Welcome to CACOR

Les gestes et activites accomplis par CACOR au Canada et au-delà contribueront a limiter, stabiliser et renverser la demande et les pratiques de la population humaine qui mettent en peril les systemes naturels de la biosphere.

The next CACOR meeting will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on the 24th of May 2012 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club. Further information will be found below. Visitors are welcome.

Here is Fred Boyd’s report on Murray Brewster’s 18 April 2012 presentation on his Afghanistan experiences. Brewster has written a book about his experiences titled: The Savage War: the Untold Battles of Afghanistan, published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons. You can view this book at http://www.amazon.ca/The-Savage-War-Battles-Afghanistan/dp/1118115937.

CACOR member Andrew Wilson, as a possible publication for the 125th anniversary of the Engineering Institute of Canada, produced a paper titled The Importance of Engineering – An Update

The County Sustainability Group is holding an important event in Picton Ontario on 12 May 2012. A 90 minute film titled GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth will be shown followed by discussion led by Dave Gardner.

The Club of Rome together with the Smithsonian Institution’s Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet hosted a one-day symposium on 1 March 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launching of Limits to Growth published in 1972. The symposium, with the theme Perspectives on Limits to Growth: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Planet, was held in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. A full house attended including eleven members of CACOR. A live web cast was conducted of the event; and is now available at this link

John Maudlin, a renowned financial expert, New York Times best selling author and pioneering online commentator, highly recommends the book Civilization THE WEST and the REST by Niall Ferguson. Maudlin asked Ferguson for a short piece on the thinking behind the book which is about Ferguson’s concern about our civilization’s prospects. This addition to the web site was provided by Rob Hoffman.

This 15 minute video is a must view if you are at all concerned about climate change. It is a video of a speech given by James Hansen, a widely and highly respected climate change scietist, entitled “Why I must speak out about climate change”. This addition to the web site was provided by Ted Manning.

The Asahi Glass Foundation has for 20 years awarded The Blue Planet Prize to a leading environmental scientist. As a celebration for the 20th anniverseray of this award Asahi requested that the first 20 laureates develop a consensus study entiled Environment and Developmemt Challenges: The Imperative to Act. This paper developed by the group “discusses the current and projected state of the global and regional environment, and the implications for environmental, social and economic sustainability”. This addition to the web site was provided by Ted Manning.

The U.S. Department of State requested that the U.S. Intelligence Community co-ordinate the development of an assessment of Global Water Security. The resulting paper together with an associated graphic are herewith provided. This addition to the web site was provided by Rick Findlay

Wiley-Blackwell, a division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., publishes a regular Earth & Environmental Sciences eNewsletter. The most recent edition of this newsletter has a quite comprehensive list of recent climate change books, along with other pertinent (to CACOR) reference books. This addition to the web site was provided by Ted Manning.

J. Matthew Roney, a research associate of the Earth Policy Institute founded by Lester P. Brown, developed a
paper entitled World Wind Power Clinbs to New Record in 2001 that should be of interest.

Édition française et/and English Edition

Visit CACOR’s Blogging Facility by clicking on the Issues Forum tab above

The next event will be held on 24 May 2012 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club located at 1405 Chemin Aylmer Road in Gatineau.

Luncheon Speaker – Christopher Henderson – Founder of the Delphi Group and President of Lumos Energy.

Topic – Eco-Entrepreneurship in the Environment & Clean Energy Fields – Key Success Factors

Description – Business as a solution for the world’s pressing environmental challenges is a radical, and some might say, counter-intuitive, notion. Yet targeted eco-entrepreneurship involving: a) the production of green products; b) through corporate sustainability which reduce environmental footprints, and; c) clean energy are vital means of coping with the ecological and resource limits of the planet. Based on substantive and tangible business experience, and with references to specific examples, Chris Henderson will describe how it is possible to “do the right thing” for the Earth through commercial endeavours, and be true to personal and ethical values.

Registration and refreshments – 9:00 am to 10:00 am.

CACOR AGM – 10:00 am to noon.

Reception – Noon to 12:40 pm.

Lunch – 12:45 pm to 2:15 noon pm.

Cost – The cost for the luncheon including taxes will be $50 per person for members; and $55 for general admissions.

Reservations – Individuals intending to participate in this luncheon are requested to inform the Membership Secretary at madarte@sympatico.ca by Monday 21 May 2012 at the latest.

Yves Bajard, CACOR member from Victoria who has been working to create effective networks which can address the global issues we face has sent us a challenging discussion paper which looks at some of the root causes of the Problematique and suggests solutions. He raises questions about the main barriers and opportunities which must be addressed if we are to reach an acceptable future. Yves raises some key questions which in effect ask “can we change man?” In his paper he has put forward a very large challenge and one which is essential. Optimists believe that humans have the resilience to adapt – and history shows remarkable ability in the face of past crises. But how bad does it have to get for this reaction to take place? Do our systems now buffer us from the reality? Who will we let lead… if they in fact do have a plausible solution? The paper raises real questions CACOR, COR and other concerned citizens might want to talk about and act together to address in a systematic manner.