I got to hand it to Chevron; they have a genius marketing team. Not only has one of the most environmentally destructive corporations managed to come off as socially conscious, but Chevron has also managed to win over the hearts of their worldwide consumers with their heartfelt campaigns about consuming less and curbing our dependency on oil. That all sounds sweet and dandy, but I’m calling their bluff. And the hosts of RAN’s Greenwash of the Week agree too. The green-ification Chevron claims in its ads and press releases is misleading and disingenuously spins the corporation to be... (continue reading)

My freshman year in college, I was in a course called Active Non-Violence. That Spring semester we read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. After finishing our last discussion from the book, one student asked our professor, a life-time peace activist, how one can stay active and positive politically when exposed to so much repression, injustice and explicit violence. Our professor said, “You have to be able to laugh.” It is also a lesson that has been internalized by the climate justice movement. On April 1st, 2010 pranks, satire, tomfoolery, and hi-jinks were... (continue reading)

Maybe I’m being a little too cynical…I just don’t think that Brad Pitt is saving the world. Bill Gates on the other hand, might be a different story While a friend of a friend of mine has chosen to label Mr. Gates as a ’socialist’ (yes that’s right a socialist…America’s richest man, and corporate icon in the most capitalistic way possible) for his new stance on a different way of looking at energy, I see that Gates might actually be on the cutting edge of a new way of viewing what environmentalists have talked about for years. In Gates’ most recent TED talk, entitled... (continue reading)

Protesters call on top tar sands financier to protect Indigenous rights and climate! On March 3rd, more than 170 people gathered outside the RBC Annual General Shareholder Meeting in Toronto to protest the bank’s leading role in funding the contentious Alberta tar sands. People concerned with the impact of tar sands projects on First Nations, water quality and the climate came from every corner of Canada to ensure that the bank heard the message: ‘stop bankrolling the tar sands.’ Outside the shareholder meeting school children, bank customers of every age, First Nations community... (continue reading)

After attending COP 15 I’ve become more and more angry at my government and even more so at the lack of environmental action being taken on behalf of Prime Minister Harper here in Canada. With his recent decision to prorogue parliament, he has left all responsibility and accountability to represent Canadians in the House.  I have to ask the question, Harper, what about Copenhagen? Proroguing parliament allows the government to disregard the significant issues currently facing Canada, issues that are not only limited to Copenhagen, but also include Afghanistan and the security measures... (continue reading)