A Message to All the Women Attending COP30 in Belém, Brazil

Almost every year I send out this same invitation. I haven't managed to change the world yet, but I'm not giving up. Let's see if this request can go viral this time and shake things up!

This year's UN international climate change Conference of the Parties (COP30) will be held November 10-21 in Belém, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Pará in the north. Belém is nicknamed the "City of Mango Trees," and it's a major cultural and historical gateway to the Amazon rainforest. 

The theme of the COP this year is "Global Mutirão," which means "collective efforts" in the Tupi-Guarani language. This slogan will emphasize the need for worldwide cooperation on climate action. The conference intends to focus on key pillars like energy, industry, and transport; forests, oceans, and biodiversity; and human and social development, with an emphasis on transitioning from negotiations to concrete, practical solutions. Boa sorte (good luck)!

*******

It was back in 2009 that I first sent out this heartfelt request to all the women, and our friends beyond the binary, 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 this year's COP. 

 

And to the grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins, godmothers, wives, partners and girlfriends of all the men who will be attending the Belém climate talks, please speak to them. Speak up for the sake of all the children ... of all species.  

A request to all the women attending the climate change talks! 

PLEASE WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS! Please inject some life into the talks — wear the colours of flowers and forests and sunsets and fresh fruit and children's smiles.

The Black Gospel Blog, 2008

 

BE A MOTHER OR A GRANDMOTHER FIRST. 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. 

REMEMBER THAT CLIMATE CHANGE KNOWS NO BORDERS. Try to forget that you're in Belém, Brazil 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. 

LET COMPASSION BE YOUR COMPASS. 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 neither compassionate nor viable. 

CALL FOR ZERO CARBON — ALONG WITH SOME URGENCY IN ACHIEVING IT. 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.

 

Pobreza, Live Journal

 

LET COURAGE GUIDE YOU. Women are courageous in so many — often unsung — ways. Courage at a climate COP, though not easy, is 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!). 

CALL FOR THE END OF FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES. How will we ever lower our fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions as long as governments subsidize the fossil fuel industries? According to the IMF (2023), our governments are giving fossil fuel corporations (who are already among the richest companies in the world) $7 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.

REMEMBER THE GREAT WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THEIR COURAGE, women like Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas, Patricia Wright, Donella Meadows, Berta Cáceres, Hazel Henderson, Sylvia Earle, Sister Dorothy Stang, Erin Brokovich, Grø Harlem Brundtland, 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, Harriet Nahanee. Stand on their shoulders — and be climate heroes at this year's COP!

 

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.
 

STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS
(click here to listen to this song)
by Joyce Johnson Rouse (Earth Mama)

I am standing on the shoulders

of the ones who came before me
I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words
I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future
I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth

We are standing on the shoulders 
of the ones who came before us
They are saints and they are humans, they are angels,
they are friends
We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles 
and the challenge
When we know that by our efforts things will be
better in the end

They lift me higher than I could ever fly
Carrying my burdens away
I imagine our world if they hadn't tried
We wouldn't be here celebrating today

I am standing on the shoulders of the ones 
who came before me
I am honored by their passion for our liberty
I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer
And my shoulders will be there to hold 
the ones who follow me 

They lift me higher than I could ever fly
Carrying my burdens away
I imagine our world if they hadn't tried
We wouldn't be so very blessed today

I am standing on the shoulders of the ones 
who came before me
I am honored by their passion for our liberty
I will stand a little taller, I will work a little longer
And my shoulders will be there to hold 
the ones who follow me 
My shoulders will be there to hold  
the ones who follow me

When You're Depleted and Defeated, Turn to Leonard Cohen and "Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring"

The climate talks (COP24) in Katowice, Poland have wrapped up with as little accomplished and as much left undone as expected ... but we always hope for better, don't we? I find myself doing a lot of finger crossing (for good luck) these days, but without holding my breath (expectations can be demons). 

The devastation of the biosphere can only get worse now, and faster and faster. We're likely in "only a miracle can save us now" territory already. 

My hubby is just back from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He and others (including Polly Higgins) spoke about getting massive environmental damage due to climate change recognized internationally as a crime against humanity. But the wheels of justice turn very slowly (unless, of course, you're an African-American accused of a misdemeanor crime in the United States), so that can only be one piece of the strategy. 

But things have been heating up (pun intended, I guess) since the publication of the IPCC's Special Report on 1.5ºC, and the Fourth National Climate Assessment in the United States. Here's how I know. Amongst articles such as The 15 Most Stylish Topcoats to Wear All Winter and Damnit, Ted Cruz's Beard Looks Tolerable, Esquire Magazine offered up 

by Charles P. Pierce. The subtitle of his article is: "The lastest U.S. government climate report is a pre-emptive coroner's report, and our politics aren't equipped to deal with it." I don't think I have to say any more.

Maclean's Magazine, in Canada, is into the fray. David Moscrop wrote:

"We can’t address an existential threat with our fellow citizens standing in our path. They rob us of the hope we need to save ourselves" is the subtitle. Now, you know what I think of hope (it's a developed world luxury that we don't deserve — unless we're taking action), but I'll let him have this one because he's a newbie who has just woken up to the climate crisis and is going from zero to "climate grief" quite rapidly. (Whoever could have imagined that one of our greatest obstacles to climate change mitigation would be people who think that hope and feeling good are more important than action?!)

Anyway, my point is this. Sometimes, this calling hurts. It's hard. We can feel defeated and depleted. And when that happens, we have to have our touchstones. The people we can reach out to, the uplifting books or movies we can read or watch, and music — songs we can listen to over and over again that speak to our souls and know exactly what to tell us.

So whether you've been doing this for decades (like my husband and me) or you're just discovering how desperately bad the climate change crisis is now, Anthem by Leonard Cohen is an excellent invitation to take stock and then to keep at it ... imperfectly, if necessary.

ANTHEM, by Leonard Cohen

The birds, they sang 
At the break of day 
Start again, I heard them say 
Don't dwell on what has passed away 
Or what is yet to be. 

Yeah, the wars 
They will be fought again 
The holy dove 
She will be caught again 
Bought and sold and bought again 
The dove is never free. 

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in. 

We asked for signs 
The signs were sent: 
The birth betrayed 
The marriage spent 
Yeah, the widowhood of every government 
Signs for all to see. 

I can't run no more 
With that lawless crowd 
While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud 
But they've summoned, they've summoned up a thundercloud 
They're gonna hear from me. 

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in.
You can add up the parts 
You won't have the sum 
You can strike up the march 
There is no drum 
Every heart, every heart 
To love, will come 
But like a refugee. 

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in 

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in 
That's how the light gets in 
That's how the light gets in 

Declaring—and Advertising—the Climate Change Emergency Closer to Home

Did that get our attention? Back in 2014, for a Climate Emergency Countdown, I wrote:

DEMAND THAT GOVERNMENTS DECLARE THE CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY

... And in every way we can think of, let's urge all government representatives and negotiators at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Climate Summit 2014: Catalyzing Action to declare the emergency.

Once governments declare that we are "beyond dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), things will start to happen. This declaration would be an automatic trigger for the bureaucrats who work underneath politicians and within governments to start working on climate change solutions. Scientists say that determining whether climate change is an emergency is a value judgement that society must make. So let's make it! We're society. Let's get the CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARED!

Have we? No. Every time I (metaphorically) come running from my burning house, stumbling through the smoke and blaze with my beloveds (and my laptop, if I'm lucky), I find a ring of firefighters sitting on the front lawn in lawn chairs, discussing the need for more study of fire safety rules. Although I remember that they did publish another report on more serious fire safety rules just a few weeks ago, so things are looking up (or down?).

 

And among the lookie-loos on the street are those who say, "Fire? There's no fire at my house, so I don't believe in housefires." The more erudite and learned among the deniers will point to my house and say, "Sure, your livingroom's got some smoke and flames coming out of it, but look at your kitchen windows. Nothing. You're cherrypicking the data and exaggerating the risk." Ah heck, they're probably afraid the burnt-out shell of my house will lower their property values. Or they just can't face the possibility that a house fire can happen to anyone with a house.

 

Well, there's a sort of solution to the lack of global and national urgency on the climate crisis front. Municipalities are declaring the climate change emergency and doing what they can locally. Let's hear it for:

• Oakland​, USA
• Berkeley, USA ​
• Byron Shire Council, Australia 
• Darebin, Australia
• Colorado Democrats
• Richmond, USA​
• Montgomery County, USA

We'll see if Tuesday's election in the United States brings more attention and voice to the issue, state-wide and federally. 

Near my home in Canada, we're working to have two local cities declare the climate change emergency. The Climate Mobilization offers a city-by-city campaign toolkit. We all live somewhere with some sort of local governing body, so this is something we can all do!

Here in BC, one of the province's best-known and loved environmentalists, Guy Dauncey, has launched The November Offensive in which he asks British Columbians to write to the province's governing (NDP and Green Party) MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) to ask that 12 policy requests (inspired by the urgency of the IPCC's special 1.5ºC report) be included in BC's upcoming new climate action plan.

"The second goal is that people will step forward to seek a meeting with their MLA, to impress the same urgency and solutions in person. The concise, specific, actionable request is that the MLA you meet with will convey your concerns, hopes and recommended 12 Actions in person to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and to the Premier of BC."

"Actionable." If people want action on the climate change emergency, they have to TAKE ACTION. Which leads me to ....

 

Finally, I'm just reading The Climate Truth, an essay by Climate Reality presenter and psychologist, Dr. Joe Silverman. In it, he almost agrees with my take on cognitive dissonance:

"In some ways, action on climate change seems caught in a Catch-22. Politicians don't act because the voting public does not demand it. And much of the public is not fully engaged on the issue because their individual actions are a drop in the bucket that will do little to solve the problem."

(To me, the problem is that politicians are waiting for the public to demand climate action, but the public is waiting for politicians to take the lead and tell them it's urgent.) 

 

Dr. Silverman suggests that what's been missing in climate change problem-solving is "the need for engaging and motivating the public on this issue using a multi-dimensional [and, I would add, multi-media] publicity campaign." 

 

He's calling for a Climate Truth Campaign. "Despite all the efforts to communicate the urgency of global warming, this approach [a publicity campaign on the climate crisis] has never been tried" [his emphasis].

 "Advertising routinely sells the public on a number of unhealthy products (e.g., drinking soda, eating junk food), so perhaps it's not unreasonable to think that an advertising model could 'sell' a message about a healthy environment and sustainable future."

 

Give his essay a read. His idea is something that we can all contribute to and get going on, whether on/in local media or further from home.

We can't wait any longer for our elected officials to declare the climate change emergency. Many of them have only one aim, and that's to get re-elected. 

So let's declare the climate change emergency ourselves, in every possible media available to us. Let's do a GoFundMe®, a Kickstarter, an Indiegogo campaign, or just pass the hat at local events to raise funds.

 

And then, let's advertise it! 

 

Let's tell the world in, as Joe Silverman recommends, short, vivid, eye-catching, visual ways (even on radio!) that we're in a climate change emergency, and we all have to wake up, get out of the burning house, and start hosing it down together!

Another Compassion Tune-Up: OneRepublic's Truth to Power

Heartsick, by Banksy

I just don't have it in me today to write a blog post. I am so saddened and horrified by the utter lack of empathy, compassion and simple human decency I'm witnessing more and more in social media comments. It's like a tidal wave of ignorance and scientific illiteracy is crashing over a shore of totally not giving a shit about anywhere or anyone else. I am heartsick and despondent.

So instead, I'll leave you with OneRepublic's Truth to Power, which powered the 2017 sequel to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, in which "he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion." Like I try to explain to people, this is the most exciting time ever to be alive.

Folks, if you want to do something besides feel bad, do this:

Help create the political will to stop direct and indirect subsidies to the fossil fuel industries (bam! investment will move over to renewable energy technologies — and isn't it time for fossil fuel energy to stand on its own to feet ... or remain in the ground?) Write, phone, email, fax or visit your elected officials.

Tell your government to get your country's carbon emission targets in line with the IPCC's special report on limiting warming to 1.5ºC before the next big climate conference (COP24 in Poland), which might *possibly* help us avoid cataclysmic climate chaos (a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030; that will get us on our way to zero carbon by mid-century, but we have to start NOW!)

Lyrics below.

Truth to Power
by Ryan B Tedder / T Bone Burnett

I could tell you I was fragile
I could tell you I was weak
I could write you out a letter
To tell you anything you need
 

I've seen minutes turn to hours
Hours turn to years
And I've seen truth turn to power

If you could see me the way I see you
If you could feel me the way I feel you
You'd be a believer
You'd be a believer

Minutes turn to hours
Hours turn to years
And I've seen truth turn to power

I could tell you I was ageless
But I know you see the light
I could tell you I'm immune to everything
But that's a lie
Dust don't turn to flowers
Skies don't disappear
But I've seen truth turn to power
 

Oh, if you could see me the way I see you
If you could feel me the way I feel you
You'd be a believer (believer)
You'd be a believer (believer)
You'd be a believer (believer)
You'd be a believer (believer)

Hard to keep goin' on (hard to keep goin' on)
I said it's hard to keep goin' on (hard to keep goin' on)
It's hard to keep goin' on (hard to keep goin' on)

If you could see me the way I see you
If you could feel me the way I feel you
You'd be a believer
You'd be a believer
You'd be a believer

All Sorts of Reactions to the IPCC 1.5ºC Report — Except the Right One

If I don't talk this week about last Sunday's release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Global Warming of 1.5ºC Report, I could possibly be the only armchair pundit who doesn't. So I will, but only to let you know my thoughts and feelings about the reaction to the report.

Although I live in the bubble of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and enviro activists, it was impossible not to hear President T**** admit that he hadn't looked at it. "It was given to me. And I want to look at who drew it. You know, which group drew it. I can give you reports that are fabulous and I can give you reports that aren't so good," he said. I wonder where he gets his "fabulous" reports from. 

(This report was prepared by over 90 scientists from 40 countries who synthesized over 6,000 scientific references. It was then approved by all the governments in the world, although I heard from someone who was there that the US and Saudi Arabia and a handful of other countries threw up lots of roadblocks to that approval.)

Unlike their president, Republican politicians in the United States did have opinions — fatuous though they were. As reported by the Huffington Post, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said, "They might as well be calling on me to sprout wings and fly to Canada for the summer," and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of the actions urged by the report: "It's totally unrealistic. They must have parachuted in from another planet. There's not enough money in the world to pay for that. That's the problem with the UN that they come up with these policy ideas that are just 'La La Land.'" 

And yet President T**** is bragging these days (at the La La Land UN) that he just upped the US military budget to over $700 billion, an increase of 10%. So there's money enough for threatening, invading, killing, maiming, and destroying, but not for safeguarding life. Funny that.

Oh, and let's not forget the $5.3 trillion (TRILLION!) in direct and indirect subsidies that we taxpayers give to fossil fuel corporations every year. So there's money enough for coal, oil, gas, pollution, but not for the renewable energy technologies that could safeguard life. Funny that.

But I found the hardest part of this week were the responses of ordinary people like you and me who understand the climate crisis, who care about the climate crisis, who would perhaps call themselves climate change activists, but who are taking this report as a signal to stand down. I can't believe how many are giving up. Guy McPherson is in vogue again with his abrupt climate change "It's too late" message, so "live, love, and aim for excellence" (as one online commenter suggested to me). (By the way, there's nothing "abrupt" about this. We've known about it since at least the 1800s.)

Well, NO, damn it! I'm not giving up or giving in. I don't want to live excellently; I want my niece and all the beloved kids in my life to live, period. If we're going down, I want to go down swinging. I am going to carry on believing in the possibility of miracles through imagination and creative problem solving. I'm going to keep believing in the power of love and compassion to show our leaders that their own offspring will be impacted. I'm going to keep trying to teach ecological literacy and connecting with the rest of Nature. I'm going to keep seeing the potential for a return to simpler ways and a huge global race to zero carbon. Until my last breath. 

I believe that's the right reaction to the IPCC's 1.5ºC Report. For the sake of all the children, of all species, for all time.

p.s. I liked this article: Do we need an IPCC special report for humans?

One Day to Go Till the Lima Climate Conference - We Know How to Save the World

Well, there's only a day left before the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru (COP20) begins.  I'm not a betting woman. I prefer to work a little magic. So let's, instead of taking wagers, conjure up the best possible outcome. 

Let's manifest that all the delegations from the laggard nations, developed or developing (you know who you are, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands!) never make it off the runway due to freak snowstorms and heat waves, or get lost en route along with their luggage. (Or maybe someone simply locks them in their hotel rooms in Lima.) They just don't show up and therefore can't stall the proceedings.

Then let's manifest that the big industrialized nations all shake hands with China and the USA, congratulating them for their hokey little historic pact. At least they're finally recognizing that Houston has a problem (translation: that there really is a climate change emergency). So we've got the two biggest emitters on board, and their cronies (Europe, Russia, etc.), wanting to bask in the accolades, jump on board, too. (Reminds me of my father, a 3-pack-a-day smoker, who quit smoking because of all the attention we gave my mom when she quit!)

Then the big players, who have found their hearts and their conscience, decide to listen to the little players. You know, the countries where people are already losing their lives, their loved ones and their livelihoods; their food security and their water sources; their homes and entire homelands, all due to climate disruption and chaos. They listen to the stories and the pleas of the G77, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Least Developed Countries (LDC), the Africa Group ... all negotiating blocs that have basically been ignored until now. 

Next up is a little international fireside reading of a very grim (get it? Grimm?) storybook: the IPCC's AR5 Synthesis Report, which "leaves no doubt: Climate change is set to inflict 'severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts' on people and the natural world unless carbon emissions are cut sharply and rapidly." SHARPLY and RAPIDLY, as my hubby points out, means at the least adopting the IPCC's best-case scenario, RCP2.6. "We have a rallying cry," he says.

And then, all together, these nations -- their negotiators and their leaders (who have just jetted in for the last couple of days) -- decide to lend an ear to the members of Climate Action Network (CAN) International, who have come up with the best-ever civil society emergency response to the climate change crisis. 

• Start the decline in emissions next year. 
• Get to zero carbon by mid-century. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the simple magic that can save our world. Abracadabra!

Let's Ride This Wave of Rising Awareness All the Way to Paris

by Sandy Hinden

"We are in the midst of an awakening. At no time in history has Mother Earth needed her children to care more than at present. Ancient prophecies from around the world warn of dramatic global change. The Elders teach [that] if we return to harmony in our lives, Melting the Ice in our Hearts, we will survive." -- Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq

For years, we've known that governments weren't going to look after us by taking care of the climate crisis. We're living in a corporatocracy where governments are controlled by corporate interests, and it's not in the financial interest of big banks and fossil fuel companies to take care of the climate crisis. Which translates into the rich people still own us and control us.

I've naively believed that if we let people know what's going on in the world, they would wake up and give a damn. Not so. It's been a pretty comfortable ride for my generation ... the best ride in humanity's history perhaps ... and nobody wants to rock a boat that seems to be taking them on a scenic cruise. 

But as I reported here, the public is finally waking up. The spate of climate change reports (the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report, or AR5; the US National Climate Assessment) has people talking. To wake people up, it took big media coverage of big scientific organizations and big important people saying that this is an urgent crisis. 

That's okay. Any alarm clock will do. (I just wish it had rung earlier. It's not like these groups and politicians haven't known the urgency until now. It's just that they can't deny the urgency any longer, corporate interests be damned. Election campaign donations? Or votes? Perhaps votes are finally winning.)

But as my friend suggests whenever this topic comes up, "If you wake people up, you'd better have breakfast ready for them." It's been common wisdom for years that talking to people about climate change must also include talking to people about climate change solutions.

Hence, after a long discussion with two climate change activists last night, we came to the conclusion that we have to hop onto this wave of awareness and GET OUR BUTTS IN GEAR FOR PARIS 2015. After the complete (and probably completely scripted) debacle at the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009, a very scary decision was made by negotiators and world leaders at the Cancun talks in 2010 that there would be no agreement until 2015, and therefore no new measures implemented until 2020. 

We've had the Bali Roadmap, the Cancun Agreements, the Durban Outcomes, the Doha Climate Gateway, and the Warsaw Outcomes. And nothing has improved. Indeed, things are still getting worse. Emissions are rising, and impacts are deepening. 

But the public is now realizing that "urgent" means "now" --  not starting in 2020. In the IPCC's latest report, the only scenario (RCP2.6) that gives us a hope in hell says that greenhouse gas emissions have to plateau by next year (hello!) and be decreasing by 2020 (apparently not something we're willing or able to make happen overnight -- or we would have already). 

Christiana Figueres, head of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, knows this and is calling on different groups to get their butts in gear (my term, not hers) "in the lead up to a new, universal climate change agreement in Paris." She said in a recent speech, for example, that faith groups "have an opportunity now to provide a moral compass for their congregations and for political, corporate, financial and local leaders."

So, folks, we've got our homework assignment. It's to make sure that world leaders at the Paris Conference of the Parties (COP 21 -- memorize that number) can't, won't and don't wiggle out of an effective, efficient and binding global agreement to safeguard the biosphere and the future of humanity and the rest of nature. We figure the script is written six months ahead of each conference. That gives us one year to make sure something excellent happens in Paris.

And hey, if pigs could surf, maybe we could even get an agreement in Lima, Peru at the COP 20. You know, come up with an urgent agreement to take urgent action on an urgent crisis. But who am I kidding?

Wait, what? Pigs can surf?

Why We Can't Solve the Climate Crisis ... We're Useless, Narcissistic and Disconnected

Caveat: I'm talking about EuroAmericans in this post. I don't want to assume that all human beings on this planet are as useless as we are.

When you spend hours every day reading about climate change, researching climate change, writing about climate change, teaching about climate change and talking with others about climate change, it's easy to get a little miffed at times about the slowness of our reaction time.

And when I say "reaction time," I'm talking about society's general apathy about climate change, but also about how long it's taken the average Joe Public person in our culture to wake up. The latest instalment of the IPCC's 5th assessment report has people talking though (with thanks to the media). Generally misquoting the report and not understanding who or what the IPCC is, but finally talking at least.

Unfortunately, it seems people are talking ... but still not thinking. And that's probably because we still aren't taking the time to sit down and think about what we're hearing on the news and in the other media.*** 

Case in point: given all the warnings in the Working Group 3 report on mitigation about food security, I'm still hearing people go on and on about sea level rise. Our food security is extremely fragile. Food emergencies have already started. Every aspect of global warming and climate change (from loss of Arctic summer sea ice to yes, sea level rise) can affect our food production. Sea level rise -- the kind that people are picturing and pseudo-panicking about -- on the other hand, is a creeping problem that will likely take decades if not a century or more.

My husband and I (he's the one who spends hours and hours every day on climate change) were talking about how blessed we are, food-wise, at this time in this place -- and how we're throwing it all away. Environmental NGOs still create climate change campaigns that don't mention food security while others are creating food security campaigns that don't even mention climate change. It's crazy!

Why can't people (of all ilks and intelligences) critically think their way to seeing the connection between food security and climate change? We came up with two theories:

1. Pathological cultural narcissism (this one comes from an old friend who practises psychiatry in a large Canadian city)

Narcissism is excessive interest in oneself; extreme selfishness; a grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration. Because it runs our lives (remember, I'm talking societally here) and we have no insight into the fact that it's controlling us, it is a psychosis (a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality).

We are disconnected from reality.

2. Pathological cultural uselessness (again, please remember that I'm talking societally and about EuroAmericans) 

People in this culture no longer know how to ensure our own survival. Practically no one knows how to grow, prepare or preserve all their own food. We don't know how to grow or forage our own fibre plants to make our own cloth and clothing. We have to hire tradespeople to create our shelters (and even then, each one has a specialty and very few can build a whole house). We don't know how to collect our own clean drinking water or generate our own electricity.... All we know how to do is shop, shop, shop ... buy, buy, buy. In other words, we're useless. 

We are disconnected from reality. 

So if we don't understand our connection to the "real world" there's little chance that people are going to see/understand/act on the connections that are being impacted by climate disruption.

Which brings me to the children and what they should be learning in school. The most important curriculum in a child's life today is learning how to build their own soil, grow their own food, collect their own rainwater, and generate their own energy. Let them study reading and writing, math and science, social studies and physical education through their real-world learning about how to survive. 

On this day of religious rebirth for many millions of people around the world, may you find some time to reconnect with Creation.

*** Perhaps every time we sit on the toilet, we could take that time to think about climate change. It's not like we've got anything else to do (I'm obviously desperately trying to figure out ways to get the public thinking up climate change solutions ;-).