I never guessed from the title what this video was about. It's a compelling logical argument for action, whether you believe climate change is a man-made catastrophe waiting to happen, or whether you're among those who thinks that hasn't been proved. Watch the video. Think about it. If you think there's a flaw in his reasoning, let me know. If not, spread the word!
Click here to watch the video:
The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Campaign Brochure
Here's my campaign brochure, finally! This is the official Green Party Sask brochure, with my pictures & bio inserted. I'll be picking up 500 printed copies from FuturePrint on Monday afternoon. I'm also hoping to distribute the brochure electronically, to reach more people and save costs ($ and trees). Send a link to this post to any friends who might be interested! Click on the images to see larger, readable versions.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Support My Campaign!
If you're wondering WHAT campaign, I'm running as a Green Party candidate in the Nov 7 Saskatchewan elections. See my reasons for running in the Oct 17 posting: Saskatchewan Election, or go to my profile on the Green Party Sask site.
If you're wondering WHETHER to support my campaign, see the links mentioned above, as well as the other postings on this blog. You're also welcome to contact me using the contact information posted on my profile page.
If you're wondering HOW to support my campaign, read on!
JOIN US
If you'd like to be on my supporters list, please email me, or join the Facebook group Vote Robert Cosbey! Supporters may receive news updates and occasional calls for help.
If you'd like to join the Green Party of Saskatchewan, please go to our web site. Or, if you don't want to join, but want to be on the Party supporters list, email me.
DONATE
Help me print brochures, buy ads, put up signs, and other stuff that takes money!
Tax breaks: If you're a resident of Saskatchewan, you'll get substantial tax credits: 75% of donations from $25 to $400, somewhat less on larger donations, as described on the Elections Saskatchewan site (scroll down to "Tax Receipts"). If you're out of province, unfortunately, you probably won't get any tax break for donating to a Sask political party.
How to donate: Cheques are good. Make payable to "Regina Lakeview Campaign - Green Party Sask", or "Regina Lakeview Campaign - GPS". Send or deliver to me at 290 Angus Crescent, Regina, SK S4T 6N4, or to my business manager, Donna Nelson, 1114 Courtney St, Regina, SK S4T 7R8. Cash works too, in person. Or, you can email funds to me using PayPal ("send money" to rcosbey@gmail.com) or HyperWallet ("beam cash" to rcosbey@gmail.com).
Receipts: If all your donations to the Green Party of Saskatchewan, including donations to my campaign, total $25 this year, you will receive an official tax receipt after year-end. If you pay by cheque, your cancelled cheque will serve as a temporary receipt. If you give a cash donation of $25 or more, Donna will issue you a temporary receipt. For PayPal or HyperWallet donations, online transaction records will serve as a temporary receipt, or you can request a temporary receipt.
Any questions? Please contact me.
VOLUNTEER
Please email me or phone me at (306) 533-1901 if you can help out with any of the following:
Distributing Signs to people who request them.
Distributing Brochures door-to-door throughout the Constituency.
Knocking on Doors - if you're familiar with Green Party policy and have aptitude or experience in canvassing.
Contacting Known Supporters about helping us through donations of time or money, or displaying our signs.
Finding More Supporters among your friends and internet contacts.
Maintaining Lists of supporters, signs placed, donations received, etc. using shared electronic documents.
Promoting Media Coverage in any way.
Enhancing Internet Presence by improving search engine visibility and creating postings and links, e.g. on facebook, wikipedia, bulletin boards, etc.
Providing General Office Help such as folding brochures, stuffing envelopes, etc.
Lining Up Speaking Opportunities
Assisting with Campaign Management by helping to suggest directions and priorities, and helping to coordinate all of the above.
Let's work together to build a greener tomorrow!
If you're wondering WHETHER to support my campaign, see the links mentioned above, as well as the other postings on this blog. You're also welcome to contact me using the contact information posted on my profile page.
If you're wondering HOW to support my campaign, read on!
JOIN US
If you'd like to be on my supporters list, please email me, or join the Facebook group Vote Robert Cosbey! Supporters may receive news updates and occasional calls for help.
If you'd like to join the Green Party of Saskatchewan, please go to our web site. Or, if you don't want to join, but want to be on the Party supporters list, email me.
DONATE
Help me print brochures, buy ads, put up signs, and other stuff that takes money!
Tax breaks: If you're a resident of Saskatchewan, you'll get substantial tax credits: 75% of donations from $25 to $400, somewhat less on larger donations, as described on the Elections Saskatchewan site (scroll down to "Tax Receipts"). If you're out of province, unfortunately, you probably won't get any tax break for donating to a Sask political party.
How to donate: Cheques are good. Make payable to "Regina Lakeview Campaign - Green Party Sask", or "Regina Lakeview Campaign - GPS". Send or deliver to me at 290 Angus Crescent, Regina, SK S4T 6N4, or to my business manager, Donna Nelson, 1114 Courtney St, Regina, SK S4T 7R8. Cash works too, in person. Or, you can email funds to me using PayPal ("send money" to rcosbey@gmail.com) or HyperWallet ("beam cash" to rcosbey@gmail.com).
Receipts: If all your donations to the Green Party of Saskatchewan, including donations to my campaign, total $25 this year, you will receive an official tax receipt after year-end. If you pay by cheque, your cancelled cheque will serve as a temporary receipt. If you give a cash donation of $25 or more, Donna will issue you a temporary receipt. For PayPal or HyperWallet donations, online transaction records will serve as a temporary receipt, or you can request a temporary receipt.
Any questions? Please contact me.
VOLUNTEER
Please email me or phone me at (306) 533-1901 if you can help out with any of the following:
Distributing Signs to people who request them.
Distributing Brochures door-to-door throughout the Constituency.
Knocking on Doors - if you're familiar with Green Party policy and have aptitude or experience in canvassing.
Contacting Known Supporters about helping us through donations of time or money, or displaying our signs.
Finding More Supporters among your friends and internet contacts.
Maintaining Lists of supporters, signs placed, donations received, etc. using shared electronic documents.
Promoting Media Coverage in any way.
Enhancing Internet Presence by improving search engine visibility and creating postings and links, e.g. on facebook, wikipedia, bulletin boards, etc.
Providing General Office Help such as folding brochures, stuffing envelopes, etc.
Lining Up Speaking Opportunities
Assisting with Campaign Management by helping to suggest directions and priorities, and helping to coordinate all of the above.
Let's work together to build a greener tomorrow!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Press Conference
Regina and area Green Party candidates held a press conference at the city Floral Conservatory yesterday. You can see some of the Regina Leader-Post coverage online, including an article by Karen Brownlee, and a video posted on the 2007 Election Saskatchewan page. For the video, look for "Green Party in election", under "Multimedia", at the lower left corner of the page.
A Google search also found a very telgraphic report from News Talk 980.
A Google search also found a very telgraphic report from News Talk 980.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Saskatchewan Election
Wow! It's been over a week since I found time to post to this blog. What happened is I agreed to run for the Green Pary of Saskatchewan (GPS), and just a couple of days later, the writ was dropped for an election on 07 Nov. Instant innundation!
I had been approached about being a GPS candidate some time earlier. (An activist friend had given my name to the party leader.) I had to think about a few things before I said yes. One was, whether participation in the political process was as effective as putting my energies into an advocacy group. Another was whether I thought there was any chance that nuclear power was actually an effective way to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), despite their obvious environmental, economical, and security problems. (Answer: NO.) The third was, could I justify taking votes away from the NDP and helping the Saskatchewan Party to form the government? That's a tough call, but in the end, I have to stop choosing among the various people I'm opposed to, and start voting for what I believe in. It's our undemocratic, first-past-the-post voting system that keeps people from voting for what they believe in, and GPS has electoral reform as a strong plank in their platform.
More writings about my position are posted on my candidate profile and (soon) at GoGreenRegina. More about the GPS can be found at the GPS web site. And, look for future entries in this blog - when time permits. Elections are busy times!
I had been approached about being a GPS candidate some time earlier. (An activist friend had given my name to the party leader.) I had to think about a few things before I said yes. One was, whether participation in the political process was as effective as putting my energies into an advocacy group. Another was whether I thought there was any chance that nuclear power was actually an effective way to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), despite their obvious environmental, economical, and security problems. (Answer: NO.) The third was, could I justify taking votes away from the NDP and helping the Saskatchewan Party to form the government? That's a tough call, but in the end, I have to stop choosing among the various people I'm opposed to, and start voting for what I believe in. It's our undemocratic, first-past-the-post voting system that keeps people from voting for what they believe in, and GPS has electoral reform as a strong plank in their platform.
More writings about my position are posted on my candidate profile and (soon) at GoGreenRegina. More about the GPS can be found at the GPS web site. And, look for future entries in this blog - when time permits. Elections are busy times!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The Global Warming Crisis
Surely everyone is now aware that there is a great deal of concern and discussion about global warming.
Is anyone still seriously questioning that global warming is happening, or that it is largely caused by human activity? UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon thinks not. In his summary of the Sep 2007 UN high-level event on climate change, attended by “heads of state and other top officials from more than 150 countries” (including Stephen Harper), he said “I heard the world's leaders confirm that climate change is indeed happening, and is largely caused by human activity.”
References:
United Nations High-Level Event Webcast. "The Future in Our Hands."
United Nations Environment Program Press Release. "High-Level Event on Climate Change."
Is it really a major problem? So what if it gets a few degrees warmer? So what if species extinction rates rise to 10,000 times the natural rate? In other words, what is the probable consequence of inaction, or too little action too late? Might it lead to an out-and-out collapse of civilization, or extinction of the human species? There isn't the same consensus on this question. Many might shy away from such a question, claiming there isn't a solid scientific basis for an answer. At the same time, there sure doesn't seem to be a science-based consensus that such catastrophic outcomes are implausible. So, if we fail to act decisively now, I guess we'll find out in a few years – but personally, I don't think it's worth the risk. Some of the sources I consider credible, informative, and downright scary include Al Gore's book and movie “An Inconvenient Truth”, the BBC documentary Global Dimming, and the UN Webcast “A Way Forward: Confronting Climate Change”.
References:
Klaus Toepfer, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UNEP. "Editorial."
Climatecrisis.net. An Inconvenient Truth (website)
BBC. "Horizon: Global Dimming."
United Nations High-Level Event Webcast. "The Future in Our Hands."
To get a feeling for how widespread the concern is, search for “global warming” on Google. I get 11.9 million hits! The level of concern varies, of course, from site to site. For instance, globalwarming.org seems to be promoting the message that global warming isn't really that bad or isn't solidly established scientifically, and that if we all ignore the problem it will get better faster. This one doesn't seem to pass the sanity test. I am reminded of Naomi Klein's comments to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Feb 2007) about why the CCPA should be able to succeed with lower funding than right-wing think tanks: “It is much cheaper to convince people that to do good is good, bad – bad; because we know this!”
Reference:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Naomi Klein videos.
It's not just “alternative” or “left-wing” thinkers that think we've got a big problem, though. In addition to the concern expressed by heads of states at the recent UN high-level event, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives has gone on record as considering climate change to be "the most pressing and daunting issue", and have called for aggressive action including "absolute" emissions cuts.
Reference:
Elizabeth May website. "Green Party welcomes CEOs' call for tough action on climate change"
There's no end of information out there to help you make your decision. As for me, I think the crisis is as serious a threat as we've ever faced, and should be our number one priority. I think it's entirely appropriate to adopt a war-time mentality about this: recognize the threat, mobilize all available resources to combat it, and get everyone working towards the same goal. There are key differences between this situation and war-time, of course. In wartime we often see an abrogation of democratic process, whereas I believe our main hope of winning this "war" lies in making sure the people have an effective voice. In war-time we have human enemies, but to win this “war” we all need to become allies. But the sense of urgency and willingness to sacrifice should be there. The good news is, we may not have to sacrifice much! Mostly, we have to redirect. In the long run, and maybe even in the short, the move to sustainable energy will generate considerable efficiencies and economic activity.
Is anyone still seriously questioning that global warming is happening, or that it is largely caused by human activity? UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon thinks not. In his summary of the Sep 2007 UN high-level event on climate change, attended by “heads of state and other top officials from more than 150 countries” (including Stephen Harper), he said “I heard the world's leaders confirm that climate change is indeed happening, and is largely caused by human activity.”
References:
United Nations High-Level Event Webcast. "The Future in Our Hands."
United Nations Environment Program Press Release. "High-Level Event on Climate Change."
Is it really a major problem? So what if it gets a few degrees warmer? So what if species extinction rates rise to 10,000 times the natural rate? In other words, what is the probable consequence of inaction, or too little action too late? Might it lead to an out-and-out collapse of civilization, or extinction of the human species? There isn't the same consensus on this question. Many might shy away from such a question, claiming there isn't a solid scientific basis for an answer. At the same time, there sure doesn't seem to be a science-based consensus that such catastrophic outcomes are implausible. So, if we fail to act decisively now, I guess we'll find out in a few years – but personally, I don't think it's worth the risk. Some of the sources I consider credible, informative, and downright scary include Al Gore's book and movie “An Inconvenient Truth”, the BBC documentary Global Dimming, and the UN Webcast “A Way Forward: Confronting Climate Change”.
References:
Klaus Toepfer, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UNEP. "Editorial."
Climatecrisis.net. An Inconvenient Truth (website)
BBC. "Horizon: Global Dimming."
United Nations High-Level Event Webcast. "The Future in Our Hands."
To get a feeling for how widespread the concern is, search for “global warming” on Google. I get 11.9 million hits! The level of concern varies, of course, from site to site. For instance, globalwarming.org seems to be promoting the message that global warming isn't really that bad or isn't solidly established scientifically, and that if we all ignore the problem it will get better faster. This one doesn't seem to pass the sanity test. I am reminded of Naomi Klein's comments to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Feb 2007) about why the CCPA should be able to succeed with lower funding than right-wing think tanks: “It is much cheaper to convince people that to do good is good, bad – bad; because we know this!”
Reference:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Naomi Klein videos.
It's not just “alternative” or “left-wing” thinkers that think we've got a big problem, though. In addition to the concern expressed by heads of states at the recent UN high-level event, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives has gone on record as considering climate change to be "the most pressing and daunting issue", and have called for aggressive action including "absolute" emissions cuts.
Reference:
Elizabeth May website. "Green Party welcomes CEOs' call for tough action on climate change"
There's no end of information out there to help you make your decision. As for me, I think the crisis is as serious a threat as we've ever faced, and should be our number one priority. I think it's entirely appropriate to adopt a war-time mentality about this: recognize the threat, mobilize all available resources to combat it, and get everyone working towards the same goal. There are key differences between this situation and war-time, of course. In wartime we often see an abrogation of democratic process, whereas I believe our main hope of winning this "war" lies in making sure the people have an effective voice. In war-time we have human enemies, but to win this “war” we all need to become allies. But the sense of urgency and willingness to sacrifice should be there. The good news is, we may not have to sacrifice much! Mostly, we have to redirect. In the long run, and maybe even in the short, the move to sustainable energy will generate considerable efficiencies and economic activity.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Blog Created
Hi. I'm Robert Cosbey. I live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. I haven't done much to save the world in the last ten years, aside from composting, recycling, etc., but a combination of factors has pushed me into action again. I'm now retired, so theoretically I have more time. (Ha!) I have three kids - now young adults, and I would really like there to be a world for them and possibly their children to live in fifty years from now. Al Gore's excellent movie "An Inconvenient Truth" didn't quite get me moving, but the BBC's "Global Dimming" did. And an old friend had been prodding me to run for the Green Party of Saskatchewan (GPS) for some time. So last week I let my name stand as GPS candidate for my constituency.
I believe global warming is a huge crisis; that massive and immediate action is required to forestall irreversible cataclysmic environmental changes (such as the melting of the Greenland ice cap); and that environmental catastrophe is already upon us, and has already caused many deaths, including death from drought in the Sahel region of Africa and heat-wave deaths in Europe. Australia's drought is reaching catastrophic proportions as well.
Now it looks as if a Saskatchewan provincial election will be called this Wednesday, and I need a site to let voters know who I am, what I believe, and what I stand for. At the same time, I want a site that is informative and useful to those concerned about climate change and other "green" issues, regardless of political context and to some extent regardless of geographical location. Because of the urgency to get something up, I chose to use what I was already familiar with: using www.blogger.com to set up blog hosted at blogspot.com. It lacks some features I would like, but it will have to do for now.
I believe global warming is a huge crisis; that massive and immediate action is required to forestall irreversible cataclysmic environmental changes (such as the melting of the Greenland ice cap); and that environmental catastrophe is already upon us, and has already caused many deaths, including death from drought in the Sahel region of Africa and heat-wave deaths in Europe. Australia's drought is reaching catastrophic proportions as well.
Now it looks as if a Saskatchewan provincial election will be called this Wednesday, and I need a site to let voters know who I am, what I believe, and what I stand for. At the same time, I want a site that is informative and useful to those concerned about climate change and other "green" issues, regardless of political context and to some extent regardless of geographical location. Because of the urgency to get something up, I chose to use what I was already familiar with: using www.blogger.com to set up blog hosted at blogspot.com. It lacks some features I would like, but it will have to do for now.
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