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HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYOTO! 
Kyoto Report Card released
on Kyoto's First Birthday
With Baby Kyoto at the Press Conference blowing
out his candle on his first birthday cake, we
released our third Kyoto Report Card on February 16, 2006.
We urged the Harper government to Stand up for
Canada and Keep Kyoto!
Read the press release, the report card, or watch
the press conference at: www.sierraclub.ca/national/kyoto.
NATIONAL
Ontario's Premier McGuinty
must hear from you!
The McGuinty government
claims to be in the process of consulting Ontarians about energy options
to address electricity needs in the coming years. However, the focus of
the current Ontario government is not on renewable energy and
conservation; it's on nuclear power - a technology that has a proven
track record of being unsafe, unsustainable and uneconomical. The recent
report released by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) failed to include
recommendations with respect to conservation targets for Ontario for
2051, 2020 and 2025, requested by the Energy Minister. Instead
it recommends building more nuclear plants. Sierra Club of Canada
released a critique of the OPA’s report entitled “Back to the Drawing
Board”. Read the full report: www.sierraclub.ca/nuclear/opa.html.
Please, urgently write to
Premier McGuinty and Energy Minister Donna Cansfield to tell them that
the government should be investing in conservation, energy efficiency and
renewables, not in expensive, dangerous and unreliable nuclear
power. To see our action alert and a sample letter to Premier
McGuinty (and videos of John Bennett and Elizabeth May at a
recent public meeting in Ottawa) visit: www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/atmosphere-energy/nuclear-free/video-2006/
Mackenzie Gas Project Heats
up the North
Public hearings started in Inuvik in January for the
Mackenzie Gas Project. SCC Conservation Director Stephen Hazell was there
to raise issues of the ecological integrity of the Mackenzie Valley, the
importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the need to assess
cumulative impacts and induced development.
Paul Falvo of Sierra Legal Defence Fund (and the
Sierra Club of Canada Board) so far has represented the Club in Inuvik,
Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic. Hearings are scheduled to take place
throughout the North and in Calgary and Edmonton (June 6 & 7).
Sierra Club of Canada is concerned that Mackenzie
gas is destined to feed the growing appetite of Alberta’s tar sands. Tar
sands projects are projected to be the largest single addition to
Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, producing 70 megatonnes by 2010 -- or
12 per cent of Canada's Kyoto target. For more information or to sign the
Mackenzie Wild Declaration, visit www.mackenziewild.ca
For Stephen Hazell's "Hearing BLOG" see www.mackenziewild.ca/postings
Update: Sydney Tar Ponds
Environmental Impact Statement
Sierra Club of Canada submitted our
deficiencies and questions in relation to the Sydney Tar Ponds
Agency's Environmental Impact Statement.
Forests and Biodiversity
Rachel Plotkin, the national Forests and
Biodiversity Director, was selected as the representative for the
federally initiated Forest Sector Sustainability Table. As such, she will
work with environmentalists across Canada to ensure that our common
objectives for forest sustainability are addressed at the meetings.
Congratulations Rachel!
Take Action: Canada Must
Recognize and Protect the Rights of the Lubicon Creek
Sierra Club of Canada is urging Canadians to speak
out against the violation of Lubicon Cree human rights. Over the last
quarter of a century, lands of the Lubicon people, an indigenous nation
of 500 living in northern Alberta, have been destroyed by oil and gas and
logging industries alike. Get
involved!
Welcome Tania Beriau!
National office is pleased to welcome a new staff
member, Tania Beriau. In addition to being part-time Membership
Assistant, Tania's job will include all front-line duties and support for
other administrative responsibilities.
Tania has lots of office and charity experience, notably with the Ottawa
Humane Society, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and MPP Phil
McNeely's office. She is also fluent in both official languages.
Welcome to the team, Tania!
Making Monthly Donations
As a member of our monthly giving program, your
monthly donation makes you a partner in Sierra Club of Canada's important
environmental protection work. Every day of the year, you will be helping
to preserve and protect our natural environment. Here are some reasons
why monthly giving is an option many of our supporters choose…
How monthly giving benefits our environment:
• It provides a consistent and reliable source
of funding, allowing Sierra Club of Canada to respond immediately to
urgent environmental issues the moment they arise.
• It's cost effective. Pre-authorized donations
can be processed more efficiently than single gifts, leaving even more
money for the important environment saving programs we support.
• It's environmentally friendly. Much less
paper and energy is used in the processing of pre-authorized gifts.
Your support is important and allows us to sustain a
grassroots movement advocating for the protection of global ecosystems.
If you would like to find out more about making
monthly donations to Sierra Club of Canada or Sierra Club of Canada
Foundation visit us at www.sierraclub.ca/donate
ELIZABETH MAY SPEAKS
Fourth
Annual "Celebrating Women" Concert - International Women's Day
2006
DATE:
Sunday, March 5
TIME: 8:00pm
LOCATION: Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dalhousie Arts
Centre, Halifax, NS
Guest
Artists: Soprano Sung Ha Shin Bouey, Ardyth and Jennifer and Evelyne
Benais and El Viento Flamenco. Celebrating Mother Earth is this year's
theme, and the concert honours four outstanding Nova Scotian women: peace
activist Muriel Duckworth, Sierra Club Executive Director, Elizabeth May,
artist/author and "bird lady" Linda Johns and Oceans Institute
Director, the late Elisabeth Mann Borgese. The Aeolians are sponsoring a raffle
to benefit Alice Housing, with prizes awarded at the show.
Elizabeth
will participate in this concert by reading the book Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel.
Tickets
are now on sale for the March 5 performance at the Cohn Box Office and
are available by calling 902-494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669 or by visiting
on-line at www.dal.ca/artscentre. All seats are $25 unreserved.
International
Women's Day Lecture
DATE:
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
TIME: 7:30pm
LOCATION: Windclair Room, Vanier
Hall, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON
Shirley
Greenberg Lecture Series - Women and the Environment
DATE:
Friday, March 10, 2006
TIME: 5:00pm
LOCATION: Room TBA, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
Breast
Cancer Action Montreal - Stop Breast Cancer before it starts
DATE:
Thursday, March 23, 2006
TIME: 7:30pm
LOCATION: 395 Elm, corner Sherbrooke (2 blocks west
of Atwater)
Elizabeth
May will discuss the role of environmental protection in breast cancer
prevention. May is an environmentalist, writer, activist and lawyer.
Author of four books, she is a coveted speaker on the women’s health and
environment lecture circuit.
GLOBE
2006 - 9th Biennial Trade Fair and Conference on Business and the
Environment
DATE:
Thursday, March 30, 2006
TIME: 10:30am - 12:00pm
LOCATION: Vancouver Convention & Exhibition
Centre, Vancouver, BC
The
conference will host more than 2,000 international leaders in the
business of the environment from more that 75 countries. Elizabeth will
participate in the Session "Integrating Sustainablity into Business
Practices" sponsored by The Mining Association of Canada. When faced
with threats to its social license to operate, an industry must take
collective and corporate action to improve its operational and social
performance. A panel of international, Canadian and community
experts speak about the challenges facing a resource sector as it works
to integrate sustainability into business practices – through
operational, corporate and industry-wide initiatives. Lessons learned
from practical experience and from observations of similar efforts by
other sectors will animate the discussion.
 2006 Ottawa International
Writers Festival, Spring Edition
DATE:
Sunday, April 23, 2006
TIME: 2:00pm
LOCATION: Library and Archives
of Canada, 395 Wellington Street
Elizabeth
May will be reading from her upcoming book, How to Save the World in
you Spare Time. Covered are topics such as:- How to get your issue
in the news - How to organize - How to lobby - How to mount a successful
campaign
Won't
be in Ottawa to hear the reading? - Order a copy of this essential guide to activism.
Queen's
School of Policy Studies MPA Weekend
DATE:
Friday, April 28, 2006
TIME: 2:00pm
LOCATION: Vancouver Convention & Exhibition
Centre, Vancouver, BC
The
topic of the weekend is: Efficacy and Adaptability of Government: The
Post Gomery Reality. For more information on the event visit: www.queensu.ca/sps/
GRASSROOT GROUPS: FOCUS ON LOWER
MAINLAND
Living in the populous
Greater Vancouver area, we are concerned about sustainable urban
development, the reduction of air and water pollution, waste management
and reduction, and the preservation of the mountain, stream, river, and
ocean ecosystems that surround us.
Current activities include
monthly outings (hiking, snowshoeing, biking, etc.) and/or socials.
Current campaigns include redirecting Highway 99 expansion to avoid
destroying Eagleridge Bluffs in West Vancouver, fighting for sensible
transit and greenway expansion and against Highway 1 expansion in
Vancouver.
Monthly executive committee
meetings are the first Monday of the month at 7 PM at the Society
Promoting Evironmental Conservation (SPEC) building at 2150 Maple Street
in Vancouver. All members welcome, but please contact us in advance
in case of a time or date change.
For more information, please
contact Eric Lorenz at lowermainland@sierraclub.bc.ca.content
ATLANTIC CANADA CHAPTER
C3: Climate Change in the
Classroom
Sierra Club of Canada –
Atlantic Canada Chapter is hosting interactive French and English
workshops for elementary and secondary teachers on teaching climate
change in the classroom. C3: Climate Change in the Classroom aims to:
build knowledge and awareness of climate change and of the One Tonne
Challenge among teachers in the Maritime provinces in order that they may
effectively deliver activities and materials to students; provide
teachers with creative and engaging activities that educate students
about climate change and inspire them to take action to meet the One
Tonne Challenge objectives; and demonstrate and highlight the Climate
Change Teacher’s Kit, an online curriculum-linked resource for elementary
and secondary teachers. Upcoming workshop dates in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick(all workshops are from 4:00-5:45PM)
March 14 (English) + 15
(French) – Dieppe - Coastal Inn Champlain, Acadia Room 502 Kennedy St.
March 20-Fredricton - New Brunswick Teachers
Federation, 650 Montgomery St.
We will also be running
workshops in PEI. Please check our website (www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic)
for additions which will be posted shortly.
JUMP INTO SPRING!
The Sierra Outing Club
Presents: Jump Into Spring: Picnic and Walk at Crystal Crescent Beach
Provincial Park. In East Pennant, NS (about a 40 minute drive from
Halifax) When? Saturday, March 18, 2006. Meet at the Perks on the
waterfront, in downtown Halifax, at 10:30 AM. Plan for an afternoon of
walking around the beach, on their boardwalks, and then we will have a
picnic on the beach, at 1pm. This is a great activity for kids to as well
as your dogs!
If you would like to come,
please RSVP to: Sierra_Outing@hotmail.com
by March 6, 2006.
WORLD WATER DAY
World Water Day is March 22,
2006, and the Sierra Club of Canada, Atlantic Canada Chapter is planning
an event. See www.worldwaterday.org
for more information on World Water Day, and contact the Atlantic Canada
Chapter office for information on local events.Teachers' Climate Change
Workshops
QUEBEC CHAPTER
SUPPORT A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
FOR OUR CHILDREN - Let Your Voices Be Heard NOW!!!
The last phase of the Pesticide Code of Quebec is to
be implemented on April 3, 2006. This is less than a month away! Mr.
Thomas Mulcair, who was a staunch defender of the Pesticide Code of
Quebec and the environment, has been replaced as the Minister of the
Environment by Mr. Claude Bˇchard. (Mr. Bˇchard used to be the Minister
of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade).
We know how important the Pesticide Code of Quebec
is for the health of our children, for our health, for future generations
– and as an example to the rest of the world! This is the last leg of the
race. Let the new Minister know how much the Pesticide Code of Quebec and
health protection through ‘prevention’ means to you.
Studies and reports have emerged on the detrimental
effects of pesticides on human health and the environment, and body
burden studies across Canada and the US are showingthat these chemicals
are being found in our bodies. Pesticides have been found in the bodies
of pregnant women, amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord and the placenta,
in the meconium of newborn babies, in mother’s milk and in our children.
A recent Quebec study found pesticides in the bodies of children. Of the
children tested, 98.7% were contaminated with pesticides. Among the
pesticides found, was the herbicide 2,4-D. This unwanted exposure
is totally unacceptable.
At a recent conference held late in 2005 by the lawn
care industry, it was announced that every effort would be made to get
2,4-D off the list of pesticides to be banned in Quebec. If successful,
this would mean that 2,4-D could be sprayed on the green spaces in our
communities, where the children we raise with love and care will play,
roll, romp in the grass, and many of them will even put it into their
mouths – as children often do!. This is also an unacceptable risk.
We are sure that human health protection and the
protection of the environment is important to you. Therefore, we are
asking for your help to please write to the new Minister of the
Environment urging him:
- to keep 2,4-D on Quebec’s list of banned active pesticide ingredients,
- to leave the Pesticide Code untouched and
- to implement the final phase of the Pesticide Code of Quebec, as
scheduled, on April 3, 2006.
Please send a copy of your letter to the Premier of
Quebec; the Ministers of Health and Municipal Affairs and the Leader of
the Opposition, Mr Andrˇ Boisclair (see email addresses below). Should
you want to call, fax or send your letter by post, the details are at the
end of this message.
Please take a few minutes to adapt the sample
letter with your own words. Thank you!
Please email your letter to: ministre@mddep.gouv.qc.ca
(Mr. Claude Bˇchard)
ONTARIO CHAPTER
Mark April 22nd On Your
Calendars
Please reserve the evening
of April 22nd (it's a Saturday) to join Elizabeth May, the Sierra Club of
Canada, and special guests, in Toronto to demand that the Province of
Ontario not repeat its past Nuclear Power mistakes!
More details will follow in
the weeks ahead on http://ontario.sierraclub.ca/
EcoCertification Cafe -
Making Effective Environmental Choices
Wed, Mar 1 2006
7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Izakaya - 69 Front St. East Toronto
Contact: Sandi Trillo Ph 416-485-9173
Email: info@ecocertontario.ca
Sierra Club of Canada's
EcoCertification Cafˇ meets monthly at a downtown cafˇ or pub to extend
the conversations that naturally begin at Sierra Club events. Books, articles
and current issues provide a focus for the conversations, but if you're
not a reader, just bring your thoughts! New Cafˇrs welcome!
This month we're taking our
inspiration from the book: "The Consumer's Guide to Effective
Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned
Scientists" by Michael Brower and Warren Leon. If you want to learn
more about how to make good environmental choices - the book has some
great suggestions. We'll be sharing our own great ideas too.
For More Info: http://ontario.sierraclub.ca/events/index.php?id=511
Recycling: Is Your Apartment
or Condo Building Ready for Zero Waste?
Mon, Mar 6 2006 7:30pm
- 9:30pm
Location: St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front
Street East (two blocks east of Union Stn.) Toronto
Contact: Jamie Kirkpatrick Ph 416-960-9606
Email: ontariochapter@sierraclub.ca
Web: www.wastediversion.ca
The City of Toronto has set
waste diversion goals of 60% by 2008 - 100% by 2012. Currently, residents
in apartments and condos are diverting only 12% of their waste. With over
half of Toronto's residents living in low-, medium- and high-rise
buildings, strategies for recycling and composting are a top priority.
Each building presents its own challenges, such as aging garbage chutes
or lack of space for organic waste storage. Yet many buildings have
succeeded in developing innovative programs and the city is pilot-testing
organic recycling.
With impending levies on
excess waste, the threat of Michigan landfills closing their doors to our
garbage and few mandatory requirements for new buildings, time is running
out. Do you live in a high-rise? What would you like to see happen in
your building? What small steps can you take on your own? What are
tenants, property managers, condo boards and the City doing to reach our
waste diversion goals?
With:
Rod Muir: Waste Diversion Campaigner, Sierra Club of
Canada. Councillor Shelley Carroll: Toronto City Councillor for Don
Valley East and Chair of the Works Committee. Doug Paton: condo resident
and Chair of the Celebrity Place Green Committee. Wayne Tuck: General
Manager for Minto Management Ltd., a real estate management company
participating in the city's source-separated organic pilot project and a
recipient of the Green Toronto Award. Geoff Rathbone: City of Toronto
Solid Waste Management, Director of Policy and Planning.
Co-sponsored by the St.
Lawrence Centre Forum and smartliving St. Lawrence
For the latest information
on Ontario Chapter events visit: http://ontario.sierraclub.ca/events/
PRAIRIE CHAPTER
Enviro 911
There are times when anyone feels helpless in the
face of the environmental damage we see every day. The issues are
complex, there are many people involved, and it's difficult to know where
to start. That’s where Environmental 911 comes in.
The new Enviro 911 program is here to help those in
our communities find the answers to their environmental questions.
It is funded by the Edmonton Community Foundation and TD Friends of the
Environment. Check it out. Dial the Enviro 911 hotline (780-439-1160) or
visit www.sierraclub.ca/prairie/Sierra911/.
WEATHER MAKERS TOUR
How We Are Changing the
Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth
 Tim Flannery is going on tour with his new
book, The Weather Makers. He will be in:
Vancouver, April 17, Talk of
the Town, Hal Wake, moderator, John Oliver Secondary School, 530 41st
Avenue East, 7:30 PM start, Free, www.ubc.ca/talkofthetown.
Winnipeg, April 18, Terry
MacLeod, interviewer, McNally Robinson bookstore sales, Manitoba Theatre
for Young People, #2 Forks Market Road, 7:30 (doors at 7:00 PM), Pick up
your free tickets at all Winnipeg
McNally Robinson locations
Burlington/Hamilton, April
19, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West, 7:30 PM
$5.00, Tickets available at Different Drummer Books,
905-639-0925
Toronto, April 20, Pages
Books and Magazines, This Is Not a Reading Series, Bob McDonald, interviewer
OISE auditorium, 252 Boor Street West, 7:00 PM
(doors at 6:30 PM), $5, Tickets available at Pages Books and Magazines, www.pagesbooks.ca.
Ottawa, April 21, Chapters Indigo, 47 Rideau Street,
4:00 PM, Free, More
Information
Ottawa, April 22, Library
and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, 12:00 PM, $10, www.writersfest.com/upcoming_e.htm or
call 613-562-1243
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