A beautiful sight

Well, it's not quite as nice as the faint green that is overtaking the river valley at the moment, but when I climbed up the ladder behind our garage to get this picture yesterday, I was struck by the reflection of the sky, the blossoms of the pear tree, and the clean lines of our solar array. It's not actually hooked up yet -- we're awaiting an inspector -- but one of these days I'll have a full report. It's exciting to think that we will be able to get our electricity directly from the sun with the 20 panels on our garage and four on the roof above our kitchen. I'll moodle more on this topic once our solar system is working.

Laudato Si: Sunday Reflection #34... Shouldering our greater responsibility

Remember the hole in the ozone layer? It's still there... but the good news is that humanity has stopped producing the chlorofluorocarbons that caused the hole. The Montreal Protocol was adopted by our world in 1987, and as a result, we still have most of the ozone layer that protects us and our earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, and it could potentially recover over the next 50 years, especially if we can adopt another working protocol when it comes to climate change. Here's an interesting video about what could have happened... which leads into what we still need to do, and today's reflection on Laudato Si.

This week's section of Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home reminds us that humanity is capable of working together to change the course of history when it comes to caring for our planet. We're looking at paragraphs 168 to 172, which you can access by clicking here and scrolling down. Paragraph 168 carries an important message about positive experiences where different conventions made good decisions for the sake of life on earth: the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, the Convention on international trade in endangered species, and the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer, which led to the Montreal Protocol which eliminated CFCs which were creating the ozone hole.

When the ozone hole was discovered, it was a serious problem for the entire planet. Every living thing on earth is touched by the sun. Everyone was affected by the news. And global climate change is the same sort of problem -- there is nothing on earth that can't be affected by weather which causes droughts and fires, floods and disasters. Here in Edmonton we had a tornado in 1987. Calgary had the flood of 2013. And for most of us in Alberta, these were fairly minor events. But for people living in developing countries, a typhoon like Haiyan causes more deaths and destruction than we can imagine, and the people there don't possess the resources we have to deal with such disasters.

"With regard to climate change, advances have been regrettably few," says the Pope in Laudato Si, his letter to the entire world. "Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the parts of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most" (paragraph 169). That would be most of the countries in the western world, including us.

Unfortunately, instead of just tackling greenhouse gas reduction by adopting more stringent measures when it comes to reducing the use of fossil fuels, our past leaders have pointed fingers at other countries, poorer than ours, who aren't doing their share to protect the environment. So we in Canada have wasted valuable time, and haven't done much to stop climate change as of yet. But the Pope reminds us:

there is a need for common and differentiated responsibilities. As the bishops of Bolivia have stated, "the countries which have benefited from a high degree of industrialization, at the cost of enormous emissions of greenhouse gases, have a greater responsibility for providing a solution to the problems they have caused." (Quote from the Bolivian Bishops' Conference Pastoral Letter on the Environment and Human Development in Bolivia, El universo, don de Dios para la vida from March 2012 (86).)

Those Bolivian Bishops have a lot to say when it comes to the environment, and Bolivia has been a leading country in fighting for the rights of Mother Earth. I wish I could read the entire letter, but it's not available in English, so I'll stick with Laudato Si.

I was happy to see that the Pope and his encyclical writing team addressed the issue of "carbon credits" in paragraph 171. It has never made sense to me that countries could pay a certain amount of money to "remove" so many tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- after the fact. If I fly to Tahiti and buy a carbon offset so that I can feel better about "dealing with" the greenhouse gas emissions caused by my tropical vacation, someone might plant a tree somewhere with that offset money, but it will take years for that tree to actually remove my emissions. It would be better not to fly at all... and maybe I need to be more serious about how I'm creating greenhouse gases from the beginning.

Unfortunately, so far no one really believes that climate change is so serious that we shouldn't be taking tropical vacations. Of course, I applaud people who do what they can to offset their air travel, and I'm not saying that carbon offsets are bad -- heaven knows our world needs all the help it can get with trees being planted and whatever else offsetters do. But we also need to reconsider frivolous things like tropical vacations! And our big, polluting corporations need to stop polluting instead of buying carbon credits from developing countries that don't produce their share of greenhouse gases. The idea is to reduce our greenhouse gases and improve the health of our atmosphere, not just to maintain things at the present level of pollution!

Paragraph 172 references the difficulties faced by poor countries and the help they will need from wealthier nations to develop less polluting forms of energy production. It also contains the encyclical's first mention of solar energy as a solution, noting that

Taking advantage of abundant solar energy will require the establishment of mechanisms and subsidies which allow developing countries access to technology transfer, technical assistance and financial resources, but in a way which respects their concrete situations, since the compatibility of [infrastructures] with the context for which they have been designed is not always adequately assessed (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Energy, Justice and Peace, IV, 1, Vatican City (2014), 53.)

I am underlining and bolding the statement that follows the above comment: "The costs of this would be low, compared to the risks of climate change."

It seems to me that, here in North America, we are too afraid to change, to take on our greater responsibility as people who live in some of the countries that contribute the most to climate change. We think it will be too expensive, or too difficult, but in reality, climate change will be more expensive, and more difficult. We're especially concerned about our livelihoods here in Alberta, where fossil fuel extraction and related industries have been our main employer for fifty years. But if we really think about it, fossil fuels are a dead end because our great-great-grandchildren can't live on a planet choked with greenhouse gases and terrorized by catastrophic events caused by an unstable climate. So we need to change now.

Out on my garage roof, a fellow named Paul has been working away for the past week. He used to work in the Oil Sands near Fort McMurray, but he saw that the future for highly polluting chemical processes to extract bitumen from the sand, water and clay up north was going downhill, fast. So he pulled the plug on that career and retrained to install solar panels. Clearly it's hard work, but he says it feels right. Rather than adding to climate change, he's participating in less polluting work in the energy field and improving the earth's health, long term.

And more of us need to think this way. How can we change and find better ways to deal with the pollution created by our lives? How can we reduce waste? How can we save energy? How can we in North America, who have created greater greenhouse gas emissions with our larger homes, multiple vehicles, and excessive possessions, shoulder our greater responsibility for providing a solution to the problems our lifestyles have caused the planet?

What is one right thing we can do in the week ahead? Or one change we can make?

We found a way to help the ozone layer. Now we need to help the rest of our beautiful planet.

*******

A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature

as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace.

+AMEN.

(A prayer for our earth and all quotations from Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home © Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Next up: Looking after our 'global commons'

We know we're in trouble when...

... our government leaders have their heads so far in the sand that they tell 14-billion-dollar lies at the Durban Climate Change Conference. When they blame China, India and Brazil for not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (when China has actually done more per capita than Canada!) And when they take their marbles and go home before positive things have a chance to happen. Talk about childish!

I'm not saying that the Kyoto Protocol was the be all and end all of Global Climate Change action. Its flaws are many, and touted well enough by the press. But it was a place to start. And if the Canadian government under the Conservatives had stuck to the original agreement put in place by the former government, Canada would be within 20% of achieving its original goals in cutting carbon emissions. Instead, our country has gone backwards, and Peter Kent has pulled Canada out of the agreement entirely, without the approval of the Canadian public. No wonder Canada has Colossal Fossil status in the world when it comes to environmental sensitivity!

What Kent and Prime Minister Harper seem to be ignoring is that we have to begin somewhere to turn things around. So the Kyoto conversation didn't take a direction of which they approved. That doesn't give them the right to walk away. We need climate action now. We're already well past the 350 parts per million of greenhouse gases that are considered borderline "safe" for our atmosphere. Putting the economy's woes above our environment's degradation might win Peter Kent a few political points in the minds of his Big Oil supporters for the moment, but it's not going to prevent microburst storms from knocking the glass out of Calgary's skyscrapers, or end the drought in the Horn of Africa. If we don't do something now, we have less than a 66% chance of keeping climate issues to a dull roar... and how many of us would get on a plane if we had less than 2/3 of a chance of landing? (That brilliant point was made on a radio commentary I heard this morning.)

I've already written to Peter Kent and Prime Minister Harper about the importance of participating fully in the climate talks in Durban. I told them that they need to do something for the sake of their children, grandchildren, and future generations. Of course, they didn't want to hear me, so now I'll just have to write them again.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who objects to their refusal to talk about climate change in a constructive fashion. So, my friends... wherever you are, please, today, write a respectful letter to your elected officials. Tell them that Global Climate Change is real, it's our planet's most pressing issue (we'll get through economic meltdowns somehow, but not planetary ones!) and it's time to do something about it. Time to find alternatives to burning fossil fuels. Time to build sustainable economies using alternate energies (entire towns in Germany are already off the grid!) Time to wake up! And do what's necessary, even if it means we have to make some sacrifices.

Here's Prime Minister Harper's email address: pm@pm.gc.ca

Here's Peter Kent's email address: kentp@parl.gc.ca

Here's where you can find an email address for your elected Member of Parliament: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E

If you're from outside of Canada, I'm sorry I can't guess at who your elected officials might be, but please, google them and send them a note. We really don't want more climate trouble than we already have. And we know we'll have even more trouble if we throw up our hands in dismay and do nothing! Maybe, if enough people speak truth to power, things will get done in time. We live in hope, right?

***

December 16, 2011

Here's my letter to Prime Minister Harper. Feel free to use it if you need some sort of template for your own letter.

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

I am saddened, disappointed, and ashamed of the fact that you allowed Peter Kent to pull Canada out of participation in the Climate Change Conference in Durban without having the decency to come up with and present concerned Canadians with a serious plan to reduce the effects of global climate change. Future generations deserve better from your government! Your kids deserve better!

I expect to see some serious initiatives to reduce Canada's dependency upon carbon based fuels and technologies, and to make wise transitions to a more sustainable future. Our economy must move away from the Oil Sands and toward sustainable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal. We need to work with other countries to protect our planet from further climate catastrophes, and walking away from opportunities to reduce our share of carbon emissions will not prevent Calgary skyscrapers from being buffeted by microburst storms, or stop the flooding of Manitoba, or ease the need for monies sent by Canadians to help with drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. What will it take for you and the rest of our government to wake up to the environmental crisis that we still have time to avert? A tornado in the House of Commons?

I am ready to make sacrifices if I have to. Are you?

What is your plan to reduce Canada's emissions and encourage other international leaders to do the same? Canada should be taking a leadership role here, rather than lagging behind everyone else as a colossal fossil. As our Prime Minister, you have the opportunity to come up with a really good plan. Please use it.


In 23 hours or so...

I don't usually post two moodlings in a day, but an interesting piece of information just came to me from a Voluntary Simplicity friend. It seems that on September 14th (tomorrow, as I'm writing this on the 13th), starting at 7 p.m. in my time zone (MST), a reality internet video stream about climate change is coming to a computer near you, put together by the same people who are working on Move the Planet on September 24th (remember, the alternate transportation events designed to tell our governments we want action to reduce carbon emissions?) Here's a little blurb about tomorrow's internet event.

I'm not an Al Gore fan, but I do believe that it's time something is done to reduce carbon emissions, as we're already past the 350 ppm, and we're seeing too much climate instability in too many places. I keep thinking about Slave Lake going from fire to flood within a month. I wonder if someone from up there will appear on 24 Hours of Reality?

And in case you haven't heard about Move the Planet, you can check it out here. I'm looking forward to it!

#56 of 100... Buy electricity from a wind power provider

Ever heard of Bullfrog Power? About three years ago, I was being my Master Composter/Recycler Volunteer self at a trade show (educating the public about ways to reduce their contributions to the landfill) when a volunteer from another booth brought me a brochure about buying electricity from greener sources. A lot of Alberta's energy is derived from coal-based electricity (we have huge coal pits that provide fuel for the Genessee power plants west of Edmonton), and unfortunately, coal power contributes a lot of greenhouse gases to our planet.

The lovely volunteer girl offered me a new alternative energy option. Nope, I'm not talking about nuclear power, especially not since the March near melt down at Fukushima. More like this:

Her brochure explained that for a little more money each year, we could buy wind energy rather than the coal power offered by our energy provider. And being interested in reducing our emissions and trying to leave a smaller carbon footprint so future generations have a fighting chance, we hopped on board with many other Bullfrog customers. Alternative energy sources have to replace fossil fuels if we want to slow global climate instability and end resource wars. The way we see it, that little bit extra we pay each month is our investment in a cleaner, healthier and happier future, not just for us, but for our brothers and sisters all across the globe. Definitely worth the price!

Are you able to buy electricity from an alternate energy provider? It might take a bit of effort to find out... but if you learn that the option doesn't exist where you are, if you ask your energy provider what they're doing to develop non-fossil fuel energy sources, perhaps they'll consider coming up with different options once they know consumers like you prefer them. My husband's cousin in Canada's far north tells us that even the remote community of Cambridge Bay is trying to come up with more sustainable energy options. If they can do it way up in the Land of the Midnight Sun, there's no excuse for the rest of the planet.

Anyway... today's Simple Suggestion is an encouragement to look at where your electricity comes from and see how sustainable it could be with a little encouragement from you. There's no such thing as a perfectly clean energy source -- even solar panels and wind turbines require a fair bit of fossil fuel energy input before they're up and running -- but over the long term, they're more environmentally friendly than the others.

And just in case you're interested, here's how our clean energy provider explains itself:

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Try here.