Our friends John Lyons and Jackie Rivet-River from Peace Productions just finished a new PSA for the Clean Power Campaign. Jackie, Pam and I met with Vi Daley a couple of months ago and Jackie came away so frustrated with Alderman Daley’s ambivalence to the health impacts on children that she set about producing this [...more]
These last few weeks have been chalk full of events and great success in the Clean Power Campaign. The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) would like to share with you some of what’s been happening:
On Jan. 25th, Climate Justice Campaign Leaders and Volunteers spent the evening with Larry Gibson, Appalachian Storyteller, Rabble-Rouser and Activist fighting Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Larry Gibson has been fighting for his mountain and calling for an end to the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains through Mountaintop Removal (MTR) coal mining for more than the last twenty years. He encourage local leaders and volunteers to continue the struggle locally to shut down the Crawford Plant and Midwest Generations fleet and continue to support ending MTR.
On Mon. Feb. 14th LVEJO’s Climate Justice Campaign joined the Clean Power Coalition in a press conference and Ad-Hoc hearing at City Hall. The Press Conference was a great success with Supporting Alderman and Organizations speaking along with a Moment of Silence and Alter created by LVEJO and RAN Leaders and volunteers, to honor those who have died of Respiratory Illnesses aggravated by the pollution of the Coal Power Plants in Chicago.
The Ad-Hoc hearing was a great show of support from Chicago-ans who spoke in support of the ordinance and the need for the Health and Environmental Committees to host the hearing for the ordinance to move forward.
Environmental Justice in Little Village Update
My Radio Arte – First Voice piece regarding the 31st Street Cooperative featuring interviews with Chicago IWW Branch & Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) activist Mike Pitula & residents of Little Village.
Pplinterviews31st by metro3pesos
December 12th, 2010
Welcome to First Voice on Radio Arte, broadcasting live every Tuesday from the heart of Pilsen, Chicago.
For this edition of First Voice we turn our focus to Environmental Justice in the context of COP16 Climate negotiations in Cancun. E.J, which was a vision of environmentalism pioneered by Robert Bullard, looks at injustices that certain communities and groups are facing. This can include low-income communities of color that also experience economic injustices. This also applies to developing nations who are exposed to the harsh toxins that are created in the production process.
We speak with Ian Viteri (community organizer) and Kim Wasserman (Director) of Little Village Environmental Justice Organization about their vision for Chicago’s clean energy, and green economy-based future.
Andalusia Knoll (Red Road Cancun) interviews Pablo Salon (UN Ambassador for Bolivia) about climate justice, his opposition to carbon-trading (Cap and Trade), and rights for indigenous people. Listen to the entire interview here.
We finish with an interview with Joaquin Sanchez and Gadir Lavadez, both climate activists who were in Cancun for the Climate talks. Joaquin was booted from the talks for showing solidarity with activists and walking out of the conference to join people calling for a more open an just process.
First Voice Environmental Justice: Cancun to Chicago by MartinFV
1:30-5:30 Ian Viteri – Clean Power Chicago
6:00-14:30 Kim Wasserman – Environmental Justice
15:00-19:30 Walter Lopez – LVEJO Mural Unveiling
19:30-27:30 Pablo Salon, UN Bolivian Ambassador
27:30-36:00 Joaquin Sanchez y Gadir Lopez – Climate Justice
Dec 7th, 2010
This was an international day of action where people all over the world were hosting various demonstrations and teach-ins in order to bring awareness to the UN Climate Negotiations happening right now in Cancun Mexico (better known as COP 16) . In Little Village Chicago this took the form of a community Mural Unveiling promoting the local Struggle for the environment and making the connection internationally to whats happening in Cancun.
The Mural Depicts Four integral images displaying the environmental issues that Little Village is dealing with. Starting from the left the mural depicts the Crawford Coal-fired power plant, which represents the Pollution caused by industry, the health affects plaguing the community, and corporations approach to climate change which is profit over people and the com-modification of the planet’s natural resources such as water, land and air. In the Center of the Mural lies the Chicago Sky line representing the city as a well and making the connection that Air quality is a city-wide issue because pollution doesn’t just linger in the borders of the community but spreads all over the city. Continue reading »
Dec 13, 2010
The UN climate Negotiations that happened in Cancun, Mexico better known as COP (16), came to an end this past weekend.
The UN Climate negotiations (which is widely criticized as a market based and highly capitalistic approach to “solving’ Climate Change) have received a plethora of criticism and public upheaval from various community based organizations, Indigenous Groups, Climate Change advocates and especially young activist. Throughout the span of the negotiations mass protests, rallies, demonstrations were being held all over Cancun, and all over the world in solidarity. On one of the last days of negotiations, Dec 10, a group of youth protested against the agreements and deals that were signed on which promoted a capitalistic agenda and market based solutions. One of the major groups who took the lead in this protest was the Indigenous Environment Network (IEN) where community organizer Kandi Mosset spoke of all the deaths contributed to climate change. Because of their demonstration and their attempt at free speech, the group of protesters were hastily ejected from the UN Negotiations. This is not the first time that a group of young activists were ejected from the Moon Palace premises for speaking up for their beliefs. This form of exclusive inclusion really begs the question “Who are these Climate Negotiations really for and who is benefiting from these horrible decisions and policies being made?”. The answer to that may very well be the same answer it has been for the past few decades.
Although indigenous groups and environmental activists were left out of these climate negotiations, there is one entity that did have full access to the negotiations , that entity being the World Bank. Despite the fact that the world bank has a history of leaving developing countries in massive amounts of debt, and the fact that hundreds of protesters filled the streets of Cancun on Dec 9 for the sole purpose of keeping the world bank out of these negotiations, they (WB) still have a prominent influence over the decisions being made in the Moon Palace.
Cancun protests World Bank climate role
World leaders and UN ambassadors spent most of their time in luxury , as they were accommodated in one of Cancun’s most prestigeous Hotels (the luxury Moon Palace hotel). Maybe if they had spent more time in the streets of Cancun they would have seen just how many people are in disagreement with the Decisions being made by the UN. At least some of the world political leaders have taken notice to this fact as Bolivia’s president states “It’s easy for people in air-conditioned room to continue with the policies of the destruction of Mother Earth. We need instead to put ourselves in the shoes of families in Bolivia and worldwide who lack water and food and suffer misery and hunger. People here in Cancun have no idea what it is like to be a victim of climate change”. Bolivia’s UN ambassador Pablo Soon comments (Cancun) “does not represent a step forward, it is a step backward”. El Salvadorian Friends of the Earth leader Ricardo Navarro lamented “What is being discussed at the Moon does not reflect what happens on Earth.
Dec 7, was an international day of action to bring more awareness toward the Climate Negotions (or better known as COP 16) that is happening right now in Cancun Mexico. All over the country and even the world climate change activists were holding special actions in order to promote awareness to the issue of climate change.
Even in Cancun where the negotiations are being held activists are outraged in the direction that these talks have been going. A press conference hosted by Global Justice Ecology Project and organized by La Via Campesina, Indigenous Environmental Network and Friends of the Earth turned into a spontaneous action as speakers expressed anger over the direction of the talks.
For The Full Story of this action including pictures check out the Climate Voices Website and for more a info on whats been happening at COP16 check out this Live Webcast
Dec 032010
Dec 3 2010.
All over the world people are planning and preparing for mass actions around the international talks on climate change policies that is happening right now in Cancun Mexico.
Better Known as Cop 16 the “conference of the parties” will continue their ongoing discussions and debates around climate change policy and make decisions that will affect the entire world. Last time this meeting was held in Copenhagen, where most people were left with a bitter taste in their mouth. Instead of agreeing on viable solutions that will help lower the global temperature and reduce carbon emissions, World leaders continued business as usual and followed through with their market-based solutions further commodifying earth’s natural resources.
The hot topic being discussed this year in Cancun is the idea of REDDS. the whole notion of REDDS or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation is to make forests more valuable standing than they would be cut down, by creating a financial value for the carbon stored in trees. This sounds good in theory but the UN’s definition of forests is vague enough to include monoculture tree plantations (such as oil palm, pine, eucalyptus), as well as clearcuts (termed “temporarily unstocked areas”) and genetically engineered (GE) trees, which basically means a corporation can buy the land rights of an entire forests and clear out the indigenous plant life (along with the peoples living in the forests) and plant their own form of cash crop and be considered a savior of the environment…
Activists from all over the world are making their way to Cancun to get their voices heard and spread the messaging that comes from the peoples accord that was created by a democratic process in which all peoples were involved in Cochabamba Bolivia earlier this year. The messaging of the Peoples Accord includes Eliminating the idea of REDDs, putting an end to all forms of a Carbon market, and Identifying and accepting the rights of the Mother Earth and Indigenous peoples of all kinds.
For those of us not able to make it to the discussions in Cancun, Dec 7 1010 is the international day of action in solidarity with the people who are in Cancun. All over the world people will be taking action in many different forms. In Little Village Chicago, this has taken the form of a community mural which depicts images of local struggles and solutions dealing with the environment and making the connections with the events happening globally… here’s a little preview…
