Beyond cars and collapse

I am both a cyclist and a driver. But much more than that, I am a father in the age of climate crisis.

Fiona. Ian. Derecho. Floods. Fires. Famine. It’s almost back to back, but we’re doing next to nothing about it. Can we face the elephant in the room and prevent runaway climate change, collapse? Can we pause for a moment and reconsider our obsolete, short-sighted, rat-race lifestyles?

“We fly where we want.
We drive where we want.
We eat what we want.
We buy what we want.
That’s what’s driving growth.
That’s what’s leading us to ecological & societal collapse.
Thats what needs to change.”
ClimateDad

Do I love my car more than my kids? Not in a million years. We need to get most cars off the road to make way for real, people-centered community. When parents drive their kids to hockey practice, is it love? Or is it killing them?

The only way to survive the climate behemoth is much more radical change than most of us have even begun to think about.

Out of necessity I too drive when I must, in these crazy, suicidal times. But my heart sinks every time I turn the key. I’d love to park my car, share it, recycle it — anything but private car ownership for each of us.

Nobody knows for sure when we will cross the tipping points to runaway, unstoppable climate collapse. It’s not looking good. Those of us who choose not to drive might just be saving your kids lives.

But we can’t do it without you. It’s easy to be cynical… just a little bit harder to truly be alive. Besides, survival is so much more fun.

Let’s rebuild our lives, our world that the car has done so much to destroy!

– Peter Blanchard


#climatecrisis #climateemergency #climatecollapse vs. #climateaction #activeliving #activemobility #activetransportation #sustainableliving #degwowth | Wikipedia: Sustainable transport | Active mobility

@International Federation of Pedestrians @Canada Walks @America Walks @Walk Toronto @Walkable Ottawa @Centre for Active Transportation @BEST Vancouver BC @Car Free Day Vancouver @Twitter | @Facebook

You may say I’m a a dreamer, but I’m not the only one” – John Lennon


School Strikes for Climate

Students Strikes for Climate Action
Friday May 3, across Canada

Toronto: Toronto Queens Park, May 3, 12:30 – 2:30pm | Ongoing
Ottawa: Parliament Hill, May 3, 11am – 3pm | Ongoing 

Many more locations:
https://cop24climatestrike.com/

Facebook |  #FridaysForFuture | #SchoolStrike4Climate | #ClimateStrike

Fridays worldwide: 
Fridaysforfuture.org (2) | #FridaysForFuture 

More info, organizations, volunteering: GoodWork.ca/fridays


Ottawa tornado: one month later

This is what climate change looks like.

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

Continue reading “Ottawa tornado: one month later”

“To save the lives of our children, what would we not do?”

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?””

Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is

“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