Our Days After Earth Day 2010
The 40th annual Earth Day was a success, with an estimated one billion people in 190 countries participating in some way, according to Earth Day’s website. Many people are forming green teams, dedicated to finding cost-effective ways to promote sustainability. Doing simple things such as printing on two sides of paper, and using a reusable water bottle rather than buying a new container each time you drink coffee or water. A stainless steel travel mug is the best option for this, so you can avoid the toxic effects that plastic water bottles have been found to give.
Meanwhile, the three day World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of the Mother Earth wrapped up in Cochabamba Bolivia. This conference largely grew out of how so many NGO’s were barred from any official dialogue at Copenhagen. Over 30,000 people participated in Bolivia and the conference resulted in a wide recognition that a world referendum is needed on climate change, a climate justice tribunal, and the protection of the rights of Mother Earth. Several people blogged about the conference. Hopefully they will accomplish an agreement at the summit planned to be held in Mexico later this year. Their bottom line is that they want to establish a legal framework for protecting our increasingly threatened natural environment and raising the global consciousness about Mother Earth, on which we all depend for life.
Now that so many people are on board, what are some of the things we can do going forward? This being the Friday File, what’s fun?
Sustainability can be fun if we take the right attitude to it. My current stainless steel travel mug is decorated with zebra stripes with a pink border, and I love using it. Look at lists of things we can do, such as on Earth Day’s website, and make a fun version of it.
If you’d like some inspiration, check out National Geographic’s website that shows some fun ways that Earth Day has been celebrated over the years.
And sometimes activities can be fun just because we’re helping our home planet and making a difference.
Tags: Bolivia, Copenhagen, Earth Day, National Geographic, People's Conference, sustainability, travel mug
Happy Earth Hour
Saturday, March 27th, at 8:30 pm, join 3,100 cities across 121 countries and territories and turn out your lights. You will be joining them to send a strong message that more needs to be done to fight climate change.
World Wildlife Fund seems to be leading the way in offering climate friendly tips and tools for Earth Hour. WWF Canada is offering e-cards that you can use to remind your friends about Earth Hour. Some Canadian events can be found on the participating cities website.
Meanwhile, WWF-US has a web page that you can sign up on to help support your state in changing to a climate friendly color. You can watch a video that shows climate change and some of our world’s landmarks turning off their lights for Earth Hour. They also have a countdown clock.
The mothership, so to speak, is Earth Hour’s own website with links about every participating country.
This being the Friday File, it wouldn’t seem right to leave out an Earth Hour game (even though if you’re a regular reader of the Friday File you may have seen this little guy before!). Check it out at the game website.
Enjoy, and join in the worldwide Earth Hour fun!
Tags: Climate Change, Earth Hour, Earth Hour Game, ecards, WWF, WWF Canada, WWF US
American Attitudes towards Climate Change
George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication has five recent and interesting reports about climate change attitudes that can be downloaded when you visit their website. They’re well worth a good look.
The reports include a January 2010 update to their Global Warming’s Six Americas research. Their press release suggests that Americans can be grouped into one of six groups depending on their attitudes towards climate change. Overall, the results show a shift among Americans from being convinced that global warming is happening and is caused by humans and is a real threat (10% from its previous 18%), to more people (16%) believing global warming is not happening and is likely a hoax.
The report suggests that part of the cause responsible for this decrease is the current economic conditions and the recent attacks on climate science. While people focus more on keeping their job or dealing with job loss, they share something in common with people in developing countries who just want to feed their family. As humanitarian and conservation workers reveal, when people get desperate enough they will carry packages across the Pakistani/Afghanistan border for dinner money, or clear the forests of animals for African bushmeat. It’s tough to care about the long term consequences of climate change when you’re worried about paying your rent or feeding your family. But it’s still important.
Some people still care about their world, even when they’re facing personal challenges. They decide to be game wardens rather than bushmeat hunters. If only we could bottle that and pass it around!
The Center’s reports also have interesting information about the people who occupy the middle ground. The “Cautious” believe global warming is a problem but not urgent and are unsure if it is human caused, has risen to 27% from 19% in 2008.
The “Disengaged” who don’t know much about global warming and may not even think about it, has decreased to 6% from 12% in 2008. The “Doubtful” who aren’t sure if global warming is happening, but believe that if it is it’s natural and not a threat, is now 13% from 11% in 2008.
Interestingly, the majority of respondents believe that developing sources of clean energy should be a priority for the US Government, and support more funding for related research. Perhaps we can solve the problems even if people don’t fully believe in them!
As well as the above report, the website also has information about how American attitudes don’t equal concerns about recycling or eating locally grown food. Then there are four other reports to read.
So check out the University’s Center for Climate Change Communication’s website and learn more about American attitudes and actions. It’s important reading.
Tags: Center for Climate Change, clean energy, Climate Change, George Mason, global warming, locally grown food, recycling, Six Americas
Weather and Wildlife
Do you ever read a news item that makes you go “hhmmm”? Recently, several news items from the world of wildlife had that effect on me.
The first was from CNN online, about Kenyan wildlife officials rounding up and moving thousands of zebras and wildebeest from a northern park to Amboseli National Park to feed starving lions and hyenas. The lions and hyenas have started going after local livestock, because the drought that Kenya recently suffered from has killed many of their prey animals in the park. This also impacts tourism – Amboseli is one of Kenya’s top parks, and most tourists go there to see the animals.
Then, halfway around the world, another item that has been in the news caught my attention. Partly because it’s important, and partly because when combined with the above story all I could think at first was “hhmmm”.
As various news outlets have recently covered, animals and plants have been dying in Florida due to a bout of unusually cold weather. Animals such as the endangered manatee was featured for several nights on evening broadcasts as they huddled in springs trying to stay warm. The New York Times In Transit Blog mentions that thousands of “cold-stunned” sea turtles were rescued. Sadly, animals died from the cold, including manatees, sea turtles and crocodiles.
What struck me is that both of these stories exist due to drastic weather changes, and yet stories appeared around the same time in other media outlets announcing that the number of people who “believe” in climate change has gone down since Copenhagen. How can people not believe in climate change, or be concerned about what is happening in our world, when they learn stories like the above?
The other thing that struck me about the stories is what a strange world we’re living in now, and it’s likely to become even stranger.
What did the two news stories make you think? Other than simply, “hhmmm”?
Tags: Amboseli National Park, Climate Change, Conservation, Copenhagen, Endangered Species, Florida, Kenya, lions, Manatees, sea turtles, Wildlife, zebras
Sustainability for Businesses
The Burnaby Board of Trade held an Environmental Sustainability Forum for Business yesterday evening that is worth writing about. Hosted in the architecturally stunning Electronic Arts building, the event featured a panel of four environmentally friendly speakers with good business tips.
As the panel was introduced, it was noted that the pathway to being green is often less clear than the desire to be sustainable. Thus, it was fitting that the first speaker was Peter Robinson, CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation that helps teach people how to be sustainable.
Peter suggested that sustainability targets should include longer term solutions that apply to the whole system, that balance production and consumption, are transparent and include accountability. Making operations efficient and reducing energy and waste helps a business save money. The next step is reducing their product’s footprint, by making it and its packaging greener. Level three involves greening your network – your customers, suppliers, producers, and not least your employees. As in the palm oil article I posted recently, examine your supply chain. How green is it and how could it be made more sustainable?
Maureen Cureton, Green Business Manager at Vancity (see www.vancity.com/greenbusiness), spoke next. Vancity, she started, was the first North American-based financial institution that became carbon neutral. They accomplished this through focusing on building energy savings, paper use, employee commuting and bus travel. Items such as 100% post consumer paper cost more, she acknowledged, but reductions in consumption helps offset costs. Vancity’s environmental commitments generate employee and member (customer) loyalty as well as enhanced brand value which far outweighs any residual cost increase.
TJ Galda, Chair of the Electronic Arts Green Team, was next. He opened by saying sustainability gives a business a good triple bottom line – including the business, the environment, and the corporate cultural attitude. They’re thorough at EA (as it’s called) – the paper towels get composted. TJ made an excellent case about the benefits a business receives when employees are happy, and increasingly employees want to go home at night and tell their children that Mom or Dad works at a planet friendly company.
David Moran, Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Coca-Cola Canada, rounded out the panel. Coca-Cola Canada is a huge company, and it takes time to change a company that size. But they’re making a good effort. They’re examining ways to reduce their sugar footprint, and to become carbon free. A beverage container now contains a significant amount of sustainable material. And managers present their efforts to their Board of Directors annually, who importantly support the green shift.
The event was wrapped up with a Q&A session, during which the speakers responded to questions with knowledge and a genuine interest in helping businesses become sustainable.
Overall, it was a great event and hopefully this article will help businesses everywhere and of any size examine their own footprint and make it sustainable.
Tags: BBOT, Burnaby Board of Trade, Coca Cola, David Suzuki Foundation, Electronic Arts, green business, sustainability, Vancity
Adapting to Climate Change
In the shadow of the climate changes that are occurring, and the lack of a binding agreement emerging from Copenhagen, some leading humanitarian groups are seeking ways that people may be able to adapt to the early stages of climate change.
Angie Dazé, Senior Climate Change Adaptation Advisor for CARE International, gave me a personal interview today. She specializes in community-based adaptations, trying to understand the effects of climate change and what the most vulnerable of our world’s people might do to survive the early stages of climate change.
Empower the Most Vulnerable People
A whole community is not affected equally by climate shock. In pastoral communities, men often manage the livestock while women are responsible for fetching water, tending the garden, and ensuring the family has food. “What we often find is that women tend to have a higher level of vulnerability because of their role in the home,” Angie told me. “In agricultural-based communities, in particular, food and water become very difficult within a changing climate. So women’s traditional roles and responsibilities become even harder,” Angie explained. Issues related to climate change vulnerability can be social or political. Although women traditionally have limited decision-making power, when humanitarian managers “empower women to have more power in decisions, they tend to make good decisions that will help the family to manage the resources in a way that will reduce their risk.” But it’s not just women. “It’s making sure that the different members of the household have the skills and the information that they need to play the role that they need to play most effectively.”
Get the Right Information
One of climate change’s biggest problems is the uncertainty of what, how and when changes are going to occur. CARE managers “help people to have a broader range of options open to them, so they’re in a position to make decisions to manage the risks. And also to ensure they have the information they need to make those decisions,” Angie told me. This information includes seasonal forecasts, what crops might be better suited to a particular climate condition, and early warnings for droughts or storms.
Find Practical Solutions
While empowering women is an important part of an overall strategy of making a community more resilient, CARE also works closely with all members of the community, and local organizations, NGO’s, and government institutions. Together, they come up with practical solutions such as different agricultural practices – when rainfall decreases, it’s essential to keep as much moisture in the soil as possible. CARE is launching a program in Africa in which they do small scale adaptations in different communities and countries to find out what works. That learning will then be applied widely, both at the community and broader levels, such as trying to influence national policy frameworks. The focus is always on giving the most vulnerable people a voice and ensuring that the potentially large sums of money that will be donated to stricken areas actually reach the people who need it. It’s also “building skills and new practices and always providing information,” Angie added.
The Future
Ultimately, the best solution is for countries to sign a binding agreement to reduce emissions and stop climate change. Adaptation is most hopeful for our current level of climate change, but if it continues to grow (as is likely after Copenhagen), livelihoods are going to become impossible and mass migrations will likely occur. If that happens, we will be facing a whole new set of social and political hot spots.
The silver lining to the recent Copenhagen conference may be the number of average people who became involved and who care about the effect that climate change is having, and will have, on our planet, its people and its animals. So please keep caring and helping – You’re needed!
Tags: adaptation, Africa, CARE, Climate Change, Copenhagen, empowering women, global warming, Humanitarian
Caring About Climate Change
If you drove through Vancouver’s Kerrisdale today, or one of many other neighborhoods across North America, you may have noticed groups of people holding signs about climate change.
The group I stopped to chat with was led by Janette McIntosh of KAIROS Canada and Kevin Washbrook of Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC). They had a sizable turnout considering the freezing weather, and were received warmly by the many people driving by who honked their support.
Both organizations are grassroots and volunteer-driven. VTACC focuses on getting people involved politically on behalf of our planet with regards to climate change. When the group started in 2007, governments were not listening and although the large environmental groups were doing good work, they were not getting results. Kevin attributes this to a lack of involvement from the general public.
VTACC’s events are positive, fun and family-oriented, and include soap box derbies and parades. Occasionally the political signs appear, such as on the first day of the current international climate change conference. VTACC also organized leadership debates during the election. Their goal is to legislate serious carbon emission reductions to help stop climate change. “Climate change is not a political issue – it’s about creating the type of world we want to live in for the rest of our lives,” Kevin told me. “We’re not going to solve this unless we’re all working together.” VTACC forms alliances with other groups to accomplish goals related to climate change, as well as human rights and social justice. It’s an urgent time for action and although there are reasons to be worried, some things give Kevin great hope, including China and India announcing reduction targets, and the Canadian government’s shift in position. If groups are active now and then Copenhagen fails to reach an agreement, people will ask “why not?”.
VTACC is asking supporters to participate in a rotating fast during the Copenhagen talks – information is available on their Facebook page.
Janette McIntosh of KAIROS explained that her organization is multi-denominational and involved with climate change as well as social issues. Five years ago, Janette, a public health officer by trade, took on the issue of water abundance and went to churches to educate people. Soon after, other environmental activities related to resource extraction followed, especially in places where North American laws don’t apply. Three years ago, KAIROS decided to “focus on a longer-term, three-year climate change campaign, which gives us a chance, [as] volunteers, to become better educated and to become better advocates on the issues,” Janette explained. Being faith-based, KAIROS takes its message to congregations, and writes resources and policy documents based on Christian messages. Currently KAIROS is facing budget cuts from CIDA, which will negatively affect the international work they do.
Janette reports that some people who have witnessed old forms of environmental activism feel hesitant to get involved. Others are too busy, even lacking time to think or reflect. She approaches issues gently and takes time to build relationships and establish trust so people start to listen. In time, some join her group. She agrees that the role of stewardship is an important model. Feeling humble makes it much harder to approach our planet with an attitude of dominance. The bottom line is our relationship with ourselves, with other people, and with our planet. We need to examine who we are in relation to our world, how we live, and that we’re not alone. “In the business of going from place A, to B to C, communication dwindles – you’re not able to have meaningful conversation on issues that matter. If you’re not having those conversations, then the depth that all of us long for is not being met,” Janette suggested. Many people are not aware of how fulfilling life can be when it is lived intentionally, or with purpose.
Sometimes an overdose of climate change information — as with some media outlets during the lead up to Copenhagen — can make people feel hopeless or even desensitized. Those who get scared can bury it, pretend a threat doesn’t exist, and carry on with business as usual. Other people become overwhelmed as they stretch their energy in too many helpful ways.
There are different ways to approach this, but Janette suggests — and I agree — that people with an awareness or who have time to think, have a responsibility to help. “There has to be political analysis and an ability to work with an alliance-building and a partnership approach,” Janette suggested. Many people are helping and their voices have the right to be heard. A number of churches now have environmental committees or stewardship groups. Seattle-based Earth Ministry, for example, has a lot of activity going on to reach everyone. And we need everybody – all hands on deck, please!
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen started today. May great wisdom guide the decision makers and may they work together to reach an agreement that supports our planet. We wish them well.
Tags: Climate Change, Copenhagen, Earth Ministry, environment, grassroots, KAIROS, steward, UN, VTACC
WWF-Canada National Tour Launches November 4th
It’s already next week that WWF-Canada’s cross-Canada speaking tour “Oil and Ice” featuring award winning authors Andrew Nikiforuk (Tar Sands) and Ed Struzik (The Big Thaw) launches. Discussing the choices that will determine Canada’s future, the destiny of the Arctic, and lessons from the tar sands, the authors start their tour in Edmonton November 4th and Vancouver November 5th (at the Universities of Alberta and British Columbia, respectively).
The Arctic is warming alarmingly quickly, but there’s still time to make choices that alter the future and save it. ”Oil and Ice”s purpose is to stimulate discussion and debate about those choices. Struzik has witnessed the changes that are happening in the Arctic through his extensive time there, while Nikiforuk is an expert on the economics and influence of the tar sands.
The conversation will take place in 10 Canadian cities between November 4th and 20th. More information is available on WWF-Canada’s website.
Tags: Arctic, global warming, Oil and Ice, tar sands, WWF Canada
