WHAT TO DO?

In my last post, I highlighted Canada's problem of environmental inaction. Basically we are falling behind the rest of the world. We may think that we are an environmentally friendly country, but in fact we have become one of the worst polluters. Things like the oil sands are making it worse, but really the fact is we are the only country that signed the Kyoto Protocol and has not even made an effort to try and meet our emission reduction obligations.
The biggest problems we face are these: the agenda of the Conservative Government, that of Stephen Harper, which has consistently rejected any sort of environmental concern, and the overall passivity of Canadians today. Most Canadians care about the environment, and know that it's a matter of necessity.
It's a matter of necessity because all of life is interdependent. The oxygen we breathe and the CO2 we emit is then cycled by plants; soils are made fertile by worms, insects, bacteria, and fungi breaking down dead organic material; the food we eat requires sunlight, water, nitrogen, or else food for itself; basically all life in the oceans begins with phytoplankton. The Earth's ecosystems are created by biodiversity, in a giant network of life sustaining life. We used to be able to just throw away our waste, and though we maybe didn't know it 100 years ago, we were counting on the capacity of nature to recycle it.
Now, that cannot happen. Of all the material we put in the recycling, a small fraction of that is actually recycled. Alot of it is now in the Pacific Ocean, and is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a scientifically proven fact that we all depend on the natural environment, and it's a fact that we are in the greatest environmental crisis we have ever really faced.
So what to do? The vast majority of people are rightly overwhelmed when they take all of this in, but as a result they tune out and resign themselves to trying not to think about it. Really though, they should be doing just the opposite.
There's a huge amount of things everyone can do to help the environment. Because we in North America consume more of the World's resources than anywhere else, the first step is simple lifestyle changes. Try and be fuel/energy efficient. Replace lightbulbs with energy saving lightbulbs; get a water fan instead of an air conditioner; install storm windows to save heat in the winter (some great green home heating tips are here ); try biking instead of driving; try and eat local foods from a farmers market (produce AND meat) - the meat industry has an unbelievable ecological footprint, which is why its greenest to go vegetarian - and if its organic then even better; buy green cleaning products and detergents, and see about washing your clothes in cold water; try and buy fair trade tea and coffee; the best place to get clothes is second hand and vintage stores; grow houseplants, and if possible grow some of your own food in your garden. These are all good options, and if you want you can do even more. These days there's no end to info on going green. And you'll not only save money, you can get rebates for being more efficient. Any of this is available on the internet.
Here's some good sites:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/
http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org/
http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green
Greening cars and driving: http://autos.canada.com/green/index.html
http://www.thrall.org/special/goinggreen.html

If you'd like more info on the importance of going green, or the state of the natural environment, here's some good places to check out:
http://earthpulse.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/index.html
http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/earth/index.php
http://earthtrends.wri.org/
http://www.enn.com/
http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx
http://www.fao.org/nr/nr-home/en/
http://www.realclimate.org/
For you Americans out there: http://forestcouncil.org/

And there are plenty more out there.

The other thing you can do is write letters and emails to politicians and policy makers to get them to ACT!

So just realize that these things DO make a difference, and the more people who are proactive about it, the bigger a difference we can make, and the better things will get.
Also, educate yourself - don't just believe me, check the facts. But don't just believe crazy theories either. The Earth is not hollow, for example.

(This is a very incorrect theory that holds sway along with a whole plethora of extremely wrong theories about the nature of the Earth, such as the Growing Earth. I'm just using it as an example.
We know the Earth's internal structure. Geologists have been studying it in detail for a long time. The reason we know that the Earth's interior is composed of 5 main layers (the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core) is because of seismic studies, using the time of travel of refracted and reflected seismic waves created by earthquakes. The core does not allow shear waves to pass through it, while the speed of travel (seismic velocity) is different in the other layers. The changes in the seismic velocity between the different layers causes refraction, owing to Snell's law. Reflections are caused by a large increase in seismic velocity and are similar to light reflecting from a mirror.
This was discovered in 1909 by the seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić.
The problem with the internet today is that there's so much information available to everyone, along with all of the misinformation. So if you think I'm full of shit, find out for yourself, but make sure you understand the facts that support the theories.)

STEPHEN HARPER'S GOV'T WANTS ICE TO MELT

I don't know if you knew, but this Saturday was Global Climate Action Day. I spent the day working on a protest song to denounce the Environmental Policies (or lack thereof) of our current neo-conservative government.
Thousands of people throughout Canada and throughout the world attended huge rallies and protests demanding action. While in some places, like Europe, where they've been doing a wonderful job, didn't necessarily need protests, in Canada it's important that some people showed up; our country has become one of the most environmentally unfriendly countries in the world. We are the only country that has completely ignored its Kyoto Protocol obligations and instead gotten worse and worse over the last decade. Harper has made it abundantly clear time and time again that he has little - no concern for or intention of instituting environmental practices that by now should be well established and common place.
These days it seems everyone's sort of tuning out to environmental issues; we're in a recession, so it's understandable everyone's more worried about their savings and whatnot. But also, there're two other huge problems: many many many Canadians seem to be apathetic to their own country's government. For good reason. Harper's government is doing a shit all job except on the financial front. All they talk about anymore is Canada's supposed recovery. And I mean we've had almost yearly elections for the past while; I was SO disappointed when he got another minority government after I got to vote in my first ever federal election. But Canadians today don't seem to really care about the Conservative agenda and why it's important to demand accountability and responsibility from our government; too busy watching youtube and gettin beers when they can find time off of work.
The second huge problem is alot of people seem to have moved on from the climate change issue. This is BAD NEWS. The problem has not been mitigated or improved; Canada is a horribly environmentally unfriendly country; and if we just give up, then we are LOSERS. Many people seem to be tuning out of environmental issues in large part because it just seems so depressing and hopeless. They feel overwhelmed, and they resign themselves to just not thinking about it. In fact they should be doing the opposite. Try and do a little bit of good for people and the natural world; there's oodles of things you can do. If everyone changes their consumption patterns just a little bit, and fires off a few emails to their MP, and the PM, that makes a huge difference.
I really can't exaggerate the unbelievable stain of the Conservatives' environmental record. A couple weeks ago at the UN, a bunch of countries walked out on Canada's representative as he was making a speech about the Climate Change Conference this December. The government has been disputing this, but either way, other countries have been giving Canada serious flak for their lack of environmental initiative.
In the past two years, we've seen police killing people with tasers, a corruption scandal in the RCMP, increased environmental damage and extraction of resources, the extradition/imprisonment overseas of innocent Canadian citizens over bogus terrorist suspicion, and increased force from law enforcement (plus the unjust incarceration of Marc Emery). Harper meanwhile has demonstrated his disdain for justice, accountability, the importance of the environment, and the rights of Canadians.
I'll go so far as to say that he is our George W. Bush. His administration has single-handedly erased Canada's reputation for social justice, environmental responsibility, and global stewardship and leadership. Some way to kick off this century.
This weekend people came out to show that they want action from the government and the people on climate change and a sustainable future. However, Jim Prentice, our lackluster environment minister, has already said that there will be no significant actions taken or changes made. "We'll stay the course." He tried to downplay expectations, and has clearly indicated that Conservative agenda is to continue on as planned without turning any focus on the environment or the future of our world.
It's all right here.
Here's something you may or may not know though. The Conservatives WANT the Arctic to melt. There's too much money in it. The main Arctic nations are already having military showdowns and are trying to assert their dominance and sovereignty over their portion of the Arctic; a Russian submarine even went down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted a Russian flag on the geographic North Pole (I'm not even making that up - it's true). The thing is if the Arctic ice melts, and it will - the latest study says that in the summer the Arctic Ocean will be totally ice free within 10-20 years (which is very optimistic; I'd give it 5-8 years) - then that means we go up there and strip the tundra for diamonds, minerals, and oil, and that we open shipping lanes and fisheries to overfish the Arctic Ocean as well. They hope we'll finally be able to use the Northwest Passage, after hundreds of years.
The problem with this plan is that the permafrost is already melting, some of which has remained frozen underground since the last ice age. Scientists have long known and have been saying that the permafrost has boatloads of methane gas trapped underground with it, which is already being released into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 4 times as strong as CO2, and has a way longer residence time. Not to mention that if the ice melts, then the Arctic ocean will absorb way more heat from incoming solar radiation than it will reflect back into space, as the icecap always did before. Now the ozone layer has holes over each of the poles. This is because the chlorine cycle that takes place and breaks down the ozone layer occurs at low temperatures which are ideally at the poles. So the icecap melting will actually worsen the ozone layer, allow more solar radiation in, AND trap more of that radiation via greenhouse gases.
And if you doubt climate change, just look this past summer. Meteorologists were baffled, saying that North America is locked in a very strange climate pattern. The biggest issue about climate change for me is the injustice that is faced; Canada is a country that offshores its dirtiest industries to the third world, or "developing" countries, as well as exports alot of its waste and pollution there, and profits indirectly from the Structural Adjustment policies that keep them poor and unstable. As the climate changes, there is increased drought throughout these places, burdening them with even more poverty, famine, water scarcity, disease, and subsequent warfare (Sudan/Darfur is already happening, and is really one of the first climate wars). We know that if left unchecked, the people who stand to suffer the most, to take the brunt of the consequences of climate change, are the world's poorest people. We in North America consume and waste more than anyone else on the planet. Canada has a unique position of being water secure, one of the only places not in danger of water shortages. We have about half of our intact Boreal Forest left, which we are still cutting down; we have the oil sands, which are so polluting it makes me sick to my stomach; we have made no concessions to cutting our emissions; and we stand to gain alot, and lose even more from all of this, if we just let this go on.

My head feels like its gonna explode.

AAAAAAAAAHHH!

EXAMS!

The funniest lolcat.



Someday I will have time to blog for real again. I have been so ridiculously swamped though.
I don't know if anyone watched Stephen Harper's unholy desecration of the Beatles the other night. I couldn't watch. I thought it was insincere and he was trying to hook young liberals who don't pay much attention to politics. He pulled off his objective, though. Michael Ignatieff was at the exact same time making speeches trying to stir up the liberals and democrats, and Harper effectively hijacked all the publicity. Fucking Harper. He's one of the most pro-Oil Sands people in Canada outside Alberta, as well as being pro-Arctic Melting so that we can go up there and strip the land for resources.
Here's a good news article from awhile ago:
Put Oil Sands On Hold
It refers to Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rajendra Pauchari, head of the IPCC.
The Montreal Gazette has a really good section online of environmental articles. So do most news sites or magazines for that matter.
I gotta keep studying. Keep fighting for peace.