Calgary Greens (audio)

Elizabeth May & Calgary’s Green Candidates

gordon mcdowell — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:01:28 +0000

Elizabeth May joined Green candidates, volunteers and curious Calgarians for a a fundraiser at La Joie De Vivre in Inglewood.

Local Green candidates gave quick introductions, including Calgary Centre’s Natalie Odd and Brett Spencer of Calgary South-East.

Elizabeth May then spoke on a wide variety of subjects, including the Green Party’s steady popularity, vote abandonment, and how Harper’s autocratic style of government puts Canadian democracy in danger.

The following video is an 11 minute summary of Elizabeth May’s entire speech and Q&A session. You can click here to watch extended (53 minute) coverage, or click on the summary video’s “YouTube Annotation Links” as they appear, if you’d like to hear more about one particular topic.

00:24	Our strong support is not a protest vote. Adding “none of the above” below “Green Party” on polling ballots has little impact.
01:38	We do not elect a Prime Minister. We elect 308 members of Parliament, who could have picked someone other than Stephen Harper to be PM.
02:51	Greens are different because we do not pursue political expediency. All of our policies are focused on what is right in the long term.
03:44	The positive impact on civility and democracy electing even a single Green MP in Canada will have.
05:22	Green Party policy on nuclear power, and how Greens respond to emerging technologies.
07:20	Stephen Harper is gutting Environmental Impact Assessment. He is not making it more efficient.
09:44	How can Greens more effectively communicate to Canadians our fiscally conservative platform, and that we are not a single issue party?

If you’d like to stay up-to-date on Natalie Odd’s campaign, or any other “Calgary Greens” we might feature in the future, you can subscribe to us on YouTube, or subscribe to our audio & video podcasts via iTunes.

Elizabeth May at Calgary Petroleum Club

gordon mcdowell — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:45:28 +0000

Calgary Enterprise Forum organized a debate at The Calgary Petroleum Club, asking the question “Is Oil Sands Development Ultimately Irreconcilable with the Environmental Agenda?”

Elizabeth May, Deborah Yedlin (Calgary Herald columnist) and Murray Smith (Energy Minister 2001-2005) found some common ground lamenting Alberta’s dependence on coal fired plants and the lack of any clearly stated Canadian energy strategy.

Natalie Odd, a plethora of Green candidates, Green volunteers and oil patch executives enjoyed the evening immensely. We believe this recap would be of interest to every Calgarian wondering how “the other side” views the oil sands. (You might be surprised.)

01:40	Deborah Yedlin: Issue is bigger than Oil Sands. Stopping production today will have no impact on global GHG (Green House Gas) emissions. No such thing as clean coal. Carbon capture and storage is like giving methadone to a heroin addict. Alberta is as arid as Arizona desert, should we use 45% of our water on agriculture? Oil sands is an easy target
06:30	Murray D. Smith: Oil patch and oil sands history. Industry is full of people who care about the environment. We use half our energy transporting energy. Poverty won’t help our environmental record.
10:04	Elizabeth May: Climate change is a security issue. Innovators profited during similar scenario regarding ozone layer and CFC manufacturers in 1985. Biggest economic opportunity in history of humanity. Go slow. Sensible planning. Moratorium.
16:47	Q – Is the Green Party against the oil sands? A – (EM) Moratorium on new project development until efficiency improves. EROI of 3:1 must be improved before expansion.
17:23	Q – Are innovations due to good will of oil companies, or due to public pressure? A – (DY) Early developments focused on profit, until footprint recognized. Astonishing reclaimed mines. Public pressure and profit play roles, but mainly respect for where we live. \| (EM) Only 1 square km certified reclaimed. Far less criticism of industry than Alberta government. \| (MS) Alberta had 1st Dept of Environment in Canada. Role of Energy Resource Conservation Board is world level. Stopped flaring and minimized surface venting. Is reasonable to argue Alberta government fell down on infrastructure. Government is a partner with industry.
21:28	Q – As a province, are we developing our resources too fast? A – (EM) Peter Lougheed says development was too fast. Is 5 million gallons a day our goal? Where is our energy policy? \| (DY) Market forces were already slowing development before market crash. We don’t want government dictating which projects go forward. \| (EM) Government assistance propped up industry when oil was under $30/barrel.
26:06	Q – How can industry prepare for onslaught of NGOs? A – (MS) Shipments continue to increase. Oil sands are part of Obama’s economic recovery program. Resource belongs to Alberta, but opportunity belongs to Canada. Not enough Canadian refining capacity to supply Albertan oil to Eastern Canada. Oil sands is convenient target for protesters, try protest in Venezuela or Iraq. We need Canadian energy supply strategy.
29:42	Q – What can we all agree on? A – (DY) Sustainable energy, economy & environment is common goal. We need national energy strategy. Natural gas industry in deep trouble. \| (DS) Transmission lines deliver carbon savings. Get involved in public policy. Sausage. \| (EM) Need public policy around energy. Important to have dialog like this. Thank you to government of Alberta for stopping flaring. Stone age didn’t end because we rant out of stones. Shut down Alberta coal plants, use natural gas. Improve oil sands efficiency and keep producing for a long time.

Elizabeth and Victoria Cate on Twitter and Social Networks

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:00:24 +0000

While traveling between Calgary Stampede breakfasts where Elizabeth and her daughter Victoria Cate were volunteering to flip pancakes, tweets began to fly from animal rights activists concerning Elizabeth’s involvement in the Calgary Stampede.

This turned out to be an interesting example of how Elizabeth and Victoria Cate team up on communication. Victoria Cate was monitoring Elizabeth’s Twitter account, and alerted her mom to the tweets. Elizabeth says the point to communicate is that she is flipping pancakes, not watching calf roping or any of the events which would distress an animal, that Calgary Stampede has community events which are distinct from the sporting events. Those posting to Twitter were not making a distinction between the two.

Victoria Cate was able to respond to the concerned “Twitter followers” within 15 minutes of their first tweet of concern.

A tech savvy daughter. Who knew?

Elizabeth May – An Amazing Fundraising Event

Adrian Textor — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:11:31 +0000

Elizabeth May is one of the best speakers in Canada. Many people, especially Conservative voters, agreed that Elizabeth won the Leader’s Debate during the last election. Seeing her up close and watching how she presents herself and Green Party ideas it is easy to see why she was so popular with all Canadians.

Elizabeth May is still very approachable, kind, and considerate. You too can see her in action and meet her in person October 2nd, 2009.
- Adrian Textor, Calgary Centre Green Party CEO

Natalie Odd Speaks at Fundraiser

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:57:36 +0000

Natalie Odd explains her interest in the Green Party and her experiences in Calgary Centre riding. Natalie ran as a Green in Calgary Centre in 2008, and this year we’re ready for a breakthrough.

Elizabeth May and Natalie Odd – Call for Volunteers

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:52:43 +0000

Before yesterday’s fundraiser kicked off, Elizabeth May sat down with Natalie Odd to help craft our call for volunteers. Thanks to Elizabeth’s participation we now have a decent stash of video footage on the topic. We’ll be editing down versions shorter than this one, unless 8 minute commercials make a surprise comeback.

What’s that? You think it could use some music? Sounds like someone is VOLUNTEERING to write some!

(But seriously, feedback is always welcome.)

00:28	Preston Manning, Question Period & grass roots prairie populism.
02:39	Greens support tax fairness via income splitting.
04:12	Harper deferring Canadian climate policy to Obama is bad economics.
05:38	Kick-start the economy with green jobs. Avoiding structural deficit.
09:33	Harper’s 2009 budget lacks stimulus. Poor spending choices.
12:01	Tar-sands: Rapid expansion dangerous to our economy.
15:07	Harper cutting investments in renewable energy.
25:59	Q&A – Working with the NDP. Democracy.
29:50	Q&A – Rural Canada. Single industry towns. Pulp & paper industry.
34:00	Q&A – Hemp. Marijuana. Legalization. Regulation. Taxation.
36:39	Q&A – Harper’s interaction with Obama during press conference.
40:33	Q&A – Michael Ignatieff. Party politics.
42:03	Q&A – Crime fighting. Forensic accountants. Access to tax records.
44:09	Harper likely to fail confidence vote. Big opportunity.