Upcoming Events and 4RG Meets

4RG Reads! Books That Inspire Climate Action – 11 December 2023

2023-12-11 19:00:00

With so many environmental books to choose from, wouldn’t it be nice to hear from some of your fellow climate activists as they share a brief summary of their favorite, most inspirational, most eye-opening climate change books?  Join us December 11 to hear just that.

Hopeful Stories

Here are some recent stories in the news that give us hope with the progress that is being made in concrete actions to address the climate crisis.

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  The Quebec town trying to spell the end of natural gas

  Dec 7, 2023 - The small town of Prévost, Que. passed a bylaw banning natural gas (methane) this autumn, joining a growing number of municipalities in similar actions. They were quickly hit with a lawsuit from Quebec's gas utility, Énergir. It's up to us to encourage our own municipalities to pass similar bylaws. And it's up to us to defend our municipalities against the gas companies who oppose these new laws.

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  Ottawa, Nova Scotia Turn Down Offshore Oil Proposal

  Dec 6, 2023 - A coalition of environmental and community groups is applauding a decision by the Nova Scotia and federal governments to deny a C$1.5-million bid to relaunch oil and gas exploration in the waters off the province. The licence application for a shallow-water parcel on the Sable Bank of the Scotian Shelf was approved by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board in October. However, the bid was subject to the approval of the federal and provincial ministers of natural resources, who ruled against it in a decision released late Monday.

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  Four in five people around the world support ‘whatever it takes’ to limit climate change

  December 5, 2023 - A new survey, the largest of its kind, shows that people around the world want their governments to take action. Some 78 percent of those polled agree that it’s essential to do “whatever it takes” to limit the effects of climate change. The research also gauged what messages resonated with people the most. The best one? “Later is too late.”

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Alarming Stories

Here are some recent stories from the news that alarm us with outrageous decisions by governments and the dreadful results for the climate.

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  Cop28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels

  Dec 3, 2023 - UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber says that a phase-out of coal, oil and gas would take world ‘back into caves’, claiming that there is "no science" supporting such an action.

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  "Unabated" - Danger Lurks Behind This Word

  Dec 3, 2023 - Factual scientific evidence demands a fossil fuel phase out, but the fossil fuel industry continues to offer a phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuel. This greenwash term allows them to claim they are doing something. And some people will even claim to believe it. But it is a lie. It won't work. There's only one way to stop the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It’s renewable energy. Phase out fossil fuels period.

   

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  Ottawa to Subsidize CCUS Projects that Extract More Oil

  Nov 28, 2023 - The Canadian government is stepping back from a pledge that taxpayer subsidies won’t support carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects that help fossil producers extract more oil from older, depleted wells.

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Local Stories

Here are some recent stories of actions that local Peterborough citizens have taken to address the climate crisis.

Linda Slavin’s Story Of Climate Action in Peterborough

November 23, 2023

This is a long story starting in 2005 when I first heard of a group at Trent University led by Professor Stephen Hill who were doing sustainability research.  I sat in on several meetings. It became obvious that a wider community presence was necessary if we were to make changes. I decided to run in … Read more

Message to MPP Smith – Save the Catchacoma Forest and Preserve the Green Belt

November 7, 2023

On November 6 a delegation of 10 intrepid 4RG members brought to Dave Smith MPP for Peterborough the following message: Save the Catchacoma Old-Growth Forest The 662-hectare Catchacoma Forest is the largest known old-growth hemlock forest in Canada, and a habitat for several endangered species with other, important ecological values. Not least of these is … Read more

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