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.
If you read or write an article that might be appropriate for this column, please post your suggestion in the Climate and Capitalism Facebook group.
- Sex, lies, and statistical correlation: A caveat for populationistsThe next time someone tells you that population growth has been proven to cause climate change, tell them about the academic study that ‘proves’ penis length affects economic growth---READ-->>
- Is nuclear really cheaper?The Flamanville fiasco shows once again that new nuclear power plants are not being built on time or on budget, diminishing the arguments in favour of them. On Climate and Capitalism and elsewhere, much of the debate about nuclear power has focused on technical issues — in particular, on the issues of safety (is it unacceptably dangerous?) ...---READ-->>
- Background reading for World at a Crossroads conferenceThe second World at a Crossroads; Climate Change, Social Change conference will be held in Melbourne Australia, September 30-October 3. The meeting aims to contribute towards understanding and collective action, in Australia and internationally, to urgently address the climate and social emergencies that we must overcome if humanity and the planet are to not only survive, but ...---READ-->>
- Bolivia: Cut war spending to aid victims of climate change“A positive initiative would significantly reduce military spending and allocate monies to a fund that addresses the impacts of climate change in developing countries.” Statement by Ambassador Rafael Archondo, Permanent Representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations, in the Debate of the Security Council on Maintenance of international peace and security: The ...---READ-->>
- South Asia Women's Network: For a real green economy“A Green Economy should replace the current economic order, which is based on inequity, environmental destruction and greed, which has resulted in keeping nearly half the world’s population in poverty, and has brought the planet to the point of a severe environmental catastrophe through climate change.” Statement published by the third annual conference of the South ...---READ-->>
- Climate and economic crises: Why we need an ecosocialist 'just transition'Presentation by Patrick Bond for a panel discussion on Climate Change and Just Transition, at the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa Climate Change Conference in Johannesburg, July 18, 2011. Click to view (PDF): Durban-based academic Patrick Bond’s book The Politics of Climate Justice will be released later this year. Recent articles by him are posted here.---READ-->>
- The face of climate corruption in CanadaWhat’s truly amazing about Canadian politicians is how cheaply they can be bought. +++++++++++++++ Oil giants chipped in $180,000 to help Canada’s energy ministers have “unbiased” discussions about our energy future by Graham Saul Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada The Mark, July 19, 2011 Energy ministers from across Canada have just returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of the tar sands, ...---READ-->>
- British Green leader enters the population debate … on the wrong sideThere are other issues she should concentrate her efforts on and the uneasy marriage of resource depletion with population is one we could do without by Martin O’Beirne The Ecosocialist, July 17, 2011 Caroline Lucas, leader of the England & Wales Green party has entered the debate on human population. I should point out that I have not read ...---READ-->>
- Japan's #2 paper: Phase out nuclear, shift to renewable energy“The government has no choice but to change its energy policy in the direction of reducing Japan’s dependence on nuclear power and expanding the use of renewable sources.” These editorials were published in the July 13 edition of Ashi Shimbun, the second most widely read daily newspaper in Japan. Japan should stop nuclear fuel cycle policy Since Japan’s ...---READ-->>
- Hunger in the midst of plentyBillions of people regularly struggle to get enough to eat. The problem isn’t a lack of produce or a rising population. It is a system driven by profit. by Mike Haynes Socialist Review, July/August 2011 The global price of food has risen again to a new high, breaking the records set in 2008. In Britain this matters, especially if ...---READ-->>
- Capitalism and ecological balance are mutually exclusiveChris Williams is a long-time environmental activist and author of Ecology and Socialism: Solutions to Capitalist Ecological Crisis. He is a chemistry and physics professor at Pace University, and chairperson of the Packer Collegiate Institute science department. This interview, conducted by Jon Hochschartner, was published in Counterpunch on July 14, 2011. JON HOCHSCHARTNER: Children in Fukushima recently ...---READ-->>
- Australia's carbon price agreement: what’s in it for renewables?The plan is a gain for the grass roots campaign for renewable energy, but we must be clear about its limitations by Ben Courtice Blind Carbon Copy, July 15, 2011 After a few days to consider the ins and outs of the carbon price, this is an attempt to summarise the meaning of the agreement for renewable energy ...---READ-->>
- Natural gas: no solution to climate changeNew Suzuki/Pembina report exposes Canada’s wrong-way policy on natural gas production. by Julia Kilpatrick Pembina Institute, July 14, 2011 In a meeting last April with Canada’s Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, then-environment minister Jim Prentice said: “in terms of reducing our emissions of greenhouse gas as well as other pollutants, the more natural ...---READ-->>
- Australia's carbon price plan: 'The greatest corporate windfall of our time’Friends of the Earth Australia says the newly announced carbon price mechanism will give generous handouts to polluters while having limited impact on greenhouse gas emissions Statement issued by Friends of Earth Australia July 11, 2011 Friends of the Earth Australia has today criticised the carbon price mechanism for its generous handouts to polluters and for its limited ...---READ-->>
- Climate change impact: 11% of species extinct by 2100Human-caused climate change could become responsible for hundreds-of-thousands if not millions of species vanishing from the Earth by Jeremy Hamce Mongobay, July 11, 2011 Scientists have predicted for decades that climate change could have a grave impact on life on Earth, which is already facing numerous threats from habitat loss, over-exploitation, pollution, invasive species, and other impacts. However, ...---READ-->>
- Eco-Socialism and the Population Question: An Open Reply to Ian's Open LetterDeep ecology versus ecosocialism, part 6: Saral Sarkar argues for a synthesis of socialism and deep ecology by Saral Sarkar Cologne, July 10, 2011 Dear Ian, I had thought, two contributions from me, that was enough. But now that you have written an open letter directly addressed to me, I do not want to be impolite by ignoring it. ...---READ-->>
- Introducing the Next Eco-WarriorsBook Review: The Next Eco Warriors: 22 Young Women and Men Who are Saving the Planet. Edited by Emily Hunter. (Conari Press, 2011) reviewed by Derrick O’Keefe rabble.ca, July 7, 2011 Evo Morales, Bolivia’s indigenous president, has said that the challenge of the 21st century is to respect and restore the rights of Mother Earth. And the stakes ...---READ-->>
- Rosa Luxemburg: Reform versus RevolutionThanks to Luna17 for reminding us of this brilliant passage from the woman Lenin described as one of the “outstanding representatives of the revolutionary proletariat and of unfalsified Marxism.” Legislative reform and revolution are not different methods of historic development that can be picked out at the pleasure from the counter of history, ...---READ-->>
- Fukushima: Growing resistance challenges pro-nuclear policiesThe Japanese people must simultaneously face the consequences of the earthquake, the tsunami and the Fukushima disaster. The Japanese crisis makes no exception to the rule: in time of humanitarian disaster class domination strengthens more than it is blurred in the name of solidarity. by Pierre Rousset International Viewpoint, July 2011 Every day brings new revelations on the gravity ...---READ-->>
- A letter to Saral Sarkar on population, wilderness, and ecosocialismDeep ecology versus ecosocialism, part 5: If ecosocialists support wilderness clearances and population reduction they will be on the wrong side of some of the most important struggles in the world today. The following is C&C Editor Ian Angus’s response to Saral Sarkar on Malthusianism and Ecosocialism, and Sarkar’s Reply to some points made by my ...---READ-->>