I awoke this morning with the idea of a 100 Litre Challenge. It looks like the memes driving me successfully mutated (see my last post). James and Alisa added to the popularization of local food with their 100 Mile Diet a couple years ago. They spent a full year eating only food that was sourced within 100 miles of their home in Vancouver. Their committed actions had a significant influence on the many benefits of local eating.
I think its time for Canadians to step up to a similar challenge with fossil-fuel usage. Our politicians have proven they are simply puppets for industry and can not be trusted to enact the visionary policies required to bring Canada’s anthropogenic global warming emissions down. This is not a surprise.
So I think it is time to commit to the 100 Litre challenge. It could work like this:
100 litres max for the 1st month
100 litres max for the next 2 months
100 litres max for the next 3 months
100 litres max for the next 6 months
The transition gives people time to ease in before making the big commitment at month 6. This may not be an entirely feasible for rural dwellers but for the majority of urban dwellers it is not an unreasonable consideration. Thoughts?
For an economics paper I’ve researched how the PR industry has influenced the climate change debate by creating denial campaigns to cast doubt on the science and urgency of global warming and how all this activity has been funded by heavily polluting industries. Following the trail of disinformation, I’ve come to learn about Steve Milloy, his website junkscience.com and his Yahoo store: http://store.junkscience.com/index.html.
I find it insincere and hypocritical for Yahoo to be preaching green living and evangelizing carbon neutrality while supporting the work of a vocal climate change denier like Steve Milloy. I realize that Yahoo Stores and Yahoo Green are probably separate departments that may not collaborate on any work but this is not an adequate excuse forever, especially considering the significance and urgency of the crisis that is unfolding. All of our collective energies need to be dedicated to moving forward – creating solutions that solve the problems at hand, not dithering in indecision. These deniers have already been given far too much voice in the public realm. Please thoroughly research Steve Milloy’s background, see who is paying for his work and then decide if it is moral and just plain responsible to continue hosting his site.
In the spirit of transparency – I’ve posted this as an open letter on my blog at http://shibumi.net. If you respond by email, I will include your comments there or feel free to comment directly.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.
After months of lobbying, the BC government has got the message and appears to be taking real action in on climate change. Over the past months I added my energy to the momentum initiated by Voters Taking Action on Climate Change and others, encouraging the BC government to include a carbon tax in their next budget.
It looks like they have developed the political will after receiving a flood of letters in support of a carbon tax. The full story is available The Province.
An update from the climate change conference in Bali Indonesia:
Right now, a major UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement on stopping catastrophic climate change. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the UN talks! On Saturday, experts gave us the global “fossil” award for being the worst country in the world on climate change.
There’s still a few days left to save Canada’s reputation — and the climate — but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali. Click below to sign the petition and we’ll advertize the number of signatures we get in an ad campaign across Canada this week. Our goal is to get 25,000 people to sign in just 3 days before the ads run. Click below, then forward this email to all your friends and family right away:
Enough is enough. Prime Minister Harper’s short-sighted, undemocratic and big oil-driven policy on climate change is damaging the world and destroying our image as a good country. We’re supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.
The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue — we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he change course. Sign up now and forward this email to everyone you know – we’ve got just 3 days to hit 25,000 signatures!
Peak oil and climate change represent profound and unprecedented global challenges whose economic, environmental, and political impacts are intertwined and often divisive. On one hand, many climate activists argue that peak oil is a ‘distraction’ for local decision makers or, in some cases, an industry agenda aimed at removing barriers to oil extraction. On the converse side, many peak oil activists argue that energy-driven economic crises, and not climate targets, will be the real driving force behind the global energy transition. This presentation and panel discussion will seek to bridge these gaps by bringing together local advocates for action on peak oil and climate change to find common ground, define differences, and set priorities for action on the ground.
Bryn Davidson is a specialist in sustainable urban development whose current work in architecture and planning was preceded by several years as a mechanical engineer and environmental activist in Alaska. After graduating with a masters of Architecture in 2004 he started the design and planning practice Rao/D Cityworks , and co-founded the non-profit Dynamic Cities Project – a think tank working to help cities adapt to peak oil and climate change. Bryn’s presentations on peak oil planning have been well received globally, and have been translated into multiple languages. Locally, his current projects include a farm-integrated residential development in Ontario, a high performance home in Alaska, and sustainability consulting for local green-minded businesses.
I’m a member of Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC), a local citizens group lobbying the BC government to take action on climate change. The organization has successfully lobbied to stop the coal plants and is now campaigning for a carbon tax. In a recent budget consultation process, the government received an unexpected call for action to create a carbon tax. Here are the details:
The province’s Finance Minister, Carol Taylor, has asked her staff to report to her on the topic of a carbon tax by the end of this month, and she will likely decide before Christmas whether or not to proceed with a tax in the 2008 provincial budget. She has already indicated in front of the media that the option of a carbon tax is on the table. It is clear that Ms. Taylor has floated the idea to gauge public response, and she needs to know that there is broad public support if she is to move forward. There is no doubt that those opposed are urging her to avoid introducing a tax, or to bring forward a measure with no real substance as a nod to public concern. Please take the time today to send a message to Minister Taylor telling her that you want our province to take a leadership role on this issue. If you are on Facebook, you can join our BC Needs a Carbon Tax! group.
In both links above you’ll find all you need to know to quickly send off your message — contact information, key points to make in your letter, a sample letter for inspiration, and background information if you want to learn more.
Together, our actions are moving the carbon tax initiative forward — during its recent public consultations the finance committee received an unprecedented 500 submissions in support of a carbon tax, many of them from you. You can read the committee’s response to this input here. In a short time, citizen input in this province has shifted a tax on carbon emissions from a political non-starter to a clear possibility, and everyone who took the time to write to the committee should be congratulated. However, we’re not done yet.
Our time is short, and we are at a pivotal point in this process — please take a moment now to help deliver an important Christmas present for BC, the planet and our children’s future.
Andrea, David, Kevin, and Tom for the VTACC collective.
P.S. — We hope to see many of you at the Wired Monk next Friday night. While enjoying the music, company and holiday cheer we aim to gather 100 letters in support of the carbon tax to send in to Minister Taylor.
The provincial government recently elicited feedback from the citizens of British Columbia as part of a budgetary consultation process, specifically regarding taxes and climate change. My feedback was published in their report on at the bottom of page 27. The government is listening!
Governments generally view introducing a carbon tax as political suicide. I ask any politicians reading this, what do you value more, your own narrow self-interest or a sustainable, abundant and healthy future for generations to come? The choice is clear in my mind. I don’t know of an alternative fiscal instrument with the ability to touch every person, organization and industry in a way that will motivate change on the scale that is necessary to mitigate climate change. The majority of society will not go out of their way or adjust their lifestyle unless there is a financial stick on their behind or a carrot in front of them. It’s the where the majority of society is at in our collective evolution so let us accept that and get on with legislating a carbon tax.
A carbon tax could be designed to be relatively revenue neutral. It could be designed to reduce our collective income tax while making it increasingly expensive for those who continue to engage in carbon intensive activities. Cap and trade is our government’s other option which is a little easier sell in the political arena, thanks in part to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pushing it up the West Coast. A Cap and Trade System is also a must have but is more geared to the big player’s like coal plants and the tar sands. It won’t be visible to the masses and it won’t put power in the people’s hands to make choices that are good for the environment and good for their bottom line.
Please take the time to learn the pros and cons of these powerful legislative tools and urge your local governments to take implement them before their term ends.
“Power Smart Green Power Certificates (GPCs) are a simple, practical way for your organization to ensure that your electricity use is environmentally friendly.
BC Hydro has purchased Green Power, at a premium, to supply the GPC program. The more GPCs that are purchased by B.C. organizations, the more Green Power BC Hydro can continue to buy, to add to the grid, which will protect the environment for all British Columbians.”
This is awesome that BC Hydro offers this option to business but I would to see it opened up to residents so we all have a choice where our power comes from.
Louise Graham is the contact person at BC Hydro for this program and her response to my request was:
Thank you for enquiring about BC Hydro Green Power Certificates (GPCs). At present, GPCs are only available to business customers. A residential offer is under review. I can add your name on the contact list to advise you of new developments.
Can all residents of BC who would like to see Green Power offered to residents send Louise an email: louise[DOT]graham[AT]bchydro[DOT]com and ask when BC Hydro will be offering Green Power to residents.
URGENT: protect organics from Monsanto's GMO alfalfa. Urge Congress to act TODAY. http://bit.ly/aPgwWU @credomobile Please RT
Random Inspiration
A genuinely fundamental and hopeful improvement is 'systems' cannot happen without a significant shift in human consciousness, and ... it cannot be accomplished through a simple organizational trick. This is something no revolutionary or reformer can bring about: it can be only the natural expression of a more general state of mind in which man can see beyond the tip of his own nose and prove capable of taking on responsibility even for the things that don't immediately concern him, and relinquish some thing of his private interest in favour of the interest of the community, the general interest. Without such a mentality, even the most carfully considered project aimed at altering systems is for naught.
- Vaclav Havel
Haiku
“creative source
works through me when I am still
giving form to thought”
(see my last post). James and Alisa added to the popularization of local food with their 100 Mile Diet a couple years ago. They spent a full year eating only food that was sourced within 100 miles of their home in Vancouver. Their committed actions had a significant influence on the many benefits of local eating.
