Climate change has opportunities for us all

by Toby Reid, VPOE

Recent declarations that we are in the midst of one of the greatest mass extinctions in the history of the planet are enough to make a person lose hope. In fact, this harsh reality is downright unsettling and, for this author, unacceptable. The means by which we’ve ended up in this position is important to understand, but more important is what we’re going to do to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that if we continue on our current path, humans are likely to be the biggest name on this extinction card. Some may not care about our current plight, but most of us feel the instinctive pull to try to do the right thing. But where do you start?

Let’s start with understanding how we got here. A friend recently laid it out this way, and it’s simply the cold truth of the matter – we’re in this mess because we’re using too much stuff. That’s right – stuff. Steel, fish, wood, oil, plastic, copper, fertilizers, cars, iPods, silicone breast implants - all of it. We’re drowning in stuff, and the byproducts of using this stuff to make other stuff. It’s a stuff-a-palooza gone horribly wrong.

The biggest, and most important step we all can make is to consume less stuff. I’m not suggesting that we go back to the loincloth and live in caves, but it’s a darn sight smarter than what we’re doing right now. We’ve got to scale back the amount of stuff that we consume. That starts with being less greedy, less needy, and more self-sufficient. Grandparents and great-grandparents are very helpful in providing guidance on this.

The next most important thing to look at is your housing situation. This also affects personal transportation, so it’s a biggie. If you live in the suburbs in a huge house for two, I’m sure it’s dawned on you that maybe that’s not sustainable living. You’re right – it’s not. The average single person needs only about 600 square feet to live, and the average family of four needs only about 1500 square feet to have a good home. Urban density is the way of the future.

Read the complete Post.

BLUE NORTH FESTIVAL OF ART AND SUSTAINABLE CULTURE presents - How to save Civilization with a Movie - an eco-workshop with:

Teri Woods McArter - Co-Producer, How To Boil A Frog (documentary film by Jon Cooksey)
Rick Balfour- Architect, Urban Planner; Balfour and Assoc., Metro Vancouver Planning Coalition
Vandy Savage - Animation Supervisor, How to Boil a Frog; Communications Vancouver Peak Oil Executive

Join us for a FREE Illustrated lecture and discussion.

Get a sneak preview of the new film, How to Boil a Frog, created and produced on the North Shore. Get informed about strategies to transition into New Normal by building resilient communities from author, architect, urban planner, Rick Balfour. And find out how we won the People’s Choice Award for our 1 minute animated film teaser.

Date: Saturday, April 4th, 2009
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am (registration onsite at 9:30am)
Location: John Braithwaite Community Centre - Anchor Room ground level
145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver

Cost: FREE

www.howtoboilafrog.com
www.plancanada.com

For more information visit: www.bluenorthfestival.ca

Crossposted from EcoGeek.org

It seems like every month or so, I get a press release in my inbox saying something like “Scientists Say that The World Will Explode if We Don’t Do X by Y.” I have some news for you.

1. No one has any idea what will happen if we don’t do X by Y
2. That headline was written by a journalist, not by a scientist

Sure, in their models, scientists can see a precise date of when the gulf-stream will shut down or when the albedo effect will take over and global warming will be irreversible. But scientists recognize that models, however sophisticated, are not as sophisticated as the real world. Only a fool would take the date the model spit out and assume that that’s the day of reckoning.

Unfortunately, journalists (myself included) are often foolish. Our business is to get people to read things, preferably things that are true. But by the time it goes through three editors, each with a mind on the business, the chances of a headline with more units of sensation per unit of truth get pretty high.

Plus, I think that we, as journalists, have an artificial fascination with deadlines. We think they make the world work because they make us work. Read the complete Post.