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Tom Oleson comes awfully late to the discussion of the Kyoto Accord — as if everybody doesn't already agree that we'd rather not sacrifice too much to meet its targets. But there is little common sense in his framing of our choices.

The Hobson's choice is not between economic felicity and climate hell. If you accept the premises of Kyoto (if you don't, there's no argument), then the only choice is between allowing future generations to thrive in a benign world, or sitting on our asses so that we can continue our exponentially growing consumption. Stark choice: save ourselves, or save our grandchildren.

Common sense says that if the targets must be met, then we meet them. Common decency says that we do it for our progeny.

JEFF PRESSLAFF

(To Manitoba Co-operator)

Highlights of the CropLife Canada meeting were featured in the September 27 issue. CropLife is the lobby organization for multinational chemical/biotech companies operating in Canada. It has done some good things like supporting pesticide container collection and triple rinsing.

CropLife complains it doesn't get any respect - that things like pesticides are misunderstood by the general public. I place myself among those Canadians who are deeply suspicious of any organization that lobbies my government on behalf of the world's multinational chemical companies.

I read about CropLife's complaints one day after returning from Central America where I worked with Canadian and Central American scientists studying pesticide contamination of water, food and even human breast milk in that region. The world's multinationals are happy to sell pesticides to poor, illiterate farmers who cannot comprehend labels and hence misapply many of these products. Unfortunately for the farmers and their families, their own governments do not have the resources or choose not to demand more accountability from the chemical companies.

My frustration with CropLife extends to its claims about biotechnology. I have seen too many Roundup Ready soybean fields in Manitoba polluted with Roundup Ready canola volunteers to have any faith in the multinational's ability to predict "side effects" of their technology. Boy, I can hardly wait to see what "gene-stacking" will bring us!

However the worst is yet to come. CropLife Canada represents companies who are busy buying up the world's germplasm. Once they own all the seeds, who knows what will happen? It is time to toss out our present model of agriculture, where few control so much. We need to rebuild agriculture from the ground up, but that's a topic for another day.

CropLife feels that its message is misunderstood and that many Canadians do not trust them. Tough.

DR. MARTIN ENTZ
Professor of Cropping Systems
Department of Plant Science
University of Manitoba

(To Winnipeg Free Press)

Unlike Bartley Kives (Colourless Election, May 12), the Green Party of Manitoba (GPM) lives in the present reality, we do not live in 2003 and we do not for one moment confuse idealism with being unrealistic. We find truth in the writings of John Avalon who said, "Idealism without realism is impotent, realism without idealism is empty."

He professes to be concerned about the issues yet devotes the few column inches he has prior to May 22 waxing on past Green leader Markus Buchart. Apparently Kives believes that in 2003 Buchart managed a political party, his Wolseley campaign, and media relations all by his lonesome and won 19% of the votes cast. Wow, if that were true then I too might long for the Green Party of 2003. But it isn't true.

I must take exception to describing Manitoba Greens as "unmotivated." Never in my life have I met a more dedicated, energetic, knowledgeable group of people with such a strong commitment to integrity. Idealists? Perhaps, in the sense that we believe as a society we can and should do better.

The reality is that we are 100% volunteer-run; there are no paid positions in the GPM. Unlike federal political parties, we do not receive funds for number of votes won.

We have many more members than the current 15 nominated candidates who would also grandly and ably represent us. However, they are unable to do so because they can't relinquish a month's salary to take time off for campaigning.

We too face the reality of having rent/mortgages to pay, children to feed, parents or spouses who are ill, and exams to write, in addition to meeting the demands of our jobs or careers. And yet, here we stand with a comprehensive plan to address social, economic and ecological ills in a strategic way.

If Kives is as obsessed about water quality, sustainable farming and Lake Winnipeg as he claims, then I invite him to inform himself with our online platform [it's the big green button on our home page]; and then competently report on what the Greens are in fact proposing.

The Green Party of Manitoba has made huge inroads into the provincial arena; otherwise the other parties wouldn't insist on describing themselves as us.

TANJA HUTTER, Communications & Media, Green Party of Manitoba

(To Winnipeg Free Press)

On May 12, 2007, I took note of Bartley Kives' colourless and prejudicial reporting. Now you and all reporters take note of the following: "There is a principle, which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer

The only point that you got right in your column Bartley is that we do not resemble the old paradigm, the gray parties, in any way shape or form. The Green Party of Manitoba is not for the closed-minded who prefer the flare-and-fluff, meaningless-snap-and-dash-decisions, the same story-different date of the past.

The Green Party movement is a process of renewal and transformation that is all-inclusive, fully participatorial, open, peaceful, healing on all fronts to benefit all society. We the members of the Green Party of Manitoba are not defined by our footwear or our age. Our esteemed leader Andrew Basham and other young, dedicated, well-educated, motivated, informed leaders-of-tomorrow are my heroes.

I am a senior, grandmother, great-grandmother, and others like myself have awakened and broken free of the collective hypnosis and we will support the Green Party of Manitoba. United in harmony we will persevere to form a real, socially, ecologically, economically-sustainable society.

I challenge one and all, young, middle-aged or senior to unite for a holistically healthy tomorrow. Together we must all "learn from nature to build a truly sustainable society, to protect our living systems, to bring the economy home, to rebuild democracy from the grassroots, to create cooperative communities that sustain energy-security."

This is the real meaning of our motto 'well-being not growth (GDP).' We the Green Party of Manitoba are waiting for you to wake up and join us for we all belong to real freedom and complete abundance.

M. LUCILLE E. BRUCE