Oregon Fair Trade Forum; June 12th 2014Comments on GMOs and TPP

Alan Journet SOCAN Co-Facilitator

Presentation (as pdf) on web site: click ‘Projects’ – select ‘Presentation Project’ scroll down to listed presentation schedule

Outline

• Climate Change / GEOs / TPP• SOCAN on the issues• Sustainable Living• SOCAN & SOCAN Projects• If time and Interest… • Rogue Valley Climate• What this summer portends…

ParallelsClimate Change:The Scientific Consensus is clear:(a) the planet is warming, and (b) human activities are contributingOpposition is: Fossil Fuel Corporations (Exxon-Mobil, Koch Industries, etc.), Chamber of Commerce, etc. funding a denial campaign of lies and distortions.

Genetically Engineered Organisms:The Science in unclear because:(c) GE corporations hold patent rights preventing free, independent, and open research on their

product, and(d) While corporate research suggests health benefits and yield benefits these results are tainted,

and(e) Independent studies range from far less positive in their conclusions to substantially negative,

andGE corporations exhibit a single objective: “profit at whatever cost.”

ParallelsTPP:The evidence on Environmental / Health Cost vs Economic Benefit is unclear, however:(a) Corporations are promoting treaty development in secret with unknown provisions, and(b) Those negotiating treaties claim they will be economically beneficial and include health and

environmental safeguards, but (c) Previous trade treaties (e.g. NAFTA) have produced questionable outcomes, where

environmental costs exceeded economic benefitsThe problem: again, corporations with a single motive: “profit at whatever cost.”

Recall Also:TobaccoPesticides – DDT - DioxinDrugs - Thalidomide

ParallelsThe pattern of corporate economic benefit trumping societal cost

rings clearly in our ears.

It is time for citizens to decide:Should the people and the planet serve the economy?Or should the economy serve the people and the planet?Problems:1 – Burden of Proof; Should this fall on the developer to demonstrate safety or ‘society’ to demonstrate a threat?2 – Precautionary Principle (Science & Environmental Health - Wingspread 1998)3 – Corporate Fiduciary Requirements:

In most jurisdictions, courts will exhort directors to use their best efforts to maximize shareholder wealth.But B Corporations…

SOCAN Position on Genetically Engineered Organisms

• SOCAN has grave reservations about the role of Genetically Engineered Organisms in terms of their potential negative impacts on our ability to address climate change. In particular, SOCAN favors a moratorium on GEO crops until independent research is conducted demonstrating an absence of negative impact of GEOs on yield, drought tolerance, water use efficiency, genetic diversity among crops, fertilizer and pesticide use, carbon storage, and long term health effects.

TPP

• Where freedom is valued, ‘free trade’ seems a ‘no-brainer…’ • The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement incorporated a side

agreement designed to protect the environment. • In the case of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) linking 12 Pacific Rim

nations, this lesson should be learned. • A leaked copy of the Environment Chapter suggests that current

environmental regulatory provisions will lack teeth and be totally inadequate for the job.

• In letters to Senators Merkley and Wyden, August 2013, we urged:• Including an environment chapter that would obligate countries to enforce domestic environmental

protections and abide by global environmental agreements that are enforceable through international lawsuits.• Rejecting the proposed TPP investment chapter that would authorize foreign investors to bypass

domestic courts and bring suit before special international tribunals biased in favor of multinationals to seek awards of unlimited monetary damages in compensation for the cost of complying with environmental and other public interest regulations.• Rejecting "provisions of the TPP intellectual property chapter that would provide international legal

protections for corporate patents on plant and animal life, granting companies ownership and sole access to these building blocks of life."• Rejecting the regulatory coherence chapter that could hamstring environmental regulation and

"encourage cost-benefit analysis that exaggerates financial costs and minimizes the intrinsic value of protecting living things, wild places, and the stability of the ecosystem."• And finally that the TPP "must serve to strengthen environmental protection and support the

biodiversity in the Pacific Rim and not facilitate a race to the bottom in environmental deregulation."

SOCAN on Trans Pacific Partnership

Sustainable Living?• We have to appreciate that we cannot live in a finite world, with• An infinitely expanding economy and resource requirement, • An infinitely expanding population, and• An infinitely expanding by-production of pollution

• Reality has limits….• While we must recognize legitimate aspirations of other peoples, we should

help them avoid the ‘cowboy’ economic phase through which we are passing

It’s all about future generations!

http://socan.info

Co-Facilitators:Alan Journet alanjournet@gmail.com 541-301-4107

Kathy Conway kathleendconway@gmail.com 541-324-4501

MONTHLY MEETINGS: Last Tuesday of the month

Special Topic Presentation 6:00 – 6:30 pmGeneral Meeting: 6:30 – 8:00 pm‘Projects to Make a Difference’

Medford Pubic Library, 205 S. Central Ave.

Please Join Us! Please Join Us!

June 24th Carbon Credits / Offsets

SOCAN Projects

• Divestment from Fossil Fuel• Master Climate Protector• Climate in the Curriculum• Weather Reporter• Presentations• Oregon Legislative District• Writing Corps

• SOCAN RED• Federal Government• State Government• Local Government• Regional Recognition• Forest-Climate Change Interface• Networking

Some Comments on Our RV Likely Future

Rogue Basin Temperature History and Projections

1961-1990 Ave – 50.030F

Summer Ave – 63.580F Winter Ave – 38.170F

Business As Usual

1900 1907 1914 1920 1928 1935 1942 1949 1956 1963 1970 1977 1984 1991 1998 2005 2012 2019 2026 2033 2040 2047 2054 2061 2068 2075 2081 2089 209645

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

Rogue Valley Temperature Trends and Projections

HISTORICAL AVERAGE

CSIRO Annual Ave

HADLEY Annual Ave

MIROC Annual Ave

Years 1900 to 2100

Tem

pera

ture

⁰F

Projected Increases2035-2045

Average1.6 – 4⁰F

(51.6 – 53.8⁰F)

Winter 1 – 3.5⁰F

(39.1 – 41.7⁰F)

Summer1 – 6⁰F

(64.4 – 69.5⁰F)

August 1 – 7.5⁰F

(67.1 – 73.5⁰F)

2075-2085Average

4.3 – 8.2⁰F(54.3 – 58.2⁰F)

Winter 3.4 – 6.3⁰F

(41.5 – 44.5⁰F)

Summer5.5 – 11.8⁰F

(69.1 – 75.4⁰F)

August6.7 – 16.8⁰F

(72.7 – 82.8⁰F)

Related Climatic Factors: Local Trends & Projections

Precipitation Accumulated as of May 2014 % “Normal”

Climate Summary Observed Temperatures in May 2014; departure from “Normal”

U.S. Drought Monitor June 10th 2104

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OR

Short & Long Term

Precipitation since October 1st 2013 as % of “Normal”

Snow Water Equivalent as % of “Normal”

Rogue Valley: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Private cars/trucksPublic TransitLocal Freight

Transportation

32%En

ergy24%

Materials = Stuff44%

Energy to make stuffEnergy to transport stuff here

Fossil Fuels for energy productionUtility Energy Production for use in our homes

& local businesses (app. ¾ = 18%)Natural gas for heating

Clothes, shoes, ‘phones, TVs

Projected Regional Solutions

http://rvcog.org/cogboard/2011/Dec_14/RVCOG-REA-Final_PPT-121511.pdf

RenewableNo

n-Re

newa

ble

Current Non-RenewableNeed = 2.1 M MWH

Could be reduced to1.2 M MWH or 57%

= 43% reduction in C intensiveelectrical generation need

i.e. 18% of ourGHG emissions

= nearly 8% ofRegional GHG emissions

Energy efficiency: where are the greatest savings?

http://rvcog.org/cogboard/2011/Dec_14/RVCOG-REA-Final_PPT-121511.pdf

We Have Choices! Individually & Collectively

Money inflows& outflows

Back in the Day… Now….

EnergyAccounting

GHG

CO2

CarbonAccounting

Hopium

Finally – Definitive, Irrefutable,

Confirmation of Global Warming…

$271 b in US

97%

OR

Is there a conspiracy?

• Questions?

Any comments or questions ????

socanhotline@gmail.com