On Friday, January 8th, over 70 people crowded in to the North Hall of Joe’s Café in East Vancouver for a monthly Cuba Cultural and Film Night. Organized by Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), this night focused on Cuba’s achievements in sustainability and environmental protection in an era where the world is facing an environmental crisis. The evening began with a welcoming by Tamara Hansen, who was MC for the event. Tamara is the coordinator of VCSC as well as the co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC). She began by introducing a series of poets who expressed their love of Cuba and the environment. Max Tennant, who is an organizer with VCSC; Shakeel Lochan, who traveled on the 2009 Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade to Cuba; and Louis Velasquez, a long-time social justice activist from El Salvador, all brought their passionate words to the crowd. After the poets, the documentary film, “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” was shown. This film is an American documentary film that explores Cuba’s ‘Special Period’ and its aftermath; the economic collapse and eventual recovery of Cuba following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Following the dramatic steps taken by both Cuba’s government and its people, its major themes include urban agriculture, energy dependence, and sustainability. After the film, Thomas Davies, who is a member of the Free the Cuban 5 Committee—Vancouver and also works on the editorial board of the Fire This Time Newspaper, gave an informative talk bridging the results of the documentary film to today’s context. He explained that the gains in sustainability and urban agriculture that Cuba made during the fall of the Soviet Union continue and thrive today. He also explained that these gains are thanks to the revolution. The fact that the World Wildlife Fund states that Cuba is the only country in the world developing towards sustainability puts Cuba in direct contrast to the majority of the countries who took part in the Copenhagen climate change conference. Specifically Canada, who tries to mask itself as an environmentally progressive country, was recently given the title of ‘fossil of the year’ by environmental groups at the Copenhagen climate change conference for its record and lack of future plans for sustainability and energy dependence. Discussion that followed was lively as many people spoke about their own experiences in Cuba, discussed the relation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA)’s denunciation of the irresponsibility of imperialist countries in the fight to save the earth, and on the case of the Cuban 5 who are imprisoned in US jails for defending Cuba’s gains against US-based terrorist organizations. The evening ended with an invitation for everyone to take part in the 2010 Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade to Cuba to experience first-hand how Cuba is setting an example for the world.	Report Back The Power of Community How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Click on Photos to Enlarge!