Using communicative and creative technologies to weave social justice and change theory into the tapestry of nursing curriculum
Paper presented at: Ethel Johns Research Day, Xi Eta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau Intl, Vancouver, BC on February 2, 2008.
PURPOSE and BACKGROUND
This paper will present an analysis of the application of communicative and creative technologies in planning and teaching social justice and activist initiatives in nursing curriculum. The Canadian Nurses Association identified social justice as a priority for nursing practice and education, with a focus on the foundational values of cultural respect, collaboration, equity and capacity building at jurisdictional, national, and international levels (Canadian Nurses Association, 2003). As well, the Code of Ethics that informs nursing in Canada includes a provision related to social justice. “Nurses uphold principles of equity and fairness to assist persons in receiving a share of health services and resources proportionate to their needs and in promoting social justice.” (CNA, 2002, p. 8). Furthermore, Canadian nurses are expected to “be aware of broader health concerns such as environmental pollution, violation of human rights, world hunger, homelessness, violence, etc. and are encouraged to the extent possible in their personal circumstances to work individually as citizens or collectively for policies and procedures to bring about social change, keeping in mind the needs of future generations” (p.15).
Dynamics of Distribution
The inclusion of social justice has become a priority for a variety of disciplines, such as education, counseling psychology, social work, and others. Since the early 1990's, the social determinants of health have been promoted as a framework to assess levels of health and well-being on a global scale. These determinants identify income inequality, social inclusion and exclusion, employment and job security, working conditions, contribution of the social economy, early childhood care, education level, food security and housing as key factors that shape health and well-being in individuals, families, and communities (Edwards, 2002). Nursing students learn to view the social determinants of health as foundational to their study of human health and optimal wellness. They are taught to regard these determinants as the root of most health inequalities and that it is their role to work actively to reduce the effects of a lack of social determinant maintenance. Students learn to question how health policy and practice is initiated and to brainstorm ways to influence health reform. As the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) asked, “What narrative will capture the imaginations, feelings, intellect and will of political decision-makers and the broader public and inspire them to action?” (2005, p. 44).
This question is an important one for nursing educators to ask as well, but in the context of their teaching. Mere regurgitation of social justice and health reform theory is not enough to spark activism in students: instead it often becomes mere rhetoric. To make a real impression, actual praxis is needed. Praxis refers to reflection applied to action, meaningful and intentional activity grounded in theory and knowledge yet expressed through activity and purpose. In general, common means used by various groups to promote social justice activism includes the use of the media and digital action alerts as well as lobbying and coalition building. Since the advent of the world wide web, many media initiatives include an on-line component, often offering information about selected social justice issues, action kits, and methods for interested individuals to join the initiative and easily send letters to appropriate politicians and decision-makers, as well as share the issue with others. Creative technologies such as Macromedia Flash animations, digital video and audio presentations, and web blogs have been developed by some to provide multi-sensory ways to stimulate interest and support in various social justice campaigns. However, very little of this work has been done to date in nursing.
METHODOLOGY
Since 2005, I have designed and taught a course entitled “Nurses Influencing Change” to fourth year BSN students at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia. The use of information and communication technologies has become a strong thread woven through out this course, with the premise that the “media” is a powerful force in both preventing and initiating social change. Students are exposed to a plethora of web-based initiatives and tools to both examine and learn how to motivate social justice and change initiatives on a grand scale. They are taught how to apply various change theories, and to organize coalitions, to lobby, and initiate online activist campaigns. The students are required to plan a comprehensive social change project; prepare group presentations about influencing social change; and to create web-based digital media projects in which they need to present a selected social issue and apply a known change theory to create a viable action plan to elicit public support (Kaminski, 2005). The question that has continuously guided this work is, “How can communicative and creative technologies be used to stimulate meaningful social justice and change praxis in nursing curriculum?”
RESULTS/OUTCOMES
Information and communication technologies were woven into every aspect of this course. Assigned readings were entirely web-based, capitalizing on the vast array of available materials that address common issues pertinent to nursing and social change/justice. All class activities incorporated the media in some way, to make it crystal clear that the use of technologies is an important foundational tool that nurses can use to support social change and justice. For instance, one classroom activity focused on the following:
GROUP ACTIVITY
Form into small groups and choose one of the mass media mediums addressed in the readings. Write up a one page plan to initiate a media campaign to address one of the following issues:
* aboriginal health issues
* crystal meth usage
* nursing shortage
* nursing image
* homelessness
* female genital mutilation
* sexual assault
* fetal alcohol syndrome
* surgical bed waiting lists
* nurse practitioner or registered midwife roles
* primary health care adoption
* emergency room overloads
This use of information and communication technologies to both teach and assess change leadership skills and capabilities and cultivate social justice skills is a first step, but there is much room for further development and planning to afford a supportive, pedagogically sound atmosphere for activist digital design and media application within nursing education. Further work is planned to involve students in focused social activist work, such as the development of EcoNurse© – a comprehensive web environment intended to help nursing students and practitioners to develop keen meaningful ecological knowledge, skills and voice.
CONCLUSIONS
Societal change and justice are often the result of careful planning and skilled management. Nurses can become visible and efficient agents for planned/managed change, both in healthcare and society at large. The Canadian population are more than mere stakeholders in health care reform, they are slowly becoming active participants in the petitioning and planning of societal changes. Nurses are in a unique position to facilitate this new development both as agents of change themselves, and as guides/advocates for individuals, groups and communities working for change and social justice. Nurses can be key change agents to spearhead new and innovative projects for the provision of advocacy for various health and social issues, and the people affected by these issues.
As well, nursing is now practiced in the context of a bureaucratic milieu filled with critical internal and external change. In order to successfully practice nursing in Canada, it is necessary for nursing students to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to function effectively within an ever - changing environment. It is particularly critical to cultivate change agent and social justice knowledge and skills in BSN students to prepare them to function effectively in the evolving primary health care system in Canada.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As most people are aware, mass media can be used as a vehicle for both social change AND for maintaining the status quo. Mass media is any method of communication that reaches large groups of people quickly and effectively, thus many means of communication can be considered “mass media”. Television, radio, print media (magazines, newspapers, journals, pamphlets, flyers, books, letters, etc.), the world wide web, email, chat rooms, advertising, marketing, publicity, photography, documentaries, video, – even theatre, movies, songs, dance, art, storytelling, and so on can all be categorized as media that can be used as a medium for social change and justice. The central criteria is that any of these mediums can be used to get messages out to thousands, even millions of people.
One of the key distinctions of mass media is that it can affect people's perceptions of social norms. The media play a significant role in forming and influencing people's attitudes and behaviour. Media has a central role in mediating information and forming public opinion. The media casts an eye on events that few people directly experience and renders remote happenings observable and meaningful. It is important that nursing education applies the examination and the creative design of media that can influence the health of Canadians, to prepare nursing students to become active change agents and social justice initiators. The application of information and communication technologies provides a viable and meaningful way to achieve this goal. Further work is needed at a national and provincial level to help educators use technologies to support them to weave social justice and change agent abilities and knowledge into the Canadian nursing curriculum.
REFERENCES
Canadian Nurses Association. (2002). Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. Ottawa: Canadian Nurses Association.
Canadian Nurses Association. (2003). CNA hosts social justice session. Access. August.
Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005). Action on the social determinants of health: Learning from previous experiences. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Kaminski, J. (2005). Nurses Influencing Change. Kwantlen University College. http://www.nursing-informatics.com/N4111/
© June Kaminski Published: 2007.
Paper presented at: Ethel Johns Research Day, Xi Eta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau Intl, Vancouver, BC on February 2, 2008.
PURPOSE and BACKGROUND
This paper will present an analysis of the application of communicative and creative technologies in planning and teaching social justice and activist initiatives in nursing curriculum. The Canadian Nurses Association identified social justice as a priority for nursing practice and education, with a focus on the foundational values of cultural respect, collaboration, equity and capacity building at jurisdictional, national, and international levels (Canadian Nurses Association, 2003). As well, the Code of Ethics that informs nursing in Canada includes a provision related to social justice. “Nurses uphold principles of equity and fairness to assist persons in receiving a share of health services and resources proportionate to their needs and in promoting social justice.” (CNA, 2002, p. 8). Furthermore, Canadian nurses are expected to “be aware of broader health concerns such as environmental pollution, violation of human rights, world hunger, homelessness, violence, etc. and are encouraged to the extent possible in their personal circumstances to work individually as citizens or collectively for policies and procedures to bring about social change, keeping in mind the needs of future generations” (p.15).
Dynamics of Distribution
The inclusion of social justice has become a priority for a variety of disciplines, such as education, counseling psychology, social work, and others. Since the early 1990's, the social determinants of health have been promoted as a framework to assess levels of health and well-being on a global scale. These determinants identify income inequality, social inclusion and exclusion, employment and job security, working conditions, contribution of the social economy, early childhood care, education level, food security and housing as key factors that shape health and well-being in individuals, families, and communities (Edwards, 2002). Nursing students learn to view the social determinants of health as foundational to their study of human health and optimal wellness. They are taught to regard these determinants as the root of most health inequalities and that it is their role to work actively to reduce the effects of a lack of social determinant maintenance. Students learn to question how health policy and practice is initiated and to brainstorm ways to influence health reform. As the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) asked, “What narrative will capture the imaginations, feelings, intellect and will of political decision-makers and the broader public and inspire them to action?” (2005, p. 44).
This question is an important one for nursing educators to ask as well, but in the context of their teaching. Mere regurgitation of social justice and health reform theory is not enough to spark activism in students: instead it often becomes mere rhetoric. To make a real impression, actual praxis is needed. Praxis refers to reflection applied to action, meaningful and intentional activity grounded in theory and knowledge yet expressed through activity and purpose. In general, common means used by various groups to promote social justice activism includes the use of the media and digital action alerts as well as lobbying and coalition building. Since the advent of the world wide web, many media initiatives include an on-line component, often offering information about selected social justice issues, action kits, and methods for interested individuals to join the initiative and easily send letters to appropriate politicians and decision-makers, as well as share the issue with others. Creative technologies such as Macromedia Flash animations, digital video and audio presentations, and web blogs have been developed by some to provide multi-sensory ways to stimulate interest and support in various social justice campaigns. However, very little of this work has been done to date in nursing.
METHODOLOGY
Since 2005, I have designed and taught a course entitled “Nurses Influencing Change” to fourth year BSN students at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia. The use of information and communication technologies has become a strong thread woven through out this course, with the premise that the “media” is a powerful force in both preventing and initiating social change. Students are exposed to a plethora of web-based initiatives and tools to both examine and learn how to motivate social justice and change initiatives on a grand scale. They are taught how to apply various change theories, and to organize coalitions, to lobby, and initiate online activist campaigns. The students are required to plan a comprehensive social change project; prepare group presentations about influencing social change; and to create web-based digital media projects in which they need to present a selected social issue and apply a known change theory to create a viable action plan to elicit public support (Kaminski, 2005). The question that has continuously guided this work is, “How can communicative and creative technologies be used to stimulate meaningful social justice and change praxis in nursing curriculum?”
RESULTS/OUTCOMES
Information and communication technologies were woven into every aspect of this course. Assigned readings were entirely web-based, capitalizing on the vast array of available materials that address common issues pertinent to nursing and social change/justice. All class activities incorporated the media in some way, to make it crystal clear that the use of technologies is an important foundational tool that nurses can use to support social change and justice. For instance, one classroom activity focused on the following:
GROUP ACTIVITY
Form into small groups and choose one of the mass media mediums addressed in the readings. Write up a one page plan to initiate a media campaign to address one of the following issues:
* aboriginal health issues
* crystal meth usage
* nursing shortage
* nursing image
* homelessness
* female genital mutilation
* sexual assault
* fetal alcohol syndrome
* surgical bed waiting lists
* nurse practitioner or registered midwife roles
* primary health care adoption
* emergency room overloads
This use of information and communication technologies to both teach and assess change leadership skills and capabilities and cultivate social justice skills is a first step, but there is much room for further development and planning to afford a supportive, pedagogically sound atmosphere for activist digital design and media application within nursing education. Further work is planned to involve students in focused social activist work, such as the development of EcoNurse© – a comprehensive web environment intended to help nursing students and practitioners to develop keen meaningful ecological knowledge, skills and voice.
CONCLUSIONS
Societal change and justice are often the result of careful planning and skilled management. Nurses can become visible and efficient agents for planned/managed change, both in healthcare and society at large. The Canadian population are more than mere stakeholders in health care reform, they are slowly becoming active participants in the petitioning and planning of societal changes. Nurses are in a unique position to facilitate this new development both as agents of change themselves, and as guides/advocates for individuals, groups and communities working for change and social justice. Nurses can be key change agents to spearhead new and innovative projects for the provision of advocacy for various health and social issues, and the people affected by these issues.
As well, nursing is now practiced in the context of a bureaucratic milieu filled with critical internal and external change. In order to successfully practice nursing in Canada, it is necessary for nursing students to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to function effectively within an ever - changing environment. It is particularly critical to cultivate change agent and social justice knowledge and skills in BSN students to prepare them to function effectively in the evolving primary health care system in Canada.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As most people are aware, mass media can be used as a vehicle for both social change AND for maintaining the status quo. Mass media is any method of communication that reaches large groups of people quickly and effectively, thus many means of communication can be considered “mass media”. Television, radio, print media (magazines, newspapers, journals, pamphlets, flyers, books, letters, etc.), the world wide web, email, chat rooms, advertising, marketing, publicity, photography, documentaries, video, – even theatre, movies, songs, dance, art, storytelling, and so on can all be categorized as media that can be used as a medium for social change and justice. The central criteria is that any of these mediums can be used to get messages out to thousands, even millions of people.
One of the key distinctions of mass media is that it can affect people's perceptions of social norms. The media play a significant role in forming and influencing people's attitudes and behaviour. Media has a central role in mediating information and forming public opinion. The media casts an eye on events that few people directly experience and renders remote happenings observable and meaningful. It is important that nursing education applies the examination and the creative design of media that can influence the health of Canadians, to prepare nursing students to become active change agents and social justice initiators. The application of information and communication technologies provides a viable and meaningful way to achieve this goal. Further work is needed at a national and provincial level to help educators use technologies to support them to weave social justice and change agent abilities and knowledge into the Canadian nursing curriculum.
REFERENCES
Canadian Nurses Association. (2002). Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. Ottawa: Canadian Nurses Association.
Canadian Nurses Association. (2003). CNA hosts social justice session. Access. August.
Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005). Action on the social determinants of health: Learning from previous experiences. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Kaminski, J. (2005). Nurses Influencing Change. Kwantlen University College. http://www.nursing-informatics.com/N4111/
© June Kaminski Published: 2007.
News dated November 29, 2007 - a Great Announcement from Down Under!
My Note: Peter Garrett and his band were one of the first celebrity groups to speak up on behalf of the Maori and other aboriginal groups in Australia and New Zealand, and to help people gain awareness of environmental issues in their country. An example, their hit video and recording, "Beds are Burning", released in 1988. As Songfacts described:
Watch the "Beds are Burning" Video!
SYDNEY, Australia - Peter Garrett - the towering, baldheaded former singer of the disbanded Australian rock group Midnight Oil - continued his long, strange tour from pop star to politician Thursday when he was named Australia's environment minister.
With his wild dancing and strident voice, Garrett was one of Australia's most recognizable singers until his band broke up in 2002, after belting out politically charged hits for more than 25 years.
Garrett founded Midnight Oil when he was a law student in 1973, but the semi-punk rock group did not achieve global fame until its 1987 track "Beds are Burning" - a protest song about Aboriginal land rights in Australia.
In 1990, the year after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the group staged an impromptu concert outside Exxon's New York headquarters with a banner that read, "Midnight Oil Makes You Dance, Exxon Oil Makes Us Sick."
A longtime environmental campaigner and advocate for Aboriginal rights, Garrett made his first foray into politics with an unsuccessful bid for the Senate as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party in 1984.
Alongside his singing career, Garrett also served as head of the Australian Conservation Foundation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and sat on the international board of the environmental group Greenpeace.
The 6-foot, 6-inch singer disbanded Midnight Oil in 2002 to focus on his political career.
He was elected to Parliament two years later and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the Labor Party ranks, being immediately appointed as an opposition spokesman on the arts and Aboriginal affairs.
In December last year, Garrett was promoted to lead Labor's attack on then-Prime Minister John Howard's environment policies. But his high profile came with its own baggage.
Many former colleagues in the conservation movement accused him of selling out by softening his public stance on issues such as uranium mining and old-growth logging in line with Labor policies. Garrett has said that being a member of a major party is the best way to affect change, compromises notwithstanding.
"I want to seriously serve the Labor Party - it makes people spit out their cornflakes, but it's true," Garrett told The Bulletin magazine in a 2005 interview.
On Thursday, Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd appointed Garrett to be the environment minister in his new Cabinet, but appointed a second minister, Sen. Penny Wong, to take responsibility for climate change.
The move is widely considered a demotion for Garrett, who served as the opposition spokesman for both the environment and climate change prior to Saturday's election.
Rudd said the decision to split the environment portfolio among two ministers reflected the increased importance of issues such as global warming and renewable energy. Both Garrett and Wong are to accompany Rudd to the next United Nations climate change meeting in Bali, Indonesia, next month.
Nevertheless, many analysts see the decision as a rebuke to Garrett, who made a series of gaffes during the campaign, including reportedly telling a radio talk show host off-record that Labor planned to renege on a number of campaign promises once elected.
Garrett has said he was joking, and that his remarks were taken out of context.
Former Midnight Oil Frontman and long time Environmentalist Peter Garrett was named Environment & Arts Minister in the Newly formed Australian Government. Leading many to wonder what Arts and Environment have to do with each other.
Regardless this may bring in the youth voters who are environmentally concious and wary of Governments regardless of their political leanings.
Source: NowPublic
My Note: Peter Garrett and his band were one of the first celebrity groups to speak up on behalf of the Maori and other aboriginal groups in Australia and New Zealand, and to help people gain awareness of environmental issues in their country. An example, their hit video and recording, "Beds are Burning", released in 1988. As Songfacts described:
- This is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These 'last contact' people began moving from the Gibson Desert to settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950's and 1960's to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore community which is nestled in the picturesque Kintore Ranges, surrounded by Mulga and Spinifex country. It is now a thriving little community with a population of about 400.
- Regarding the line, "From Kintore East to Yuendemu," Yuendemu is an aboriginal community in Central Australia, 250 Kilometers northwest of Alice Springs.
- Midnight Oil performed this in front of a world audience of billions, (including Prime Minister John Howard who has claimed this is his favorite Midnight Oil song) at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The whole band were dressed in black, with the words "sorry" printed conspicuously on their clothes. This was a reference to the Prime Minister's refusal to apologize, on behalf of Australia, to the Aboriginal Australians for the way they have been treated over the last 200 years.
SYDNEY, Australia - Peter Garrett - the towering, baldheaded former singer of the disbanded Australian rock group Midnight Oil - continued his long, strange tour from pop star to politician Thursday when he was named Australia's environment minister.
With his wild dancing and strident voice, Garrett was one of Australia's most recognizable singers until his band broke up in 2002, after belting out politically charged hits for more than 25 years.
Garrett founded Midnight Oil when he was a law student in 1973, but the semi-punk rock group did not achieve global fame until its 1987 track "Beds are Burning" - a protest song about Aboriginal land rights in Australia.
In 1990, the year after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the group staged an impromptu concert outside Exxon's New York headquarters with a banner that read, "Midnight Oil Makes You Dance, Exxon Oil Makes Us Sick."
A longtime environmental campaigner and advocate for Aboriginal rights, Garrett made his first foray into politics with an unsuccessful bid for the Senate as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party in 1984.
Alongside his singing career, Garrett also served as head of the Australian Conservation Foundation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and sat on the international board of the environmental group Greenpeace.
The 6-foot, 6-inch singer disbanded Midnight Oil in 2002 to focus on his political career.
He was elected to Parliament two years later and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the Labor Party ranks, being immediately appointed as an opposition spokesman on the arts and Aboriginal affairs.
In December last year, Garrett was promoted to lead Labor's attack on then-Prime Minister John Howard's environment policies. But his high profile came with its own baggage.
Many former colleagues in the conservation movement accused him of selling out by softening his public stance on issues such as uranium mining and old-growth logging in line with Labor policies. Garrett has said that being a member of a major party is the best way to affect change, compromises notwithstanding.
"I want to seriously serve the Labor Party - it makes people spit out their cornflakes, but it's true," Garrett told The Bulletin magazine in a 2005 interview.
On Thursday, Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd appointed Garrett to be the environment minister in his new Cabinet, but appointed a second minister, Sen. Penny Wong, to take responsibility for climate change.
The move is widely considered a demotion for Garrett, who served as the opposition spokesman for both the environment and climate change prior to Saturday's election.
Rudd said the decision to split the environment portfolio among two ministers reflected the increased importance of issues such as global warming and renewable energy. Both Garrett and Wong are to accompany Rudd to the next United Nations climate change meeting in Bali, Indonesia, next month.
Nevertheless, many analysts see the decision as a rebuke to Garrett, who made a series of gaffes during the campaign, including reportedly telling a radio talk show host off-record that Labor planned to renege on a number of campaign promises once elected.
Garrett has said he was joking, and that his remarks were taken out of context.
Former Midnight Oil Frontman and long time Environmentalist Peter Garrett was named Environment & Arts Minister in the Newly formed Australian Government. Leading many to wonder what Arts and Environment have to do with each other.
Regardless this may bring in the youth voters who are environmentally concious and wary of Governments regardless of their political leanings.
Source: NowPublic
I was ecstatic to receive this email on December 19th, 2007:
Dear Friends,
On Saturday, in desperate last-minute negotiations, the world faced down an effort by the US, Canada and Japan to wreck the crucial Bali Climate Change Summit. Over 600,000 of us from 192 nations mobilized to save the Bali talks, including 320,000 in the final 72 hours! Click below to see photos and videos of the effort:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/8.php
Arriving in Bali, most countries wanted to work towards a new global treaty on climate change as well as new targets for carbon emissions by rich countries. But late last week, the US and Canada teamed up to undermine the talks -- the US blocked the whole Bali summit consensus, and when a smaller group of Kyoto treaty countries tried to move ahead without the US, they were blocked by Canada. The summit was in danger of deadlock.
The Avaaz community flew into action, signing and spreading petitions to each of the governments, supporting ad campaigns in Bali and Canada, marches around the world, and phoning and lobbying elected officials. At the summit, Avaaz members brought the storm of public criticism inside the conference walls with the only march allowed inside the venue, the largest climate petition delivery in history, daily press conferences and "fossil awards" for the worst countries in the negotiations, and constant lobbying of officials.
In the final hours of the summit, Canada backed down completely and allowed Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions, and the US team, now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world's diplomats, compromised and agreed to call for "deep cuts" and "reference" the 2020 targets. It was not a complete victory, but this paved the way for the summit to agree to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2009.
Usually these conferences are stuffy diplomatic affairs - but this time the world was watching, and speaking, each day. Together, we brought people-powered politics to the halls of power, and put our governments on notice: in the fight to save our environment, we will not be spectators. Click below to see a report on this campaign with videos and pictures:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/8.php
This is just the beginning. Every nation of the world has now agreed that they will enter into accelerated negotiations and, by 2009, sign a new treaty to confront global warming. We need this treaty to set binding global targets for carbon emissions, and a mechanism for meeting them, that keep the earth's temperature from rising more than 2 degrees celsius - the amount that scientists say would be 'catastrophic'. Such a treaty will change the world's economy forever, weaning us off oil and fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. Some leaders, in the pocket of the oil industry, will fight it tooth and nail all the way. And we will too. A great struggle to save our environment has begun, and this weekend, we showed together that the people of the world aren't intending to sit this one out.
With much respect and appreciation for this amazing community of people,
Ricken, Ben, Milena, Paul, Iain, Sarah, Galit, Pascal and the whole Avaaz Team.
________________________________
Dear Friends,
On Saturday, in desperate last-minute negotiations, the world faced down an effort by the US, Canada and Japan to wreck the crucial Bali Climate Change Summit. Over 600,000 of us from 192 nations mobilized to save the Bali talks, including 320,000 in the final 72 hours! Click below to see photos and videos of the effort:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/8.php
Arriving in Bali, most countries wanted to work towards a new global treaty on climate change as well as new targets for carbon emissions by rich countries. But late last week, the US and Canada teamed up to undermine the talks -- the US blocked the whole Bali summit consensus, and when a smaller group of Kyoto treaty countries tried to move ahead without the US, they were blocked by Canada. The summit was in danger of deadlock.
The Avaaz community flew into action, signing and spreading petitions to each of the governments, supporting ad campaigns in Bali and Canada, marches around the world, and phoning and lobbying elected officials. At the summit, Avaaz members brought the storm of public criticism inside the conference walls with the only march allowed inside the venue, the largest climate petition delivery in history, daily press conferences and "fossil awards" for the worst countries in the negotiations, and constant lobbying of officials.
In the final hours of the summit, Canada backed down completely and allowed Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions, and the US team, now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world's diplomats, compromised and agreed to call for "deep cuts" and "reference" the 2020 targets. It was not a complete victory, but this paved the way for the summit to agree to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2009.
Usually these conferences are stuffy diplomatic affairs - but this time the world was watching, and speaking, each day. Together, we brought people-powered politics to the halls of power, and put our governments on notice: in the fight to save our environment, we will not be spectators. Click below to see a report on this campaign with videos and pictures:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/8.php
This is just the beginning. Every nation of the world has now agreed that they will enter into accelerated negotiations and, by 2009, sign a new treaty to confront global warming. We need this treaty to set binding global targets for carbon emissions, and a mechanism for meeting them, that keep the earth's temperature from rising more than 2 degrees celsius - the amount that scientists say would be 'catastrophic'. Such a treaty will change the world's economy forever, weaning us off oil and fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. Some leaders, in the pocket of the oil industry, will fight it tooth and nail all the way. And we will too. A great struggle to save our environment has begun, and this weekend, we showed together that the people of the world aren't intending to sit this one out.
With much respect and appreciation for this amazing community of people,
Ricken, Ben, Milena, Paul, Iain, Sarah, Galit, Pascal and the whole Avaaz Team.
________________________________
I was thrilled to see that Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize!
"He now ranks as the world's most effective public advocate for curbing global warming.
While an array of activists, politicians and business leaders have all called in recent years for more stringent limits on greenhouse gases linked to climate change, no one has reshaped the public perception of what was once a wonkish scientific debate more than Gore. Through his tireless travel and slide show presentations, captured on screen in the 2006 film "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore has inserted himself into the policy debate both at home and in countries across the globe." (Washington Post, October 12, 2007).
Gore Ranks as Most Effective Advocate for Curbing Global Warming
"He now ranks as the world's most effective public advocate for curbing global warming.
While an array of activists, politicians and business leaders have all called in recent years for more stringent limits on greenhouse gases linked to climate change, no one has reshaped the public perception of what was once a wonkish scientific debate more than Gore. Through his tireless travel and slide show presentations, captured on screen in the 2006 film "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore has inserted himself into the policy debate both at home and in countries across the globe." (Washington Post, October 12, 2007).
READ FULL ARTICLE
Gore Ranks as Most Effective Advocate for Curbing Global Warming
Vanity Fair focused their May issue on various "Green" issues, including global warming, electric cars, consumption patterns, deforestation, toxicity and more.
Read the Issue Online!
This excellent book (1995) is available to read free online, published by The National Academies Press. It provides a clear front-line approach to incorporating ecological theory and concerns into nursing practice, using a global awareness approach.
Read the book here!
This feature will present News, Updates, Announcements, Events, and other Musings related to Nursing and the Environment, Sustainability, Quality of Life, and other related topics.