Positives among the negatives
It’s good to see the end of a year that brought suffering, death and destruction to order, work and the democratic process. In the midst of these it is also good to see some things that had a positive effect on the environment and a chance to change the way we think and live in Canada. We have a new start today.
A model for climate change
When we realize the threat we are under, we are not afraid to take action. Unlike our neighbours to the south, we took responsibility for others generally by following the leadership of public health and adjusting quickly. We could do this in nearly all cases by understanding that this was a collaborative effort that in no way infringed upon our rights. What if we could apply the same energy and commitment to climate change?
People rediscovered the value of personal action.
Early in March I was asked if I still had my sewing machine. I couldn’t remember how long since I owned one and it seemed like two decades. But two people I know made masks for family and friends and donated them to others. It relieved the initial shortages that needed to go to front line workers. It also created a world of interesting design and pattern. What if we rediscovered our respect for craftmanship and rewarded it appropriately?
Governments gave away money
We didn’t hear about welfare bums and single moms misusing public funds. More of us were among the needy – restaurant owners and staff, musicians, actors and others whose lives were often precarious. We didn’t realize how much we valued their services until they were gone from our lives. The whole idea of a guaranteed income gained weight. What if we could implement it, drawing on our recent experience?
Trees are planted in a new way
We have known that destroying trees is madness. In a country that already has many covering its footprint, we still try to plant more. College students have gone into remote areas for years to do so during the summer but it is hard work with limited productivity. But a company is now producing drones that can plant seedlings at speeds surpassing any human effort. Technological development often harms the environment What if it could focus more fully on improving it?
We have rediscovered the inner city
Some of our streets have bike lanes now better protected from adjacent traffic lanes and more bike kiosks have appeared. I’m lucky enough to live in the fifteen minute walk to everything – grocery markets, drugstores, bookstore, bank, restaurants for dining outdoors or takeout, medical centres and services for eye glasses and hearing aids. Roadway lanes in good weather have been narrowed to allow for pavement seating and while traffic has to continue, there is less of it. I’ve filled the gas tank of my car exactly three times last year. What if we saved these features to benefit the environment?
Working from home has some advantages
The dogs are very happy about it – the cats, perhaps less so. While parents have been challenged to work from home and cope with children who compete for attention and have work challenges of their own, neither work nor schooling has faded entirely. What if we reflected on the strengths and limitations of both workplaces and built some of the advantages into future life?
Inequities have been laid bare
Warehousing the most vulnerable, underpaying those who care for them, crowded housing and neighborhoods = all these increase vulnerability. We know they exist but we have been able to ignore them. For those who are more fortunate – what if we resolve to take on one aspect of inequity to act upon in 2021 even in the smallest of ways?