Today has been a very full day. I announced my fast at church today and then went to my Global Justice group meeting. So many people stopped to thank me and say they would give me their support. Then I went on to my multifaith council meeting and found people there who wanted a poster to put up and who wanted to take the message to their communities. I believe people really are hungry for climate action and they are glad we are raising the issue.
The city of Ottawa is hosting a street closing to promote a car-free day on September 22nd. It is so good when the people and the city are working together toward the same goal. We all need to make much more conscious choices about when and how often we use our cars. Conservation is one of the most important ways we can reduce greenhouse gases.
Now all we need to do is to convince the city to take a stand against the Ottawa pipeline to bring Alberta dilbit across the Rideau River near Kemptville. We are most concerned about the almost inevitability of a spill that may put our two acquifers at risk that supply water to Ottawa and surrounding communities. Even more we are concerned that if the government succeeds to build these pipelines, they will tripple the production in the Alberta tar sands. This expansion will offset all the gains we make in promoting conservation and renewable energy. In addition, burning the oil produced will add another level of injection of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The process of organizing this fast has put me in touch with many wonderful people who are all doing everything they can to raise awareness, increase our respect for the earth, and promote a change of heart towards a different type of economy and way of living. We have the passion and the creativity to do it. We just need the support of our leadership for structural changes that will increase the effectiveness of our work. That will be the subject of another blog.
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