ClimateFast Day 2

Today we split into two groups and went to places where we could reach people with our message.  After talking with groups at Centertown United Church and First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa we carried forward to our respective posts in the afternoon.

Betty and Frances attended Car free day in Westborough and handed out information.  We met an interesting variety of people.  I was delighted how many people were aware including all ages from 8 years old to elders.  We visited Ecology Ottawa and other eco-friendly groups.  I had a lovely conversation with four preteens who told me they’d write a letter.  Lisa Pepper, co-founder of 350.org Ottawa, told us how she had been transformed into an activist in spite of all her better instincts.  She had been already guiding the ecoclub of the Elmdale elementary school.  Her 10-year old son was a fount of information about Bidder 70 and all the pipeline issues.  They talked about getting a letter campaign going amongst the school kids and an article on their website. 

Vela Comber told us about her new music video, Tar Free 613.  You can google it on U-Tube.  We invited her to sing her song in our closing ritual.  We picked up lots of information on bike paths in Ottawa and how to drive occasionally without owning a car.  Lots of people took our handouts.  It was pretty windy but 5 layers of clothing kept us warm and we luckily escaped any serious rain.

Meanwhile, on Parliament Hill, Rita, Margaret and Amelia-Rose battled the rain most of the afternoon.  In spite of this they had many good conversations.  One woman returned to visit after attending our wet and soggy opening ritual the night before, and brought a friend.  As soon as we brought out the banner, a man and his young son became engaged.  Our presence is generating real conversation between one generation and the next.

Our Movie night at First Unitarian drew about 22 people most of whom were already deeply engaged with the issues.  In the movie, Do the Math, Bill McKibben shows how the behaviour of oil companies to continue exploration in risky areas like the arctic, and to exploit known reserves that are 5 times larger than any acceptable level of emissions into our limited atmosphere, is totally unethical.  He calls them rogue companies that must be curtailed and proposed divestment of oil stocks as a serious first step.  Several people had already divested their Investment portfolios of energy stocks.  We had an excellent discussion on what kind of quality of life we can build without carbon energy and how we can develop the political will to do it.  Muthanna Subbaiah, the other co-founder of 350.org, has done an excellent job getting this movie out there in Ottawa, and in building this new chapter of 350.org from scratch.  In Ottawa we see an excellent level of cooperation from different groups all working on climate change issues and this coalition can only get stronger.

All in all a long day, but the energy is out there and growing.

Thanks to First Nations

Blog 2013 09 21

We got up ready to start our various different fasts.  Some of us had some breakfast and others will be on liquids only with vegetable broth as the first thing.  We were ready to go but for one thing – it started to rain.  I had to decide if I was a fair weather biker or if I was going to do my day, as planned on my bike.  After some hesitation, Amelia and I decided to go for it.  Two of us took the bus and two rode bikes.  Did I get wet?  Yes I did.  But it wasn’t bad.  I never got cold.  We went to the human rights monument for the Global March for Peace only to find it had been cancelled on facebook because of the rain.  So we went on to Victoria Island for the celebration of Grandfather William Commanda.  The people who rode the bus weren’t so lucky.  There is so much road construction in Ottawa right now that the buses are getting way behind schedule.  The bike was a happy choice in the end.

We started the day on Victoria Island with a peace ritual including smudging, drumming and singing, a water ceremony, and the passing of the peace pipe.  I love watching the way the First Nations people work.  They manage to create sacred space, hold the traditions strongly, and teach the young people and the people who are unfamiliar like me all at the same time.  It was a wonderful way to start the fast and honour what we are doing.  Thanks to all those who conducted the ritual from ClimateFast.

We are taking a short pause before we go to the hill for our opening circle.  Life is good.

In the meantime, many final details to take care of.  Wish us luck.

Are We Ready?

Today has been a flurry of last minute details, communication, making beds, finalizing events.  This event is a great act of faith for about Ten individuals, most of whom are not in Ottawa to pull off.  The plans are full of holes but there is so much good will out there from everyone I see.  When I ask people to help, I’ve never had so many yes’s.  People are hungry for climate leadership and they are hungry for hope. 

I am now awaiting the arrival of the core group from Toronto.  We will have vegan spaghetti as a celebration meal before we begin the fast.  We’ll be putting together our individual pieces and preparing ourselves for the fast. 

A big thanks to everyone who has contributed in some small way to help us get this off the ground.

Speech to Fair Vote Canada - Democracy

September 19th, 2013 Parliament Hill

Make Every Vote Count

• I give thanks to Fair Vote Canada for giving me the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Canadian Untiarians For Social Justice and for ClimateFast.  I give thanks to the Algonquin people who have shared this land with us on which we stand.  It is a privilege to speak to you today.

• I have voted all my life in Federal, Provincial and Municipal elections.  I try to take the time to look at the candidates, weigh the issues, and see the political dynamics of the day.   A few times I have actually voted for the candidate that won.  Sometimes I voted for candidates I didn’t like as better than the alternative.  I often don’t feel represented by my government.
• Do you feel represented by your government?

• But today, this feeling of alienation I have is much stronger.  In the past, there was very little difference between the two leading parties, but they didn’t do that much.  They just tinkered with right and left policies.  A change such as the introduction of Medicare was a rare event.  Today, Stephen Harper is trying to change the very face and identity of Canada and I’m afraid of losing the country I love.

• This government is strongly committed to the status quo – a consumer society with low political involvement, where people sleep as the government quietly cedes the ability to control our own destiny to the private sector --through multiple free trade and investment agreements.  Stephen Harper has no interest in reducing our greenhouse emissions or our consumption of oil.  His only goal is to make Alberta and Canada an oil kingdom by tripling the production of the tar sands.

• For the next 12 days I will be fasting on parliament hill with a half dozen other people, in the hope that people all over Canada, and the world, will wake up and realize we must start making the transition to a new, renewable energy economy, and we must focus all our creativity and energy on this right now.  I believe the future of our children and grandchildren and of life on this planet as we know it is at stake.  I believe we cannot wait until 2020 to find solutions. 

• I believe it is essential we put in place a coalition of powers that will bring about this change in 2015.  2015 is a critical election for the well-being of Canada and the world. 

• But our main obstacle is First Past the Post. 

• As long as we maintain this competitive voting system, we maintain the illusion that one party can have absolute power if they can gather between 35 and 39% of the vote and win a majority.  When parties believe they can have that kind of power, they won’t cooperate.  They won’t take the risk of offending their base.  Instead they plan general policies that can mean almost anything in order to avoid offending some group of voters or another.

• There are only three ways to win government.  The first is to win a majority government.  The second is to create a majority through coalitions. The third is to have a proportional voting system that will give no-one absolute power and ensure that parties must talk with each other in an atmosphere of respect.

• Have you seen Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcaire preening their images, dreaming of power?  Each strategizing to knock the other out and grab that elusive majority?  Do you see opportunity for cooperation there?
• Do you think either of them would put proportional representation in place to ensure fair voting if they did win?  Do you think they would make any serious change in either energy policy or our relations with First Nations?

• This is not good news for us.  The 2015 election is our best opportunity to work together, in a loose coalition, with the objective of putting in place a system of proportional representation in the first term of whatever government is elected.

• Our current system gives our young people no reason to get involved to shape their own future.

• Our current system generates Santa Clause politics with every party trying to design the best goodie package to get the most votes.

• According to my brother, John Deverell, in his book, Democracy Eh?  a system based on proportional representation will allow parties to take positions and defend them with integrity, trying to attract voters to good policies. 
• A real democracy is based on an educated public, --familiar with the issues, --and able to discuss them because of good information --(based on sound research), --freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.  Instead, we seem to be heading towards a world of decisions made in secret, --based on little or no scientific evidence, --or pushed through parliament without reflection, or discussion, through omnibus budget bills.

• It is time for the Canadian public to get off the fence and take the plunge for a new voting system.  This is essential if we are going to have the public discussions we need to set new policies and strategies for our society.  We need to be in respectful discussion with one another – not win-lose cut-throat battles.  We have to change the culture of politics.

• Who are we as a people?  How will we establish a society that lives in mutual respect with our First Nations?  How will we establish a sustainable life style --that supports a quality of life on this planet for humanity --and for all beings?  What kind of a legacy will we leave our children and grandchildren --if we continue down the same old path, ignoring the terrible warnings we see every year about climate change.
• How will we put the politic into place to make this change in culture?  I believe we have to act our way into being.  We have to form the coalition now.  We have to decide how to work together.  And we have to vote it into being.  If the Liberals and NDP won’t cooperate, we either have to find a way to force them, or we have to do an end run around them.  But whatever strategy we pick, Proportional Representation is one of the fundamental building blocks of a truly democratic society.

• We need to nurture the “will to mutuality” in society and the concern for the common welfare.  If we want a respectful dialogue, If we want every vote to count, it is time for proportional representation.

• Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you.  Please, join us for our opening ritual for ClimateFast, September 21 at 7pm on the hill.  Check out our website at climatefast.ca for other events.  And join up with Common Causes, and Fair Vote Canada, to win a new kind of politics in 2015.
• All Our Relations.

Free As The Wind

Blog 2013 09 18 Free As the Wind

People get so worried when we talk about moving away from a carbon-based economy.  We so rely on the gasoline that feeds our car and the natural gas that warms our homes.  We don’t want to reduce our lifestyles.  But I believe in many ways, if we were to slow down a little and ride our bikes more often, life would be more fun.

I got my first bike when I was 10 years old.  Suddenly my whole world opened up.  The amount of the city and the numbers of things I could do without parental oversite increased exponentially.  I was free.  I had power.  I could go where I wanted to when I wanted to.  I loved it.  I explored the city of Saskatoon on my side of the river and I had a ball.

As an adult, I didn’t even have a bike for a long time.  I tried biking a few times but wasn’t in good enough shape to handle the hills where I lived.  Since I moved to Ottawa, however, things have changed.  With two knee replacements, I wanted to bike as a way of keeping my knees strong and bending well.  I bought a bike at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa sustainability fair.  I lucked out and got a really good one—a Peugot. 

The first day I limited myself to riding up and down my tiny little street.  I was so tentative.  I had to practice turning around and see if I could still balance myself on a bike.   A few days later, I tried going up and down the streets in my neighbourhood where there was little traffic.  It’s amazing what you see and who you talk to when you are riding a bike through a neighbourhood.  You actually start to believe like you are in a real place, with real people walking around or sitting on their porch.  You see the place as warmer, and friendlier than when you just whiz by and never talk to anyone.  You find out about stores you didn’t know were there.  There’s a man selling vegetables right on my street—his own little market.

Gradually I built up the confidence to get out of first gear and go a little faster.  I learned how to ride in traffic.  I went to my Transforming Community Meetings about two kilometres away on my bike and discovered new neighbourhoods.  I started biking to the pool for my swim.  My bike became a useful tool I could use for transportation.  The next year I started riding my bike downtown to volunteer at USC Canada.  I found the river trails that go on forever in Ottawa.  What an exhilarating feeling to speed along the river in the sun and the wind, the water and the trees.  You feel so alive.  You feel directly a part of this wonderful living planet of interconnected beings. 

This year I find I have built up my strength so I can take the hills up the bridges without getting off and walking.  I can handle myself on roads where traffic is going 80 kms an hour.  I can use my bike as transportation to get to meetings 15-20 kilometres from where I live.  I can shop for groceries on my bike. 

I realized one day that when I use my bike this way I get outside to enjoy the natural world much more often for at least an hour or two.  I escape from my computer and breathe the fresh air.  Life is good.  Life is wonderful and I love it.  Stop thinking your life is going to be worse if we have to give up carbon and start thinking about the new opportunities you will have to enjoy life a different way.

Deep Gratitude

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.

Fasting

As I work every day to organize the events of ClimateFast the day when I will begin my fast draws closer.  September 21 to October 2 -- 12 Days.  What kind of a fast will I do and what will my fast be about?  I notice all my colleagues on the ClimateFast team are having similar thoughts.

How much can I give up?  What is the purpose of sacrifice?  Will I damage my health?

I do have health issues.  I take twice daily medication that requires me to have food in my stomach so I will not be doing a total food fast.  I will settle for two meals a day, morning and night, and will not eat meat.  Giving up beef and lamb is especially important because they produce so many greenhouse gases.  I am told that giving up eating beef is equivalent to giving up the use of your car.

My main thing will be the carbon fast.  I will not be using my car for the length of the fast.  My plan is to ride my bike or take the bus or walk wherever I go.  I am also buying all my vegetables at the organic farmer's market from local farmers.  We are planning to make light vegan salads and vegetable broth and green leaf soups.

The interesting thing is that as I become very intentional about every choice, I already feel like I am beginning the fast.  I am looking forward to it.  I become conscious and focused on every single thing I take in.  Fasting is an act of self mastery where you weigh the value of every decision and become conscious about how you are living.  It brings you into the present moment.

This is what we need to do.  If we are going to learn how to conserve energy we need to understand where it comes from.  How it is made.  Whether or not we really need to have that light on.  How warm we really need to have the house.  (Or how cold in the summer.)

Similarly, when we listen to our politicians telling us what we need for a healthy economy, we will have more awareness about what is based on the old ways -- the consumer economy -- and what policies will bring us forward into a world where we burn far fewer fossil fuels until we wean ourselves completely.

Withdrawal from fossil fuels will be very difficult.  We will need the tools of self-mastery.  And we will need to know why we should do it.  I'll be blogging about these things all through the ClimateFast.  I hope you'll join me.