tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74060372647042989972024-02-20T02:14:35.653-08:00COMPASSIONATE CLIMATE ACTIONOriginally a countdown to the Copenhagen climate talks, this blog now houses ideas for radical compassionate climate action.GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.comBlogger608125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-24885085612832138502022-10-22T09:11:00.039-07:002022-10-22T10:34:58.085-07:00A Message to All the Women Attending COP27 in Egypt<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECwqa0r8du6EOEiIh3SnNdfSK_LoBc9l1Lt64WPdqATzInknuWpOdT7V1wtouxXJFnbFcI71-7zDqy91yMoFQAiky95Exg6xVuZ01UN_fo54lCHHn3NH-Y9t0RJ-7cuDNHyQa6MliuZLwIPgtFEY5gIqZIIF-diVtLea3BJO5JLMuifdSfOV5L0Lbrg/s433/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-22%20at%209.10.10%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="433" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECwqa0r8du6EOEiIh3SnNdfSK_LoBc9l1Lt64WPdqATzInknuWpOdT7V1wtouxXJFnbFcI71-7zDqy91yMoFQAiky95Exg6xVuZ01UN_fo54lCHHn3NH-Y9t0RJ-7cuDNHyQa6MliuZLwIPgtFEY5gIqZIIF-diVtLea3BJO5JLMuifdSfOV5L0Lbrg/w400-h200/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-22%20at%209.10.10%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">This
year's UN international climate change Conference of the Parties (COP27)
will be held November 7-18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian city renowned for its eco-tourism and its protection of diverse natural habitats. Sharm el-Sheikh is known as the green city of peace. It was chosen to host COP27 because it has already hosted several international events, including the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP14) in 2018.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">*******</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It
was 13 years ago that I sent out this heartfelt request to all the
women who were going to attend the Copenhagen climate talks. Today, I
send it again, to all the women, grandmothers, mothers, daughters,
sisters, aunties, nieces, cousins, godmothers, wives, partners and girlfriends who are attending the climate
talks in Egypt. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">And to the grandmothers, mothers, daughters,
sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins, godmothers, wives, partners and girlfriends of all the men who will be
attending the Egypt climate talks, please <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2021/10/a-message-to-all-men-attending-climate.html" target="_blank">speak to them</a>. Speak up for
the sake of all the children ... of all species. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A request to all the women attending the climate change talks!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PLEASE WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">
Please inject some life into the talks — wear the colours of flowers
and forests and sunsets and fresh fruit and children's smiles.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">BE A MOTHER OR A GRANDMOTHER FIRST.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Believe
in your power! The "powers that be" need to hear that all the mothers
of the world want what's best for the children of all species. Please
represent all the mothers and grandmothers around the globe. Even if you
don't have your own biological or adopted children, you are still a
mother of all the children, everywhere. Speak up for them.</span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">REMEMBER THAT CLIMATE CHANGE KNOWS NO BORDERS.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Try
to forget that you're in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt representing your own country.
Think of the planet as one nation, one biosphere, one shared home within one shared atmosphere that knows no
boundaries. Speak for all human beings, as well as the rest of Nature,
which has no seat and no voice at the talks — unless you represent her there.</span></span><span style="color: #cc66cc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #cc66cc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COMPASSION BE YOUR COMPASS.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Remember
that prosperity and a thriving economy are impossible if the natural
environment is ailing. We must get our priorities right! If a decision
doesn't have the Earth and the children's future at heart, then that
decision is not a compassionate one and not a viable one.</span></span><span style="color: #00cccc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #00cccc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">CALL FOR ZERO CARBON — ALONG WITH SOME URGENCY IN ACHIEVING IT.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Try
to rev up the imaginations of world leaders and negotiators of all ilks
(even the heartless, uncreative ones). Help them envision the Golden
Age of Renewable Energy that we must quickly achieve.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIv8mWr0jkDpbRbwPgNChMAht0biJtAInnbQooUzaFQD5Q6rUJ990rGeCHaIZ6HPmgfiNsGKsrD8de6WDVWeZt0HGaM-2Z8z6LJXmH9jgm04TA8GFhbGLDlPlrzXx_2565HBoE1g4Nu8J/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-17+at+10.26.18+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="578" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIv8mWr0jkDpbRbwPgNChMAht0biJtAInnbQooUzaFQD5Q6rUJ990rGeCHaIZ6HPmgfiNsGKsrD8de6WDVWeZt0HGaM-2Z8z6LJXmH9jgm04TA8GFhbGLDlPlrzXx_2565HBoE1g4Nu8J/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-11-17+at+10.26.18+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #33cc00; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COURAGE GUIDE YOU.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Women
are courageous in so many — often unsung — ways. Courage in Sharm el-Sheikh,
though it won't be easy, will be simple. What a privileged position you
are in! Please take advantage of it and be brave enough to speak up for
all those who have so little — now and in the future. Be the peaceful
warriors who safeguard the children. Be willing to stand up, join arms, and say no (or yes!).</span><span style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>CALL FOR THE END OF FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES.</b></span> How will we ever lower our fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions as long as governments subsidize the fossil fuel industries? According to the IMF, our governments are giving fossil fuel corporations (who are already among the richest companies in the world) $5.9 TRILLION per year in direct and indirect subsidies (with our tax money). This injustice boggles the mind. Fossil fuel corporations must be made to pay the full costs of their social (health) and environmental damage and destruction before their executives receive bonuses and their shareholders receive dividends.</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">REMEMBER THE GREAT WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THEIR COURAGE</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">,
women like Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas,
Patricia Wright, Donella Meadows, Berta Cáceres</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">, Hazel Henderson, Sylvia Earle, Erin
Brokovich, Sister Dorothy Stang, Chai Jing, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Lois Gibbs, the
women of the Chipko Movement, Beatrix Potter, Greta Thunberg (and other young activists), Wangari Maathai, Julia
Butterfly Hill, Betty Krawczyk, Vandana Shiva, Sheila
Watt-Cloutier, Hildegard of Bingen, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" face=""trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 20px;">Harriet Nahanee</span><span class="Apple-style-span">. Stand on their shoulders — and be climate heroes in Egypt!</span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">p.s. Whose name is missing? Send me the name of the female eco-hero who inspires you (and a bit about her) in the comments section.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">
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<div style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: "times"; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">(click </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ax09Nokve4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> to listen to this song)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Joyce Johnson Rouse (Earth Mama)</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: "times"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">of the ones who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We are standing on the shoulders </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">of the ones who came before us</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They are saints and they are humans, they are angels,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">they are friends</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">and the challenge</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">When we know that by our efforts things will be</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">better in the end</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They lift me higher than I could ever fly</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">Carrying my burdens away</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I imagine our world if they hadn't tried</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We wouldn't be here celebrating today</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders of the ones </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am honored by their passion for our liberty</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">And my shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They lift me higher than I could ever fly</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">Carrying my burdens away</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I imagine our world if they hadn't tried</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We wouldn't be so very blessed today</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders of the ones </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am honored by their passion for our liberty</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">And my shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">My shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span></div>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-26390164438844107942021-10-26T17:46:00.000-07:002021-10-26T17:46:59.562-07:00A Message to All the Women Attending the Climate Talks (COP26) in Glasgow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGL__CeXKVnGPqYP-lVP3glgZ09fzNcTKuVClh53ncksJFTpTV01Xbdwb0Vj7lM9eJo4jTk8Q_SOkA0TFV5ewj1zFafes5_qbXJIvtKN5zhByx5V-IUiO5DGK1KcWiwg3UFC_5VIaV-DS/s738/Screen+Shot+2021-10-26+at+5.27.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="738" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGL__CeXKVnGPqYP-lVP3glgZ09fzNcTKuVClh53ncksJFTpTV01Xbdwb0Vj7lM9eJo4jTk8Q_SOkA0TFV5ewj1zFafes5_qbXJIvtKN5zhByx5V-IUiO5DGK1KcWiwg3UFC_5VIaV-DS/w400-h225/Screen+Shot+2021-10-26+at+5.27.20+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">This
year's international climate change Conference of the Parties (COP26)
will be held the first two weeks of November in Glasgow, Scotland. With the UK and Italy co-hosting </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">this all-important COP (2020's COP was postponed due to Covid-19)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, Glasgow was chosen as the site due to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc"><b>its experience in hosting international events at facilities deemed first-rate (</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc">the Scottish Event Campus or SEC)</span></span>, and </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc"><b>its commitment to sustainability</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="hgKElc">Indeed, Glasgow was recently awarded the status of Global Green City, and it is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Good on you, Glasgow!</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">*******</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: magenta;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It
was nine years ago that I sent out this heartfelt request to all the
women who are going to attend the Copenhagen climate talks. Today, I
send it again, to all the women, grandmothers, mothers, daughters,
sisters, aunties, nieces, cousins, godmothers and girlfriends who are attending the climate
talks in Glasgow. And to all the grandmothers, mothers, daughters,
sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins, godmothers and girlfriends of all the men who will be
attending the Glasgow climate talks, please <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2021/10/a-message-to-all-men-attending-climate.html" target="_blank">speak to them</a>! Speak up for
the sake of all the children ... of all species. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A request to all the women attending the climate change talks!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PLEASE WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">
Please inject some life into the talks — wear the colours of flowers
and forests and sunsets and fresh fruit and children's smiles.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJpbzgJjzaIsJb9hzW0uiF97Viikxb2CFH1I1W4183DClFCZHcXza-UWrZ4K3p9ePbIJYfYIT4T9HeLRQpNRm20NHxjr6WbDX3iYHfjJO5Dm7tjpN-tWPdfiP1niPjEc8gaqUOKvEI0F1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-17+at+10.25.11+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="578" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJpbzgJjzaIsJb9hzW0uiF97Viikxb2CFH1I1W4183DClFCZHcXza-UWrZ4K3p9ePbIJYfYIT4T9HeLRQpNRm20NHxjr6WbDX3iYHfjJO5Dm7tjpN-tWPdfiP1niPjEc8gaqUOKvEI0F1/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-11-17+at+10.25.11+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">BE A MOTHER OR A GRANDMOTHER FIRST.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Believe
in your power! The "powers that be" need to hear that all the mothers
of the world want what's best for the children of all species. Please
represent all the mothers and grandmothers around the globe. Even if you
don't have your own biological or adopted children, you are still a
mother of all the children, everywhere. Speak up for them.</span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">REMEMBER THAT CLIMATE CHANGE KNOWS NO BORDERS.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Try
to forget that you're in Glasgow, Scotland representing your own country.
Think of the planet as one nation, one biosphere, one shared home within one shared atmosphere that knows no
boundaries. Speak for all human beings, as well as the rest of Nature,
which has no seat and no voice at the talks — unless you represent her there.</span></span><span style="color: #cc66cc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-weight: bold;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #cc66cc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COMPASSION BE YOUR COMPASS.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Remember
that prosperity and a thriving economy are impossible if the natural
environment is ailing. We must get our priorities right! If a decision
doesn't have the Earth and the children's future at heart, then that
decision is not a compassionate one and not a viable one.</span></span><span style="color: #00cccc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #00cccc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">CALL FOR ZERO CARBON ALONG WITH SOME URGENCY IN ACHIEVING IT.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Try
to rev up the imaginations of world leaders and negotiators of all ilks
(even the heartless, uncreative ones). Help them envision the Golden
Age of Renewable Energy that we must quickly achieve.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #33cc00; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COURAGE GUIDE YOU.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Women
are courageous in so many — often unsung — ways. Courage in Glasgow,
though it won't be easy, will be simple. What a privileged position you
are in! Please take advantage of it and be brave enough to speak up for
all those who have so little — now and in the future. Be the peaceful
warriors who safeguard the children. Be willing to stand up, join arms, and say no (or yes!).</span><span style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">REMEMBER THE GREAT WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THEIR COURAGE</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">,
women like Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas,
Patricia Wright, Donella Meadows, Berta Cáceres</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">, Hazel Henderson, Sylvia Earle, Erin
Brokovich, Sister Dorothy Stang, Chai Jing, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Lois Gibbs, the
women of the Chipko Movement, Beatrix Potter, Greta Thunberg (and other young activists), Wangari Maathai, Julia
Butterfly Hill, Betty Krawczyk, Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Sheila
Watt-Cloutier, Hildegard of Bingen, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" face=""trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 20px;">Harriet Nahanee</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">. Stand on their shoulders — and be climate heroes in Glasgow!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">
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<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">p.s. Whose name is missing? Send me the name of your female eco-hero (and a bit about her) in the comments section.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">
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<div style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: "times"; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">(click </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ax09Nokve4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> to listen to this song)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Joyce Johnson Rouse (Earth Mama)</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders</span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: "times"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">of the ones who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We are standing on the shoulders </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">of the ones who came before us</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They are saints and they are humans, they are angels,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">they are friends</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">and the challenge</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">When we know that by our efforts things will be</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">better in the end</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They lift me higher than I could ever fly</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">Carrying my burdens away</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I imagine our world if they hadn't tried</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We wouldn't be here celebrating today</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders of the ones </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am honored by their passion for our liberty</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">And my shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">They lift me higher than I could ever fly</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">Carrying my burdens away</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I imagine our world if they hadn't tried</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">We wouldn't be so very blessed today</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am standing on the shoulders of the ones </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">who came before me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I am honored by their passion for our liberty</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">And my shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">My shoulders will be there to hold </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">the ones who follow me</span></span></span></div>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-3114980960369279512021-10-26T17:23:00.006-07:002022-10-22T10:20:11.704-07:00A Message to All the Men Attending UN Climate Conferences<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SzO_s0ZDNJXymPOzoONabj3Ip0sAlYvr0493ykE_gg4WASioIrFUvlXs7PDE1Oip9Px4YSloC1nNYmvFeS1pA5WGtk11PNVa6kNU_CXuw1OoprhDUT0OgbXgtclPjP2qVMSBRtjyBICf7WFOPKSObOo2Gd8v1gCTTS36mq30yFnZXL9RtzIn6DhsaA/s1120/Presentation3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1120" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SzO_s0ZDNJXymPOzoONabj3Ip0sAlYvr0493ykE_gg4WASioIrFUvlXs7PDE1Oip9Px4YSloC1nNYmvFeS1pA5WGtk11PNVa6kNU_CXuw1OoprhDUT0OgbXgtclPjP2qVMSBRtjyBICf7WFOPKSObOo2Gd8v1gCTTS36mq30yFnZXL9RtzIn6DhsaA/w400-h225/Presentation3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Almost every year, I</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> implore all the women who will be attending the COPs (big UN climate conferences / negotiations) to be the embodiment of Mother Earth, to represent and
speak for all the children, of all species — and to wear bright colours
while doing it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">But I don't want to leave out all the men who attend these Conferences of the Parties each November. The climate emergency is now so urgent that we <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">can't do this without you</span>. <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">So h</span>ere is my invitation to you — the world's </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">grandfathers, </span></span>fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins, husbands, partners, godfathers, comrades and best <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">buddies</span>. </span></span><br />
</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>~~~~~~~ </b></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">SHOW OFF YOUR ECOLOGICAL SMARTS.</span></b> <span style="color: black;">During</span></span>
the negotiations, remember that we are facing (some sooner than
others) a threat to our very existence. Our lives and livelihoods, our
food security and water sources, our homes and (for some) entire
homelands are threatened by this climate crisis — this enemy
of our own making, this foe with no face. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">So
share your ecological literacy, your understanding of the importance of
biodiversity. Call others on their eco-illiteracy and their lunacy or lack of logic. Admit what you don't understand. <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Don't be afraid to p</span>ose questions (especially "st<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">upid<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">" questions ... many of us are thankful for those!)</span></span>. Name evil where you witness it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">We can't eat coal. We
can't drink oil. We can't breathe natural gas. It is neither money nor
the burning of fossil fuels that gives us life. They merely give us
ease. Speak up for the true necessities of life.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM2PzN6HzYY6xYel-KL1ZcdvDIuzPjQ6LqQery9hxLRE7QuuqdgNcgJ-oKYqYWeJOITmbFK0C35WCd61qlW5ITyGwuFzulkSmYJM0NSkGEe_aQTjjkuiQEuKOkJkwQslkyDylMqUlX4Kj/s1600/DMN-fX0U8AA7Lhs.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM2PzN6HzYY6xYel-KL1ZcdvDIuzPjQ6LqQery9hxLRE7QuuqdgNcgJ-oKYqYWeJOITmbFK0C35WCd61qlW5ITyGwuFzulkSmYJM0NSkGEe_aQTjjkuiQEuKOkJkwQslkyDylMqUlX4Kj/s320/DMN-fX0U8AA7Lhs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span></span>In his "<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">solider</span> uniform<span style="color: #38761d;">"</span></span></span> <br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;">DON'T BE A "SOLDIER" FOR YOUR COUNTRY, BE A WARRIOR FOR YOUR CHILDREN ... FOR ALL THE CHILDREN.</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Arrive with compassion in your heart, courage in your pocket, and creative solutions in your briefcase. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">SPEAK
UP and STAND UP! Then man up (a term I've never understood until now).
Your job, since time began for our species, has been to protect those
more vulnerable — especially the children. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> <span style="color: black;">At the COPs, your vital role is to protect the right of all
children to a viable biosphere, to a stable climate ... and to a future.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><span style="color: red;">YOU CAN WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS, TOO! </span></b>Those suits you wear <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">seem</span> so drab and boring. You're not soldiers — you don't have to wear a<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span>uniform.
Cut yourselves free this year. Undo your ties! Wear pink shirts or
yellow shirts. Wear bright blue or green shirts. Be a fe<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">ast to <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">your</span> <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">own eyes<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">. ;-)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYYlnOiY1PHpaQvO03GHXdK-rHUqacuQOvthW1OB7AXRBZE0yWEjPydhuDtfSt0YGnCwFfJiasLc2qVnwRB6NqD7RR0PT1E5wrFA-HzS3CNGFiwKeJQPiySYgFEtovMyOSfwFN052CB5D/s1600/AnoteTong_2015Z-embed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYYlnOiY1PHpaQvO03GHXdK-rHUqacuQOvthW1OB7AXRBZE0yWEjPydhuDtfSt0YGnCwFfJiasLc2qVnwRB6NqD7RR0PT1E5wrFA-HzS3CNGFiwKeJQPiySYgFEtovMyOSfwFN052CB5D/s400/AnoteTong_2015Z-embed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anote Tong, climate change activist and former Kiribati president </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Let what you wear be a symbol of what you care about and what you will stand up for. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Dress
like the day, not the middle of the night — like a meadow of wildflowers in bloom, not the soot-begrimed walls of buildings during the Industrial Revolution. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">
</span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Be
inspired by what men in the least developed (and therefore least
polluting) regions and countries of the world wear. (How did business
suits come to be synonymous with pollution and, well, death?) Wouldn't
it be fun to be more colourful and more comfortable this year? And how
will you come up with the creative solutions we need in order to address
the climate crisis <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">if</span> you're dressed in your dreary, anemic, lackluster, cheerless, monotonous, and decidedly unimaginative suits? (<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">C</span>an you tell I'm not a fan of "the suit"?)</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic06QOlzYAefbW8BjT4w-ftS2ZNoxvSOSWXgq79oZfs0_rbv-AB1CDywe5v_wuZn2uh36Kh7PDEmYVJTV7iw18Re0rHJ3QRmIA6jDWyIi4aMFzZTFNsHAEEsgMRUVJ2x4ecwAFeYhYYzbT/s1600/mwende-804x520-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="804" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic06QOlzYAefbW8BjT4w-ftS2ZNoxvSOSWXgq79oZfs0_rbv-AB1CDywe5v_wuZn2uh36Kh7PDEmYVJTV7iw18Re0rHJ3QRmIA6jDWyIi4aMFzZTFNsHAEEsgMRUVJ2x4ecwAFeYhYYzbT/s320/mwende-804x520-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="st">Mithika Mwenda, secretary general of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">IT'S TIME FOR EVERYONE TO GROW UP. LIFE IS NOT A GAME.</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span> <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Men</span> need to take <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">it</span> seriously, too. <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Life</span>
(both your own and this planet's) is a precious and sacred gift, and
it comes with responsibilities once we become adults. Why continue to
play games (with our survival!) well into adulthood? </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">M</span>ost
certainly, life is not a zero-sum game. There are no winners when even
one of us is losing. And right now, we're all losing — even those of you
who feel like winners. (If <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">one</span> doesn't understand how we're <i>all</i> losing, one could do more research before heading to the climate conference.) Perhaps you can have some fun <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">turning this into a win-win-win sort of game.</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>~~~~~~~ </b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black;">Finally, if you know any women who are going to this year's COP, please invite them to listen to <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2022/10/a-message-to-all-women-attending-cop27.html" target="">this request</a>. And please, if the <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">globe</span> is going to be on fire, let it be with the passion <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">a<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">nd fervor </span></span>of those of you who are going </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black;">to the COP </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span>to <span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">help </span>safeguard the future and save the w<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">o<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">rld!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br /><br /><br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-35380325159500998842021-09-19T09:59:00.002-07:002021-09-19T10:04:08.771-07:00Compassion is Starting to Taste Quite Different<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IWGitIDsvo-XPcDb5lsTpXocdSZYo734-I1cWivRyH67qOQmmGDPEV8S3Vfzov9LpykYN1RXg0Adw3Zb3SykxIVPYB9__kBpd0gUDB5fQOBpBBiOqu86xUEh7Kc8JaQ6uUUxcrGi3MM1/s801/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+9.57.24+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="801" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IWGitIDsvo-XPcDb5lsTpXocdSZYo734-I1cWivRyH67qOQmmGDPEV8S3Vfzov9LpykYN1RXg0Adw3Zb3SykxIVPYB9__kBpd0gUDB5fQOBpBBiOqu86xUEh7Kc8JaQ6uUUxcrGi3MM1/w400-h173/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+9.57.24+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>My husband said something shocking to me recently — something that made me hang my head. "What's wrong?" he asked. "It's just sad that we even have to contemplate that," I replied. "Well, it's even sadder for the rest of Nature if we don't" was his response.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>So what shocking thing did my husband say? <br /></span></span></span></span></p><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 40px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>What is left of the land and oceans must be left to restore itself. As I see it now, the only solution is that as much food as possible must be manufactured from chemicals and cell culture to set the land and oceans free.</span></span></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>A couple of days earlier, he'd passed on the <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/2021-02-03-food-system-biodiversity-loss-benton-et-al_0.pdf" target="_blank">link</a> to a February 2021 research paper entitled Food System Impacts on Biodiversity Loss: Three Levers for Food System Transformation in Support of Nature. While those three levers are all solutions I've thought of often, it was good to see them in (someone else's) print from a prestigious outfit, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International
Affairs, which is a world-leading policy institute based in London, UK. Here are the three levers they are suggesting</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span>for "creating a more biodiversity-supporting food system" (pp. 22-29)</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>:
</span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b>Lever 1. Dietary change to reduce overall demand for food</b> - We produce more food than we need per capita; one third of the food we produce is lost or wasted; the environmental footprint [foodprint?] of animal-sourced foods is generally larger than for plant-sourced foods; trends towards consumption of high-impact foods are increasing. In other words, we need to make a shift from beef to beans (and anyone who's had a yummy black bean burger knows that this isn't an imposition or a sacrifice). </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>Lever 2. Setting aside land </span><span><span>specifically for the conservation and proliferation of habitats and wildlife</span></span></b><span><b> that support biodiversity</b> - We have to return vast tracts of pastureland and farmland to native forest cover (or tall prairie grasslands, where appropriate), as this will provide the greatest potential for carbon sequestration, especially in developed nations that</span><span><span> "account
for 70 per cent of the carbon that would be sequestered by restoring land currently
occupied by animal agriculture" (p. 25). </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>Protecting or restoring undisturbed habitats and whole ecosystems of significant size is vital for species recovery, especially of large animals at risk of extinction. [I mean, c'mon, do we truly believe that our species — despite the impacts on every other species — has the right to every square inch / centimeter of this planet? Are we truly that arrogant? What a fatal hubris!]</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><b>Lever 3. Adapting the way that land is farmed</b> - We must "adopt </span></span><span><span>more biodiversity-supporting modes of food production." There are two avenues for this: i) Retain wildlife habitat "pockets" within
agricultural lands; ii) change f<span class="•-No-break">arming methods.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>The report suggests three "key avenues" for changing how we grow our food:</span></span></span></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span>Reducing the volume of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, mulch, water, etc.) and using inputs more efficiently (something called precision agriculture) through </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">the "4 Rs" principle: the right source, in the right amount, in the right place, at th<span class="•-No-break">e right time. <br /></span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"> </span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">Substituting more sustainable alternative inputs, such as crop rotation to ensure soil fertility instead of using chemical / synthetic fertilizers. Another example is using no-till methods to limit disturbance of natural processes in the soil. Still another example is supporting natural pollination and pest control rather than using pesticides.</span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"> <br /></span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">Switching to modes of production that use land quite differently, through agroforestry, agro-ecological and organic approaches, and <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/search?q=permaculture" target="_blank">permaculture</a> principles. These practices eschew monocultures (huge tracts of land on which only one crop is sown), recognizing that biodiversity is the farmer's friend. This is sometimes called Nature-friendly farming.</span></span></span></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">Now here's the catch: <br /></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzxri9eMuDVuE7TJMllShgpqU08pl83tnxIjBFNGk2VaIPHOHpiaPqWEsCqf2_1Ipp6xVcYebxJtz3eg8ps8HR4DWxw-1ZpruiKtC1h1NXLDUU2-OQIEUuqhV9JcIK_B4KvmUPBDk36EU/s770/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+8.30.53+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="770" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzxri9eMuDVuE7TJMllShgpqU08pl83tnxIjBFNGk2VaIPHOHpiaPqWEsCqf2_1Ipp6xVcYebxJtz3eg8ps8HR4DWxw-1ZpruiKtC1h1NXLDUU2-OQIEUuqhV9JcIK_B4KvmUPBDk36EU/w400-h122/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+8.30.53+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">Someone commented over dinner last night that we're still not doing much "forward thinking." (The Natural Step calls it <a href="https://www.naturalstep.ca/backcasting" target="_blank">backcasting</a> — picturing what we want or where we need to get to, and then working backwards to figure out what we must do to achieve these goals.)</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">Indeed, the increasingly intersecting climate emergency and biodiversity crisis (can you say Sixth Mass Extinction?) represent what I call a crisis of imagination. Despite the millions of people who read science fiction and no doubt equal numbers who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi movies, apparently we can't imagine our way out of an economy that is destroying all the life-sustaining properties of our biosphere.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break">So here's my contribution for this week. We need a "significant reduction in overall demand for food"? Then let's stop manufacturing Cheetos®. They're a non-vegetarian (there's animal-derived rennet in the so-called cheese) "crunchy corn puff snack" that people just. don't. need. Imagine how much farmland could be saved and shared with the rest of Nature if we got off our addictive junk food habits! This boycott idea fits the three levers described above:</span></span></span><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b>Dietary change to reduce overall demand for food </b>(this idea would help mitigate the obesity crisis, too)<b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b>Using less land for farming so it can be re-naturalized </b>(no more junk food crops = less land needed for farming)<b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b>Changing how we farm the land </b>(no more corn monocultures)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Here's to a diet that includes fresh corn on the cob rather than "crunchy corn puff snacks"!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="•-No-break"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaefvIogS1qEXbkMn3-zkesTahpQ_HMPFpPL70n2U05hhlQeXp6OnO7_TwzSoegOzr3yCTXHQUsZIH0cnG_IdVxvYRkNPfhflTcY6bXqfwH_bzLTj8Zf1AvVnJlXLiCSYLnFX_jihRnJoN/s488/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+9.47.59+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="488" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaefvIogS1qEXbkMn3-zkesTahpQ_HMPFpPL70n2U05hhlQeXp6OnO7_TwzSoegOzr3yCTXHQUsZIH0cnG_IdVxvYRkNPfhflTcY6bXqfwH_bzLTj8Zf1AvVnJlXLiCSYLnFX_jihRnJoN/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-09-19+at+9.47.59+AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b></b></span></span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-34799731398230833822020-03-15T14:46:00.000-07:002020-03-15T20:51:10.827-07:00VIDEO: Coastal GasLink & Wet'suwet'en<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCmh649sVkI8V2Su6ZO9FNgyghacQEMmTgUonafZQowzWodxMYAvMd-CMdUWGyMHz6GKJczZlJi8hnqQazT03PmqNOIW545q4zFBfhAqm7uE-xRF6l8ECAwLOkSGsNd5gTD6a-AWlRfCG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-03-15+at+2.43.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="519" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCmh649sVkI8V2Su6ZO9FNgyghacQEMmTgUonafZQowzWodxMYAvMd-CMdUWGyMHz6GKJczZlJi8hnqQazT03PmqNOIW545q4zFBfhAqm7uE-xRF6l8ECAwLOkSGsNd5gTD6a-AWlRfCG/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-03-15+at+2.43.00+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My beloved (Dr. Peter Carter) has done a lot of research and discovered some frightening things about why our provincial and federal governments (here in Canada) are intransigent in their defense of fracking and support for new fossil fuel infrastructure (to the tune of billions of our tax dollars). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This stands in stark contrast to their irrational criminalization of anyone standing in the way of pipelines — especially the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs and the Unist'ot'en land and water protectors. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These people — politicians, corporate kleptocrats and, increasingly, the police and judiciary — are rigorously (and vigorously) collaborating to hasten the end of our species and the end of most living beings in the biosphere of Earth. (If you think I'm exaggerating, you're not keeping up with the research on the climate emergency and biodiversity loss.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>HERE IS THE PLAN of the .01% FOR THE WORLD:</b> These destroyers (the seekers of more, more, more — and their sycophants) have 19 more fossil fuel pipelines up their sleeve just for Canada, with 13 of them in British Columbia!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And are these pipelines being built to ship food and create "a community of love where all have enough to eat because you share what you have" (an idea planted in my head by a friend, Judith Rees-Thomas, and her book, Soul Talk)? NO! They are simply to make the uber-rich richer while they foreclose on the future — which doesn't both them because they subscribe to the puerile belief that the guy with the most money at the end wins. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here is Peter's video, Coastal GasLink & Wet'suwet'en. I found it astonishing. It shows why, as Exinction Rebellion's Roger Hallam has put it, we need to keep up the mass disruption, get even braver about mass sacrifice for the common good (thousands of us getting arrested), and maintain respectfulness throughout it all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://youtu.be/QQvwOB8Lf6M</span></span></span></div>
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-47241652795217576232019-12-15T05:00:00.001-08:002022-05-05T15:01:12.826-07:00Dr. Peter Carter on COP25 in Madrid<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">This interview with Dr. Peter Carter of the Climate Emergency Institute is going viral! People appreciate his honest views of what's happened at the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) 25 in Madrid, Spain, which wrapped up on Friday, December 13, 2019. </span></span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oa13KrOvE2s" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">You can also see and share it here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa13KrOvE2s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa13KrOvE2s</a></span></span><br />
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GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-74501734615199360362019-12-01T14:00:00.002-08:002019-12-01T14:00:40.071-08:00A Message to All the Women Attending COP25 in Madrid<div style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It
was 10 years ago that I sent out this heartfelt request to all the
women who were going to attend the Copenhagen climate talks. Today, I
send it again, to all the women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts,
nieces and godmothers who are attending the climate talks in Madrid, Spain
(COP25). And to all the mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces and
godmothers of all the men who will be attending the climate talks in Madrid: Please ... speak up for all the children, of all species!</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="color: #993399;"><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span">A request to all women attending the climate talks</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="color: #993399; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">PLEASE WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span">Please
inject some life into the talks — wear the colours of flowers and
forests and sunsets and fresh fruit and children's smiles.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><div style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">
<div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407932547597573154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAXUaQCcBkrQBdu2PqlN7iAv2pa5ftTVZaXG2weE0MwiRS25NZN96lNL2ns7M2oFx3P6XqLMStp6lV_QRYVnU-_4BjYfRXLY-UFM5W9nUI7TZJuIKSKa75lxJsNVQ48_J-VDfFtJeIlQf/s320/AfricanWomen.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; width: 320px;" /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">BE A MOTHER OR A GRANDMOTHER FIRST.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Believe
in your power! The "powers that be" need to hear that all the mothers
of the world want what's best for the children of all species. Please
represent all the mothers and grandmothers around the globe. Even if you
don't have your own biological or adopted children, you are still a
mother of all the children, everywhere. Speak up for them.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">REMEMBER THAT CLIMATE CHANGE KNOWS NO BORDERS.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Try
to forget that you're in Madrid, Spain representing your own country.
Think of the planet as one nation, under one atmosphere that knows no
boundaries. Speak for all human beings, as well as the rest of nature,
which has no seat and no voice at the talks.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc66cc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COMPASSION BE YOUR COMPASS.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Remember
that prosperity and a thriving economy are impossible if the natural
environment is ailing. We must get our priorities right! If a decision
doesn't have the Earth and the children's future at heart, then that
decision is not a compassionate one.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #00cccc; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">CALL FOR ZERO CARBON ALONG WITH SOME URGENCY IN ACHIEVING IT.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Try
to rev up the imaginations of world leaders and negotiators of all ilks
(even the heartless, uncreative ones). Help them envision the Golden
Age of Renewable Energy that we should be quickly heading into.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407932024214757522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccMoPqdHCw_8Ywpkk425N7OJ_88nPIAuj1IYoYCPm5pWmDpBYJ5K46YRcK7ij16R1Hziciq0k4QDXkKDZ-OQ_D9g1HYMsunAm_CaesWa40NiRVqjXV4gCxgiCe211_uDpB9z4htmhhhUo/s320/IndianWomen.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; cursor: pointer; height: 168px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; width: 320px;" /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #33cc00; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">LET COURAGE GUIDE YOU.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Women
are courageous in so many — often unsung — ways. Courage in Madrid,
though it won't be easy, will be simple. What a privileged position you
are in! Please take advantage of it and be brave enough to speak up for
all those who have so little — now and in the future. Be the peaceful
warriors who safeguard the children.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ff6600; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">REMEMBER THE GREAT WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THEIR COURAGE</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">,
women like Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas,
Patricia Wright, Donella Meadows, Hazel Henderson, Sylvia Earle, Erin
Brokovich, Sister Dorothy Stang, Greta Thunberg, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Lois Gibbs, the
women of the Chipko Movement, Beatrix Potter, Wangari Maathai, Julia
Butterfly Hill, Betty Krawczyk, Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Sheila
Watt-Cloutier, Hildegard of Bingen, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Harriet Nahanee, Eunice Foote</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">. Stand on their shoulders — and be climate heroes in Madrid!</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-73454773226534496902019-10-20T10:41:00.000-07:002019-10-20T11:02:09.573-07:00Guest Post: "A Short Rant about LOVE, and the CLIMATE"<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I read Antonia Paquin's "short rant" this morning, I asked her right away if I could post it here for you. Antonia is a young friend nearby who gives her life's energy to ensuring a future for us all. Much love to you, Antonia, with thanks for sharing this with my readers!</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AVUK4-S6PZjVYZ4Yx8jQRHWlEXuhKNDbt-8qMXTJizuht1obu1Cs_lO9OFtw74VwOgwglHfz1LEnCdwQdan_BX_NKuDk1odFZVDovG3-KV6uS9s_WeFJ6j05C6XZDJZcittNo5PFuy7r/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-10-20+at+10.23.03+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="446" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AVUK4-S6PZjVYZ4Yx8jQRHWlEXuhKNDbt-8qMXTJizuht1obu1Cs_lO9OFtw74VwOgwglHfz1LEnCdwQdan_BX_NKuDk1odFZVDovG3-KV6uS9s_WeFJ6j05C6XZDJZcittNo5PFuy7r/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-10-20+at+10.23.03+AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Antonia Paquin, in Victoria (with thanks to Creatively United)</span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br 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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A Short Rant about LOVE, and the CLIMATE</span></span></b></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sometimes I find myself disconnecting from the word "climate," because it seems obscure and somewhat nebulous unless you're a scientist who studies this stuff.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've found the following to be helpful in bringing "climate" into my immediate experience:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Notice the breath you just took ... now the one you are about to take. You are taking climate into your body.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Look outside, look around you, really LOOK, noticing the trees, the sky, the soil. You are looking at the climate.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Feel your heartbeat ... touch your fingers to your wrist, or neck to feel your pulse, or just feel your body moving ever-so-slightly by your heart beating. You are a living creature, interacting with your surroundings. We are also climate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 6px 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Remember the Earth is extremely resilient. She knows how to heal herself. Humans are also resilient. We can adapt to change. Though the world feels grim right now, especially with this messy [Canadian federal] election, we are inevitably forced to call into question the major systemic failings that have led us to where we are, which is a good thing!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are being collectively called to question the ideologies, and the political and economic systems that led us into this mess, the colonial way: "Dominate people, dominate land, YOU SHALL HAVE NO HEART."</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is the movement to end all movements.</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are now being called to decolonize the crap out of ourselves and remember who the hell we are as humans.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Could it be that humans aren't somehow above the natural world?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Could it be that we don't have the right to pillage and rape the Earth?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Could it be that humans are actually inextricably ~connected~ to the Earth?? WOW! You don't say?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/search?q=David+Suzuki" target="_blank">David Suzuki</a>, our beloved national man of science, is preaching this message loud and clear. Time to wake up and smell the soil, friends!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here's how we "fix the climate":</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 6px 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Tune into what Indigenous land defenders and water protectors have been saying for hundreds of years.</b> Support these movements with your money, time, energy. Uplift voices of black and indigenous folks, people of colour.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Breathe deep, ground yourself in gentleness and self-compassion so that you feel safe.</b> Then take time to call into question your own belief systems, assumptions, attitudes. We can all do this together.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Have "adventure conversations" with others.</b> Bring up things like climate, the human condition, hope, guilt, fear, grief, love.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Vulnerability is powerful.</b> Connect deeply with your fellow humans, know that they probably have similar fears and doubts that you have, and when we share ... it can be so healing.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Cry and cry and cry, then laugh. It's okay to feel like a mess</b></span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: black;"><b>.</b> [This is my <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/search?q=lament" target="_blank">favourite</a> line! JJ] </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Spend time in nature, FOREST BATHING, to remember that Earth is magical and resilient.</b> Every single cell in your body is made of the Earth. The trees and rocks and rivers are your kin.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>In so many ways you are also magical and resilient.</b> Often our minds forget this, but somehow our hearts can never fully forget this.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Okay, my rant is over.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thank you. I love you.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*****</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And our thanks and love to YOU, Antonia, for these wonderful calls to reconnect ourselves with our first mother. </span></span></div>
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-29454362938214264712019-08-11T21:56:00.000-07:002019-08-11T21:56:55.731-07:00Another Compassion Tune-up! "This is an SOS from the Kids"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here's another song to share far and wide, written by 12-year-old Simeon and his mom. <br /><br /><div align="center">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zl0XSWGsTqA" width="560"></iframe> </div>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">SOS from the Kids<br /><br />This is an SOS from the kids </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All the grown ups take note of this. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We’re finding our voice, calling you out </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can’t leave the world in fire and drought.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is an SOS from the kids.<br /><br /> Please change the story </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Re-write the plot </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This beautiful Earth cannot be lost </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stop hurting our planet </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Like you don’t care </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There’s only one world </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For us to share</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is an SOS from the kids </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All the grown ups take note of this. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Wake up and see that you must make a change </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The riches you seek will all be washed away </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is an SOS from the kids. <br /><br />Please change the story <br />Re-write the plot </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This beautiful Earth cannot be lost </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stop hurting our planet like you don’t care </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There’s only one world </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For us to share<br /><br />Don't listen to the fat cats, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">they only want their cream </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Always needing oil </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">for feeding their machines </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We must care about the animals; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">care about the trees, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'll need help from you, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">you'll get help from me!<br /><br />Please change the story </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Re-write the plot </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This beautiful Earth</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">cannot be lost </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stop hurting our planet, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">like you don’t care </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There’s only one world, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">for us to share. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is an SOS from the kids </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can do better than this.</span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-54521335014447682962019-08-04T05:00:00.000-07:002019-08-04T16:31:36.384-07:00For Those Who Think I'm "Too Negative" — A Guest Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdj4pbvPfgLxZBSMV8druKZrt0-k-ZVNy_O0y-PDI_krnnRn8uAmZ9g4f9Fb79rA7Ou4pb01ik2nkwWIIiccs3ldKclz_oYN3PLqj260KphQesdoAx3xh7c3w1FCkinC1h9SahfMC_Kmpa/s1600/1433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdj4pbvPfgLxZBSMV8druKZrt0-k-ZVNy_O0y-PDI_krnnRn8uAmZ9g4f9Fb79rA7Ou4pb01ik2nkwWIIiccs3ldKclz_oYN3PLqj260KphQesdoAx3xh7c3w1FCkinC1h9SahfMC_Kmpa/s320/1433.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As mentioned recently, I find it impossible to write a blog post every Sunday these days. Sorry about that. It's just too, well, negative. (I sometimes laugh that I once lost a friend because, as she put it, I was too positive!)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Today, I'll share with you (with his permission) the words of an activist friend who agreed with my take on the tagline ("subtitle") of a new climate change group's proposed banner. I was glad to discover that I'm not alone in thinking we have got to stop candy-coating what's happening to this precious planet and its 8 million species of inhabitants (not including viruses and bacteria).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's the original tagline: "Fighting for Our Children's Future"</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are the complaints about it, paraphrased: </span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a bit negative </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the word "fighting" has negative connotations</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">it can conjure up battling, arguing, combating</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">am similarly uncomfortable with "fighting"</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is not our strength that we were not fighting, but rather leading, standing up, organizing, etc.?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">what about "Standing up for our children's future"? </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">how about a positive word with similar strength (working? acting? leading? organizing? marching?) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">if we see ourselves working with other stakeholders, saying "we are fighting" might not be helpful</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the language of “fighting” will alienate a lot of folks, especially if our intent is to reach out and engage, motivate and inspire others to participate and get active </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">if you are fighting, it is a fight against someone</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">many folks who work in the resource extraction business care about their kids; let's not fight against them, let's offer a vision of the future that they can get behind </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">just drop the "fighting" and have "For Our Children’s Future" ... it's more inclusive</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was fascinated (if a little alarmed) and responded: "It's a fight. A fight not unlike a world war. A fight to safeguard the future for all living things, especially your children. It's a fight. Be proud warriors." </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My friend privately said (paraphrasing), "Well put, Julie! I wish folks would stop soft-pedalling human and
species extinction. Perhaps to get Canadians on the same page, they need to see more graphically that children around the world
are suffering NOW."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But then proud papa and climate change activist extraordinaire, Howard Breen, chimed in (printed here with his permission): </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Such truly good gentle beings we all are. We are loving parents who would do almost anything for our dearest. I am unequivocally convinced of that.<br /><br />But things have seriously fundamentally changed. The science couldn't be clearer. There is nothing that is even remotely existentially the same in the history of humankind, except the prospect of nuclear winter or a bioterror pandemic. There are more 65 MILLION displaced in refugee camps around the world TODAY (and by 2030 my hunch is that this will at least triple), and North America and Europe are building walls.<br /><br />President Bill Clinton once was asked how can the environmental movement win? He said that first and foremost, environmentalists are "far too polite," which is why we routinely get out-maneuvered by the corporate world.<br /><br />Canada and the world are currently on a trajectory to exceed the non-binding Paris Climate Accord (meaning 3ºC or much much higher by 2050). To be honest (in adult company only), I think it's truly over for the next generation. Unless we fight. And with every ounce of courage we can muster.<br /><br />Given the first responsibility of being a parent is to protect my children and grandchildren, I'm going to risk being arrested in an Extinction Rebellion NVDA [non-violent direct action].... I believe there's no longer any other choice — if I am to do everything moral and non-violently possible.<br /><br />If anyone is not up for a fight against the worst corporate evil humanity has ever faced, fine, I understand (I may be the only one on this list that has been in a couple of different war zones or ever seen a lot of dead people close up).<br /><br />But please, good folks, move aside, for those stepping up to fight the good fight for their kids — and feel we need to call it what it is. It is a climate necessity now to use the militaristic metaphors, as it was to go from "climate change" to "climate emergency" at the school district meeting.<br /><br />That said, and I say this without reservation but with much heartache for everyone on the list that truly means well and feels nauseated by militarism and violence, when things get obviously desperate for everyone's children, those who are not actively "fighting for them" will increasingly be seen as enemy sympathizers.<br /><br />In the meantime, my animal icon is a mother grizzly with threatened cubs. <br /><br />T**** [and other leaders whose actions are increasingly planet-destroying and unprecedentedly evil], take note: The Extinction Rebellion "pitchforks" (as the right has taken to calling us of late) are amassing for the children.<br /><br />With passionately fierce love,<br /><br />Howard<br /> "To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." — Sun Tzu</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Howard, cher camarade, thank you for your fierce and passionate love for the children ... of all species!</span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-39995619032401734572019-07-28T21:27:00.000-07:002019-08-02T08:35:35.050-07:00Compassion Tune-up - Greta Thunberg's Message to the Music of The 1975<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When I'm not here every Sunday morning expounding on my thoughts and feelings around the climate crisis, it's because I'm too depressed to do it. It's been weeks now that I've barely done anything on the climate change front. (Well, I did protest our prime minister's visit to the region!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But then this came my way and I really wanted to share it with you. Greta Thunberg is both a climate hero and an inspiration to many of us activists — of all generations. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"We must all do the seemingly impossible." </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enjoy the background music of The 1975, and then bookmark this page and come back and come back and come back again, until Greta's message fills your heart, overflows into your arteries, and then seeps from your pores. (One friend I sent it to you responded, "<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span>I feel like I need to hear it over and over, to keep the awareness at the top of my head all the time. Change now, today, stop the emissions. Rebel.") "Lyrics" are below.</span></span></span><br />
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</span><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5QbAL7g82TM" width="560"></iframe></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Greta Thunberg's Speech</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">And we need to call it what it is. An emergency.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">We must acknowledge that we do not have the situation under control and that we don’t have all the solutions yet. Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing certain things.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">We admit that we are losing this battle.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">But homo sapiens have not yet failed.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">And either we do that, or we don’t.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">You say that nothing in life is black or white.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming, or we don’t.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, or we don’t.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Either we choose to go on as a civilisation or we don’t.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">That is as black or white as it gets.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Because there are no grey areas when it comes to survival.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Now we all have a choice.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">That is up to you and me.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">And yes, we need a system change rather than individual change. But you cannot have one without the other.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">If you look through history, all the big changes in society have been started by people at the grassroots level. People like you and me.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">So, I ask you to please wake up and make the changes required possible. To do your best is no longer good enough. We must all do the seemingly impossible.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Today, we use about 100 million barrels of oil, every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be changed.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="border: 1pt none; color: #333333; padding: 0in;">So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel</span></i><span style="color: #333333;">.”</span></span></span></div>
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<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-79545234739965860982019-06-02T12:58:00.000-07:002019-06-02T12:58:14.343-07:00How Do We Cultivate the Courage We Need to Do What's Needed?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInmjewDnq-OK-Dl_lU8bGj9jOYEl_-W9vBtiN_uzDREAMeMbfeFYqQhj7s2Pjrtuh5KZqIeNy6cBOXyho3OBjtNX0JI8LG485Bw-83c7IKIl3SR6zTJrJkD8NoXDVxIZ4p3IJi82V9MKm/s1600/dr-robert-anthony-quote-the-opposite-of-bravery-is-not.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInmjewDnq-OK-Dl_lU8bGj9jOYEl_-W9vBtiN_uzDREAMeMbfeFYqQhj7s2Pjrtuh5KZqIeNy6cBOXyho3OBjtNX0JI8LG485Bw-83c7IKIl3SR6zTJrJkD8NoXDVxIZ4p3IJi82V9MKm/s320/dr-robert-anthony-quote-the-opposite-of-bravery-is-not.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A friend sent that quote to me this past week ... a week during which I've been struggling to remain brave in the face of frustrating and nearly overwhelming personal circumstances and still so much nasty gawddamn denial of the climate crisis. Who *are* these deniers? Why are they *so* afraid to be working for a better world rather than the status quo? Because, make no mistake, denial of the climate change emergency is born out of cowardice ... and a shrivelled heart incapable of compassion.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Conformity to "everyone else" is killing us! Conforming to denialist beliefs. Jetting off to lie on some distant beach. Buy, buy, buying to fill some void. Building with steel and concrete rather than wood. Eating industrially raised meat and dairy. Using chemicals on their gardens.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Conformity is killing us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Globally, crop yields have, on average, started <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217148&type=printable" target="_blank">declining</a>. My worst fear (that food security would disappear while people are still arguing that "CO2 is good for plants") is coming true. I need to screw up my courage to a new level. Feel the fear and do it anyway. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>"Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free."<br />― Jim Morrison</b></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's time for material and energy austerity, folks. All the bad things I've been talking about here for TEN YEARS (!!!) are not only happening but increasing, and increasing at accelerating rates.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">WE have to get our carbon emissions into decline NOW. WE have to do that. We can't wait for governments anymore.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What if the Green New Deal was designed to be a giant distraction? What can WE be doing? I mean besides the stuff we've been half-assedly doing for 20 years.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We need to be buying nothing but food. We need to work with our neighbours and in our communities to get growing as much food as possible, in as many local places as possible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Governments need to get their fingers out of their noses and build public transit that works for real people of all ages and abilities. We need to be using energy-dense nuclear power to smelt the metals to build this public transit infrastructure, as well as the renewable energy infrastructure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We need to be staying cool using fans and breezes and shade. No air conditioning. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We need to be doing as little travel as possible by fossil fuel. Staycations instead. Walking and biking instead. Carpooling and public transit at the very least. WE NEED TO START INCONVENIENCING OURSELVES for the sake of the future. And for some crazy reason, in this most-comfortable-ever era in Western human history, it's going to take courage to do that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So screw up your courage, do your best to make whatever changes you can make (cancel a vacation, plant some food, stay home more often or walk/ride a bike), but don't be afraid to screw up or be a hypocrite sometimes (the zero-carbon systems just aren't in place yet!).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We all need good luck now (to be honest, we probably need an all-out miracle) but by being as brave as we can be and making these changes, perhaps we can create our luck, and our own miracle. Oh, and don't be afraid to reach out to others for help. There's more courage to be found in numbers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(With apologies for a rather disjointed post — but we can't let perfect get in the way of good enough anymore. We just have to get stuff done. For encouragement, see my <a href="http://blog.greenhearted.org/search/label/courage">other posts</a> about courage.) </span></span><br />
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-52758759010075351842019-05-26T05:00:00.000-07:002019-12-01T13:53:01.181-08:00Compassion Tune-Up: An Oldie (But a Goodie), Like Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTWfyo3FOh4L0A9-QkFeLkM6WQD6ORTDFSbTB4JtaZUqRz7F8jZ1v__418Hf5j-8i6Lwmolk7ak_wDiQATBCdPpAyfT6acuttmxumD5fUtc2B8slbF9Gjd1NuIkaTul-CQL_R8p3OLR6S/s1600/Big_Yellow_Taxi_-_Joni_Mitchell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="338" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTWfyo3FOh4L0A9-QkFeLkM6WQD6ORTDFSbTB4JtaZUqRz7F8jZ1v__418Hf5j-8i6Lwmolk7ak_wDiQATBCdPpAyfT6acuttmxumD5fUtc2B8slbF9Gjd1NuIkaTul-CQL_R8p3OLR6S/s320/Big_Yellow_Taxi_-_Joni_Mitchell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, I've just celebrated another turn around the sun. I think I'm going to have to accept the fact that I'm not young anymore. ;-) And I think I feel a midlife crisis coming on. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This new version of a wonderful Joni Mitchell oldie by Counting Crows is an excellent reminder that we don't have to throw out the old to make room for the new in the work we're doing. It's also a sad reminder of how much worse things have become in the last few decades. (This song was released in 1970, and Mitchell is 75 now!) Plus it has prompted me to examine my life, to be sure that I <i>do know</i> what I've got before it's gone.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here, for your melancholic listening pleasure, is Big Yellow Taxi. Enjoy.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvtJPs8IDgU" width="560"></iframe><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Big Yellow Taxi</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">by Joni Mitchell</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They paved paradise<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And put up a parking lot<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />With a pink hotel, a boutique<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And a swinging hot spot<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />Don't it always seem to go<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />That you don't know what you've got<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Till it's gone<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />They paved paradise<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And put up a parking lot<br /><br />They took all the trees<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Put 'em in a tree museum<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And they charged the people<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />A dollar and a half just to see 'em<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />Don't it always seem to go<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />That you don't know what you've got<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Till it's gone<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />They paved paradise<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And put up a parking lot<br /><br />Hey farmer farmer<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Put away that DDT now<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Give me spots on my apples<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />But leave me the birds and the bees<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Please!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />Don't it always seem to go<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />That you don't know what you've got<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Till it's gone<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />They paved paradise<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />And put up a parking lot<br /><br />Late last night<br />I heard the screen door slam<br />And a big yellow taxi<br />Took away my old man<br /><br />Don't it always seem to go<br />That you don't know what you've got<br />Till it's gone<br />They paved paradise<br />And put up a parking lot<br /><br />They paved paradise<br />And put up a parking lot</span></div>
<div class="lyricscopyright" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">© Siquomb Publishing Company</span></div>
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-79141903589614578512019-05-19T09:04:00.002-07:002019-08-27T08:36:11.980-07:00Faith Rather Than Hope<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We "countryfolk" are housesitting for friends and getting an extended "city fix," which is always fascinating. City streets sure are lonelier, especially with everyone checking out their "screens" as they bustle along. But shopkeepers and restaurant servers have been quite friendly (perhaps reflecting back our small-town vibe?).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hanging in our friends' kitchen is this little sign:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uN_dU5HCnqJUUXlf07jBcMUB5oX33XXMbl-P3_H9mXGih2FAm5W14_p0nfvP1uvAL613duv-5HGuFjaw6ePdCvZm4GUXFO_oOzY9xxuUhyphenhyphenxtwJL4NWYijCJJkw1IulpmCuFWXCRJ93oW/s1600/DSC00878.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1489" data-original-width="1081" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uN_dU5HCnqJUUXlf07jBcMUB5oX33XXMbl-P3_H9mXGih2FAm5W14_p0nfvP1uvAL613duv-5HGuFjaw6ePdCvZm4GUXFO_oOzY9xxuUhyphenhyphenxtwJL4NWYijCJJkw1IulpmCuFWXCRJ93oW/s400/DSC00878.jpeg" width="290" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"And faith for the future" ... that's the part that struck me. You know how I feel about hope and <a href="http://blog.greenhearted.org/search/label/hope%20mongers" target="_blank">hope mongering</a>, where feeling hopeful about the climate crisis is more important than actually doing something about the climate crisis. (If what environmental education guru, David Orr, says is true — that hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up — I figure it's only because it wants to get a tan on its arms.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But faith. Faith. Doesn't that seem different somehow? The non-religious definition is "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." The moment I read that sign, I realized that I do my work on the climate change emergency with some sort of faith in my heart that ... well, that we humans will at last pull together. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It could well be too late by the time we get our act together (indeed, it's maybe too late already, given all the warming we're already committed to due to the ocean heat lag ... and all the warming that will be added when we <i>stop</i> fossil fuel burning, since fossil fuel particulate pollution has been masking a certain percentage of the warming to date), but if nothing else, I'd like today's younger generations to know that we finally, after a huge collective forehead slap, "got it" and came together for their sake. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tSs35pOpoy4b93hV1n31yce4O8LB9KrHGGozn2Gcn-wRAzjpnzinJI6Gqporo8i06MbI2jikKoVynMKx9tXEfRwo2wtWMreXsvAw0vbCudWv2EgNv9G0Z8IJv-iJsM17NO-EngcioMtz/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="480" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tSs35pOpoy4b93hV1n31yce4O8LB9KrHGGozn2Gcn-wRAzjpnzinJI6Gqporo8i06MbI2jikKoVynMKx9tXEfRwo2wtWMreXsvAw0vbCudWv2EgNv9G0Z8IJv-iJsM17NO-EngcioMtz/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Still waiting for our collective facepalm</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The quote below isn't quite correct. The IPCC has told us that we only have until 2020 to get our carbon emissions into rapid decline if we want to be able to meet our 2030 and 2050 targets (50% reduction and virtually zero, respectively). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But the sentiment is one that resonates for me. It speaks to the faith that arises when people — listening to the love in their heart, instead of the fear — start doing exciting, courageous work together. </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is true that the IPCC tells us that we have only 12 years to act ... but in the world there are thousands of projects. They do not start from pessimism or optimism, they start with people who choose to follow their heart, and do what they feel called to. Science tells us that it is possible. — Diego Galli</span></span></blockquote>
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GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-36261944560092841052019-04-21T09:40:00.000-07:002019-06-07T09:54:54.307-07:00A New Anthem for Saving the World? From Lil Dicky?<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ALERT: I am about to shamelessly show my age!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The other day, a young friend sent me this new music video by Lil Dicky (never heard of him). It's called Earth (not very original, but I'll take enviro songs wherever I can get 'em ;-). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You know, we've been searching for an anthem for the climate change movement. Environmental activist extraordinaire Guy Dauncey explains the importance of finding a song for this movement. </span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">"[An] Earth Anthem ... will inspire our hearts to sing.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> As
soon as that song is written, we will know it — and from that moment
on, victory will be that much more possible. We need to believe in the
future. Earth's creatures and our own children and grandchildren ask
nothing more.</span><span class="Apple-style-span">"</span></i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I'm not sure we've found the anthem in this song though. </span><span class="Apple-style-span">But I do like the simple chorus (it's the rest of the song I'd have a problem singing while marching in a protest):</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">We love the Earth</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is our planet</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">We love the Earth</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is our home</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">My questions to you. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">(This is where I get to show my age.) </span>Is this song edgy, or just offensive? Is it cool, or just stupid? Is it helpful (for a certain generation — not mine, that's for sure!), or just gratuitously over-the-top? It has 2 million likes (as of today) but also 51,000 dislikes (so I'm not the only one feeling torn about the usefulness of this song?) and several "reaction" videos (which I haven't watched). What do you think? How does the song make you feel? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">This part at the end is cool: "Honestly, everybody, scientists are saying that we have about 12 years* to turn this environmental crisis around or we're screwed. Whaddya say? You guys wanna save the world? Of course you do!" </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can visit this website "for more information on how to save the Earth": <a href="https://welovetheearth.org/">https://welovetheearth.org</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">* Actually, while many people seem to have latched on to the "we only have 12 years to save the world" meme (which gives people an out for the next 11 years or so), the IPCC has warned in several assessments over the last several years that emissions must be in decline by 2015-2020 to give us a chance at keeping global temperature increase to a survivable level — which gives us ONLY ONE YEAR to "save the world."</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lyrics are available here (but if you're my age, better to leave some lyrics unheard): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDNNGhsL9Oo&frags=wn">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDNNGhsL9Oo&frags=wn</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*******</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, if that song kinda makes you feel a bit slimed (you know, cuz you're of my vintage) but you'd like to share it, here's a link to a cleaned up version: <a href="https://youtu.be/S2SMvfGe72U">https://youtu.be/S2SMvfGe72U</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And then let me leave you with this lovely thought on this day before Earth Day 2019:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"What is the mark of a good life? Who should be considered a success? Easter offers a surprising and helpful answer: success is not about obvious worldly triumph, it’s about developing an ability to use one’s own suffering as a route to compassion for others…. May we transform individually, so we can truly transform collectively, building a better world, a better life. This Easter Sunday, let's think about the kind of world we’d like to create."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">— Prof. Kamran Mofid, Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (<a href="https://www.gcgi.info/" target="_blank">GCGI</a>)</span></span></blockquote>
<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-65451419173618836342019-04-14T19:07:00.002-07:002022-10-10T15:36:04.114-07:00David Buckel Memorial Day of Mourning for the Climate Crisis<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4avWzatHU1VorhcTLBOEB4Q-iQhsb0ELUYgK92D7TyLwB2-93_ZiDYiplb94SH0k7SFTn6tJpONBYRVmMaKiwbWFP8AcviWjFSWtan_DwuzxgOE1cuofmghkoL8q0nUcw7W9Zv1c9IVJB/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-14+at+7.02.56+PM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4avWzatHU1VorhcTLBOEB4Q-iQhsb0ELUYgK92D7TyLwB2-93_ZiDYiplb94SH0k7SFTn6tJpONBYRVmMaKiwbWFP8AcviWjFSWtan_DwuzxgOE1cuofmghkoL8q0nUcw7W9Zv1c9IVJB/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-04-14+at+7.02.56+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span class="rad-caption-text">from a 2017 photo of David Buckel by </span><span class="rad-credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">Terry Kaelber</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Today, my beloved and his co-author, Elizabeth, spoke at the local Unitarian Church about their book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unprecedented-Crime-Climate-Changers-Survival/dp/0998694738/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SMO5NTSKK8QW&keywords=unprecedented+crime&qid=1555282525&s=gateway&sprefix=unprecedented+crime%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival</a>. Afterwards, we participated in a webinar with <a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/" target="_blank">The Climate Mobilization</a> entitled Meditation for Climate Emergency—Grieving the Future You Thought You Had. It was only after the webinar that I realized we hadn't said a prayer for David Buckel, who died one year ago today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">I wasn't blogging much at this time last year. My depression had kicked in, and I remember that I was gardening every chance I got in order to ground my grief and anger about the climate change emergency. If I had been blogging, I would have told you about David Buckel. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">David S. Buckel was a leading LGBTQ+ lawyer in New York City. Then he became interested in environmental issues. He died in Prospect Park (the scene of a huge Extinction Rebellion event today called Extinction Mass: Remembrance for Lost Species) early in the morning after setting himself on fire. The email he left behind read:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Pollution ravages our planet, oozing
inhabitability via air, soil, water and weather. Most humans on the
planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die
early deaths as a result — my early death by fossil fuel reflects what
we are doing to ourselves.”</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Comparing his death to the self-immolation of Tibetan monks protesting oppression by the Chinese government, he continued:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is not new. Many have chosen
to give a life based on the view that no other action can most
meaningfully address the harm they see. Here is a hope that giving a
life might bring some attention to the need for expanded actions, and
help others give a voice to our home, and Earth is heard. I hope it is
an honorable death that might serve others.”</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;">May David Buckel's suicide inspire courage in the rest of us </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">— the courage to be of service in all the different ways that can fight the climate crisis. (I'll leave you with a list below.)</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><b>WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don't fear sacrifice. Grieve what has to be given up ... and then get busy being a climate change activist.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Become politically active. Create political will by writing, emailing, faxing, phoning or visiting your elected officials </span></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">— at all levels. Ask them (if they haven't already) to declare the climate change emergency. And then ask them what climate action they're supporting. Don't vote for anyone who isn't putting climate action first.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The most important demand to make of our government leaders? They must stop subsidizing fossil fuel industries around the world to the tune of $5+ trillion every year (according to the IMF) in direct and especially indirect subsidies. Make the polluters pay the costs of the social (health) and environmental damage they create. The moment these subsidies stop, that (in)famous </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span face=""trebuchet ms", sans-serif" style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">invisible han</span><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">d</span></span></span></span></span></span><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif" style="font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">” of the market will swing investments over into clean, renewable, everlasting energy technologies.</span></li>
</ul><p>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">And don't forget to, you know, conserve water (a huge percentage of a city's energy usage is for pumping domestic water!), drive less, and eat lower on the food chain if you're not already vegan.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">UPDATE: Here's a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/15/david-buckel-lawyer-climate-change-protest" target="_blank">recent article</a> about David Buckel in The Guardian. (Warning: graphic content.)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">*** I want to add a note about Wynne Bruce, an American </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>climate activist who set himself on
fire in the plaza of the US Supreme Court Building in
Washington, DC on Earth Day, 22 April 22. The fatal self-immolation was characterized by Bruce's friends and his father as a protest
against the climate crisis. My heart goes out to those who lost such a deeply caring loved one. I cannot fathom the courage that his act of protest took.<br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhn3skVdtknQnS0NpATK-FPDLM0lD4altk7RR46g8Cudu3cDQzTQ5KViGGiJwwl75FkeDQoA0UvPwS40OJjeLEBUHrebaRner3ULRf3Synnek9JDJKS8QfdMGgYKWkVB8WF3Wha1YaP3deHY20oKPCwsxhLa3-lP9UsBnjLN6qzInPK3W3tDcc05eugVA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="598" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhn3skVdtknQnS0NpATK-FPDLM0lD4altk7RR46g8Cudu3cDQzTQ5KViGGiJwwl75FkeDQoA0UvPwS40OJjeLEBUHrebaRner3ULRf3Synnek9JDJKS8QfdMGgYKWkVB8WF3Wha1YaP3deHY20oKPCwsxhLa3-lP9UsBnjLN6qzInPK3W3tDcc05eugVA=w400-h215" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-87216286646898438442019-03-24T05:00:00.000-07:002019-03-24T05:00:09.832-07:00Compassion Tune-up - World<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's time for a compassion tune-up. There are a lot of mean-spirited people saying unkind things on social media these days, so let's remember that we create the world we live in through our choices.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Enjoy this song, World, from Five for Fighting, also known as the one-man show, John Ondrasik. Lyrics are below.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ihvEcDFxvo" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Got a package full of wishes
A time machine, a magic wand
A globe made out of gold
No instructions or commandments,
Laws of gravity or indecisions to uphold
Printed on the box I see: ACME's Build a World to Be
Take a chance, grab a piece
Help me to believe it
What kind of world do you want?
Think anything
Let's start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now ...
Should there be people or peoples
Money, funny pedestals
For fools who never pay
Raise your army, choose your steeple
Don't be shy, the satellites can look the other way
Lose the earthquakes, keep the faults
Fill the oceans without the salt
Let every man own his own hand.
Can you dig it, Baby?
What kind of world do you want?
Think anything
Let's start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now ...
Sunlight's on the bridge
Sunlight's on the way
Tomorrow's calling
There's more to this than love
What kind of world do you want?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">What kind of world do you want?</span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">What kind of world do you want?</span></span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Think anything
Let's start at the start
Build a masterpiece
History starts now
Starts now </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Be careful what you wish for
Start now
Now...</span></span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-73557392655898311922019-03-17T12:51:00.000-07:002019-03-17T12:51:22.718-07:00It Used to Be Cliché, But Now It's Reality (Youth Are Now Our Hope for a Future)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdmrOi7Ft-kCAtgXgk4gpbTL933TiX91DXD7mxIbS6HPYJkqZaRuNDo7jwO0WTMS1Ql6UoPmfTgB742CFYyPgCElLTq-06ZRYFPRhoG3L26Wo-TZ4TS9bMUPl2kUgW4hTWNPHiwkTRTfh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+12.00.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1584" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdmrOi7Ft-kCAtgXgk4gpbTL933TiX91DXD7mxIbS6HPYJkqZaRuNDo7jwO0WTMS1Ql6UoPmfTgB742CFYyPgCElLTq-06ZRYFPRhoG3L26Wo-TZ4TS9bMUPl2kUgW4hTWNPHiwkTRTfh/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+12.00.28+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The climate strike at the Legislature in British Columbia, Canada's capital city, Victoria (photo by Laura Hinton)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We used to say that "children are our future" and I'd mutter "Duh!" under my breath (with all due respect to Whitney Houston). It was so obvious as to be cliché. We used to say that young people were our hope for the future and I'd get mad — "Don't lay it on them; it's our responsibility to fix this!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But we didn't fix it. While we waited for a silver bullet remedy to the climate crisis, we crossed our fingers and hoped a hero would come forward. When Al Gore stepped up, half of America excoriated him for making climate change a "political" thing (like it was his fault he was a former Vice-President). He's done a ton of good work in waking the world up to the crisis, but the nasty US Republicans (I'm sure there are some nice ones) made sure he didn't reach hero status. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-cRGGykm-_XdiGAt_cOUpCzMy7aBIf6rFgQcJAvcIj3_6F_NFRuFYr6scEaLlOe-piIqPOyCNPcprua0j0hP2R2rjQL8i7MOxJEEgGuWJvtt5OsrMarWZcKd3EvYEKVoBA_PIK31UXP4/s1600/http---climateemergencydeclaration.org-wp-content-uploads-2018-09-bankimoon-jameshansen-quotes800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="926" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-cRGGykm-_XdiGAt_cOUpCzMy7aBIf6rFgQcJAvcIj3_6F_NFRuFYr6scEaLlOe-piIqPOyCNPcprua0j0hP2R2rjQL8i7MOxJEEgGuWJvtt5OsrMarWZcKd3EvYEKVoBA_PIK31UXP4/s400/http---climateemergencydeclaration.org-wp-content-uploads-2018-09-bankimoon-jameshansen-quotes800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And so we kept waiting. And like that carnival game Whack-a-Mole, we ignored or denounced anyone who dared try to lead us to solutions. We ignored Ban Ki-moon and James Hansen; we shat on Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, reminding me of that old adage "You can't win for losing." Perhaps we'll listen to António Guterres, the current secretary-general of the United Nations, who has said: </span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span>If we do not change
course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway
climate change, with disastrous consequences for people and all the
natural systems that sustain us. </span></span></span></b></i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span>Climate change is an existential threat to most life on the planet. </span></span></span></b></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then a braided young Swede sat down last summer in front of her parliament on a "climate strike," which continued into the school year on Fridays. The founder of <a href="https://wedonthavetime.org/launch/" target="_blank">We Don't Have Time</a> "discovered" her (he has since sincerely apologized for the way he did that, but has been excoriated nonetheless), and the rest — cliché alert! — is history.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uC8AQ09Gu3YZ4x22WTPs0rODtpOscHv3TPMKbTwuGGUx_uWXrs68CicJVw-JJzG_i2A7F4XUX6EMcM_QnuCxnVQo2ompXlxWH4eIqSo8vH-kQk-9yq859lgl3vpk1ahjczz7xz0WMcV5/s1600/https---lybio.net-wp-content-uploads-Greta-Thunberg-COP24-Climate-Change-Stealing-The-Future-Of-Children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="536" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uC8AQ09Gu3YZ4x22WTPs0rODtpOscHv3TPMKbTwuGGUx_uWXrs68CicJVw-JJzG_i2A7F4XUX6EMcM_QnuCxnVQo2ompXlxWH4eIqSo8vH-kQk-9yq859lgl3vpk1ahjczz7xz0WMcV5/s320/https---lybio.net-wp-content-uploads-Greta-Thunberg-COP24-Climate-Change-Stealing-The-Future-Of-Children.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since then, Greta Thunberg has garnered the attention of youth around the world. Sure, people (on both sides of the issue, grrrrrrrr) are casting aspersions on her, but Greta seems unfazed. She knows what's at stake, and she just keeps sayin' it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The worldwide youth climate strike this past Friday, March 15th in over 100 countries took its inspiration from Greta's school strike. It proved beyond a doubt that young people — fighting for their own future — are, in reality, our only hope. Their speeches were eloquent and bang on the climate science! <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/mar/15/global-climate-strike-students-take-to-the-streets-in-pictures" target="_blank">Their posters were colourful and poignant</a>! Their songs were fun! Their energy was high and their mood was exuberant! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnHuuyy-yuo-BTEvFNczfOligOZE1VWecJsOTz1F-_Ho6iVKbD3kC9KVLqggzxAjsqNURLLo_ENy7aEfxmDnKuWbK6bCXIFE_xhBZWATicJgv8fi8-i5kYANNhSZKU8gBAOhEam2jGHgn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+11.59.29+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1042" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnHuuyy-yuo-BTEvFNczfOligOZE1VWecJsOTz1F-_Ho6iVKbD3kC9KVLqggzxAjsqNURLLo_ENy7aEfxmDnKuWbK6bCXIFE_xhBZWATicJgv8fi8-i5kYANNhSZKU8gBAOhEam2jGHgn/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-17+at+11.59.29+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Two of my former students holding up my (uncolourful) sign: "Climate safety is a human right" (with thanks to Diana Lindley and her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGVRzerq4WE" target="_blank">lyric</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I felt very privileged to be part of their strike (standing off to the side at the back of the crowd). I was inspired to create a new social media page that will collect positive affirmations and "prayers" for positive action on the climate change emergency, Positive Affirmations for a Healthy, Vibrant Future on Earth: https://www.facebook.com/Positive-Affirmations-for-a-Healthy-Vibrant-Future-on-Earth-2811092489116966/</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bPfK0BwlUpYf-g5Z_098llUeZSt9rijxKmKZENPsA66QdpUJCrzhn8RsgX5SGmzVR1pdjn4w8xhhVMMNLFiGxzD7P13oGF86CR6qQwuZf3TB0CpbVZQQp7GkZ3B4kAjLqVjfsMm4JUzp/s1600/Profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1096" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bPfK0BwlUpYf-g5Z_098llUeZSt9rijxKmKZENPsA66QdpUJCrzhn8RsgX5SGmzVR1pdjn4w8xhhVMMNLFiGxzD7P13oGF86CR6qQwuZf3TB0CpbVZQQp7GkZ3B4kAjLqVjfsMm4JUzp/s320/Profile.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have just one wish for these young folks, who invited all of us to bring 10 friends to the next strike. <b>Please, don't be afraid to be disruptive.</b> Walk down the middle of whatever street you want to block. People's "right" to convenience is trumped by your right to a viable future. Their right to be on time does not trump your right to <i>have time</i> to grow up. Go for it! Blessed be ... and see you at the next climate strike.</span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-19734348835537807852019-03-03T10:02:00.000-08:002019-03-03T10:02:26.183-08:00Hats Off to President T**** for Giving Us the Emergency<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgV6SbMeEu5_Xc6Ti59vZ0tlLJ5PVHbFVqYp5yVoHMX7UVlGjpqog4v2-UgY8v47tQ44sDQv7Iav9LIv3_w_VARNGX_AzrvLMPvxPp2pmD84505dVAU6f4ebSE-PIjakvdLpaMW5C7aQk_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.07.32+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1168" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgV6SbMeEu5_Xc6Ti59vZ0tlLJ5PVHbFVqYp5yVoHMX7UVlGjpqog4v2-UgY8v47tQ44sDQv7Iav9LIv3_w_VARNGX_AzrvLMPvxPp2pmD84505dVAU6f4ebSE-PIjakvdLpaMW5C7aQk_/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.07.32+AM.png" width="316" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Well, we owe a debt of gratitude to that childish "leader" south of the Canadian border. If it wasn't for him, we would still be fighting for a declaration of the climate change emergency. But he has, with his feckless "wall" emergency, managed to ignite a sudden firestorm of concern for the climate crisis.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sure, others worked hard to lay the groundwork — some for decades (thank you, James Hansen, Al Gore, my hubby, Greenpeace, the IPCC), others for several years (this blog celebrates its 10th anniversary this year!). But nobody listened.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hgPdFMOdY-6PiMalnK-5qQYmZo-uQP-zU6aW5qq3y99xsjwcWC0bo3-j68ph_1mnk-GnPr3UpOvImFv89P-o9Q11mRgsiZe3it22H5Pw4oKpuCh6GjpkxwK038aHhr3uBhaAtMkMV6ni/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.08.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1166" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hgPdFMOdY-6PiMalnK-5qQYmZo-uQP-zU6aW5qq3y99xsjwcWC0bo3-j68ph_1mnk-GnPr3UpOvImFv89P-o9Q11mRgsiZe3it22H5Pw4oKpuCh6GjpkxwK038aHhr3uBhaAtMkMV6ni/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.08.06+AM.png" width="308" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">No, it took an American Republican climate-change-denying puerile president having a tantrum to get his own way (ya just know he wants to put his name on that border wall) to wake up the American Democratic asleep-on-their-hopium yawning citizens to the possibility that their next president could call an emergency of her own — a climate change emergency. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGOADlo34VgjNTZTK3EWy_l8jU-sMATob3oLKKJV8fpkJrK0ClHytIdDtMqYxQ2pLHivB6-G-1YRcReCMOc2cqB-cL7jWrWU4KsLwMVAFPpPqDyKjZ4uV22hffXjxBVi5MfMNCkRJk1RK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.09.10+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1158" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGOADlo34VgjNTZTK3EWy_l8jU-sMATob3oLKKJV8fpkJrK0ClHytIdDtMqYxQ2pLHivB6-G-1YRcReCMOc2cqB-cL7jWrWU4KsLwMVAFPpPqDyKjZ4uV22hffXjxBVi5MfMNCkRJk1RK/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+8.09.10+AM.png" width="307" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If the whole situation wasn't so frightening, we could view it as a tragicomedy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. For starters, those of us who have known this was an emergency for YEARS (see <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2009/10/38-days-to-copenhagen-when-1000-is.html" target="_blank">When 1000 is Greater Than 300,000</a>) have been told repeatedly — REPEATEDLY — that talking about the urgency and the potential disastrousness of climate change would shut people down ... immobilize them. Indeed, we heard it again yesterday. (We've never agreed with those people — see <a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2012/09/you-can-handle-truth.html" target="_blank">You CAN Handle the Truth!</a> — and explained why, but nobody listened.) And yet, all it took was a loud enough orange flame (sorry, couldn't resist) to ignite concern of one-upmanship (I guess nobody thought Obama's swine flu emergency declaration was ill advised.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. For years, I always hushed my voice when talking about climate change in a public place. Now, I'm hearing people all over the place talking about climate change! (It's a day of exclamation marks, I'm afraid. ;-)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. For years, people have been excoriating former Vice-President Al Gore for making climate change "political." Suddenly it IS political, and people are trying to score political points with it all over social media.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. I never imagined we'd have to come to a climate change emergency declaration through the back door by having it supplanted by a wall emergency declaration, with half the American population then rising to its defense. Now, here's the thing. Is their concern actually for climate change, or just for the right of <i>their</i> president to get her emergency of choice declared? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>******* </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Perhaps it doesn't matter where the concern came from. People are fired up now, and <i>that's</i> what matters. Now, to the task of giving them something to do with this newfound energy and interest in the climate crisis.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A) Everyone needs to write / phone / fax / email / visit their elected officials at every level to insist, require and <b>demand that all fossil fuel subsidies be stopped forthwith</b>. We can't keep handing the fossil fuel industries our tax money ($5.3 trillion in direct and indirect subsidies every year worldwide, according to the IMF) when we're trying to get to a <b>ZERO-CARBON ECONOMY</b> by 2050. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">B) For a long time, the lack of urgency on climate change has stemmed not just from the lies and cheating of the deniers, but also from a crisis of imagination. People just haven't been picturing that a fossil-fuel-free world of perpetual, everlasting renewable energy will be safer, cleaner, healthier, more equitable and more peaceful. The Golden Age of Solar Energy has the potential to be the best ever era in human history. It certainly would give children back their future. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>But we have to get our carbon emission into decline by 2020.</b> Can we do it? We did it by accident during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, so we can certainly do it on purpose — with a <i>sense</i> of purpose — by using our imaginations, our creativity, our care and concern and compassion, and the millions of solutions already out there. And if we can always afford to go to war (right?), then we can most certainly afford to <a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/" target="_blank">mobilize</a> to safeguard our precious biosphere. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">C) If all this makes you feel sad or angry, that's okay. It makes perfect sense! Then turn that anger or depression into action. (And remember, talking about it is a form of action.) But put some good news in your back pocket first, both for the naysayers and to bolster your own resolve to be part of this good fight. For example, check out the enthusiasm and ambition of Costa Rica to be part of the solution:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-costa-rica-climatechange-transportati/costa-rica-launches-unprecedented-push-for-zero-emissions-by-2050-idUSKCN1QE253" target="_blank">Costa Rica Launches "Unprecedented" Push for Zero Emissions by 2050</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXUk1ekH6xCwcPMvnSc7KK-3XcnruabHHlG2RPvpaw9SmFsWb4Y1eEFSC4NW11mGAFQyFLF7oKc2ugRwXe9dnODU7WR7oRJgl4bvmZ85WSqa3z24O3eTwKmusrAAHizv4Dv36y1o7qHJ2/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+9.58.39+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="896" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXUk1ekH6xCwcPMvnSc7KK-3XcnruabHHlG2RPvpaw9SmFsWb4Y1eEFSC4NW11mGAFQyFLF7oKc2ugRwXe9dnODU7WR7oRJgl4bvmZ85WSqa3z24O3eTwKmusrAAHizv4Dv36y1o7qHJ2/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-03-03+at+9.58.39+AM.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Or be inspired by young <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg</a> — and take her deeply honest words to heart. She has definitely contributed to waking up the world (along with the IPCC's October 2018 Special Report on 1.5ºC).</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do anything, but please just don't go back to sleep. The world needs, as Paul Gilding says, all hands on deck to deal with this emergency!</span></span><br />
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<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-1481608986622522562019-02-24T10:27:00.000-08:002019-02-24T10:27:21.502-08:00Touché! Two Can Play at the Government's Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_gCjz7c4bEjrP0DNYdtwAU4x15XnJILAh1nBDgaI6xlkKId21v0kU3IXFdbXxahUJNfA8d6RH6zv4tauEG8_vBykVWt3a6vvCWRBV9lXQA59QrJ0gxWso3ypy65tJyY1UqS0RxwHArCg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.22.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_gCjz7c4bEjrP0DNYdtwAU4x15XnJILAh1nBDgaI6xlkKId21v0kU3IXFdbXxahUJNfA8d6RH6zv4tauEG8_vBykVWt3a6vvCWRBV9lXQA59QrJ0gxWso3ypy65tJyY1UqS0RxwHArCg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.22.51+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Well, last week got away from me and I completely forgot to post a blog. But today, as if to make up for it, I woke up to this exciting news!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyOuSOJ1SyKoe9gtKwJEEMf_eAvNW9DJlyIGxusZ8CUVjxCDt8kVB0hkwI2eJQCQLjJXmf7gVj9CoSRgAiE2yplXaAg2cGbdwdR9n2oilH9uMpGo1n9HByKwWUHouLX4ZoqLlqOmLLHE7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.17.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1596" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyOuSOJ1SyKoe9gtKwJEEMf_eAvNW9DJlyIGxusZ8CUVjxCDt8kVB0hkwI2eJQCQLjJXmf7gVj9CoSRgAiE2yplXaAg2cGbdwdR9n2oilH9uMpGo1n9HByKwWUHouLX4ZoqLlqOmLLHE7/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.17.43+AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Some of you will know that my beloved and I are huge supporters (in all ways possible) of <a href="https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/" target="_blank">Our Children's Trust</a> (OCT) in the United States. (If you haven't added your name to their call for intergenerational climate justice, please <a href="https://www.joinjuliana.org/" target="_blank">do it now</a>!) Those 21 beleaguered youth plaintiffs have discovered just how <a href="https://www.youthvgov.org/our-case" target="_blank">convoluted</a> the American (and likely any) justice system can be — and how tight-fistedly the fossil fuel industry rules the world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Truly, it's like all the politicians (except for a small handful), at least in Canada and the US, are afraid that Big Oil is going to pull their Big Money from election campaigns (like that would be the end of the world or something ... snark alert). Or is it worse, and lives have been threatened? (I've watched enough American TV to have a few conspiracy theories of my own.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">President T****'s government has tied this case up in dozens of knots (imagine, an appeal before the case has even been heard! now that's desperate — and practically proof of their guilt), but I've got to hand it to the lawyers handling the OCT case. They have spoken truth to power with their latest <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iflbqsza27uliut/AACQT7oV2Q9JhpYZ0OVjMi0Oa?dl=0&preview=DktEntry+21-1+Urgent+Motion+for+Preliminary+Injunction.pdf" target="_blank">Urgent Motion for Preliminary Injunction</a>. The Table of Contents alone had me cheering this morning! (Check out section VI. B. below. The plaintiffs, by the way, are the young people, and the defendants are the departments of the US Government that deal out death, I mean, deal with fossil fuels.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dL4xzQZouL8YsJ5oSjPZS-Q0GP5PRWxE1-crM1NvfDSqxGbHpa71_rXmmjxcpJyRsCTU9JyYrP0MkXoPLbKyg0vWvWu_s1kbNz87kUr4QBdCVHlzT3KLIJag6VxlnACU-r74Ya9Exsqr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.39.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1600" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dL4xzQZouL8YsJ5oSjPZS-Q0GP5PRWxE1-crM1NvfDSqxGbHpa71_rXmmjxcpJyRsCTU9JyYrP0MkXoPLbKyg0vWvWu_s1kbNz87kUr4QBdCVHlzT3KLIJag6VxlnACU-r74Ya9Exsqr/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-02-24+at+9.39.09+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here are a few choice quotes:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"The record shows that, for decades, Defendants have knowingly and affirmatively placed Plaintiffs in peril of present and worsening climate change-induced harms, with shocking, deliberate indifference to the known and obvious dangers in advancing a fossil fuel-based energy system."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Defendants made every effort to prevent Plaintiffs' case from being decided, all while accelerating fossil fuel development [<a href="https://blog.greenhearted.org/2016/11/it-would-appear-evil-has-triumphed.html" target="_blank">as President T**** promised he would do as part of his election platform</a>] and increasing GHG emissions to the point where it will become impossible for Plaintiffs to protect themselves from the climate danger Defendants have had a role in causing. Defendants have deliberately chosen to prioritize use of fossil fuels in our national energy system, disregarding decades of knowledge that this path would destroy our Nation and the lives of children and future generations. This injunction will serve and protect the public's interest in national security and liberty and prevent further inequity to Plaintiffs."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Dr. Stiglitz confirms that '[t]he current national energy system, in which approximately 80 percent of energy comes from fossil fuels, is a direct result of decisions and actions taken by Defendants.' In his expert opinion Dr. Stiglitz avers: 'The fact that the U.S. national energy system is so predominately fossil fuel-based is not an inevitable consequence of history. The current level of dependence of our national energy system on fossil fuels is a result of intentional actions taken by Defendants over many years. These actions, cumulatively, promote the use of fossil fuels, contribute to dangerous levels of CO2 emissions, and are causing climate change.'"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Folks, I see this as a watershed moment. If the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit does not immediately grant this urgent motion, then we're going to know just what we're up against and how dumb it would be to remain peaceful and calm and good and kind and sweet in our protests to safeguard the future of life on this precious planet! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our Children's Trust, meet <a href="https://rebellion.earth/" target="_blank">Extinction Rebellion</a>. I, for one, rebel against the extinction of the children — of all species — that I love so dearly.</span></span></div>
GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-56591051633768078462019-02-10T09:10:00.001-08:002019-02-10T09:10:36.571-08:00The Cold, Hard Truth<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Another storm with high winds caused a 24-hour power outage this weekend for my community. My beloved and I spent that time in the cold and the dark (why we didn't build a fire in our woodstove and stay cozy and warm is a longer story). </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9fiE4lBdmOO9GagbVPv-bKElwWwayQOVDUrkdCv0NVPhCxoy72DW-YFSErBjPEGwHq4shUy_r7fBn-MugRMvSxvFfyoTTgF4rSvWpcAXhW2mDguVNv_odPNpZoVxuXRMWTB8sHneqjbp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-10+at+8.44.49+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="610" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9fiE4lBdmOO9GagbVPv-bKElwWwayQOVDUrkdCv0NVPhCxoy72DW-YFSErBjPEGwHq4shUy_r7fBn-MugRMvSxvFfyoTTgF4rSvWpcAXhW2mDguVNv_odPNpZoVxuXRMWTB8sHneqjbp/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-02-10+at+8.44.49+AM.png" width="133" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had a fun novel on hand (thanks to a friend) and lots of marking (done by flashlight, candlelight, and then sunlight) to keep me occupied. Peter is reading Matthieu Auzanneau's Oil, Power, and War: A Dark History — the perfect book when the power is off and the lights are out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All this to preface what I realized yesterday, curled up in bed with a toque and mitts on. I am overwhelmed. Well, I'm <i>feeling </i>overwhelmed (and realizing that we ain't seen nothin' yet). Between schoolwork and housework and trying to hang on to friends and trying to keep up with all the climate change happenings (but definitely not succeeding), I'm not doing anything well. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not only is the climate change emergency going to continue to shower us with [pick your region's worst nightmare: storms, floods, droughts, sea level rise, food shortages, water conflicts], but while we're dealing with those crises, life has to continue. We have to continue to make meals (sometimes without power and, in the not-too-distant future, without ingredients that used to be widely available). We have to keep getting the kids ready for school (until schoolyards are taken over for food production and the children are growing it). We have to continue to do our jobs (until societies break down and jobs are useless because everyone's labour is needed just for survival). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 2018, the world experienced <a href="https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2019-01-23-39-billion-dollar-disasters-2018-first-2019?fbclid=IwAR2yP7WafTKoj68BinnEhsmrfpbk36xQAKqMDM9D313nhfzRkACZQiTl-2g" target="_blank">39 weather disasters that cost over $1 billion</a>. (We're talking hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and severe weather.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The U.S. had the most billion-dollar weather disasters in 2018 of any country, with 16. That's its second-highest total on record, behind the 20 billion-dollar weather disasters of 2017. NOAA has not yet released its final list of billion-dollar disasters for the U.S. in 2018 due to the government shutdown. China had seven billion-dollar weather disasters in 2018.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The combined economic losses (insured and uninsured) from all 394 weather and earthquake disasters catalogued by Aon in 2018 was $225 billion (2018 USD), which is 33 percent above the 1980-2017 inflation-adjusted average of $169 billion. The great bulk of the 2018 total came from weather-related disasters ($215 billion of the $225 billion).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88vK7PgAAcMUMdyN6v21Kg5DGoRM1-aTd0OcVxtJOLTLOxfbNOkbHfiwXiFbe2H-B6qVgJAwp2YKy0lPe5-QNAzK9_xsAp5p21NOiwxEmgUW5BhhsQ_-SoKslQ1C4BTHujlZZctzzUUyB/s1600/einstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1063" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88vK7PgAAcMUMdyN6v21Kg5DGoRM1-aTd0OcVxtJOLTLOxfbNOkbHfiwXiFbe2H-B6qVgJAwp2YKy0lPe5-QNAzK9_xsAp5p21NOiwxEmgUW5BhhsQ_-SoKslQ1C4BTHujlZZctzzUUyB/s400/einstein.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And yet, I still read comments like:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"<span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">CO2 is fine the way it is, without need of 'fixing.'</span> <span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">Plants in greenhouses with fortified CO2 do much better of course.</span>" [Ooh, ooh, I love that one. Because of course the real world of agriculture is just like a giant experiment in a greenhouse. With no pests, no storms, no floods, no droughts, no heatwaves to worry about. No sirree.] </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"<span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">While flooding and more severe weather events are bad consider the alternative if nature takes it's [sic] course." [I think she's taking her course and it's obvious she's miffed.] </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">"</span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">We still haven't returned to the Medieval or Roman Climate Optimum. Until then, I am not worried. :)" [That's someone who doesn't get the "global" in global warming.] </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">"</span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">So, you're afraid of the havoc wrought by milder winters and nights?" [Sigh, yeah. Some people just have zero ecological literacy. Milder winters = less insect kill = an increase in vector-borne diseases + huge swathes of trees killed by bark beetles. Oh, and milder winters also = less snowpack lasting for a shorter time in spring = lower drinking water supply + water shortages by summer.]</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6PefESKOshAawoXtkg3TaHtZ_kpkejSsxWJ35mXO4q-O0uQSWyWolCV2OWxAuvFb6HCmlCAO2gX2clOBIxXfYrTKB2oANyYpsj7oRLrKUzG-UiIUveQGudYs-Y2L6ivf7rs18_MSpDOc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-02-10+at+9.07.41+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="994" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6PefESKOshAawoXtkg3TaHtZ_kpkejSsxWJ35mXO4q-O0uQSWyWolCV2OWxAuvFb6HCmlCAO2gX2clOBIxXfYrTKB2oANyYpsj7oRLrKUzG-UiIUveQGudYs-Y2L6ivf7rs18_MSpDOc/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-02-10+at+9.07.41+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I would love to know who created this ... it's brilliant.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">You know what? I've just realized what's overwhelming me. It's the inertia. It's that there only seem to be 37 people (and that feels generous) in the whole world fighting against Big Money, Big Oil and Stupid Government in order to safeguard the future. Talk about tilting at windmills. The Don Quixotes of the world are still being laughed at by armchair "experts," excoriated by fake news pundits, fake-scienced by paid trolls, and ignored by the millions (or is it billions) of people who are too overwhelmed with their own lives to share a care for the future. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #373e44; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Okay, well, now that I understand my overwhelm, I think I'll be okay. I think I'll be able to become Person #38 again, and get back into the fray. Thanks for listening and helping me sort this out. And if you ever need the same sort of help sorting through the cold, hard truth, my hearing is still pretty good and I've got strong shoulders. Send me a message! </span></span></span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-36113660744249989512019-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:002019-03-01T08:30:51.874-08:00The Real Truth About the Climate Crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoB39PG-cB_Dyqk2izLwJdIZoBYdJfjFXCsB8eJTkiDpM275w6Ep76LjrHzspQzfuyY4BYDByoiEhuKCLOrHYm3IxNmbaKk7XCZgsjlx2X42HlZXCZKcDUq-FkrfmvnY06q2UpnbHuk8Ba/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-01-27+at+3.25.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="1202" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoB39PG-cB_Dyqk2izLwJdIZoBYdJfjFXCsB8eJTkiDpM275w6Ep76LjrHzspQzfuyY4BYDByoiEhuKCLOrHYm3IxNmbaKk7XCZgsjlx2X42HlZXCZKcDUq-FkrfmvnY06q2UpnbHuk8Ba/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-01-27+at+3.25.39+PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sorry that I'm posting later than usual this week. I saw my hubby off to a big health conference in New York City this morning (everyone else was flying to Mexico!), and just got home a while ago.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Peter will be speaking on The
Global Climate Change Emergency: From Personal to Planetary Health, and then joining a panel that includes one of his greatest heroes, the preeminent climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, who wrote the foreword to Peter's book (co-authored with Elizabeth Woodworth), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unprecedented-Crime-Climate-Changers-Survival/dp/0998694738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548631756&sr=8-1&keywords=unprecedented+crime" target="_blank">Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival</a>. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweNJEjAcAa7xccD8iF0dWJOp4yLwWTq40rYu51cmXGiYnBchYfBIypFYnG7rG3Dv1n1ZO_Bsjmau5kowL2B5Am_KPSTK_FK3TCve4Aex0PGreA3K6lEJ_WPqDhB480SfJhkt3tjpVwzKF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-01-30+at+5.42.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1216" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweNJEjAcAa7xccD8iF0dWJOp4yLwWTq40rYu51cmXGiYnBchYfBIypFYnG7rG3Dv1n1ZO_Bsjmau5kowL2B5Am_KPSTK_FK3TCve4Aex0PGreA3K6lEJ_WPqDhB480SfJhkt3tjpVwzKF/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-01-30+at+5.42.01+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
real truth about the climate crisis seems to be finally seeping into
the public consciousness, doesn't it? (Perhaps that's the real reason
President T**** shut down the American government! He wouldn't want people questioning his commitment to "clean coal" — the greatest oxymoron EVER.) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">More and more municipal governments are declaring the climate change emergency — which is a declaration of their intention to spend money doing something to safeguard the future for their citizens. </span></span><br />
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<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-53677453127667996042019-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:002019-01-20T05:00:06.568-08:00“Take It and Run” — Navigating Earth in Decline<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today, we welcome Salt Spring Island (British Columbia, Canada) teacher, writer and activist extraordinaire, Jan Slakov, as our guest blogger. Enjoy!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZyoC2Mrb2OwHU1JWviXvSpJVAEiL6wwSJxerFVgLCJkM49_sTKMwOl-A9hlRskpDk77acY0nlLnXDSbbwH-fX1O_gGr4qj1DwUKlTEK9ZiTnmtiBIfMQjqIjnOuSMRptQl8RP9Pnycls/s1600/paul-hawken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="520" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZyoC2Mrb2OwHU1JWviXvSpJVAEiL6wwSJxerFVgLCJkM49_sTKMwOl-A9hlRskpDk77acY0nlLnXDSbbwH-fX1O_gGr4qj1DwUKlTEK9ZiTnmtiBIfMQjqIjnOuSMRptQl8RP9Pnycls/s320/paul-hawken.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In his unforgettable <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2009/05/23/paul-hawkens-commencement-address-class-2009" target="_blank">commencement address</a>, activist, entrepreneur, author Paul Hawken stated, “Class of 2009, you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on Earth at a time when every living system is declining. […] if you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this Earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.”<br /><br />Ten years later, and I could feel myself losing hope. When asked what news story from 2018 made him angry, Tim Fontaine of Walking Eagle News replied, "Uh, that the world was gonna end in 20 years and everybody just promptly ignored it.” He referred to the IPCC's special 1.5ºC report on climate change that “was so laid out, it was both a road map to the end of the world and a road map to how to save it and we were more concerned with [anything else, from the royal wedding to flossing].” It’s all the more difficult when solutions, such as those outlined by Project Drawdown, which Hawken is now involved in, would make the world a happier, healthier place.<br /><br />I know of people who ended up alienating those close to them with their gloom. Feeling myself sinking towards despair, I decided to look for help. I read Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind. Climate activist and healer Christine Penner-Polle offered to include me in her “Climate of Love” energy healing work, I spent more time outside in the garden and woods I love. I read Think No Evil about how an Amish community responded to a mass shooting in one of their schools with radical love and forgiveness. I started making time to focus on sharing loving kindness, for myself and those I love, yes, but also for those whose actions are causing great pain, who I find hard to love.<br /><br />And then, once again, I went up Burnaby Mountain, this time for an Earth Witness worship meeting. We sat just outside the Kwekwecnewtxw or sacred Watch House, our circle including people of differing faith backgrounds or no religious affiliation at all. It felt like our sharing of silence, gratitude, sorrows, song, followed by warm tea and snacks, was helping to strengthen the spiritual power of that place. No doubt it was also being in community with others who are doing their utmost to protect the world we love.<br /><br />Romilly Cavanaugh, the environmental engineer who used to work for TransMountain pipeline and then went up Burnaby Mountain last March 20, uncertain if her career would be damaged by getting arrested, was there too. That day in March, she knew she was doing what she was meant to do, as the welcome from indigenous leaders brought tears to her eyes. To this incredibly diverse group of people in which she found herself, they said, “If you come here with an open heart, we welcome you.”<br /><br />After our Earth Witness circle, Romilly got a text from Stephanie, a doctor who also has been drawn to help land defenders at Burnaby Mountain. The text was an invitation to come down to an Unist’ot’en/Wet’suwet’en solidarity rally at Victory Square, in Vancouver’s downtown east side. By the time we got there, the rally was at Hastings and Main, completely blocking traffic.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNfQ7PNvWT2rNa7qz14ZC50DmLPA5x8xUeNtySKFtpItrJtlL6_g7wqcLsakqyFKQG7yq_0P3nwfZuxFFL5ccmvgJrdbNlOrxQxFTGO8zMAE-PV0Qu7lL7L7dU6JO7GrnXesG5zEBLESX/s1600/DwafR0TUcAAgt8S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNfQ7PNvWT2rNa7qz14ZC50DmLPA5x8xUeNtySKFtpItrJtlL6_g7wqcLsakqyFKQG7yq_0P3nwfZuxFFL5ccmvgJrdbNlOrxQxFTGO8zMAE-PV0Qu7lL7L7dU6JO7GrnXesG5zEBLESX/s320/DwafR0TUcAAgt8S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gradually I came to see what a privilege it was to be there. I’m sure many of the people in that space have survived abuse and pain beyond anything I’ve ever known, personally. One woman in the inner circle was crying. I suspect those were tears of joy, to see her people rising up.<br /><br />I tend to get anxious about inconveniencing others, so I went up to a truck driver who was stuck with a “front row seat” he never asked for: “I’m sorry; I hope you understand.” He didn’t roll down his window but I could tell that, at some level, yes, he did understand. When three police officers made their way through the crowd towards that inner circle, I followed, hoping to be able to help de-escalate confrontation, if need be. One of them embraced a man in that circle; I went back to reassure my friends — these police officers are here to help, no need to worry.<br /><br />Not long after that we started to move, heading towards the entrance to the Vancouver Port, and occupying the eastbound lanes of Hastings. Two indigenous women were leading; now and then one lowered the megaphone to a girl who was her daughter, I think. Her tiny voice called out: “The people united will never be defeated.” The call back was not tiny. There were hundreds of us slowly heading east, serenaded now and then by westbound vehicles honking their support.<br /><br />I know some people see Extinction Rebellion tactics of blocking traffic as counter-productive. Often, at rallies, I find myself wishing for something more beautiful and inspiring than tired slogans. But I’ve come to see how we need everyone, doing what they can. As the RAVEN indigenous solidarity group puts it, this is a time to “pulltogether.”<br /><br />We need Romilly getting arrested, but also her paid work, through <a href="http://offsetters.ca/">offsetters.ca</a>. We need the inspiration and vision of policies elaborated in the <a href="https://leapmanifesto.org/en/the-leap-manifesto/#manifesto-content" target="_blank">Leap Manifesto</a>, policies congruent with those of the Green Party’s “<a href="https://www.greenparty.ca/en/vision-green" target="_blank">Vision Green</a>.” The policies would result in economic transformation, not economic ruin. (In 2011, Canada's federal Green Party made a special effort to get its platform reviewed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) at the time, who judged the platform favourably. With new legislation giving the PBO a mandate to review party platforms, hopefully Canadians will have a useful tool to better understand the fiscal implications of various proposals.)<br /><br />It is hard to work for change in a system that feels stacked against us. And maybe we are indeed doomed. But let’s look at how people have faced terminal cancer or killer despots in the past. Some give up the desire to live, knowing death is stalking them and those they love. Some see, in a heightened way, that all that really matters is love. <br /><br />And for some, there are many would be called miracles. Somehow they live on, defying diseases, abuse or attacks that have been, for others, deadly. <br /><br />As he ended his commencement address, Hawken spoke of the generations before who had failed. “They got distracted and lost sight of the fact that life is a miracle every moment of your existence. Nature beckons you to be on her side. You couldn’t ask for a better boss. […] This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">— Jan Slakov </span></span>GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-79057277998575524972019-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:002019-01-13T05:00:05.329-08:00There Are So Many Things We Can Be Doing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLzitHBjHsPkoEFXVdk09dv3TU8XlE6F-BPVs1mRdhB3kVZdSA6uVpc-KHuxEPLwzaDmhOSgnNNGfe3GAo_O3vgXGcWyHkQzh1DoN3WklGJ82CI6IWwnxqHy1VM5MCMrMuJrXSxIWEiI4/s1600/15513406-the-words-save-the-world-written-on-a-dry-erase-board-to-do-list-reminding-you-to-make-earth-friendl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLzitHBjHsPkoEFXVdk09dv3TU8XlE6F-BPVs1mRdhB3kVZdSA6uVpc-KHuxEPLwzaDmhOSgnNNGfe3GAo_O3vgXGcWyHkQzh1DoN3WklGJ82CI6IWwnxqHy1VM5MCMrMuJrXSxIWEiI4/s200/15513406-the-words-save-the-world-written-on-a-dry-erase-board-to-do-list-reminding-you-to-make-earth-friendl.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think I'm just going to make a list today. I haven't offered this sort of thing in a long time, but we attended a meeting the other night where lots of ideas for what a nearby city (and the capital city of my province in Canada) can do about the climate crisis. I'll add in some of my own ideas.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Change now, as philosopher Krishnamurti taught. Picture … dream …
envision how the world needs to be: free of war, terrorism, violence, cruelty
and slaughter. A world free of fossil fuels, a “golden age” of zero-carbon
renewable energy, will be safer, cleaner, kinder, healthier, more equitable,
and more peaceful. It’s a beautiful vision, isn’t it?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For the sake of the children – of all species – find the
strength, the courage and the compassion to truly feel the pain of the climate
crisis. Next, lament. And then, get active. Remember that the most vulnerable
are being impacted worst and first, but we are all impacted. People around the
world are losing their lives or their loved ones, their livelihoods, their food
security and water sources, their homes and entire homelands, in extreme
weather events caused or exacerbated by climate chaos. We also need to
understand this from the perspective of indigenous people, who have nowhere to
move to because they <i>are</i> their land.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you and your family are not already eating a
plant-based diet, go vegan now, for the sake of your own health and the health
of the planet. It’s the quickest – and most significant – way to lower your
greenhouse gas emissions. Further, how can we create peaceful transformation in
a world filled with slaughter and cruelty?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Burning Age is over. Support a carbon fee and any
other strategy that will encourage people to switch their investment money to zero-carbon,
non-combustion renewable energy. Work towards a combustion-free society by
transitioning away from the internal combustion engine.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Call for your government to keep its pledge to end
taxpayer subsidies to fossil fuel industries. According to the International
Monetary Fund, every year governments around the world give $5.3 trillion in
direct and indirect subsidies to fossil fuel corporations. Just think how much
faster we’ll make the transition to zero-carbon, non-combustion energy when all
that money is switched to renewables.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Make a plan for reducing your family’s carbon footprint
as rapidly as possible. Invest in the future by ensuring that your investments
are ethical and green. Divest from fossil fuels. Vote with your dollars. Invest
in a heat pump for your home to lower your heating bill. If you need to drive,
save up to purchase a hybrid or electric vehicle. Figure how far you and your
family are willing to walk, bicycle, take public transit, car share, etc., and
set up systems to help you use these greener modes of transportation more often.
Be willing to make changes, compromises, even sacrifices for the sake of the
future.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Support fair elections and electoral reform so that governments are made up
of elected officials representing all voices, not just those beholden to fossil
fuel industries.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn the basic science of the unprecedented crime of
greenhouse gas pollution and the anthropogenic (human-caused) climate and
oceans crisis it has led to. Then learn why climate disruption and the trifecta
of ocean heating, ocean acidification, and ocean de-oxygenation represent an
urgent emergency. Understand that the climate change denial campaign is
deliberate and extremely well funded. They can sound convincing, but don’t be
fooled. Do your own research, check your sources, and stay strong.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The greatest immediate threat is food and water
insecurity. After all, we have evolved over the last 10,000 years into a
species dependent on agriculture – and agriculture is dependent upon a stable
climate, which we’ve had globally for the last 10,000 years – until now.
Encourage ecological and regenerative agricultural practices and the
implementation of permaculture principles. Mulch your garden. Plant trees. Lend
support (time, money, energy, expertise) to food-growing programs for children
and schools. We can’t grow food overnight; nor can we <i>learn</i> to grow food overnight. Be a champion for a different kind of
education … one that will help create the world we need.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Permaculture the heck out of your community. Turn public spaces and boulevards into
food forests. Build food security, food sovereignty, food resilience.
(If climate chaos is going to lead to worldwide hunger, at least we'll
be among the last to go.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Get your local municipal government/s to declare a climate change emergency. (<a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/get-involved/" target="_blank">The Climate Mobilization</a> can offer guidance with this.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Protest
outside of any bank that is investing in global destruction. Divest
while you're at it, and put your money into a community bank or credit
union.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pull off some "intersactions." Take your
protest signs to the busiest intersection in your community and keep
crossing the road when the walk sign is on walking around in a square.
Get it? High visibility. Not illegal. Drivers won't be turned off
because you're not blocking traffic.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Remember to make your planning meetings and your public actions inclusive (invite others who might not normally participate) and accessible (for example, to people with disabilities, to parents with small children).<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Finally, do your spiritual work – pray, meditate, dance, go for walks, whatever – but don’t
stop there! Remember, we all have at least a little bit of time, money, energy and/or expertise to share.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And
hey, if none of these actions feels right to you, you can always bake
muffins for those on the front lines of saving the world. Even
protestors have to eat!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsfaYDtXcsKBAF8_Po3sXTrgR78H9zPf-qqlMPJzwIY8qq9pTjq2qYybhi_z7TpqYjCT2iS5tEQt4LNL0HZPDQY3ROjoeBO05adSnzteyyYkJIw9ppQDXSX0UwAOX3Iq9Fn3it7wZqQuQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-01-12+at+2.21.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1514" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsfaYDtXcsKBAF8_Po3sXTrgR78H9zPf-qqlMPJzwIY8qq9pTjq2qYybhi_z7TpqYjCT2iS5tEQt4LNL0HZPDQY3ROjoeBO05adSnzteyyYkJIw9ppQDXSX0UwAOX3Iq9Fn3it7wZqQuQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-01-12+at+2.21.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Adapted from Henry Van Dyke</span></span></div>
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<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406037264704298997.post-19973815662058854162019-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:002019-01-06T05:00:08.879-08:00I'm Becoming More and More Concerned About the State of Things<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfLAscjCepGeg9iM6rGOjQhrQ775raShPyPnsGFFjpG-jQb01Bk6HQICeNn_aflR8zrPisTbX47Vuvw5CdfYKPIkEd0v6f19PPepNSwpaxpGk-ZcWDT2Tbl3ikLIlTO3KTt8aMtP3JacU/s1600/methode-times-prodmigration-web-bin-9d112630-1d18-3952-94ac-9d42e9c84b61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfLAscjCepGeg9iM6rGOjQhrQ775raShPyPnsGFFjpG-jQb01Bk6HQICeNn_aflR8zrPisTbX47Vuvw5CdfYKPIkEd0v6f19PPepNSwpaxpGk-ZcWDT2Tbl3ikLIlTO3KTt8aMtP3JacU/s320/methode-times-prodmigration-web-bin-9d112630-1d18-3952-94ac-9d42e9c84b61.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Peruvian spectacled bear is facing an uncertain future</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here's a new year's compilation of what's got me feeling more and more worried these days.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We tried to watch Paddington the other night. You know, the live action movie about a sweet little talking bear from Darkest Peru? (It's supposed to be a spectacled bear, known for being playful and mischievous.) For some reason, one of the characters is a evil taxidermist (played by Nicole Kidman) who is not content with the animals she has already stuffed. We might have made it through her nasty scenes except that she suddenly let loose with a not-well-veiled screed against immigrants and refugees. We turned it off immediately, but I was shaken. That sort of manipulative mental violence is pretty insidious. :-(</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next, my hubby put together a film this week showing how little the latest climate talks (in Katovice, Poland) achieved — and then they lied about it, with the media lapping it up. It's bad enough that they haven't accomplished much of anything in 24 years of meetings, but to be deceptive about it, as well? That takes the cake. Perhaps we could blame it on their lack of sleep. Anyway, here's the movie. It's called Life Condemned: The Intolerable Evil Corporate Carbon Corruption. Says it all, eh? :-(</span></span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zbYQLRO_aoc" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next, do democratic governments around the world seem to be more and more at the beck and call of fossil fuel corporations? Here in British Columbia, Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted (they're not so mounted anymore) Police have warned that they're moving in soon to forcibly remove a First Nations community that has barred a natural gas pipeline from crossing its unceded territory. This makes me feel sick to my stomach. Sick in my heart. Sick for all the children, and for all that is sacred, healthy and beautiful in the world. :-(</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Where is the love? Where is the care and concern? Where are the parents willing to make sacrifices for their kids? Where is any government willing to stand up for the people against Big Money and Big Oil? I never imagined it would play out so blatantly ... so cruelly ... right before our eyes. :-(</span></span><br />
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<br />GreenHeartedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920831217530325071noreply@blogger.com0