Steam Locomotive Industry Cheers Paris Accord Withdrawal

Sodor, Illinois

An industry group representing manufacturers of steam locomotives today cheered President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate change accord.

"This represents an important step forward for manufacturing, and for America in general," said Thomas Edward, spokesperson for the Locomotive Manufacturers Association and Organization.

"The Obama administration made it very difficult for us to find a long-term supply of coal but it's clear that President Trump is looking out for everyday Americans."

"This country was built with the help of trains and with this decision we can keep on building."

The White House issued a statement saying, "President Trump is has always been a fan of trains, and is thrilled to be  supporting an industry that has been so central to American development."

Liberals are on board!

Thanks to the thousands of like-minded people who took the time to jet a note off to the Liberal Party over the last few days, they have officially announced that they're against usage-based billing! Their home page says the following:

It’s official. The Liberal Party of Canada today committed to oppose the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision on usage-based billing (UBB).

You did this. By raising your voices in unprecedented numbers on Twitter, Facebook, and by signing petitions through groups like openmedia.ca, we heard you.

I'm encouraged.

Analog all the way, baby!

From http://i.imgur.com/M3G7f.png

The sweet smell of Karma

The online agitation seems to have worked: Industry Minister Tony Clement has promised to review the CRTC's decision. It's not over yet, but given Crayon Wars's past record with taking sides, this looks good.

Informal survey time.
Am I the only one who thinks that there's so much opposition to usage-based billing largely because Bell, Shaw, Rogers and company are a bunch of assholes? Maybe if they hadn't taken their customers for granted for so long, we docile Canadians wouldn't get so excited about this. Payback's an unlimited bitch.

For background on the story, check out my previous posting here.

Join the fight against usage-based internet billing in Canada

The CRTC recently decided that Canadians don't need unlimited internet bandwidth. It now forces smaller ISPs to lower their limits to levels set by Bell, Rogers, etc. If they exceed those limits they must buy bandwidth at 85% of retail (again... prices are set by the big carriers).  

If you're not interested in seeing Bell, Rogers, Telus, Videotron, etc. controlling your flow of information and billing you for the privilege, here's what you can do:

1. Educate yourself on why this matters

2. Sign the openmedia.ca petition and click whatever social media links are relevant

3. Write directly to the Liberal Party (the NDP is already on board) urging them to help overrule the CRTC's decision. 

Feel free to use my text:

Dear Mr. Ignatieff,

I am very concerned about usage-based (metered) internet billing in Canada. While the CRTC's recent decision to discount wholesale rates to 85% of retail is a step in the right direction, it still places far too much control of the internet market (and therefore the flow of information) in the hands of a few very large companies. Usage-based billing serves to undermine smaller beloved ISPs and strengthen and enrich carriers who have proven time and again that the customer is their last priority. It hobbles Canadian business owners who rely on bandwidth as a means of collaboration, creation and distribution. It short-circuits efforts to move from a clunky paper-and-oil based economy to a streamlined, fluid and responsive one. We have some of the best communications infrastructure in the world: let's use it!  

The CRTC decision has been appealed, and it is expected that the government will need to respond. I urge you to support diversity and competition in Canada's technology and communications sectors. Please help eliminate usage-based billing.

Free Coffee at Starbucks if you BYOM

Today, Starbucks is giving out free brewed coffee to anyone who brings in their own travel mug. It's the launch to their "Big Picture" campaign, which urges all Starbucks customers around the world to BYOM. If you go to their site and make a pledge to stop using throwaway cups they'll tell you how many trees you saved. After today, they'll also give you ten cents off every time you BYOM. It's a simple but classy move that does well for the environment and builds a worldwide awareness about how dumb using something only once is. Are you listening Tim Horton's?

The devoted reader of this blog (there must be one!) will note that McDonald's is slowly beginning to see how it fits into the big picture.

A letter to my MP about a proposed Climate Change Bill

Tomorrow, the bill to pass the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) goes to the House of Commons. I'm urging everyone I know to write to their MP and ask them to support the bill. Here's a copy of the letter I sent to my MP Irwin Cotler, and copied to the heads of the four sitting parties as well as the Minister of the Environment. Feel free to copy, cut, paste, dissect, disagree and do whatever you like with the text you see below.


Dear Mr. Cotler,

It is time to change the unfortunate direction that Canada has moved in when it comes to both climate change policy and international leadership on issues of global concern. Bill C-311 presents a made-in-Canada mechanism to hold the government responsible for failures to meet the international climate change obligations it agrees to. This will end the current practice of saying one thing around the negotiating table and then taking no meaningful steps to back up those words with action. Our credibility and, more importantly, our way of life (admittedly beyond the next election cycle or two) are at stake. I wish this was hyperbole, but it is not.

I have next to no knowledge of Parliamentary procedure, so this may or may not be of immediate concern: I see one item that should be amended for clarity in the proposed bill. The "Minister" is defined as the Minister of the Environment. From what I understand, cabinet posts exist at the leisure of the Prime Minister. Abolishing the Environment Ministry and folding its operations into a different portfolio would leave this Act toothless, at least in terms of cabinet-level responsibility. Better that the definition be expanded to include any single minister who, now or in the future, is responsible for monitoring emissions.

I urge you to support passage of this bill.

Kindest Regards,

Name and Address here

cc Michael Ignatieff, Stephen Harper, Scott Prentice, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe