Kyoto Agreement

In December 1997, the first of many meetings took place in the city of Kyoto, Japan. Most of the world's leaders were drawn there to discuss the environmental crisis. Their aim was to reduce and stabilize greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Over a span of about ten years, 192 countries and one major company agreed to do their part.

The meetings at Kyoto were very complex but the one thing almost everyone agreed on was that we were causing global warming through our pollution. Out of the 193 countries that eventually took part, 37 of them were set legally binding goals for future greenhouse gasses emissions. Some (mainly developing countries) were allowed to increase their emissions, but most countries, especially developed, were given goals to decrease by 2012. The difference with the other 156 parties was that they were only encouraged to be greener. All 37 countries that participated in the protocol where officially monitored to see if they were within the boundaries of their own set goal.

Below is a chart highlighting the greenhouse gasses emissions expectations and actual numbers of 35 out of the 37 countries that were given targets.

 

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

As you can see, the goals can be considered anything but similar. They range from +10% to -8%. The counties that were granted an increase are Iceland, Norway, and Australia. There are also countries outside of this list that didn't agree to accepting a set target, or even agree to trying to decrease their emissions. These countries are considered undecided.

Participation in the Kyoto Protocol, as of December 2010

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

Green = Countries that have signed and ratified the treaty
             (countries with set targets are in dark green)
Grey = Countries that have not yet decided

Brown = No intention to ratify at this stage.

It is clear that the majority of the world is in favour of Kyoto, as you can see by the map above. But, you might be asking "Why is the United States showed in brown?". Well, it is because they have publicly announced that they have no intention of  fulfilling their duty. This is very surprising to most people because you would assume that a modern country like the US, filled to the brim with environmentalists, would actually care about an issue as indescribably huge as this one. It gets worse. As of August 2011, Canada is officially in the same position.

As a Canadian myself, I find it disgraceful that the Harper government would agree to this. You might call me harsh, by looking at the chart you could see that Canada wasn't headed in the right direction from the start. And the conference in Durban was also only 2 months away. Most would consider it a temporary move, but coming from a country that has always strived for efficiency and reducing pollution, it is still hard to take.

This leads me to my next point, has the Canadian government actually done anything worth mentioning to reduce greenhouse gasses? Well, if it's not already clear, the answer is no. Take a look at this diagram.

Map of Canada showing the increases in GHG emissions by province/territory in 2008, compared to the 1990 base year 

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Kyoto_Protocol

  50%+ increase

  30%–50% increase

  20%–30% increase

  10%–20% increase

  0%–10% increase

  0%–10% decrease

  Each square represents 2 tonnes CO₂ eq. per capita

Congratulations Quebec and PEI, as you the only provinces in Canada that reduced your greenhouse gasses emissions. As for Canada as a whole, in 2006 it was 29% higher then it should of been according to Kyoto.

I'm sure Canada had a very good reason(s) to abort the set target. Even I believe that Kyoto wasn't completely fair. Forcing a country to lower their pollution is a major thing. It affects jobs, and the economy in general for the simple reason that to get money from mining (Canada's main source of income), you have to pollute. Allowing Australia to increase emissions by 10% will still hurt their economy. The reason that they are allowed to increase is because they are the biggest polluter in the world. Australia would love to double their emissions  if they could. Their target is still reasonable but it just won't hurt them as bad as, for example, Canada. Another unfair aspect of Kyoto is that 81% of counties that participated basically got of with a warning. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't make an effort. It just means that they won't stress about damaging their economy as much as someone who agreed to lowering their emissions by 8% in order to be fair to the world. Although, I think it's safe to say that you wouldn't have much of an economy if you don't have a habitable planet to put it on.

The faith of the world is resting in the hands of a few politicians gathered in Africa right now. The first term of the Kyoto "treaty" is going to end in 2012 and the world gathered to try to come to a new agreement. Whatever they decide on I just hope that it will be fair and that it will last a lot longer the the previous agreement. Just don't get too excited, since the conference is running out of time and leaders are scheduled to return to their home country, it will almost certainly be put off for a minimum of another precious year that we don't have. Maybe it will be enough time for them to realize that if they don't come to a consensus soon, it will be too late.


Sources:


http://www.kyotoprotocol.com/
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kyoto_Protocol_signatories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol
http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Canadian Immigration History

This is a brief timeline highlighting what I think are the 10 most important events in Canadian immigration history.


Sources:

Canadian Council for Refugees
Wikipedia

Pictures:

Head Tax - wthellokitty.tumblr.com
War Measures Act - grantsmilitaria.com
Asiatic Immigrantion Discontinued - topnews.net.nz
Pier 21 Opens - flickr.com/photos/jennyrotten
Jew Exclusion - flickr.com/photos/amyleonard
Japanese Detention Camps - webpages.scu.edu
Canadian Citizenship Act - people.exeter.ac.uk/nkjdatta
Ten Millionth Immigrant - riskconferenceimaginecanada.ca
Nansen Medal - wikipedia.org
Illegal Boats Arrive in BC - abc.net

Influential Environmental Activists

Influential Environmentalists Around the Globe

Over the past one hundred years there have been many brave men and women that risked their lives and careers in the name of the environment. From the poor to the richest of politicians, people did and continue to stand up for what's right. Environmentalists come from different parts of the world but they all agree on one thing. To put an end to people who ignore the environment and to convince them to help make a difference. In the following paragraphs you will read about some of the most famous and influential environmentalists.

     David Suzuki


David Takayoshi Suzuki is arguably the most famous environmentalist of all time. He is the founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. It is an organization that deals with issues like climate change and oceans.


David Suzuki was born in Vancouver, Canada on March 24, 1936. He has always been fascinated with science. He used to be know for his T.V. shows about science and the environment. David is most famous for "The Nature of Things", a documentary series that first aired in 40 countries worldwide. It is still on T.V. today. Today, David Suzuki is better know for his environmental activism. He has been a driving force behind climate change and other global issues. He strives to convince skeptics that climate change and global warming is real. He also organizes opportunities to take action.


     Al Gore

Albert Arnold Gore Junior, or Al Gore, is an American politician that strongly believes in the human role in global warming. He has wrote numerous books and founded many non-profit organizations aimed at the environment.


Al Gore's hometown is Washington D.C. He was born on March 31, 1948. Al's political career was a very successful one. He served as the 45th vice-president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He also ran for president in 2000. Al lost the election by very close margins to George W. Bush. Many believe that the world would be a very different place if he had won instead. Al Gore continues to raise awareness about global warming by the thousands of presentations he has made. In 2006, he succeeded at an entirely new level. In that year the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" was released. The award winning film was about a Power Point presentation Al made. A year later, Al Gore was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on global warming.


     Chico Mendes


Unless you live in Brazil, you probably never heard about Chico Mendes. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a fantastic story. He risked everything to save the Brazilian rainforest. Chico is a national hero.


Chico Mendes was born in a small Brazilian village named Santa Fe on December 15, 1944. He worked as a local rubber tapper for a large part of his life. He spent most of his time in the rainforest. Like many others, he learned to love it. When he heard that the government was planning to cut it down, he and many others were outraged. The government said they needed the land for cattle grazing. After Chico failed to convince the government that it was wrong, he explained that rubber tapping generated more income than cattle. Although he was right, the government didn't budge. Chico than organized a protest. He and his supporters stood still in front of incoming bulldozers and workers until they won. Long after Chico's celebrations, he was shot and killed in his own home. He was the 19th activist killed in Brazil that year. Thanks to the work of Chico, Brazil started dedicating some of their rainforest as a national park.

     Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai is one of few black women that are considered environmental activists. She is known for starting the Green Belt Movement after a lifetime of being ignored and abused in her own country.

Wangari was born on April 1, 1940 in Kenya, Africa. She aimed for changing Kenya. She got an opportunity when she received a scholarship to study in the US. She later traveled to Germany to build on her studies and became the first ever East African women to get a Ph. D. She returned to Kenya and started her activism career. Among other things, Wangari protested against the government and climate change. She was called crazy, beat by the police, and thrown in jail. After being released she was more determined than ever. Wangari founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. It was an organization that encouraged people to plant trees. In just 34 years, the GBM planted over 45 million trees in Kenya. In 2004, Wangari Maathai's effort were recognized. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari died very recently on September 25, 2011 from a struggle with cancer. Her legacy lives on with the Green Belt Movement.

I don't think there are many people more influential than the ones discussed above. They each made a big push towards a better world and got others to push with them. David Suzuki influenced the world by making his voice heard using technology and his organization. Al did the same by using his power, background, and supporters. Chico influenced many by risking his own life to stand up for what many others were to afraid to on their own. Wangari also risked a lot to make a difference. All of these people experienced criticism or worse but none of them gave up. They each carved a path for their lives and brought others with them. It's a nearly impossible task to pick the most influential. 

After thinking about it, I believe David Suzuki has an edge over everyone else. Chico and Wangari sacrificed a lot but they only influenced the region they lived in. The problem with Al Gore is that he is better known for his political career than his environmental career. David Suzuki is a clear winner to me because protecting the environment and stopping climate change is the only thing he does. He influenced way to many people to not be considered number one. Climate change can't be stopped by one person, it takes the entire world, but when we have a global leader like Suzuki, you know we'll get where we want to be.

"In the coarse of history, there comes a time when humanity is

called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a

higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear

give hope to each other. That time is now."

- Wangari Maathai

References:

Information about Chico Mendes and Wangari Maathai from: about.com
Information about David Suzuki and Al Gore from: wikipedia.org
Pictures on map from: David Suzuki - lordofchaos115.edu.glogster.com
                                    Al Gore -  wikipedia.org
                                    Gaylor Nelson - wikipedia.org
                                    Chico Mendes -thewrittenone.wordpress.com
                                    Wangari Maathai - greenbeltmovement.org