This time there was a lot of discussion about divesting from military expenditures and even withholding taxes for weapons and warfare, as Conscience Canada does. Alyn Ware told us about the campaigns he is working on, which both seek to cut off funding war and global warming too. We also discussed the controversy as to whether Canada can remain in NATO and also sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. You can watch this series (or listen to them as audio podcasts), then discuss them on our comments column: https://tosavetheworld.ca/videos/#comments.

Arzu Abdulleyeva and Ahmad Alili in Baku, Azerbaijan speak with Shorena Lortkipanidze and Mikheil Mirziashvili in Tbilisi, Georgia about the relations among the countries of the Caucasus and their large neighbours, Russia, Turkey, and Iran. They share a desire to bring the Caucasus closer to Europe, but have not yet fully considered what kind of coalition will advance that cause.

Zachary Jacobson began to investigate global warming when he retired, and what he found convinced him that reducing emissions is not enough; existing carbon must be removed from the atmosphere. He finds it easy here to convince Metta that iron should be added to some areas of the oceans, to increase phytoplankton, which will absorb CO2 and take it to the bottom of the sea.

You can watch this series (or listen to them as audio podcasts), then comment on each one here: https://tosavetheworld.ca/c/#comments.

Craig Smith reminds Metta that global warming is marked by "latency," whereby the effects become visible long after the cause has been finalized. It is hard to slow down global warming, for we must mainly wait for the effects of emission reduction to kick in. This is the "sticky accelerator" problem, though Metta disagrees that the metaphor is quite apt, for there are ways of slowing global warming by sequestration.

Ayad Al-Qazzaz and Metta discuss the stereotypes that Westerners (including intellectuals) hold about Arabs and other ethnic groups from the Middle East. The term "Middle East" is itself ambiguous and ethnocentric, but too commonplace now to challenge. Islam also varies widely and is certain to undergo great changes in response to Muslims in the West. Soon there may even be female imams whose flocks include males.

David Webster reminds Metta that the Spanish Flu killed more people than World War I, and that in the aftermath, people realized the need for an international body to coordinate global medical responses, so the League of Nations created such an organization, which functioned until it was succeeded by the World Health Organization, when the League was succeeded by the UN. We also talk about other pandemics, such as malaria and smallpox.

Jessica West is more than a Star Wars fan; she is a professional researcher following the developing technology and international norms that will make space war possible. But at Project Ploughshares the goal is to develop and promote alternative ways of resolving international conflict, and Jessica is on the case.

Bill Fletcher reports that almost all the serious deforestation going on today is in tropical rainforests, resulting in the lost habitat of species and increasing access to viruses from forest animals. The worst examples are in Asia, where palm oil plantations are replacing forests, and Brazil, where the main cause is cattle ranching.

Lawrence Wittner is a historian of the peace movement. He and Metta share memories of the eighties and compare their guesses about the prospects for nuclear disarmament. You can watch this series (or listen to them as audio podcasts) on our website, then post your own thoughts on our comments column. https://tosavetheworld.ca/videos/#comments .

Rose Dyson and Charlene Doak-Gebauer are both activist-scholars who work to reduce the societal harm from exposure to negative entertainment, especially on the Internet. Charlene demands that parents supervise their childrens' access and prevent predators from preying on them through pornography sites. Rose is more concerned with the effects of violence, especially in video games, and the desensitizing, brutalizing effects on both children and adults. You can watch this series (or listen to them as podcasts) on our website, then share your own thoughts on the comments column: https://tosavetheworld.ca/videos/#comments .