lives, poisoning the air, and chewing up space, all in the name of profit---READ-->>
- Behind the 'Green Economy' – A new drive to commodify natureFaced with an even more complex and deeper crisis, capitalism is launching a fresh attack that combines the old austerity measures with an offensive to create new sources of profit and growth through the “Green Economy” agenda. ++++++++++++++++++ by Christophe No to the Green Economy, February 8, 2012 A New Phase of Capitalist Expansion and Structural Adjustment Today we are ...---READ-->>
- Why the fossil fuel industry fights so hard to block action on climate changeThe business models at the center of our economy are in the deepest possible conflict with physics and chemistry ++++++++++++++ By Bill McKibben TomDispatch, February 7, 2012 If we could see the world with a particularly illuminating set of spectacles, one of its most prominent features at the moment would be a giant carbon bubble, whose bursting someday will make ...---READ-->>
- The agribusiness takeover of pale green NGOsMany of the biggest conservation NGOs have done deals with international agribusiness. They greenwash industrial commodity agriculture in exchange for vague promises of sustainability and social justice. ++++++++++++++++ by Jonathan Latham Independent Science News, February 7, 2012 Imagine an international mega-deal. The global organic food industry agrees to support international agribusiness in clearing as much tropical rainforest as they ...---READ-->>
- A multimedia introduction to The Communist Manifesto“All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority.” This video is meant to be used in group discussion of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. It has a ...---READ-->>