Declaring myself

I just realized that it's been two weeks since my last moodling. Not that I haven't been doing plenty of it in other places while I'm harvesting my garden and working on other special projects. Harvest time is coinciding with a Federal Election, and I've decided that I can't sit on my hands this year when it comes to political participation. Less online moodling, and more action!

So as I'm dealing with produce, I'm also declaring my affiliations and getting active in a local election campaign, and I'm inviting you, my readers (all 16 of you, ha!) to do the same.

My daughter is wearing this t-shirt these days...

You may hate the idea of talking politics, but I'd like to assure you that there has never been a more important time to do so. The human population of our country and our world need to get our act together and step up to the challenge of reducing and adapting to the changes in climate that we are noticing more and more. For most of us in Canada, climate change is not serious yet, but we can't let that lull us into complacency! 

Listen to our scientists -- the people who study what's going on because of their passion for our planet have been telling us that its warming is endangering our survival. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report gave us 12 years to cut our fossil fuel emissions drastically, or we may not last much longer as a species.

But some say that 12 years is optimistic -- already we are seeing mega storms, mega fires, mega floods, mega droughts, mega heat waves and more than 7 million climate refugees looking for safer places to live since the beginning of this year alone... and on it goes.

In my part of the world this summer, we have had one of the coldest and wettest seasons on record, and I've heard lots of people comment, "Global warming? What global warming?"

My response is that it may not be hot here, but Europe saw temps around 45 degrees in some places this summer. Tuktoyaktuk is already losing land due to higher seas. Greenland was warmer than Edmonton a lot of the summer. Stream temperatures in Alaska reached the predicted temperature for 2069, fifty years ahead of time, and spawning salmon can't survive that kind of warmth. The burning of the Amazon is only making things worse. And how about Hurricane Dorian? Dismiss all these things as one-offs, and you're missing the message that our planet is trying to send us all.

If you know me at all, you know that I'm not the kind of person who is a pessimist. But I'm a realist, and I cannot, in good conscience, work for one of our three best known political parties. I'm working for the Greens because they are the only ones who are constant in making climate issues a priority.

I know that a lot of people are worried about vote splitting creating an opportunity for a less appreciated party to come up the middle and win, but this time, voting strategically is not an option for me. I want to see vote shifting -- using our limited resources to get to a greener economy, away from big polluting industries and toward options that care for people and the planet.

I am voting for, and working for, our climate. Sure, there are many other issues, but if we don't have a liveable environment, none of them matter. Though our Alberta government might be in denial, the world is shifting from fossil fuels to greener options, and I want Canada to hurry up and get on that bandwagon. And I'd like to see how the Greens would bring that about, because the other parties don't seem to understand that climate change and moving away from creating greenhouse gases is the main issue for this election and for our survival.

If we we work for our climate, we'll have a better planet overall. If we don't work for our climate, we may not have many more elections to try and fix things. 

We don't have much time. And making positive sacrifices for the sake of the planet right now, when things are relatively okay, will be much easier than adapting to bigger disasters further down the road.

Please, check out your green candidate, or better yet, call them and see if there's something small you can do to shift votes for the climate.

The time to make a difference is now.

A platform worth considering

We're in federal election mode here in Canada, and have been for most of the summer, with more than a month to go. It drives me a bit crazy that the election was called so early, because the former ruling party has the most money to advertise and seems intent on emptying the smaller election chests of everyone else by forcing a lengthy election campaign (and frankly, their attack adds make me queasy). What's worse, though, is that there are four parties in most ridings, and only three party leaders are in the news coverage most days.

Unfortunately, it's the fourth leader who gets the least press and who has the best plan for our environment. Elizabeth May leads the Green Party, whose candidates understand that we can't continue exploiting our resources and polluting our air, soil and water the way we have been and expect to thrive. But the Greens are about more than the environment -- they have ideas about running the country in a manner that protects the environment, yes, but also looks after people, provides jobs and supports business, health, education, families and seniors.

The Green Party released its platform yesterday. Click here to read it. I'm not saying that everyone should vote Green -- that might cause vote splitting that could give us the same government for another four years and I'm not sure there are Green candidates in every riding -- but it can't hurt to read some new election ideas, especially since we've arrived at a time when the earth is counting on us to make choices that preserve its health. Bottom line, if the planet becomes too polluted to sustain life, we have nowhere else to go, and our most recent government seems to be in denial of that basic fact. We can't eat money, and we can't drink oil. As for breathing... well, the work of scientists that could tell us about Alberta's lousy air quality has been suppressed for who knows how long. Time for a change!

I have no idea what that change will look like, but let's all do ourselves a favour and imagine a healthy planet, a robust country, a compassionate society. Then, let's find a way to move toward them by letting our politicians know that they are what we want! If you're Canadian, quiz your local candidates about his or her plans for defending the environment, and don't forget to consider it when you vote on October 19th.

I last moodled about this video of Penelope four years ago, and can't resist sharing it again. It's an ad from Ontario that should apply to every election. Enjoy!

Simple Suggestion #109... Speak your mind

Today, I'm doing a little happy dance. Why?

Over the past six months, I've written numerous letters to our School Board, Superintendant, and City Councillors about the need to keep our girls' school open. They wanted to close it and build a new school in a distant suburb for a lot of reasons that just didn't make sense.

For a lot of the last six months, I felt like I was hitting my head against school brick, but I just kept reiterating the facts in my letters... that our school is a valuable place because it is the only Kindergarten to Grade 12 single-track Catholic French Immersion school this side of Winnipeg, it is centrally located, close to the French community in Edmonton, well established, easy to reach by transit... and the list went on. I had interesting discussions with a couple of City Councillors via email, and I supported a more organized parent group even though I wasn't able to attend their meetings.

Last night, it all paid off. With 50 parents in attendance at the meeting, our school trustees voted unanimously to keep the old school open, with a view to some serious renovations. When I saw the headline, I whooped out loud, and my family came running! My youngest daughter just came up to me this morning and said, "I'm so glad our school is staying open. I don't care if I have to wear my coat in my class because it's cold sometimes. I get to graduate from my school!" And complete her French education!

I am thrilled for her, and for all the parents who, like me, did more than complain about the changes the Catholic School Board had planned for French Immersion. It's really easy to complain... what's more challenging is to complain to the right people. Human beings love to speak our minds and give our opinions to each other when we encounter things that seem unjust or poorly thought out, but speaking to the people with the power to make a difference isn't something that we think to do often enough. It's too easy to think that no one is listening... but clearly, our elected officials need to be in touch with their constituents!

So... your mission for today, if you choose to accept it, is to think about where your voice needs to be heard. If none of the parents at our school had bothered to organize and write letters and attend meetings, you can bet the vote would have gone the other way last night. Where can you speak your mind for something important today?

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

Simple Suggestion #45... Write to politicians about issues important to you and your community

Okay, I admit it. I complain about politicians. Who doesn't? But honestly, if I'm living according to the tenets of Voluntary Simplicity, that means I'm eradicating those things that are excessive, frivolous and useless in my life, things that don't bring me joy and pleasure. Badmouthing our civil servants is one of those things. Honestly, I wouldn't want their jobs, and what is the use of complaining, anyway? To take pleasure in bellyaching is a poor use of energy when I could "be the change [I] want to see," as Ghandi put it so well.

So, since jumping on the Voluntary Simplicity bandwagon, I've tried to do things differently. Rather than complaining that my politicians are out of touch, I'm keeping in touch with them on issues of importance. After all, if they don't know what their constituents think, how are they supposed to do the right things?

Recently, our daughters' K-12 French Immersion School has been threatened with closure. At the beginning of June, a school meeting was held where people were invited to voice their concerns. My husband and I attended to express our opinions, but I couldn't just leave it at that. After a few days of thinking about the situation, I wrote a letter to school board members, superintendents and city councillors to voice my opposition to the idea of moving a successful program from the heart of the city to the distant suburbs. I received several interesting responses, and have since heard that a small committee of parents are actively working to keep our school in the public eye and off the chopping block. Things seem to be starting to turn around, one of the parents told me recently.

It's easy to be cynical and say that letter writing doesn't have any impact on political decisions, but if a letter isn't getting the right kind of response, how about a phone call? A visit to a politician's office? A group gathering of like-minded folks signing a petition and presenting it in person? There are ways to be heard; it just takes a bit of creativity sometimes.

Here I'll put in a little plug for www.Avaaz.org. It's an online community of activists who tackle world-wide issues through internet petitions. They've had some interesting successes. The most recent petition I signed was to Canada's Minister of the Environment, asking her to reconsider a mega-quarry proposal that would disrupt a farming community and threaten the headwaters of a few important rivers in Ontario. In my books, saving farmland is important! Avaaz sends out notices of its campaigns, allowing its subscribers to pick and choose they ones they want to be involved with. They also encourage other methods to connect with politicians so that the voice of the people is heard.

So, enough complaining. Who has heard your voice lately?

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