Krawczyk wins activism award
Betty Krawczyk is the recipient of the 2004 Eugene Rogers environmental award from the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. Grandma Betty, as she is affectionately called, received the award for her efforts to preserve and protect BC’s public forestlands.
Over the past 10 years, Krawczyk has blocked logging roads across the province during her forest conservation efforts, peacefully standing her ground in defence of the trees. Through these efforts and her public outreach activities, she has helped to draw global attention to major forest issues in BC.
Krawczyk has stood firm in her opposition to the use of court orders and contempt of court to curtail protests. While she has never committed violence, she has served more time behind bars for her peaceful protests than any other Canadian wilderness preservation activist. Betty has stood her ground on behalf of nature in Clayoquot Sound, the Elaho Valley, and the Walbran Valley.
www.wildernesscommittee.org

Habitat Jam
As part of preparations for the third World Urban Forum, the government of Canada in partnership with UN Habitat is sponsoring a 72-hour internet event December 1-3. Habitat Jam will gather your input and add it to thousands of others to create actionable ideas for the Vancouver World Urban Forum agenda and influence the forum’s content.
Imagine tens of thousands of people around the world connecting in real time over the internet to discuss and debate some of the most urgent and controversial issues that face a rapidly urbanizing planet. Imagine world-class thinkers leading the discussions. Imagine the results that could be achieved by this unprecedented global conversation and collaboration. The Habitat Jam is about adding your voice to the global conversation about the future of our cities. It’s about having your say on important issues that affect you. It’s about building new global networks of people who wouldn’t have connected before. It’s about working together across the globe to agree on solutions. Register at www.registerforthejam.com

Organic standards at risk
In October, the (US) Organic Trade Association submitted to the US Congress a letter signed by more than 200 companies, farmers, and trade associations supporting its request that Congress restore the national organic program at the United States Department of Agriculture. This request follows a court ruling that undermined more than 12 years of effort by organic growers, consumers and manufacturers to build a growing organic marketplace. The “USDA Organic” seal currently guarantees that the consumer is getting a product made from 95 percent or more organic ingredients and processed with the least amount of non-organic ingredients and processing aids. Under the court ruling, unless the 1990 law is clarified, numerous products now bearing the “USDA Organic” seal could disappear from store shelves.
www.ota.com

Carr institute celebrates 80th
The Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design will hold a community open house the first weekend of November to celebrate its 80th anniversary. Free workshops, demonstrations, and displays will be offered with something to appeal to all ages. 10-4pm, Granville Island campus.
www.eciad.ca

Keep the pressure on Kimberly-Clark
Since last fall, the Earth Action Center has alerted people to the fact that Kimberly-Clark, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of disposable tissue products, makes the vast majority of these products from virgin trees instead of from recycled paper.
Since then almost 55,000 messages have been sent to Kimberly-Clark urging the company to increase the amount of post-consumer recycled content in its tissue paper products to help reduce the burden the company places on areas such as Canada’s boreal forest.
Instead of agreeing to increase the amount of post-consumer recycled content in its tissue paper products, Kimberly-Clark continues to buy from areas such as the Kenogami Forest in northern Ontario, a region critical to the survival of the woodland caribou and other species.
On November 3, environmental groups are holding an international Boreal Day of Action to remind Kimberly-Clark that as long as it continues to purchase virgin fibre instead of post-consumer recycled fibre for its tissue paper products, it continues to endanger the boreal forest. Send a message to Kimberly-Clark directly from www.nrdcaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=53107 or email kimberly.clark.cs@kcc.com

Bird flu hoax
The conspiracy theorists are all aflutter as politicians tell us to expect millions of deaths from avian flu and that Tamiflu will save us.
Gilead Sciences developed Tamiflu while Donald Rumsfeld sat on the board of directors and became chairman in 1997. The drug was licensed to Roche in 1996. Now Gilead is in arbitration to cancel its licensing agreement with Roche to regain control of Tamiflu. Meanwhile it turns out that Tamiflu won’t work. On the recommendation of the World Health Organization, Canada was one of the first countries to stockpile the drug, buying 23 million doses to treat the sick and prevent infection among essential workers. If everyone in Canada wanted Tamiflu, we would need 3 billion doses for the recommended 100 pills. That equals $3.6 billion.
According to Common Ground health columnist Alan Cassels, “…there is definitely something behind the push for stockpiling Tamiflu, despite the weight of evidence that suggests it prevents the length of the flu by, on average 0.8 to 0.9 of a day. Not exactly impressive. Is there better use for that money? By all means – do a public campaign to get people to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough, some of the main ways the flu virus is transmitted.”
For more information, visit gilead.com and freemarketnews.com