The cartoon depicts the choices available to us if we are to act proactively on mitigating and adapting to climate change - the elephant in the room.
If we wait for the government, it will be too late...
if we act as individuals, it will be too little...
if we act as communities, it may be just enough.
In truth, we need all three approaches, full-on.
Waiting for the government.
In fairness to governments, a lot of heavy-lifting has been done already and the foundational plans are in place. In 2021, after all, we are heading into COP26 in Glasgow, hosted by the 'United Kingdom'.
For over twenty five years the United Nations (of the world) have recognized climate change as a problem and met, moreorless annually, to discuss how to tackle it through these 'Conferences of Parties'. Some have become notorious, like Kyoto, and more recently Copenhagen and Paris, firstly for their grand vision, then for internecine squabbling leading to watered-down resolutions, greenwashing, and foot-dragging. Most of this is on the part of the more developed nations who are causing most of the problem and have more concessions to make, leaving the developing nations screaming for help and being left to sink or swim. Is this top-down approach paying dividends? Not really, as some nations meet their commitments handily (like Germany), slip-slide on their commitments (like tar sands-spewing, pipeline-building Canada), or depart the convention in a huff (the United States). Nations called on to act decisively and bravely are not fully invested in the process. However, noble goals like net zero carbon emissions by 2050, electric cars only and no diesel by 2025 or 2030, fossil fuel divestments now are laudable and absolutely worth clinging on to. Cost of solar, wind, tidal, geo-thermal power in all sectors (commercial, community, and personal) are coming down fast, if not fast enough. Nuclear costs are out of control and this form of risky expensive energy should be abandoned, in my view.
Acting as individuals.
This is the approach dear to my heart. Gundi and I have both been independently (self) employed since we got married some thirty eight years ago. While this has meant we have to live fairly frugally and have only basic incomes and pensions for our senior years, we have embraced this and want for little. Twenty two years ago we purchased a farm on fifty five acres. We planted 4,000 native trees in a government-subsidized initiative intent on planting 50 million trees across Ontario. We ran a certified organic farm, Rolling Hills Organics, for twenty years and I sold the produce on over four hundred farmers market days. I found that I loved the organic food and farming movement and the sociability of talking to, and selling to, like-minded people. I sat on the board of a Farmers Co-operative made up of thirteen local organic farms all with the same vision of providing local food in a sustainable way. Unfortunately, with competing individual interests, we only sustained it for a few years, but still used it as a platform to expand and reach new markets. I even got to write a book, High Up in the Rolling Hills, focusing on this busy and fruitful time in my life, stressing the need to think seriously about local and global food and farming systems and their long-term viability. Twice we applied for a government-subsidized rooftop solar panel array in Ontario and twice we were turned down by the centralized electricity grid. Here In Cape Breton, we applied for government subsidized rooftop solar once more, making a security deposit, only to be disappointed when the Nova Scotia government lowered the incentive overnight, even before we could be turned down again by the power company for our being too rural and their 'experiencing infrastructure constraints'. We bailed. In this case, government and individuals did not make happy bed-fellows, and besides, the amortization period of 7 - 12 years is too much for old fogies like us!
Having sold the farm, we downsized by purchasing here on the east coast of Canada, not being able to afford astronomical real-estate prices out west where Gundi's daughters and their families live. I have now set up a micro business procuring wild foods, making locally-sourced food products and selling them through the Cape Breton Food Hub, where I also volunteer weekly. I feel proud to be walking the walk. However, there is always more to be done. We still drive a conventional combustion-engine car and love our Volkswagen Tiguan but drive only 20% of the miles we used to in Ontario with the twice-weekly drives into the city. Twenty years ago we went from two cars to one, even for business too. This required rationalization and planning of each of our schedules but was not really a hardship. Living rurally, we do not have access to public transit. Once the government subsidizes electric or even hybrid cars, as they should, and prices come down, we will happily transition. We purchase local food direct from farms and through the Food Hub but find choices thin and seasonally absent, so we depend on our Atlantic Superstore supermarket for imported fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea, wine. We buy almost exclusively organic, fair trade and non-GMO. Beer is local!
Acting as communities.
In Ontario and Nova Scotia, I have been an active member of the local food and farming movement.We joined the WeAreTheArk community be registering our Oceanside Wild property as an Ark.
www.wearetheark.org writes "An Ark is a restored, native ecosystem, a local, small, medium or large rewilding project. It’s a thriving patch of native plants and creatures that have been allowed and supported to re-establish in the earths intelligent, successional process of natural restoration. Over time this becomes a pantry and a habitat for our pollinators and wild creatures who are in desperate need of support.
This takes time to happen but it begins to re-establish itself as a simple ecosystem very quickly and over time it becomes a strong wildlife habitat and eventually a multi-tiered complex community of native plants, creatures and micro-organisms."
I support the fresh-bloodied new Liberal premier of this province (aged thirty eight!!) who talks the talk on climate and renewable energies. I also support the local Ecology Action Centre and Extinction Rebellion but am too cowardly, and lazy, to be an active protester. Greenpeace, The Green Party, The Green New Deal? ... Sure, bring on the Green. And Happy St. Patrick's Day. Well done Paddy for driving the snakes away. I have written previously about cities and communites that are talking the talk and walking the walk. Kudos to 350.org, David Suzuki, the Sunrise Movement, the Solutions Project....
Way back as a teenager in school my big sister Jill gifted me a seminal book, Small Is Beautiful, by E.F. Schumacher. My dear old Mum worked briefly for him In Oxford at around the time she was helping to write up the Beveridge Report. Small Is Beautiful espouses intermediate technology. While some of its precepts may be dated, the book remains very meaningful to ecologically-minded readers like me. It strikes the right balance. Paul Kingsnorth? I used to revile him for his dark vision and put-downs of the well-meaning environment movement, but I now see that he has some very profound (and prophetic) insights. However, he has apparently just found Jesus....
On that note, I continue looking for saviours, but believe in my heart that only dedicated personal commitments can lead to community resilience and only that can lead to a critical mass and societal change. We will wait too long for our governments to effect the global drawdown necessary. With their dinosaur corporate backers, they are stuck in an antiquated paradigm. Biden and Kerry are, in all likelihoods, but their messengers.
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