Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace and togetherness. For many it’s a happy, joyous time of year. But it’s also a time when we drive around madly, feeling obliged to shop for everyone on our list. Each year we also use millions of plastic bags, throw out tonnes of packaging and food, and try to buy just about everything in sight.
Is this good for us? Our children? Are there better ways to show our love for each other and the world?
This was a healthy tree. And behind it? That was an apartment building.
True, you can’t prove that this specific tornado was caused by climate change. But there’s an abundance of evidence that climate change is causing more frequent and severe extreme weather events — and that climate change is caused primarily by humans. So while we can’t prove this tornado was entirely caused by climate change, the chances are pretty good it would have been less powerful or occurred somewhere else. 1600 homes damaged or destroyed. So the next time you hop on an airplane, or choose fossil fuels over solar or pedal power: think again. What are you doing to your neighbours, your children, maybe even yourself? This is what climate change looks like. We all need to kick the fossil-fuel habit as best we can!
More: Ottawa tornado | How to help (more) | Climate change action
“A study has detected microplastics in human excrement for the first time, raising larger questions about how the tiny particles can affect our health.” – EcoWatch | “We’re eating plastic without even realising it.” – Huffington Post | “We are eating our waste — mismanagement has come back to us on our dinner plates” – Chelsea Rochman.
More: Microplastics Detected in Human Stool Samples for First Time | Plastic Has Been Found In Human Poo For The First Time (Huffington Post) | More: Microplastics in human stool (news) | Microplastics health effects
What you can do: Easy ways to reduce your plastic waste | What can you do about plastic pollution? | How to reduce microplastics | Single use plastics | Poster
Top 5 plastic polluters: Nestlé, Tim Hortons, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola (Greenpeace | CBC)
The environment is not something “out there”. We become the chemicals we eat, we drink, we breath. There’s no separation. It’s time to stop single use plastics!
If you care about our children, and haven’t watched this extraordinary 10 minute speech by @Elizabeth May you need to do so right now…
“The good news is we still have a chance to save ourselves. To save the lives of our children, what would we not do? We as homo sapiens, the clever species, the smart ones, have at most 10 to 12 years to ensure that we stop greenhouse gas emissions. We are stepping up. We are going to rescue everybody…” — Elizabeth May | Youtube | Facebook
Climate change jobs, volunteering, more: GoodWork.ca/be-the-change
Continue reading ““To save the lives of our children, what would we not do?””
“After the panicky IPCC report on climate change, it’s easy for pessimism to set in — but that would be conceding defeat. Climate change is an inescapable present and future reality, but the point of the IPCC report is that there is still a chance to seize the best-case scenario rather than surrender to the worst. A bunch of her friends posted variations on “we’re doomed” and “it’s hopeless”, which perhaps made them feel that they were in charge of one thing in this overwhelming situation, the facts. They weren’t, of course. They were letting understandable grief at the news morph into an assumption that they know just how the future is going to turn out. They don’t.”
There’s no time for wallowing in denial or despair! It’s time for individual and collective action, not avoidance! Our lives depend on it.
Full story: Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is | Rebecca Solnit | Opinion | The Guardian
Guardian: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’
Grist: U.N. climate report shows civilization is at stake if we don’t act now
How do you feel about social and environmental problems?
Some people deny there’s a problem — surely nature, God or the government will take care of things.
Others, maybe after learning a bit more, suddenly feel exactly the opposite: the problem is enormous, overwhelming, nothing can be done!
But both these extremes are emotional cop-outs — sad excuses for cynicism, apathy and inaction.
Each of us needs to find the middle ground: neither denial nor despair. To find the courage to care, but without letting our fears and uncertainties overwhelm us. In every situation, the answer is simple: to do the right thing, as best as we can.
Because that’s what being fully alive is all about.
Just do what you can, as best as you can. No more and no less. But really do it, grab it by the horns! No avoiding, making excuses, hiding your head in the sand.
Are you doing your best? Are you fully applying your gifts, your skills, your creativity? Are you leading, not waiting to be led? Could you take a leap, launch a project, even change careers to something more green and meaningful?
If our eyes are open, there’s no denying what needs to be done. And for better or worse, there’s no escape from this wonderful and troubling world. So let’s choose the third option, the only happy option: positive action.
Rather than worrying about the future, let’s focus on all the great, positive, meaningful things we can do, today. Our guiding light need not be “can I save the world?”, it’s a self-defeating question to say the least. But rather: “Am I using my gifts, my life to its fullest, while I’m here on this planet?”
So let’s turn off the TV and other distractions. It’s time to stand up and take positive action in our homes, workplaces and communities, like never before. At this enormous moment in history, how can you and I rise to the challenge?
— Peter Blanchard
“The question is not ‘can you make a difference?’ You already do make a difference. It’s just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet.” — Julia Butterfly Hill
“The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.” — Paulo Coelho
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie
“The future will be what you contribute to and create.” — Greg Lake
More: https://www.goodwork.ca/jobs/be-the-change-48066
What do you think? What is the right thing to do in these crazy times? Share your thoughts and comments
“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbour” — sign on a front lawn in a wealthy neighborhood. Available here or print your own: www.welcomeyourneighbors.org
Photo: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License | full size
“She goes by many names: ‘Pachamama’ for South American Indians, ‘Gaia’ in Greek mythology, ‘Terra Mater’ in Roman myth, ‘Mahimata’ in Hinduism’s Rig-Veda, ‘Eorban Modor’ for the Germanic and Northern peoples, and ‘Mother Earth’ as named and celebrated by North America’s First Nations. She is universal and transcends nationalities and the ages, from the Paleolithic to today. She is the basis for everything: living beings, plant life, minerals, textiles, technology, food. Taking its cues from Native American Aboriginal culture, Mother Earth was inspired by a speech reportedly delivered in 1854 by Chief Seattle during his meeting with the President of the United States Franklin Pierce on the occasion of the sale of Native land to white settlers. His words capture the essence of the privileged relationship our continent’s first inhabitants maintain with nature.” — mosaiculture.ca | Wikipedia | Chief Dan Seatle’s speech
In a world where we’re all ensconced in bubbles of comfort, faith and certainty, how do we boldly seek out honest information? How can we balance between “credible/respected” sources, vs. radical new approaches?
How can we distinguish positive, creative solutions from pseudoscience, fake news and quackery? In a world where often there’s no concrete answer, how do we deal with complexity and uncertainty, yet still move forward?
PeterBlanchard.ca 
