Tuesday, February 22, 2011
This Blog has been moved to Green 13's new website
For future entries check our new website at www.green13toronto.org
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Free screening and discussion
1 pm Saturday, February 26
51 Vine Avenue
(steps from the corner of Keele and Dundas West)
http://www.petropolis-film.com/#
Shot primarily from a helicopter, filmmaker Peter Mettler's "Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands" offers an unparalleled view of the world's largest industrial, capital and energy project.
Canada's tar sands are an oil reserve the size of England. Extracting the crude oil called bitumen from underneath unspoiled wilderness requires a massive industrialized effort with far-reaching impacts on the land, air, water, and climate.
It's an extraordinary spectacle, whose scope can only be understood from far above. In a hypnotic flight of image and sound, one machine's perspective upon the choreography of others, suggests a dehumanized world where petroleum's power is supreme.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
TAKING ACTION FOR A GREENER WORLD – TWO CHANCES TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE
Green Neighbours 21
Monday, February 7, 7:00-9:00 pm
Fighting global warming means more than changing our homes and lifestyles – we also need to get politically involved. Come and learn about two urgent citizen’s action campaigns and what we can do to support them.
1. Franz Hartman (Toronto Environmental Alliance): “Saving Transit City – What We’re Doing and How You Can Help”
2. Cheryl McNamara (Citizens Climate Lobby) and Lauryn Drainie (Climate Action Network): “Ending Canada’s Fossil Fuel Subsidy – How We can Make it Happen”
Location: St Michael and all Angels Church
(southeast corner of St. Clair and Wychwood, enter off Wychwood, through wooden gate, top floor)
Green Neighbours 21
Citizens call upon the Canadian government to end tax breaks/subsidy to fossil fuels
Fossil-tax-breaks
Let's kick-start 2011 by getting the government to end tax breaks to dirty fuels!
We are only weeks away from the 2011 federal budget and the federal government continues to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to the companies producing oil and gas in Canada. Analysis shows a total of $1.4 billion per year in federal tax breaks alone, with a disproportionate share going to dirty fuels such as the Alberta Tar Sands.
For more information on the federal government’s tax breaks to dirty fuels:
1. Climate Action Network Canada’s report: Fuelling the Problem, why it is time to end tax breaks to oil and gas companies in Canada
See the Fossil Fuel Subsidies Counter here:
2. An open letter to PM Harper and Minister Flaherty calling for an end to tax breaks to dirty fuels.
Over 90 Canadian civil society organizations
have signed-on demanding that the Government honour it’s G20 commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
Climate Action Network
Let's find out where every MP in the country stands on this issue and make sure we are putting pressure on in the right places.
The first step is easy – Call, e-mail, or meet with your MP and find out one simple thing: Do they support ending the giveaway of over a billion dollars a year to oil companies?
The second step is even easier – let us know where your MP stands by sending us an email, and let others know how it went on our Facebook page. From here we can build a map and figure out where we need the most pressure.
Please pass this on to your lists and friends!
Here are a few helpful lines:
End subsidies for dirty fuels!
Canadian companies in the business of extracting oil made billions of dollars in profit last year. So why does our government annually give the fossil fuel industry $1 billion?
If lawmakers in Ottawa are looking for ways to reduce spending, it seems that subsidies to the oil, coal and gas industries are the best place to start.
Scientists are warning that we face disastrous consequences unless we reduce greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels. By subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, the Canadian government is delaying the conversion to clean energy that’s needed to stabilize the Earth’s climate.
Canadian taxpayers should not be giving money to highly profitable corporations. When the federal government passes a new budget in March, these subsidies for dirty fuels must come to an end. By doing so, Canada will meet its 2009 commitment made in Pittsburgh, along with other G20 leaders, to phase out subsidies and tax breaks to companies producing oil, gas and coal.
Monday, February 7, 7:00-9:00 pm
Fighting global warming means more than changing our homes and lifestyles – we also need to get politically involved. Come and learn about two urgent citizen’s action campaigns and what we can do to support them.
1. Franz Hartman (Toronto Environmental Alliance): “Saving Transit City – What We’re Doing and How You Can Help”
2. Cheryl McNamara (Citizens Climate Lobby) and Lauryn Drainie (Climate Action Network): “Ending Canada’s Fossil Fuel Subsidy – How We can Make it Happen”
Location: St Michael and all Angels Church
(southeast corner of St. Clair and Wychwood, enter off Wychwood, through wooden gate, top floor)
Green Neighbours 21
Citizens call upon the Canadian government to end tax breaks/subsidy to fossil fuels
Fossil-tax-breaks
Let's kick-start 2011 by getting the government to end tax breaks to dirty fuels!
We are only weeks away from the 2011 federal budget and the federal government continues to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to the companies producing oil and gas in Canada. Analysis shows a total of $1.4 billion per year in federal tax breaks alone, with a disproportionate share going to dirty fuels such as the Alberta Tar Sands.
For more information on the federal government’s tax breaks to dirty fuels:
1. Climate Action Network Canada’s report: Fuelling the Problem, why it is time to end tax breaks to oil and gas companies in Canada
See the Fossil Fuel Subsidies Counter here:
2. An open letter to PM Harper and Minister Flaherty calling for an end to tax breaks to dirty fuels.
Over 90 Canadian civil society organizations
have signed-on demanding that the Government honour it’s G20 commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
Climate Action Network
Let's find out where every MP in the country stands on this issue and make sure we are putting pressure on in the right places.
The first step is easy – Call, e-mail, or meet with your MP and find out one simple thing: Do they support ending the giveaway of over a billion dollars a year to oil companies?
The second step is even easier – let us know where your MP stands by sending us an email, and let others know how it went on our Facebook page. From here we can build a map and figure out where we need the most pressure.
Please pass this on to your lists and friends!
Here are a few helpful lines:
End subsidies for dirty fuels!
Canadian companies in the business of extracting oil made billions of dollars in profit last year. So why does our government annually give the fossil fuel industry $1 billion?
If lawmakers in Ottawa are looking for ways to reduce spending, it seems that subsidies to the oil, coal and gas industries are the best place to start.
Scientists are warning that we face disastrous consequences unless we reduce greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels. By subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, the Canadian government is delaying the conversion to clean energy that’s needed to stabilize the Earth’s climate.
Canadian taxpayers should not be giving money to highly profitable corporations. When the federal government passes a new budget in March, these subsidies for dirty fuels must come to an end. By doing so, Canada will meet its 2009 commitment made in Pittsburgh, along with other G20 leaders, to phase out subsidies and tax breaks to companies producing oil, gas and coal.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Clean Train Coalition Update
ACTION ALERT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WRITE and CALL: ONTARIO PREMIER DALTON McGUINTY
http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/ (416) 325-1941 Fax: 416-325-3745
We demand that Metrolinx NOT purchase diesel trains for the air-rail link to Pearson Airport. Build it once, build it right, GO Electric NOW!
VOLUNTEER at info@cleantrain.ca
Help deliver flyers, share information and get other involved in your area.
STAY INFORMED www.cleantrain.ca
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEAN TRAIN DELIVERS “GO ELECTRIC NOW” MESSAGE
Photo: Toronto Star - January 26, 2011 in front of the Toronto Central YMCA.
PREMIER McGUINTY: DO NOT BUY DIESELS FOR THE AIR RAIL LINK
On Wednesday January 26th the Clean Train Coalition (CTC) held a demonstration in outside the Metrolinx board meeting at the Central YMCA on 20 Grosvenor Street. The rally called on Metrolinx not to proceed with the purchase of diesel trains for the air-rail link (ARL) to Pearson airport. The group then marched up Yonge St to the offices of the Ontario Liberal Party at 10 St. Mary Street. Here, Premier McGuinty was called upon to direct Metrolinx to purchase electric trains.
Notice was served that clean trains will be a major issue in the October provincial election if we are ignored. Thanks, all for helping to get the message through!
The Clean Train Coalition has successfully advanced the case for clean electric trains as the way of the future of sustainable mass transit. Metrolinx Board gave its support to the staff recommendations based on the electrification study to make the ARL the priority project for electrification, and to electrify all of Georgetown and Lakeshore routes.
However, this approval does not stop them from ordering diesel trains which they maintain are still needed. Metrolinx still plans to buy diesels for the air rail link, with the endorsement of the Provincial government. Metrolinx staff state it will take at least 7 years to complete the ARL and 23 years to finish the other two lines.
Clean Train Coalition strongly believes that electrifying the new transit service between Union Station and the Airport can be expedited. This will mean that the option for purchasing diesel trains, negotiated by Metrolinx before completing the Electrification Study, will not be necessary. Suitable electric vehicles can be made in Ontario, and the Japanese manufacturer that Metrolinx prefers makes the same vehicle in an electric version.
The recently released Metrolinx electrification study validates the benefits of electrifying. According to Metrolinx, the ARL will eventually be electrified. The CTC demands that an expert peer review of the proposed timeline takes place to speed up implementation. Costly plans to purchase ‘convertible’ diesels should be dropped in favour of using electric trains from the start.
Build it once, build it right, GO Electric Now!
OUR NEXT STEPS
PLEASE WRITE and CALL PREMIER DALTON MCGUINTY
http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/ 416-325-1941 Fax: 416-325-3745
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS. Register at info@cleantrain.ca to help connect your local area. Form your own local group and raise awareness. Delivering flyers locally ensures people in your community get informed and encourages them to take action.
PLEASE CHECK www.cleantrain regularly to stay informed.
The Clean Train Coalition is a non-partisan volunteer group that represents the communities along the rail corridor. We believe that a healthy environment and vibrant neighbourhoods depend on smart investment in public transit infrastructure. Build it once, build it right!
Help get the word out - get your neighbours to sign up to www.cleantrain.ca
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Clean Train Coalition Update
ATTEND: THE CLEAN TRAIN DEMONSTRATION
We demand that Metrolinx NOT purchase diesel trains for the air-rail link to Pearson Airport.
Wednesday, January 26 at 8:30 a.m.
Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor St
2 blocks north of College St, west of Yonge St
CALL: 416 205 5807 TO LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR CBC RADIO ON THE ELECTRIFICATION.
VOLUNTEER: send your name to info@cleantrain.ca to help deliver flyers in your area.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Policy shift on electric trains is a giant step forward– and the fight is far from over
We just won an INCREDIBLE victory yesterday in the battle for electric trains and healthy transit. The Air Rail Link is now top priority for electrification, and the Georgetown and Lakeshore routes are being recommended to the Province to become the regional electric rail corridors.
Everyone who is part of the Clean Train Coalition should feel proud at the fact that Metrolinx is now admitting that we have been right all along: Electric Trains are the way to GO!
The Electrification Study that CTC compelled them to undertake will set transit policy across Canada, and will advance the case for healthy and sustainable urban transit. These policy discussions will continue into the future, and CTC will be part as the dialogue continues in days to come.
But today our struggle continues. Their plans still include using diesel trains to launch expanded service for the ARL and GO. They are still negotiating the order for buying Diesel Multiple Unit trains for the Air Rail Link, and say these will be converted sometime after they get running. There are serious concerns about noise as well as air pollution: diesel ARL trains would be much louder than electric trains and they would blast their way through our communities every 15 minutes for 20 hours a day!
Do you trust the promise by Metrolinx, when there is no actual plan for conversion of the ARL diesels once they buy them, when the cost of converting from Diesel to Electric is more than buying electric trains up front, and when the only reason driving this is to meet commitments for a 2 week tourist event that adding more bus and train service to the existing GO schedule could handle as effectively? The Pan Am Games are no excuse for inflicting diesel trains on our communities for decades.
We MUST get them to build it right, from the start!
On January 26th the CTC is holding a demonstration in front of the Central YMCA on 20 Grosvenor Street, starting at 8:30 AM. It is an important opportunity to let the Metrolinx Board of Directors and the Provincial Government that there is a gap between words and deeds. We will not stand by silently while the Provincial Government hopes they can sound good for the next election. Talking electric while buying diesel is not good enough, and we vote for electric trains.
CBC radio is taking calls on the electrification, so please call them! Topics can include why diesel, even tier 4 is bad for our health, why diesel trains to the airport pollute more than cars, how incredibly noisy the ‘latest, most modern’ diesel trains are since GO put them online last year, why the Pan Am games 'green and sustainable' shouldn't be the excuse for diesel, why does it now take 22 years to do what in 2001 experts said would take 33 months. Tell your friends. Make this the most called item ever on CBC.
Our Next Steps:
PLEASE ATTEND the CTC Demo, January 26th 8:30am at the Central YMCA before the Metrolinx Board Meeting to demand that Metrolinx purchase electric and not diesel trains for the air-rail link to Pearson Airport. Bring a sign with a positive message, like “GO ELECTRIC NOW!”
PLEASE CALL 416 205 5807 to leave a message for CBC radio on the need for electrification.
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS. Delivering flyers locally ensures people in your community get informed and are encouraged to take action. Register at info@cleantrain.ca to help connect your local area.
The above flyer is clickable for larger size and readability.
The Clean Train Coalition is a non-partisan volunteer group that represents the communities along the rail corridor. We believe that a healthy environment and vibrant neighbourhoods depend on smart investment in public transit infrastructure. Build it once, build it right! For more information please see www.cleantrain.
Help get the word out - get your neighbours to sign up to www.cleantrain.ca
We demand that Metrolinx NOT purchase diesel trains for the air-rail link to Pearson Airport.
Wednesday, January 26 at 8:30 a.m.
Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor St
2 blocks north of College St, west of Yonge St
CALL: 416 205 5807 TO LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR CBC RADIO ON THE ELECTRIFICATION.
VOLUNTEER: send your name to info@cleantrain.ca to help deliver flyers in your area.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Policy shift on electric trains is a giant step forward– and the fight is far from over
We just won an INCREDIBLE victory yesterday in the battle for electric trains and healthy transit. The Air Rail Link is now top priority for electrification, and the Georgetown and Lakeshore routes are being recommended to the Province to become the regional electric rail corridors.
Everyone who is part of the Clean Train Coalition should feel proud at the fact that Metrolinx is now admitting that we have been right all along: Electric Trains are the way to GO!
The Electrification Study that CTC compelled them to undertake will set transit policy across Canada, and will advance the case for healthy and sustainable urban transit. These policy discussions will continue into the future, and CTC will be part as the dialogue continues in days to come.
But today our struggle continues. Their plans still include using diesel trains to launch expanded service for the ARL and GO. They are still negotiating the order for buying Diesel Multiple Unit trains for the Air Rail Link, and say these will be converted sometime after they get running. There are serious concerns about noise as well as air pollution: diesel ARL trains would be much louder than electric trains and they would blast their way through our communities every 15 minutes for 20 hours a day!
Do you trust the promise by Metrolinx, when there is no actual plan for conversion of the ARL diesels once they buy them, when the cost of converting from Diesel to Electric is more than buying electric trains up front, and when the only reason driving this is to meet commitments for a 2 week tourist event that adding more bus and train service to the existing GO schedule could handle as effectively? The Pan Am Games are no excuse for inflicting diesel trains on our communities for decades.
We MUST get them to build it right, from the start!
On January 26th the CTC is holding a demonstration in front of the Central YMCA on 20 Grosvenor Street, starting at 8:30 AM. It is an important opportunity to let the Metrolinx Board of Directors and the Provincial Government that there is a gap between words and deeds. We will not stand by silently while the Provincial Government hopes they can sound good for the next election. Talking electric while buying diesel is not good enough, and we vote for electric trains.
CBC radio is taking calls on the electrification, so please call them! Topics can include why diesel, even tier 4 is bad for our health, why diesel trains to the airport pollute more than cars, how incredibly noisy the ‘latest, most modern’ diesel trains are since GO put them online last year, why the Pan Am games 'green and sustainable' shouldn't be the excuse for diesel, why does it now take 22 years to do what in 2001 experts said would take 33 months. Tell your friends. Make this the most called item ever on CBC.
Our Next Steps:
PLEASE ATTEND the CTC Demo, January 26th 8:30am at the Central YMCA before the Metrolinx Board Meeting to demand that Metrolinx purchase electric and not diesel trains for the air-rail link to Pearson Airport. Bring a sign with a positive message, like “GO ELECTRIC NOW!”
PLEASE CALL 416 205 5807 to leave a message for CBC radio on the need for electrification.
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS. Delivering flyers locally ensures people in your community get informed and are encouraged to take action. Register at info@cleantrain.ca to help connect your local area.
The above flyer is clickable for larger size and readability.
The Clean Train Coalition is a non-partisan volunteer group that represents the communities along the rail corridor. We believe that a healthy environment and vibrant neighbourhoods depend on smart investment in public transit infrastructure. Build it once, build it right! For more information please see www.cleantrain.
Help get the word out - get your neighbours to sign up to www.cleantrain.ca
Inorganic Market
Inorganic Market - Sunday January 23rd, 11a.m. to 3 p.m.
Nicholson's NoFrills parking lot, 2187 Bloor St. West & Runnymede
http://irecyclecomputers.com/images/community%20collection%20-%20poster.pdf
Nicholson's NoFrills parking lot, 2187 Bloor St. West & Runnymede
http://irecyclecomputers.com/images/community%20collection%20-%20poster.pdf
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