TIGblogs - Adam MacIsaac's TIGBlog

Yet Another Delegation, Joining the Ship For World Youth 21 Canadian Delegation

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:47:00 EDT

With great excitement I will be joining the Canadian delegation on the Ship for World Youth 21 program, which will include traveling to Japan and sailing to Vanuatu, Tonga, and New Zealand from January - March 2009. The Ship for World Youth program started almot fifty years ago in 1959 when the international youth exchange program of the Cabinet Office launched the "Japanese Youth Gooodwill Mission Program" with the purpose of broadening the global view of Japanese youth and to promote mutual understanding between Japanese and foreign youth as well as to cultivate the spirit of international cooperation and the competence to pratice it and to allow the participating youth with capability of showing leadership in various areas of international society.

The itinerary of the 21st Ship for World Youth program 2009 is as follows:

January 14th, 2009 - Arrival of the participants from overseas

January 15th − 22nd - Program for overseas participants in Japan

January 23rd - Departure from Yokohama Port (Japan)

February 2nd - Refuel, food and water supply in Vanuatu

February 5th − 7th - Port of call activities in Tonga (Nuku'alofa)

February 11th − 14th - Port of call activities in New Zealand (Auckland)

February 19th - 20th - Refuel, food and water supply in Vanuatu

March 5 - Return back to Tokyo (Japan)

Participating countries for SWY21 are:

Canada
Arab Republic of Egypt
Republic of the Fiji Islands
Japan
Republic of Mauritius
New Zealand
Kingdom of Norway
Republic of Peru
Kingdom of Tonga
United Arab Emirates
Republic of Vanuatu
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Republic of Yemen

Joining the Canadian Youth Delegation to Poznan, Poland.

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:46:00 EDT

In Decemeber I will be joining along with 30 other highly involved Canadian youth to form the Canadian Youth Delegation and attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which this year is the 14th Conference of Parties (COP-14). So far there have been some conference calls where those who are joining the delegation got to connect with delegate new and old and start the ball rolling on what we as young Canadians want to focus on during COP-14. This is a very important step in the process of having post-Kyoto reductions of carbon emissions which will be decided in Copenhagen during the December 2009 COP-15, and also that the current Canadian stance is to invest into tar sands development without looking at the effects that this is having on the environment. While I myself have yet to see any major turn in Canadian citizen views, there is hope with the upcoming federal election that voters will show just like recently in Australia that political parties who are not serious on taking action to reduce the impacts of climate change have no place to be the leaders of out societies.

Possible Canceling of the CIDA Internship Program

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:19:00 EDT

There is something really important that I would like to share with you. Since 1998, the Canadian government has been sponsoring hundreds of young Canadians working overseas in the field of international development - a highly competitive field that is nearly impossible to break into.

This fabulous program (International Youth Internship Program) has offered critical opportunities for young professionals to get their foot in the door. Students/graduates are placed in diverse interships with development organizations overseas, while all costs of this invaluable experience are covered by CIDA, representing but a small portion of its overall budget. This was a way for the Canadian Government to invest in its young graduates/future leaders, allowing them much-needed, and hard to come by, practical experience.

Word has it that the current Government is planning to discontinue this International Youth Intership Program in 2009. This means that young graduates (like myself), pursuing work abroad in international development, will lose a crucial opportunity to get their feet in the door. Really, this represents a huge divestment by the Canadian Government from its future leaders.

You can read more about the program and the threat of potential termination in the Embassy Magazine article from August 20th "Future of CIDA Internship Program Up in the Air".

We really need to show that this program offers many things, all it takes at this point is just your signature. We have started an online petition that you can sign.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keepIYIP/

Past The Tipping Point: Melting ice opens up North-west and North-east passages simultaneously.

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EDT

THE INDEPENDENT Aug 31

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.

Ottawa pulls $100,000 from B.C. Sierra Club's climate-change initiative

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:56:00 EDT

FIONA MORROW

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

September 2, 2008 at 4:38 AM EDT

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.

Special to The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080902.wbcgreen02/BNStory/National/

DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT ALL COMPANIES TELL YOU: TAKE A LOOK AT THE GREENWASHING INDEX

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:56:00 EDT

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 …

Take a look at the Greenwashing Index

Two Degrees of Separation Between Hope and Despair: A Young People's Summary of the United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:20:00 EDT

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.

The booklet is available for download and as an online draft version where you can watch the publication come together on Peace Child International's website.

Two Degrees of Separation Between Hope and Despair [5,483 KB]
Deux degrés de séparation entre espoir et désespoir [6,392 KB]
Dos grados separan la esperanza de la desesperación [6,776 KB]

4 Buses and One Plane To Arrive At The World Youth Congress 2008

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:56:00 EDT

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.

Making Waves Of Change

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:26:00 EDT

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.

Read the whole story below.

Marathon swimmer touches shore in P.E.I. after finishing gruelling double-crossing

Jul 26, 2008

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."

Learn more here.

Forget Flying The Train Is More Sustainable

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:53:00 EDT

I had just been trying to work out my travel plans for after the World Youth Congress to return back to Prince Edward Island and thought that I would share a great way to travel across the ever so large country of Canada and how to forget about flying since trains are the more sustainable way to travel. Currently if you become a member with the Sierra Youth Coalition or renew your membership you are able to use your membership card to receive a 40% discount on Via Rail ticket purchases. The process is very easy just visit the Sierra Youth Coalition website and click on the Become A Member tab.

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.

Canadian troops kill 2 children after car nears convoy

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:50:00 EDT

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.

(With files from the Associated Press )

Untitled

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:26:00 EDT

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.

New peacechild.org Website coming very soon!

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:23:00 EDT

We are currently working on a new Peace Child Website to replace our current one on peacechild.org.

The last big update was done in 2005 along the World Youth Congress in Scotland.

Now this year, on the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City, we will introduce an all new Website with tons of new information and features.

Keep checking peacechild.org for the big launch in August!

Canadian Health report to get ‘low-profile’ release

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:17:00 EDT

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.

Globe And Mail Article
BILL CURRY
July 23, 2008

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.

The Health Canada report is called Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. It is more than 500 pages long and has been ready for several months.

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.”

Canadian Health report to get ‘low-profile’ release

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:09:00 EDT

Globe And Mail Article
BILL CURRY
July 23, 2008

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.

The Health Canada report is called Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. It is more than 500 pages long and has been ready for several months.

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.”

4th World Youth Congress Book 'A Celebration of Youth-led Development'

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:36:00 EDT

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.

Art

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:42:00 EDT

Here is a wonderful song by an amazing artists from Prince Edward Island called Tanya Davis. The songs title is Art. Take a look below.

Art

World Youth Congress YouTube Channel

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:36:00 EDT

I just wanted to share with everyone who is attending the 4th World Youth Congress and the rest of the TakingITGlobal.org network that they can watch everything as it happens during the congress.

So share the World Youth Congress YouTube Channel with anyone you think would be interested in watching what will take place from August 10th - 21st 2008.

Respond to the posted videos with text and video comments and keep an eye open for the soon to be launched Virtual Congress which will allow for additional interaction through blogs, podcasts, live chats, congress news, and information on the congress book and action projects.

Step-by-step Instructions For Shooting, Editing, and Publishing Online Videos

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:51:00 EDT

Here is a wealth of knowledge for any of the delegates who are attending the congress who want to harness the power of media and technology to help share the experience they are having at the congress to everyone online.

This guide has step-by-step instructions for shooting, editing, and publishing online videos that can be watched and subscribed to by millions of people.

* Equipment
o Video Equipment
o Audio Equipment
o Lighting Equipment
o Computer Equipment
* Shoot Video
o Using a Camera
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Excellent Journalism Resource For Congress Delegates

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive

A digital literacy guide for the information age.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin have provided an electronic English, Spanish and Portuguese edition of the book, "Journalism 2.0 How to Survive and Thrive, A digital literacy guide for the information age," written by US journalist, Mark Briggs.

Download the book for free in your preferred language:

Edición en Español
Edição em Português
Edition in English

CIVICUS Youth Assembly Europocket.TV

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:38:00 EDT

Take a look at the cover of the coverage of the CIVICUS Youth Assembly provided by Europocket.tv

World Have Your Say Program From CIVICUS Youth Assembly

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:01:00 EDT

World Have Your Say: 18 June 08 Are we over-educated?

Today's agenda was set by youngsters from all over the world attending the Youth Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland. They wanted to ask the question: Are we over educated? Won by a good margin. One comment we heard was: "The more educated we are the more happy you are". Is there really a connection between literacy and happiness?

Duration: 51mins | File Size: 24MB

Download Episode

CIVICUS Youth Assembly, Day Two

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:47:00 EDT

Day two started off strongly with registration and finally delegate name tags, this helps someone like me who always forgets a persons name when meeting so many new people in a large group. The opening plenary was underway by 9am and then we quickly moved into our color coordinated groups for five and a half hours of sessions of topics like Poverty, Health, Equalities and Climate Change. Each issue was presented with a different learning tool. This was an excellent way for delegates to see first hand new methods of education and be trained to take these back home when CIVICUS is over.

The tools were;

Open Spaces
Drama - Role Playing and Improvisation
Power Analysis
Margolis Wheel

I will inquire later for a digital copy to include since there also was a print out to take home at the end of the day.

The closing plenary introduced the following days BBC production and the topics that were being discussed as topics for the broadcast. Tomorrow morning there will be a discussion on what topic will be chosen and the broadcast will begin at 6pm.

After the plenary wrapped up the delegates joined into the commissions which we would like to partake in tomorrow morning.

Being involved in a United Nations Development Programme Youth Climate Change Project and a climate dork I chose the Climate Change Commission but I am sure that the Poverty Commission, Health Commission and Equalities Commission would have also been excellent choices.

Tonight there is a Ceilidh which will be an excellent way to wind up the day and get into some true Scottish culture.

Just Arrived At The CIVICUS Youth Assembly

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:58:00 EDT

Just thought I would make a quick post that I have arrived at the World Youth Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland. It has been a long day so far with my 5am wake up to get things packed into the van and then all the Peace Child International inters piled in and we made it to Glasgow at around 2:30ish.

It was a quick registering and check in at the Euro Hostel then a bit of down time before we meet up in our groups which we will be a part of for the assembly.

Dinner was good but the best part was getting to interact and chat with the other youth who are attending. I will be pulling out the video camera tomorrow and hope to get some good footage to put together.

Global Warming and the Carteret Islands

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:29:00 EDT

The Carteret Islands, 100 km northeast of Bougainville are one of 4 atolls in the North Solomons province of Papua New Guinea that are quickly being made uninhabitable because of rising seas.

Until World War Two the Carterets were seven islands. They were reduced to 6 after one was obliterated in a bombing raid. Now there are 7 again, as one of them – Huene, has been bisected by rising seas.