Blog

Council of Canadians mourns the passing of Windsor activist Pat Noonan

August 14, 2018

Maude Barlow (right) sspeaks to the crowd with Pat Noonan beside her at a rally in Detroit to deliver water to residents whose service had been cut off.

Maude Barlow says Pat Noonan was the “quintessential activist.”  She was always ready to stand up for what she believed in, says Maude.  “From the fight for women’s equality to the environment, justice for refugees and the peace movement, Pat was there in the front lines. She was a long time member of the Council and supported our cross border solidarity work with water justice activists in Detroit. Her beautiful voice graced the Gaia women’s choir. I miss her already and hold her memory in my heart.”

Pat Noonan passed away this past weekend at the age of 87. She will be fondly remembered by friends, family and fellow activists for her lifelong commitment to social justice issues.

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Win! Mexico bans fracking

August 14, 2018

When asked in a recent press conference about the potential risks of fracking, Mexican President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that under his government the nonconventional extraction method would no longer be used. This is a major step forward in the fight to end fracking in North America. Although other jurisdictions have moved to ban fracking, Mexico would be the largest area in North America to ban the practice.

According to the website truthout.org, López Obrador’s announcement “gives people a certain sense of hope, however, it is not enough to let our guard down,” said Rogel Del Rosal Valladares, an adviser with the coordinator of Campesino and Indigenous Organizations of the Huasteca Potosina.

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Scientists were right about global warming – and we still aren’t prepared for it

August 14, 2018

According to an article in the National Post, 2018 is shaping up globally to be the fourth hottest year on record. The only years hotter were the three previous ones. Temperatures are rising and there is no clear idea of when they are going to stop.

The article states, “The disruptions to everyday life have been far-reaching and devastating. In California, firefighters are racing to control what has become the largest fire in state history. Harvests of staple grains like wheat and corn are expected to dip this year, in some cases sharply, in countries as different as Sweden and El Salvador. In Europe, nuclear power plants have had to shut down because the river water that cools the reactors was too warm. Heat waves on four continents have brought electricity grids crashing.”

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'Grassroots Grow Deep' gathering builds power in Indigenous communities on the frontlines of the tar sands

August 13, 2018

I was excited to spend August 6-8 helping out behind the scenes at a climate justice gathering put on by Indigenous Climate Action and the Indigenous Environmental Network for grassroots leaders from tar-sands impacted nations. 

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Monsanto ordered to pay $289 million in damages

August 13, 2018

According to The Guardian, the giant agrochemical corporation Monsanto has been ordered to pay $289 million in damages because of its weedkiller, Roundup. 

Dewayne Johnson, a 46-year-old former groundskeeper, won a huge decision in a landmark court case with the “jury determining that Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer and that the corporation failed to warn him of the health hazards from exposure. The jury further found that Monsanto ‘acted with malice or oppression.’”

The trial took place in San Francisco. Johnson’s lawyers argued that Monsanto had “fought science” for years and targeted academics who spoke out about the possible health risks of the herbicide product. The Guardian noted that Johnson was the first person to take the agrochemical corporation to trial over allegations that the chemical sold under the brand Roundup causes cancer.

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