[All] concern

Mon May 21 19:40:18 EDT 2012

This is a great idea.. i am away for the shorewalkers right-of-passage 
conf.... until Sun so can 't help.. but it is just what the media pay 
attention to. Good luck.. Norah

On 21/05/2012 11:29 AM, Lori Strothard wrote:
> Holy smoke- that's a lot of shocking tombstones - if we do this and 
> the press is notified ahead of time to be there, it could possibly be 
> a good visual photo-op -if  its Peter Kent, I don't think he cares, as 
> he seems to have been taken over by the body- (+ brain +heart) 
> snatchers and is a robot these days- just spews the party line. Lori S.
>
>     ----- Original Message -----
>     *From:* Gregory C. Michalenko <mailto:gcmichalenko at uwaterloo.ca>
>     *To:* Daphne NICHOLLS <mailto:gordanddaph at sympatico.ca> ; GREN
>     <mailto:all at gren.ca>
>     *Sent:* Monday, May 21, 2012 11:21 AM
>     *Subject:* Re: [All] concern
>
>     One opportunity to express our concern would be on May 24 when the
>     Minister of the Environment is visiting the University of
>     Waterloo.  Universities are supposed to be places for the free
>     expression of opinions and ideas.  How about a graveyard with
>     styrofoam tombstones for the following  casualties:  Kyoto
>     Agreement, Round Table on the Environment and the Economy,
>     Statistics Canada  (long form census), Long Gun Registry,
>     Whistleblowers, Environmental Assessment Act, Northern Lakes
>     Research Program (and several others), National Parks, CBC, Public
>     Participation, Endangered Species Act, Fisheries Act...and many
>     more.  We could put on lab coats and gags over our mouths to be
>     muzzled gov't  scientists.
>
>     I went bird watching at Pt. Peleee National Park last week.  The
>     Park Biologist has been laid off and a fromer student os mine who
>     is thriving as an interpreter and working with the public has been
>     put on  a 10 month contract (ie, a wage cut of 17% - it's hard to
>     build a career and start into your independent professional life
>     (and pay off those student loans after graduating) when you're
>     treated like that.
>
>     - Greg
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     *From:* all-bounces at gren.ca [all-bounces at gren.ca] on behalf of
>     Daphne NICHOLLS [gordanddaph at sympatico.ca]
>     *Sent:* Monday, May 21, 2012 9:55 AM
>     *To:* GREN
>     *Subject:* [All] concern
>
>
>     Several academic friends are espressing serious concerns about the
>     Harper Government. Here are suggestiosn from a young scientist,
>     forwarded by 2 of our friends. Daphne
>
>     FYI ........  written by a young scientist who experienced first
>     hand what has been going on in the Harper government.  Not only
>     will our own health, but that of the entire ecosystem be affected.
>      There will be serious economic repercussions which this
>     government seems too short sighted to see.
>
>     Anne and Alan
>
>     -----------
>     Dear Everyone,
>
>     My name is Naomi. I am Canadian. I worked for Environment Canada,
>     our federal environmental department, for several years before our
>     current Conservative leadership (under Stephen Harper) began
>     decimating environmentalism in Canada. I, along with thousands and
>     thousands of federal science employees lost any hope of future
>     work. Their attitude towards the environment is 'screw research
>     that contradicts the economic growth, particularly of the oil
>     sands'. They have openly and officially denigrated anyone that
>     supports the environment and opposes big-money oil profit as
>     'radicals' (http://tinyurl.com/7wwf8dp).
>
>     Every day in Canada, new information about their vendetta on
>     science and the environment is leaked out. I have been privy to
>     information that is not released to the public because I retain
>     friendships with my ex-colleagues (though my blood pressure hates
>     me for it).
>
>     While I was working there, scientists were effectively muzzled
>     from speaking to the media without prior confirmation with
>     Harper's media team (http://tinyurl.com/7bnsqp4) -- usually
>     denied, and when allowed, totally controlled. Scientists were
>     threatened with job loss if they said anything in an interview
>     that was not exactly what the media team had told them to say.
>     This happened in 2008. The public didn't find out for years.
>
>     During one of my contracts, I was manager of a large, public
>     database set. Contact information for all database managers was
>     available for anyone. I knew what was going on with the
>     information and could answer questions immediately and personally.
>     During this time, I noticed that a media team from Quebec started
>     asking me "What would I say" to certain questions. I answered
>     unwittingly. After a certain period of time, I noticed that all
>     contact information had been removed from the internet
>     --eliminating the possibility that any member of the public could
>     inquire directly about supposedly public data. The Conservatives
>     effectively removed another board from the bridge between science
>     and the public, and I had inadvertently helped.
>
>     Since then, the Conservative government has been laying off
>     thousands and thousands of full-fledged scientists that have been
>     performing research for decades (http://tinyurl.com/8xtkaro),
>     shutting down entire divisions and radically decimating
>     environmental protection and stewardship in a matter of a couple
>     years.
>
>     I am afraid for my country. Canada is the second largest land mass
>     in the world -- though our population is small, you can be sure
>     that when a country that encompasses 7% of the world's land mass,
>     and has the largest coastline in the world says "screw it" to
>     environmental protection, there will be massive global repercussions.
>
>     The Conservative leadership have admitted to shutting down
>     environmental research groups on climate change because "they
>     didn't like the results" (http://tinyurl.com/7kpqk7d), are
>     decimating the Species at Risk Act (our national equivalent of the
>     IUCN Red list), are decimating habitat protection for fisheries,
>     are getting rid of one of the most important water research
>     facilities in the world (Experimental Lakes Area -- has been
>     operational since 1968, and allows for long-term ecosystem studies
>     [http://tinyurl.com/cdygbdk] ), are getting rid of almost all
>     scientists that study contaminants in the environment, have backed
>     out of the Kyoto protocol -- and the list goes on and on and on.
>
>     Entire divisions of scientific research are being eliminated. Our
>     land, our animals, our plants, our environment are losing all the
>     protection that has been building for decades -- a contradictory
>     stance to the rest of the world. (Please see their proposed
>     omni-bill that basically tells the environment to go screw itself,
>     while also being presented in an undemocratic, borderline illegal
>     fashion that limits debate on any of the 70+ changes
>     [http://tinyurl.com/89ys2nf]).
>
>     David Schindler, a professor from the University of Alberta (and
>     founder of ELA) quoted. "I think we have a government that
>     considers science an inconvenience."
>
>     I am writing this to implore every single person to please -- look
>     into this subject, and help us, help ourselves. Contact your MP,
>     the Fisheries minister, Stephen Harper, anyone, everyone. I can't
>     sit by and just post rants on my Facebook page anymore. Share this
>     letter, discuss, anything. Canada is an important nation
>     environmentally, and our leadership doesn't give a fig for science
>     or the environment. But we do. This Conservative minority
>     leadership was voted in on a thin string in the lowest voter
>     election turnout in recent history, but thanks to our ridiculous
>     voting laws, have 100% full power to do whatever they want. And in
>     the name of short-term monetary oil profit, they have realized
>     that science and the environments is a threat to their goals, and
>     are doing everything possible to eliminate both.
>
>     We are depressed, and frustrated, and mad, and need all the help
>     we can get to protect the value of science and our environment. In
>     the age of globalization, intentional stone-age evilness is going
>     to affect everyone. We share our waters, air, and cycles with all
>     of you. Science IS a candle in the dark, and we cannot let greed
>     extinguish that flame. What happens in Canada -- will happen
>     everywhere.
>
>     Thank you.
>
>     Sincerely,
>
>     A Canadian that cares about science and the environment
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     _______________________________________________
>     All mailing list
>     All at gren.ca
>     http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/all_gren.ca
>
>
>
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