2 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013 EDITOR PATRICK COLVIN Cws Rabbi Michael Lerner speaks to a member of the audience following his discussion at the Sacred Earth forum. Green rabbi speaks at Langara Spirituality and environmentalism topics of Sacred Earth forum By JENNY PENG utspoken Amercian rabbi and author Michael Lerner marched into a room littered with coffee cups and food wrappings to talk about environmental responsibility. He was one of two keynote speakers at the Sacred Earth forum that took place at Langara on Oct. 21. Lerner spoke alongside Chief Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. In front of a packed auditorium, they addressed how spirituality can propel the environmental movement. Lerner said citizens should be “af- firming the possibility of a different kind of world based on love, kindness and generosity.” Alongside his “abstract” ideas, he also proposed several “concrete” plans to address corporate environmental re- sponsibility. The first plan is to change the legal status of corporations so they can be punished for failing to meet en- vironmental standards set by citizens. “They are an artificial entity we the people created and we the people can take away,” said Lerner. The second plan is to put corpora- tions before a jury every five years, which he is also advocating for in the United States. “Every corporation with income above $50 million a year has to get a new corporate charter once every five years,” said Lerner. “That charter will only be given to those corporations that can prove a satisfactory history of environmental and social responsibili- ty to ajury.” Lerner said people all over the world who are affected by the operations of that corporation should be able to tes- tify to that jury. South Vancouver business owner Coral Norman supports the idea of holding corporations and businesses accountable, but she raised concerns over enforcing the jury’s verdict. “Just because you form a jury doesn’t mean they have any ability to take ac- tion. They can just say ‘Yeah you should stop doing that,’ but are the lo- cal police and the government going to back them up?” asked Norman. However, Norman does believe pub- lic pressure would result in more cor- porate responsibility. “If this jury, say, became real and their only means of enforcement was that all these cases they had were in the news... just like that, media pres- sure on a company can be enough to change what’s happening even if there’s no legal ramification,” she said. JENNY PENG photo Lerner’s Books HE Embracing Israel Palestine: A Strategy to Heal and Transform the Middle East ME The Left Hand of God: Healing America’s Political and Spiritual Crisis Spirit Matters Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin Fundraising with face fur Moustaches for mental health: Movember expands scope of charitable choices By TYLER HOOPER ready people: Movember is just around the corner. The month of November, or Movem- ber as many call it, is known for pros- tate- and testicular-cancer awareness campaigns. However, in the last couple of years, organizations such as the Vancouver Movember Committee have also been promoting moustaches in support of men’s mental health. “Men’s mental health is such a huge thing that is missed. It’s exciting to see that we’re taking that on as well,” said committee co-chair Peter Verge. “T think men are probably twenty- years behind women when it comes to their awareness of health,” said Verge, adding he hopes Movember can open the lines of communication for men to discuss serious issues such as mental health. “If you have a friend who’s sick, whether they’re facing depression or in the extreme case, suicidal, be there for them,” said Verge. “Encourage them to talk to someone and get some help.” Representative of Movember Cana- da Michael Braiden agreed that Mo- vember is a “catalyst for conversa- tion,” especially when discussing the stigma associated with mental health. Braiden encouraged students to get involved in fundraising for the charity, adding students can register as a net- work or team on the Movember Cana- da website. Langara photography — student Creighton Jones is already growing his moustache for Movember. He said he would like to help fundraise for the cause by taking portraits of Movember participants and allowing them to pur- chase the photos for a small donation. Leah LaRiviere, executive director of Prostate Cancer Foundation BC, said although they do not participate in Movember, the campaign has helped bring awareness to the issue of men’s health.” “Breast cancer is still way ahead of us, if you ask any women in her fifties what a mammogram is — she will tell you,” said LaRiviere. In comparison, LaRiviere said many men she’s talked to don’t know basic facts or screening methods for prostate cancer. Verge, Braiden and LaRiviere all spoke of the importance of “knowing your numbers,” such as the prostate- specific antigen (PSA), a protein pro- duced in the prostate gland. With a higher PSA number comes the in- creased risk of developing prostate cancer. G: your moustaches groomed and Community upset over cell tower With cell tower health concerns in dispute, Oakridge residents want their voices heard By BILL EVERITT are angry at city hall and Telus be- cause they weren’t consulted about the construction of a 14.9-meter cell tower near Oak Street and 49th Av- enue. Fred and Linda Chiu, who live four houses from the construction site, said the city sold them out by allowing Telus to build the station slightly below the 15-meter threshold that would have re- quired community consultation. “The city wants to be green, so they let Telus put in the tower and they get a free electric car-charging station,” said Linda. S™ south Vancouver residents The Chius have led a protest that be- gan on June 22 and are responsible for signs posted around the intersection. The couple is concerned over the ra- diation emitted from the tower, which they believe is a health concern. Neighbour Tienfu Kuo said he didn’t trust Telus or medical research show- ing these sites are safe. “My friends said the microwaves will be very strong,” said Kuo. However, Dr. Patricia Daly of Vancouver Coastal Health said those fears are unfounded. “Cell towers have never been shown to cause any health concerns,” said Daly. “A lot of people don’t understand . . magnetic fields are produced by things they use everyday, like baby monitors or any electrical appliance.” According to Daly, all cellphone sites in Canada are built in accordance with Safety Code 6, a federal code that limits human radiation exposure. Telus spokesperson Liz Sauvé was surprised to hear about the resistance from the community members and add- ed the pole is necessary to boost cell reception in an area heavily congested with wireless traffic. “We are investing $400,000 to en- hance coverage in this neighbourhood in response to frequent complaints that service is degrading,” said Sauvé. “Typ- ically the only complaint we receive from customers is that we’re not build- ing them fast enough.” BILL EVERITT photo Oakridge resident Fred Chiu protests cell tower site.