AFN Calls for Action to Advance Resolution in Canada

OTTAWA, July 29 /CNW Telbec/ – The Assembly of First Nations welcomes the United Nations General Assembly resolution declaring clean water and sanitation to be a human right. More than 124 Nations voted yesterday for the resolution brought forward by the country of Bolivia. 884 million people around the world still suffer from a lack of access to drinking water.

“This is welcome news for First Nations people and communities who are struggling to access safe drinking water and sanitation,” said National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo. “This resolution establishes new international standards and, in affirming that clean water and sanitation are a basic human right, compels Canada to work with First Nations to ensure our people enjoy the same quality of water and sanitation as the rest of Canada.”

As of June 2010, 114 First Nations communities across the country were under Drinking Water Advisories and 49 First Nations water systems were classified as “high risk”. Some of these communities have been under a Drinking Water Advisory for 10 years or longer.

“The situation facing First Nations would not be tolerated in any other community or city in Canada,” National Chief Atleo stated. “It is shameful that these conditions are allowed to fester in a country as rich as Canada. This is about nothing less than the health and safety of First Nations children. It is time to act to address longstanding inequity in infrastructure and training to enhance and support safe drinking water systems. The current approach of Canada to focus on regulation will not address these inequities and this is why we are calling for a joint effort to address underlying problems as the real solution.”

Canada was one of 41 nations who abstained from the vote on this resolution. The Assembly of First Nations calls on Canada, as a member of the United Nations, to respect the resolution and engage in real action with First Nations to make sure efforts and resources are in place to honour the right to safe drinking water and sanitation. A resolution passed at the AFN’s recent Annual General Assembly in Winnipeg, Manitoba called for advocacy and action to affirm First Nations rights and interests with respect to First Nations water.

AFN Regional Chief for Nova Scotia-Newfoundland Rick Simon stated: “Canada has committed to endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the UN resolution passed yesterday is consistent with principles in the Declaration that states Indigenous peoples have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The AFN has put forward many plans and initiatives on this issue and we look forward to working with Canada to honour and implement this resolution.”

The United Nations resolution calls on “States and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to developing countries, in scaling up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.”

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

#1 – Obama for President! Being part of this historical moment was overwhelming enough to make us forget that the road ahead was not going to be as smooth as this charismatic and brilliant elocutionist made us dream. After 8 years of Bush’s era characterized by ignoring the threats caused by the warming of our planet, the over-exploitation of our natural resources, the toxic nature of many industries and the blatantly disregard for human health and the environment Obama’s arrival to the White House was lived like deliverance for most of green and climate activists and professionals. Although energy was at the center of its platform, we knew, based on conversation with its transition team that the environment will also be addressed. Continue Reading »

Updated 4/29:

April, 26th 2010, San Francisco, CA. American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) hosted a premier event featuring Jeffery Hollender. Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Seventh Generation. Jeffrey discussed the role of ASBC in shaping a new just, vibrant and sustainable economy and his new book “The Responsibility Revolution”. He addressed the crossroad facing the Corporate Social Responsibility current model, pointing out that business’s marginal, compartmentalized initiatives are too often nothing more than a PR stunt and lack any meaningful change. Jeffrey Hollender advocates for a more holistic and systemic approach to our current environmental, social and economic challenges, and believes businesses adhering to these principles should support the role ASBC is playing to promote them.

————————— April 27 version below —————-

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Testifying before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Finance, which is currently considering legislation to control toxic substances, John R. Quarles, EPA Deputy Administrator said: “Existing Federal laws fail to deal evenly and comprehensively with toxic substances problems. While some authority exists to control the production of certain categories of toxic substances, such as pesticides, drugs, and food additives, most existing Federal authorities are designed to prevent harmful exposure only after the substances have been introduced into production.” Continue Reading »

Can businesses focusing on the triple bottom line lead the way in addressing matters as diverse as climate change, social justice, environmental health and financial responsibility? Can they drive much needed policy reform such as climate change, toxic chemicals and consumer financial protection?

As surprising it might sound to some, the answer is yes. Continue Reading »

NEW GLOBAL WATER PRIZE ANNOUNCES WINNERS

Winning Innovations Show Promise for Vastly Reducing Water Consumption

SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2010 – A web application that alerts wine grape farmers when their vines are thirsty. Rainwater storage that’s easy to install and fits in tight spaces. Technology that tells water utility customers their usage rate and rewards them for cutting back. These are the winning business ideas for the inaugural Imagine H2O Prize and they’re ready to save the world hundreds of billions of gallons of water. Continue Reading »

No, it’s not the new black, or the new green or even the blue gold. Water should, if it is not already, be your new project. The hot days will be coming before we realize it and many states will be – once again – asking their constituents to reduce their water consumption. Well, can you think of 5 critical issues the world is facing because of our lack of access to drinkable water? Here are mine: Continue Reading »

A November 2009 report by international researchers who are also part of “Global Carbon Project” and published by Nature Geoscience shows an increase in CO2 emissions of 2.0% from 2007, 29% from 2000 and 41% above emissions in 1990. Another report by the International Energy Agency confirmed that China is by far the world largest CO2 emitter ahead of the USA. However, the USA still leads the CO2 emissions per capita ahead of Australia and Canada. These reports have highlighted several frightening trends: Continue Reading »

One of my favorite journalists, Johann Hari, takes mainstream environmental groups to task for selling out their principles, often in exchange for money from the worst polluters.

Read it online at TheNation.com

COP15 (MOP5 – AWG KP10) / AWG LCA8 = <+2 degrees

or

AWG LCA8 + AWG KP10 – (COP15 x MOP5) = 350 ppm CO2

???

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Greening our lifestyle and activities can be a daunting enterprise, especially when we start with a strong will to go green, little time and a vague idea about what is the problem, what’s causing it and how to fix it. So the idea of providing consumers and businesses some indicators in the form of third-party ratings, labels and certifications about one product and/or organization environmental performance seemed at first a good one. That was until the stakes became to high. Continue Reading »

# Jeffrey Hollender announced Seventh Generation new growth plans: become a $1 Billion dollars corporation in the next 5 years. The Vermont based company hired Chuck Maniscalco, former Pepsi-Co champion and entered into a partnership with CleanWell Company to market (natural) disinfectant-cleaners.

Why does it matter? Continue Reading »

The case for reforming TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act) has become stronger and stronger year after year. It has never been so evident than in the last three months. The Environmental Working Group’s scientific studies showed we “host” a synthetic chemical cocktail – many of them known to lead to acute and chronic illnesses – a situation that poses a health and safety risk to pregnant women, the development of fetus and children, proving that TSCA does not adequately protect us from toxic chemicals. The Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition  – gathering health care professionals, professional organizations, businesses, environmentalists and local officials – in a new report has put an estimate to the cost associated to caring for people affected by illnesses linked to chemical exposure. Continue Reading »

“Climate Colonialism”: a new term that is here to stay. During the climate negotiations in Copenhagen last December, some developing nations claim that the draft agreement would allow people in developed countries to emit twice as much carbon per head than those in poorer countries, who have not caused the rise in emissions. Angelika Navarro, Bolivian Ambassador to the UN “  “We think that 20 per cent of the population have created a crisis for humanity. They have a historic responsibility for more than two thirds of emissions and more than 90 per cent of the increase in temperature. We think there is a climate debt they owe to all humanity and to Mother Earth.”

Is the term here to stay? Most certainly, at least in history.

Have developing nations any chance of succeeding in their demands? No one is stopping them as long as they self-finance their development, which for the poorest nations is almost impossible as they depend too much on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund which channel funds for investments.

The Clean Development Mechanism fails short of offering a country like Bolivia who emits 1.2 tons of CO2 per capita (compared to US’ 19.1) and has seen its glaciers receding dramatically, a source of investment for developing clean infrastructure (to our knowledge, only 2 projects have been funded through CDM: hydropower and reforestation projects).

Finally, if a country like Bolivia can eventually survive and even adapt to global temperature rising by 2 degrees, it is not the case of many African nations that will face rising temperature of 3.5 degrees causing droughts, famines, flash floods and millions of climate refugees. Island nations will simply disappear, and coral reefs will become extinct by 2025 causing a cataclysm in the food chain.

Sustainability Business Services are booming re: the very lucrative services designed to support – adding some value along the way – our entering into a sustainable society. Is it good or is it bad? Continue Reading »