Halifax Media Co-op
News from Nova Scotia's Grassroots
Can you support independent journalists with $5? donate today!
Halifax
Living Theory #3
Understanding the Ecological Crisis
2:00pm
Saturday January 29 2011
Venue: Bloomfield Centre
Address: 2786 Agricola St
Cost: Free!
Presentation by Antoni Wysocki, followed by a lively discussion!
The world is currently experiencing environmental catastrophe on a massive scale, with outright cataclysm in the offing. The overwhelming majority of scientists as well as most laypeople now agree that Earth's climate is changing rapidly due to human activity. Experts such as James Hansen and James Lovelock warn that the planet could be on the verge of a runaway greenhouse effect that would create conditions similar to those observed on Venus, leading to the extinction of all life on Earth.
The Kyoto process has come to be recognized as a sham. Governments have demonstrated little commitment to it and in any case it is now widely understood that the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that it calls for are far too small to have any appreciable effect. This has led to loud demands for "market solutions" such as "cap and trade" carbon reduction schemes.
Marxist analysis indicates that this is a false dichotomy. The real issue is not whether the state or commercial interests constitute the more effective instrument but that the capital system of its very nature precludes the possibility of solving the climate crisis and the host of other ecological problems that confront us.
About Living Theory:
The purpose of Living Theory is to create a sustained conversation on how our current capitalist political and economic organization shapes our understanding of the world and our lived experience. We aim to advance and foster an understanding of the exploitative and alienating social relations of capitalism and how these relations they might be transformed. The series is grounded in an appreciation of the ways Marxist, anti-capitalist, anti-colonial and anarchist theory can spark further investigation, critique and resistance to our unjust world.
Organizer:livingtheory@h-a-z.org
290 words
The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.