| The emergence of global climate change as the top political issue in the nation suggests times are changing. Once solely an issue forwarded by environmentalists, the broader public has thrown itself into the global warming fight. With the will of the people behind the issue, government and industry must take it seriously. It is now clear that to ignore public opinion on carbon emissions is to do so at great peril both in political arena and in the marketplace.
The public not only demands action, however, it is taking action. In our daily lives, Canadians are working to make a difference on this globally important issue. The issue has also acted as the catalyst for something deeper. Activism itself is no longer to be left to the long-suffering, underfed few. Climate change, with its projected terrors, seems to have jolted us awake and sparked a desire to re-sculpt our lives. With this in mind, Fast Forward writers have compiled a number of day-to-day ways in which we can affect positive change on both a local and global scale.
BE AN ETHICAL GARDENER
Ethical gardening is more complex than simply buying a few organic seed packets and composting, and extends to lawn care and community landscaping. Without research and an eco-friendly plan, a trip to the gardening centre can be overwhelming.
Don’t Use Pesticides and herbicides
Avoiding pesticides and chemical fertilizers is good for both the environment and your own well-being. Significant research has linked pesticides to cancer and other ailments in humans. Pesticides kill beneficial wildlife, and chemicals accumulate in the food chain, adversely affecting wildlife. Particularly vulnerable to the effects of chemical pesticides and fertilizers are pets, children and expectant mothers. See www.pesticidefreeyards.org, a website maintained by the Sierra Club of Canada, Sustainable Calgary, Clean Calgary and Earth Day Canada for information on pesticide alternatives. These include tips on yard maintenance and plant propagation that will help lawns and gardens resist weeds and pests.
In the absence of chemical bug-killers, certain insects act as a natural pesticide alternative. Ladybugs kill aphids; bees, butterflies and moths pollinate flowers; black beetles eat slugs; millipedes break down organic material, earthworms aerate the soil; and spiders, wasps, centipedes and ants keep insect populations in check. According to environmentalist David Suzuki, in his essay "The Folly of Chemical Pest Control," "Insects… are the most important component of the ecosystem and an integral part of the food chain…. Spraying powerful poisons that kill all exposed insects is no more ‘management’ of pests than killing everyone in New York city would be managing urban crime."
Select Drought-Tolerant and Native Species
Given Calgary’s harsh climate and dry soil, select drought-tolerant plants. Native plants are well-adapted to our environment, and many feel they are needed to help maintain our province’s biodiversity.
"As wild habitats disappear, there have been enthusiastic attempts to keep alive the memory of what once covered this land," June Flanagan, horticulture and reclamation chair of the Alberta Native Plant Council, writes in her book Native Plants for Prairie Gardens. "Native plants are genetically diverse and may hold uses that are not yet discovered. As part of our natural heritage, native plants define our region’s character."
Xeriscaping (drought-tolerant gardening) is gaining fans in arid southern Alberta. Books on the practice include Creating the Prairie Xeriscape by Sara Williams.
Don’t introduce Alien species
Wildflower seed packets often contain non-native and noxious weeds that choke out genuine wildflowers. "Many of our most serious weeds like oxeye daisy and purple loosestrife were sold through garden centres," explains Karen Sundquist, Program Co-ordinator for the Alberta Invasive Plants Council (www.invasiveplants.ab.ca). "These plants have taken over wetlands, pastures and natural areas throughout Canada."
Sundquist notes Oxeye daisy came to North America from Europe in the 1850s through a breeding program that used root division to propagate it, creating the Shasta daisy.
"It was not supposed to produce viable seed. But nature always finds a way," she says.
Gardeners should note that they could be buying an invasive plant when they are promised something that is easy to grow and hardy. Invasive ornamentals include baby's breath, Queen Ann's lace, bachelor's buttons and caraway.
"Many of the characteristics that make plants desirable to gardeners also should be a red flag, as these are the characteristics of invasive plants," Sundquist says. She adds, "Choosing native plants is the safest way to garden. Not only are these plants already a part of our ecosystem, we also know that they are hardy enough to survive our climate."
Gardeners should check out the website of the Alberta Native Plant Council (www.anpc.ab.ca) for a list of places to purchase native plants (please do not collect them from the wild).
Native plants are an essential part of our prairie landscape, giving necessary habitat to bees, butterflies, other insects and critters, says Pat Fedkenheuer, who runs ACLA Native Plants (alclanativeplants.com). Fedkenheuer notes early bloomers for the season include the crocus and prairie smoke (Geum triflorum). It is also a good idea to plan to plant a variety of flowers with different bloom times. This helps provide wildlife with a food source all season long.
give Wildlife a home
A natural garden, or "naturescape," mixes gardening traditions with the biological principles of habitat development. There are many books and certification programs on creating a backyard wildlife habitat by selecting plants that can provide food, water and shelter to other creatures. With the help of Calgary’s Bow Point Nursery, I was able to find out that gooseberry is a good choice for wildlife habitat for wrens and other birds, as well as the fact it provides them with edible fruit. Other bird-friendly shrubs include snowberry and gold currant (which bears fruit for critters throughout the year – including for cedar waxwings in the winter). Red birch is a good shrub for red polls.
NatureScape Alberta (www.naturescape.ab.ca) provides ideas on how to provide animals such as local birds, bats and reptiles with shelter. Also read NatureScape Alberta: creating and caring for wildlife habitat at home by Myrna Pearman and Ted Pike.
protect Pets
Lilies are very dangerous if you have pets, as are lupins, foxgloves, bleeding hearts, buttercups, daffodils, baby’s breath, larkspur, milkweed, tulips and monkshood. Regular garden plants such as rhubarb, tomato and potato contain parts such as leaves that are considered toxic to certain mammals such as rabbits and cats. The Calgary Meow Foundation website (www.meowfoundation.com/health/plants.html) provides information on plants poisonous to cats. Other web resources for pets include www.sniksnak.com/plants.html. Consult your vet should you have any questions.
Get Involved
If you like weeding or getting your hands dirty or just being in nature you can help restore biodiversity by volunteering at Fish Creek Provincial Park. The Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society hosts three annual weeding programs to raise awareness and motivate the public to take action and help control invasive alien species including common tansy, common burdock and leafy spurge. Erika Almási-Klausz, project manager for the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society says, "We are also endeavouring on some IAS research to utilize some non-intrusive biological control methods for leafy spurge, such as aphthona beetles and reclaiming sites using willow cuttings and native vegetation in disturbed sites." Please see www.friendsoffishcreek.org for more information.
Calgary's Weaselhead Society also has a park-based maintenance program aimed at weeding out invasive plants in both the Elbow Valley and Weaselhead area (for more information see weaselhead.org).
If you love the idea of organic gardening, you can also help with the University of Calgary Community Gardens – a collective that promotes sustainable practices based on organic principles and donates most of the produce to the campus food bank and Feed the Hungry (www.uofc-garden.ca). Membership is open to both students and non-students.
On a snowy winter night at the monthly Calgary Dollars potluck, members file into the kitchen at Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre and fill their plates. Vendors sell everything from local, organic eggs to books on vegan cooking and punk music. As people eat, one of the members starts drumming.
Calgary Dollars, which has been in existence for just over a decade, is North America’s largest alternative currency, according to co-ordinator Gerald Wheatley. Over 1000 various goods and services can now be purchased using Calgary Dollars. Calgary Dollars can be used to purchase membership in the Calgary Alternative Transportation Co-operative (CATCO), to buy a beer at Broken City, to buy groceries at Community Natural Foods or to buy a used guitar or get someone to design your website among many other options. Calgary Dollars also offers grants to progressive causes. In the past it has offered grants to Sustainable Calgary, which compiles reports on Calgary’s performance in economic, social and environmental sustainability. It has also provided grants to CATCO and for the establishment of a pesticide-free park.
Calgary Dollars strengthens the local economy through the support of local businesses, allows people to barter their talents and skills to get goods and services they need and fosters a sense of community, says Calgary Dollars co-ordinator Gerald Wheatley.
"What’s satisfying Calgary Dollars is there’s such a spectrum of things you can buy and sell and we’ve got lots of members who have been involved for over five years, some right since we started, so it’s still relevant for people and that’s really satisfying…. People are able to act in their political or community motivations but also benefit from that process. It’s a pretty rare case of benefiting personally while benefiting the community," says Wheatley.
Chris Vester, operations manager of Blue Mountain Bio-Dynamic Farms, an organic farm in Carstairs, Alberta, says Calgary Dollars has helped his business as well as creating a positive personal aspect.
"I’ve definitely made very good friends and certainly lots of acquaintances and business contacts as well…. It’s a very interesting collective of very divergent people," he says of members. "They share a very fundamentally decent goal of bringing us all forward together in a sustainable fashion."
Vester says what appeals to him about Calgary Dollars is that the money stays in the community to support local people.
"If you’re involved in local currency you can know that whatever effort you put into making that economy grow, nobody will ever take that energy out of it. You put that effort into it and you know that it goes into the local economy and it never goes away. You won’t be able to take that out in profits to Wal-Mart head office," he says.
Member Lindsay Meads says Calgary Dollars has made her start to think differently about money. "It changes your mind about the whole concept of money and makes you think about where your money is going. I think it’s important to support your community and the people around you and I never really thought of that before," says Meads. "I think that it’s a good initiative to know that the money that you’re giving is actually going to local people and not massive corporations somewhere in the world."
For more information on Calgary Dollars go to www.calgarydollars.ca.
CHAT UP LINES
In the words of the immortal Cliff Richard "it’s so funny how we don’t talk anymore." There’s a certain amount of truth to that gem. Despite the growth of immediate and accessible forms of mass communication, we don’t really talk anymore, particularly about issues of social importance. Sure, we announce that we have just got on the C-Train and will be home soon, but we don’t talk about the economy, welfare rates or the sexist, classist and racist structures of society. We live in a socially isolated world; indeed the hegemonic nature of postindustrial capitalist society encourages isolation, a certain fear of "others" and a vague subscription to the patently false notion of self-reliance. Obviously, it is in the interest of dominant social groups to discourage meaningful conversation.
However, conversations – as noted by the remarkable popularity of "conversation cafés" where topics are determined and locations announced – are the foundations of everyday activism and the essence of a pluralist society. Conversations provide a context for the sharing of opinions, the naming of collective issues, the generation of solutions and the momentum for action. Frequently our conversations lead to the recognition that many of our own individual hopes and fears are collectively shared.
Admittedly, the planned conversation cafés aside, it is sometimes difficult to find space where spontaneous, issue-driven conversation is acceptable. You also have to be careful where you engage in chat advocacy. As I have found to my peril, social justice conversations at urinals in bars are often not well received. And, apparently, people in the Subway in Maple Creek aren’t as interested in socialism and nationalized healthcare as I would have expected given Saskatchewan’s beautiful political history. On a serious note, public places, particularly lineups, can provide a great venue for this practical form of activism.
For example, the Safeway in my community recently opened a Starbucks coffee shop, despite the fact that there is an independent, family-owned coffee shop in the same mall. While queuing up to buy my groceries I have spoken to people in the line (and the cashier), and to a person they agree that the import of the multinational will undermine "community," and they will continue to support the local option. Perhaps they are just saying it to shut me up. That’s what my daughter thinks. However, there is the possibility that they agree and feel comforted in having a shared opinion. The point is that there is some discussion about it.
Yes, it sounds simple and, admittedly, naive. But we need to find more ways to speak with each other, and engage in authentic dialogue about important social issues. By so doing, we lay the foundations for a truly democratic society and have the opportunity to usher in the much-needed counter-hegemonic project. So, let’s chat!
HIT THE STREETS
University students in Canada in this age of accelerated career planning and double majors are not known for their passionate, street-level activism. The stereotype of today’s 20-something undergraduate is that of a self-centred get-rich-quick careerist. Bucking this perception is Andrew Barry, 22, one of two co-ordinators of Into The Streets (ITS), a volunteer-driven program run by the University of Calgary Students’ Union Volunteer Services.
Comprised of 58 volunteers – all undergraduate U of C students – the members of ITS spend time helping out at City institutions that are overwhelmed by a flood of humanity – agencies that feed the hungry and house the homeless. "It’s important to know what’s happening in your local community," says Barry. "It’s important all Calgarians are accountable." Serving food, cleaning up and doing what they can to address what is now more than 3,400 people living on the city’s streets (according to the City of Calgary’s 2006 homeless census), ITS has been helping undergraduate students at the U of C become more "accountable" since 1999.
Based on a model developed in the U.S. in the early 1990s, ITS organizes up to 40 events per academic year. It sees volunteers head out for two to five hours at a time to help agencies that include the Mustard Seed Street Ministry and the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre.
It would be easy for Barry and the ITS volunteers to ignore the plight of the city’s most vulnerable citizens given the demands on undergrad schedules that include full academic programs and a lineup of enticing extracurricular activities. But they don’t. "All of our volunteers are interested in learning about social issues in Calgary," says Barry. He recalls one ITS volunteer who lived the majority of her life in a small town in Alberta before moving to Calgary to attend the U of C. "She had never been exposed to homelessness on that scale," he says. "And for me it’s an eye-opening experience to see the issues some Calgarians face."
Barry says what propels most ITS volunteers is a concern about social issues coupled with a belief that they need to take an active part in solving the problems facing the more than six billion people who currently inhabit the planet. "ITS gives volunteers the opportunity to act as activists," he says.
For more information about Into The Streets contact Volunteer Services at the Students’ Union (University of Calgary) located at office 225 in the MacEwan Centre, visit ITS online at www.su.ucalgary.ca or phone 220-3092.
SHOP GREEN
It’s easy to become disgruntled and overwhelmed with the wicked ways of the world. Not everyone has the optimism of Margaret Mead who declared, "A small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." There’s something to Mead’s thinking, though. Women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement both began with grassroots uprisings. According to prominent green revolutionaries like David Suzuki and Al Gore, one of the most powerful ways citizens can impact the future health of the environment is through their consumer behaviour.
Six factors can be used to guide our consumer choices:
1. Reduce demand for products by thinking about whether or not the purchase you are making is necessary or not.
2. Increase individual product lifespans by choosing efficient, high quality and durable goods.
3. Decrease product consumption by choosing products made with low-impact manufacturing processes (processes that don’t involve chemicals or excessive water use).
4. Cut down the distance products travel by choosing locally made items.
5. Lessen product impacts by selecting those with contents that are as benign as possible (content made from organic or post-consumer materials and with minimal packaging).
6. Select products from ethical and environmentally conscious distributors. Another simple way to revise the way you shop is to remember the five "R"s – rethink, reduce, reclaim, reuse and recycle.
With more companies greening their practices, shopping green is a viable alternative. Specialty stores like Clean Calgary’s EcoStore provide a full line of green products including books, magazines, composting supplies, baby products, office supplies, some food goods, gardening and xeriscaping supplies, gifts, household and personal products, recycling items, water conservation products and more. The Healthiest Home and Building Supplies also specializes in green choices. It has a green building consultant on staff and sells environmentally conscious options for flooring, kitchens and bathrooms, paints and finishes, books and magazines as well as other household and renovation items. Natural health food stores and farmers’ markets like Community Natural Foods, Planet Organic and the Calgary Farmers’ Market provide locally grown and organic foods, many bulk items and safe cleaning products. Fashion, too, offers environmental alternatives. Mountain Equipment Co-op has an organic line. Simple Shoes sells a sustainable line, Earth Shoes carries a vegan line and vintage or gently used wear is becoming eco-chic with local consignment shops like Trend Clothing becoming more popular.
Next time you’re feeling blue about the state of the world, pick up your reusable shopping bag and make the world a little greener.
For more information on green shopping read Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.
PURCHASE CARBON OFFSETS
The Canadian government seems to have turned a corner lately on the topic of climate change and global warming, admitting that "the debate is over," and all that’s left is to decide how to fix the problem. However, when you’re surrounded by urban sprawl and more SUVs than you can shake an oil pump at, what’s the average Calgarian to do about it?
The latest bright idea is the purchasing of carbon offsets. It's based on the principle that, since climate change is a global problem, an emission reduction made elsewhere has the same positive effect as one made locally. If you are adding emissions to the atmosphere, you can effectively subtract them by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are simply credits for emission reductions achieved by projects elsewhere, such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency projects. By purchasing these credits, you can apply them to your own emissions and reduce your net climate impact. While you’re still in the process of figuring out how to decrease the size of your carbon footprint (Canadians leave a huge footprint per capita. Each of us produces an average of 8.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, with carbon being the main offending emission), you can reward those organizations that are already focused on improving sustainability for all of us.
While it is difficult to reduce our carbon emissions to zero, going carbon neutral by purchasing carbon offsets is a practical and affordable way to do something immediate about your emissions – sort of a voluntary guilt tax. By purchasing them for someone else, they’re a means to get family and friends thinking green.
Of course, the trick is, how can you tell which companies are actually moving the planet in the direction of carbon neutrality? BC premier Gordon Campbell has recently been crowing about the purchase of carbon offsets as a potentially massive cash grab for the province, based on its tree-planting programs. But do provincial tree-planting programs really cut the mustard as true carbon offsetting?
The David Suzuki Foundation suggests that you base your decision to purchase carbon credits on a couple of factors, the first being "additionality." Are your dollars going towards supporting something that is already comfortably in place, or are they helping to develop otherwise under-funded and under-noticed initiatives? For instance, if significant money is pointed in the direction of renewable energy production, such as wind energy, the more likely it will be that wind energy becomes widely and inexpensively available.
The second factor is determining which aspects of your emissions you want to offset. Carbon offsets offer flexibility, as you can choose to offset just one – or all – of your major emission sources. Purchasing high-quality carbon offsets from projects such as wind farms also helps support the transition to a sustainable energy economy by providing an additional source of revenue to developers of renewable energy.
Because this is an extremely new industry, some public activism is being called for to convince the federal government to set national consumer standards by which offsets companies can be rated. In the meantime, you can find an extensive list of companies selling offsets, complete with their internal "gold standard" ratings, at:
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_neutral.asp.
For further information on Alberta’s current attitude towards carbon offsets, check out
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/cl11179.
HOLD GREEN MEETINGS
If you’ve ever had the task of organizing a meeting or conference at work – setting the agenda, invitations, arranging facilities and food, and equipment preparation – you’ve probably witnessed first-hand the waste involved with assembling large groups of people. When people think of being environmentally sensitive, recycling is usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, a green meeting goes beyond simple recycling. Greening a meeting encompasses all aspects of the planning process. By making choices at every level – from printing on recycled paper using vegetable-based ink to implementing methods such as serving condiments from bulk containers – the environmental impact of an event can often be reduced. Green planning conserves resources and has a direct economic benefit.
The meeting industry is uniquely positioned to reduce its environmental impact on a meaningful scale. Each year hundreds of thousands of events and conferences are held internationally and involve millions of attendees, and the rates of consumption can be staggering. During a typical multi-day conference, thousands of attendees will use thousands of plates, bottles and napkins. Cars and shuttle rental as well as linen and towel usage in hotels creates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Faced with time and budget constraints, the initial feeling might be that greening the meeting will be a lot of added work for a limited benefit. A green meeting does more, however, than simply help the environment. It makes good economic sense, creates positive PR and will encourage others to follow your example.
Meeting planners often make significant changes to ensure the quality of a conference is not compromised as budgets get tighter. Adopting just one environmentally responsible strategy, such as providing the registration brochure online only, saves developing, printing and mailing costs and helps the environment. Here are some green planning tips:
Operations
Communicate via e-mail rather than regular mail or memos.
Make two-sided copies and use recycled paper.
Use an online registration system.
If you must have a conference bag, make sure it is constructed of recycled materials.
Recycle attendee name badges.
Marketing
Print on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink.
Publish the registration brochure online only.
Limit speaker handouts.
Post speaker notes and conference proceedings electronically.
Food and Beverage
Serve condiments in bulk containers.
Provide water in pitchers or large bottled water stations instead of individual bottles.
Donate leftover food to a local food bank.
Use local and sustainable food products.
Implement recycling.
Use cloth instead of paper napkins and cutlery instead of plastic utensils.
Eliminate the use of disposable items.
Location
Choose a hotel at or within walking distance of the convention centre.
Eliminate shuttles.
Educate attendees about public transportation and pleasant walking routes.
Hotel Facility Management
Demand sustainable environmental practices from the facility.
Request a linen reuse program.
Ensure programs are in place to reduce water and energy consumption.
Request bulk amenities.
Turn off lights and heat or AC while not in rooms.
freeCYCLE YOUR USED STUFF
Got closets and a garage crammed with crap you don’t need? Thanks to a grassroots organization that’s growing exponentially across the globe, there’s a way to let your old possessions become new again: Freecycle. Based on the old adage that "one person's trash is another person's treasure," the goal of Freecycling is to reduce the flow of waste into landfills by connecting people who want to get rid of unwanted possessions with others looking for free household goods, toys and even vehicles. This has been the happy mantra of Freecyclers since the online exchange started in 2003. Nearly two million people all over the world have become members, via some 3,312 local groups. Thousands of tonnes of useful goods have been diverted from garbage dumps.
"People come to it for all kinds of reasons," says Calgary member Dave Thorpe. "Some are downsizing, others have a new apartment. Some people just come for the environmental reasons." According to Thorpe, the nonprofit organization has kept 55 tonnes of waste a day out of landfills worldwide.
Anyone looking to give away or acquire an item can join a local website where all items listed are free. Some Freecycle groups also welcome charitable organizations to list requests, giving confidence to a donor that the item is needed locally.
When you want to find a new home for something – whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano or an old door – you simply send an e-mail offering it to members of the local Freecycle group. Or, maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to a member's offer, and you just might get it. After that, it's up to the giver to decide who receives the gift and to set up a pickup time for passing on the treasure.
"The first thing I gave away was a dog crate," Thorpe says. "When I pulled it out of the basement, I realized I had moved it three times in 19 years. We talk about the consumerist society, but we actually warehouse all our stuff. It sits in basements and attics going unused. This way we can actually consume the stuff we have."
Thorpe says students are in an ideal position to use the Freecycle Network because they move so much. "This way they can get rid of stuff at the end of the year and get new things at the beginning of the next," he says.
Thorpe notes it's important to remember that the organization is not a place to get something for nothing. Rather, it's a two-way community of giving and receiving that benefits individuals and the environment.
Check out www.freecycle.org to become active with your local Freecycle chapter.
WORK TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Most people, by now, should be well aware of the fact that we are using up the resources of the planet at a pace that cannot be sustained. We are ensuring that generation ‘me’ has everything it could ever want, while robbing the next generations.
Ecological sustainability moves to counter this consumption with a lifestyle that is based instead on balance, equity and renewal – goals that the work of a volunteer group of Calgarians seeks to promote and encourage in the city. Sustainable Calgary evolved out of the Arusha Centre’s educational workshops in 1996 and was started by a core of 11 volunteers. The organization is based on a similar project that exists in Seattle, and there are groups in other North American cities as well.
Sustainable Calgary audits the city across 36 different indicators – things like housing affordability, level of volunteerism, water and air quality, energy consumption, public transit use, classroom sizes, adult literacy, and other areas of Calgary’s living environment that affect the health and well-being of all Calgarians. The organization tabulates and then publishes its findings, roughly every three years, in a manual called the State of Our City Report. The report gauges each indicator’s progress towards reaching sustainability and examines the relationship between ecological, economic and social factors. Outlined in each report are ways in which Calgarians can act to help reach the goal of sustainability.
The 2006 report was the first step in creating the recently published Citizen’s Agenda, a document that identifies key priority policy recommendations for the city based on the dialogue and debate that the State of Our City Report generated.
The group also organizes workshops and runs an EcoLiving Fair to give Albertans ideas and directions on how to reduce their impact on the environment by improving building and home efficiency and reducing the use of natural resources.
The State of Our City Report can be found online at www.sustainablecalgary.ca, at McNally Robinson downtown, or at Pages in Kensington.
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