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From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up Ep. 285: Getting to a just transition: Jamie Kirkpatrick of BlueGreen Canada | 2023.07.05
Ep. 285
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Jamie Kirkpatrick is the senior programme manager of Blue Green Canada, an organisation set up in 2010 to bring together labour unions, environmental groups and civil society organisations to work for the sort of changes that satisfy industrial workers' needs and aspirations while also radically reducing climate and environmental impacts. In conversation with Mark, Jamie talks about the organisation, the challenges, and the latest piece of federal legislation relevant to his work, the Sustainable Jobs Act (C-15, 2023)
Other FTGU podcasts which address just transition include:
#281 and #282, on the book, The end of this world, and bringing Indigenous wisdom to bear
#266: Julia Levin on the false climate solutions being promoted by the oil industry
#225 and #226: excepts from contributions to the just transition conference which CJS organised in spring 2022
#222 and #223: Ana Guerra Marin on her work with Iron and Earth, enabling fossil-dependent communities to find positive ways forward together
#197: Brahm Enslin on the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' detailed proposals for Canada Post to provide a better, greener and more comprehensive service
#103 and #106 on CJS's own work in pursuing dialogue with coal-dependent communities in southern Saskatchewan
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316. From the Ground Up Ep. 316: In memoriam Dave Greenfield | 2024.05.10
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28:22Peter and Mark talk about the apparently different plans (both inadequate but one worse than the other) being put forward for Saskatchewan's electricity provision by the provincial government and by SaskPower. They then move on to the Saskatchewan Environmental Society's application to intervene in the legal action being taken against the provincial government, the Crown Investments Corporation and SaskPower, together with two highly knowledgeable expert witnesses - and from there to the successful case brought by senior Swiss women against their government to the European Court of Human Rights.
314. From the Ground Up Ep. 314: Misinformation on our Electricity Bills, with Shannon Wright | 2024.04.10
28:30Carbon pricing is complex. All the more reason for people to understand it properly so that they are not fooled by propaganda and misinformation. In this episode, Shannon and Mark talk through the two types of carbon pricing in place in Saskatchewan, and address the confusion being promoted by inaccurate labelling on our electricity bills. Shannon has raised SaskPower's corporate misinformation with multiple authorities; we encourage others to do likewise.https://climatejusticesaskatoon.ca/2024/04/10/carbon-pricing-on-utility-bills/
313. From the Ground Up Ep. 313: Climate, Farming, the NFU and SARM, with Darrin Qualman | 2024.04.03
28:30Following the passing of a muddled and effectively science-denying resolution by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Darrin Qualman,, Director of Climate Crisis Policy and Action with the National Farmers Union, talks about some better ways forward for farming.. The NFU is advocating for establishment of a Canadian Farm Resilience Agency, with ultimately a three-fold purpose: (i) enabling farmers to develop resilience and implement adaptation measures in the face of the escalating impacts of climate change, (ii) enabling farmers to reduce their own GHG emissions, and (iii) ensuring financial security and viability for farmers.https://www.nfu.ca/tag/climate-change/
312. From the Ground Up Ep. 312: Gas, with Mitchell Beer, part 2 | 2024.03.20
28:29Whether we call it natural gas or fossil gas, we are heavily dependent on it. And that's a problem, It's primarily made up of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which adds to global heating when it leaks or is vented. And when it's burnt for energy it produces carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas. So what do we do, first to reduce our dependence on it and then to wean ourselves off it altogether? What are the non-climate benefits to doing so? What are the challenges? What are the obstacles being put in our way. Over two episodes (this is #2), Mitchell and Mark talk through how we use it, what we can usefully do, and why it's more of a challenge than it really should be.
311. From the Ground Up Ep. 311: Gas, with Mitchell Beer | 2024.03.20
28:11Whether we call it natural gas or fossil gas, it's a problem, It's primarily made up of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which adds to global heating when it leaks or is vented. And when it's burnt for energy it produces carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas. So what do we do, first to reduce our dependence on it and then to wean ourselves off it altogether? What are the non-climate benefits to doing so? What are the challenges? What are the obstacles being put in our way. Over two episodes (this is #1), Mitchell and Mark talk through how we use it, what we can usefully do, and why it's more of a challenge than it really should be.310. From the Ground Up Ep. 310: miscellany | 2024.03.13
28:30A bit of a mix this week. An announcement of a series of climate-relevant events in Saskatoon. Then comment on the Saskatchewan government's decision to break the law by refusing to collect carbon pricing revenues. And finally a replay of some of Dave Greenfield's sonnets from December 2022.Links to the events advertised at the beginning:Sustainability speakers series: https://environmentalsociety.ca/events/sustainable-speakers-series/SCIC showing of I Am Greta on Mar:22: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/i-am-greta-film-screening-panel-event-tickets-855602669617309. From the Ground Up Ep. 309: Meeting with Saskatoon City Councillors | 2024.03.06
28:29Five years after it was finalised, Saskatoon's GHG emissions reduction policy is at a crossroads. With the council under financial pressure, there have been calls on the council to reduce funding or delay projects identified under the Low Emissions Community Program. However, some projects are already behind schedule, and, while reductions have been achieved, the ability to sustain and accelerate them towards net-zero by 2050 is uncertain.In this context, Mayor Charlie Clark and Councillors Serina Gersher and Mairin Loewen (council leads on environmental sustainability) met with a coaltion of climate-concerned groups at the beginning of February. In this interview with Mark, two attendees, Glenn Wright and Caylin Lee, talk about the presentations at the meeting and their impressions.308. From the Ground Up Ep. 308: EcoStress Sask, with Amy Snider | 2024.02.21
57:41In 2021, Amy Snider, together with Russell Charlton and Katherine Arbuthnott, started up EcoStress Sask. In this extended conversation with Mark, Amy talks about the personal experience that led up to this initiative, and describes the work of the organisation.EcoStress Sask may be reached at ecostresssask@gmail.com. More information at https://ecostresssask.ca/