It is not
everyday that I feel proud to be a Canadian or British Columbian,
but I can think of two exceptional occasions in which I was, and
still am.
The first occasion was when, last summer, Cloverdale, BC (a
Vancouver suburb), banned calf-roping from rodeo. A main strand was
cut in the rodeo web. Best of all, for BC, it was a continental
first, and I still don't know if other places have followed suit (in
saying so, I have inadvertently placed BC in a leadership position).
The second occasion was yesterday, when the BC government
declared a carbon tax as part of its anti-global-warming package - a
huge move in the right direction, and another continental first, if
not a world first. Some consider global warming not an animal
advocacy issue. I beg to strongly differ. It is significantly caused
by animal agriculture, and may turn the Amazon to desert, dooming
all 5 million species there, and further over three-quarters of all
species worldwide, all by 2100. Economically, the carbon tax will
impose heavy costs on animal agriculture, including animal
transportation and meat distribution.
This morning, the Vancouver Sun published my letter-to-the-editor
(almost verbatim as follows), amongst about 15, most of which being
against the carbon tax.
[If we value our children�s future, we need to tighten our belts
- today.
[Those still doubting global warming are living in the Jurassic.
The Earth has undergone 5 mass extinctions, all but the one due to
climate change. The third, the End-Permian 251 million years ago,
eliminated over 85% of all species. We are now deep in the sixth.
[2007 was a pivotal year in global warming. The Arctic underwent
an unprecedented melting twice as fast as the worst-case scenario
ever advanced. Most dangerous is the permafrost meltdown, which will
release billions of tons of methane into the atmosphere, driving
global warming into runaway global heating.
[In 2004, scientist warned that a massive drought would hit the
Amazon, and were jeered as �alarmists�. Came 2005, a devastating
drought did occur, then again in 2006, and in 2007, causing many
sub-ecosystems to collapse. It is now predicted that the Amazon
Rainforest will become the Amazon Desert by 2050, exterminating
almost all its 5 million species.
[BC� move sets it lightyears apart from, and ahead of, Alberta ,
which is intent on digging up the tar sands until the Earth is
fried, all for another generation of Hummers.]
See:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/letters/story.html?id=c971918d-cbf5-4fd5-9878-5b937948a1ec
Anthony Marr, founder Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.ARConference.org
Anthony Marr, founder
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.ARConference.org
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