Sprawl Crawl 2: Sprawl Crawl Returns
or, "2 Sprawl 2 Crawl"
Hello subscribers! I am starting this project up again - the last year has been a tough one, and future years will only be tougher - but after undertaking many continuous projects I have decided that this newsletter has some potential value to both myself and you. Specifically in addition to some interesting readings to share with you - I would like to out of solidarity ensure that you know that despite how awful our political moment seems right now, there are some incredible friends and comrades running for political office in my home city of Hamilton, Ontario.
Sabreina Dahab is running for Ward 2 public schoolboard trustee. Sabreina was my nominator when I (unsuccessfully) contested the nomination for the federal NDP in Hamilton-West Ancaster Dundas in 2019. Sabreina is an incredible organizer and advocate - she is the future of politics in Hamilton and deserves all your support.
For Council I want to shout out my friends Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2) and Kojo Damptey (Ward 14) in particular. There will be more shout outs (so yes, there will be another Sprawl Crawl before October at least!).
Now onto a round up of things you absolutely should check out this week…
No more excuses: restoring nature is not a silver bullet for global warming, we must cut emissions outright
by Kate Dooley and Zebedee Nicholls
While I am still of course a fan of nature restoration (I am currently reading through Half Earth Socialism right now and enjoying it greatly) - this research is very important for all to read and understand - particularly within the context of Canada continue to expand fossil fuel extraction.
‘It goes well beyond Andrea’—Ontario New Democrats push for party overhaul
by Jeremy Appel
Jeremy Appel conducting interviews with a former ONDP MPP and some really cool party activists (and one sorta-cool one I guess) about ongoing grievances within the party after the disappointing Ontario provincial election results. Give it a read!
Get Ready for the Forever Plague
by Andrew Nikiforuk
This is a great (and depressing) piece from The Tyee that I highly recommend reading. While this newsletter is primarily concerned with environmental issues - I would like to stress that the political response to the pandemic is almost entirely similar to the political response to climate change - if we are to live in a society that adequately addresses climate change, it would also be one that adequately responds to an ongoing pandemic!
Revealed: the ‘carbon bombs’ set to trigger catastrophic climate breakdown
by Damian Carrington and Matthew Taylor
It’s impossible to read the data in this and not conclude that Canada is an international villain.
Finally, if you are reading this - thank you! If you think this is a cool newsletter, you should consider making a donation to my employer - Environment Hamilton! This newsletter is a personal project of mine, but I value the work we do so much I can’t help but make a plug here!