My writings - and those of others.
Plastics - Everywhere
Bill McKibben has noted this week in the New Yorker that we have to stop burning things - and notes that trading wood for oil based material may create as many problems as it was thought to solve. That may be a topic for another time. He goes on to discuss the prevalence of plastics in our lives.
Who knew the extent? He interviews Judith Enck, who tells him:
“Microplastics can be found in everything from drinking water to soil to beer to table salt to a cup of tea. In fact, we’re all ingesting roughly a credit card’s worth of plastic each week. Stunningly, scientists recently found plastics in human placentas.”
Enck, who formerly worked in the Obama administration, is a visiting professor at Bennington College and the president of Beyond Plastics, It starts by framing the plastics trifecta - focusing on the three most prominent single use products that can be replaced - and suggest that citizens in the US approach all levels of government to ask for their banning. Canadians can take note. See if you can guess the three most villainous pollution products. They have even created a sample bill to send to legislators, making the case that single use banning is less effective than looking a bans for one product individually.
This is a really good site. Go to it and take advantage of all the resources it offers. There are a number of concrete actions that citizens can take - from writing tea companies to asking food delivery companies to hold the plastic in their packaging. Individual actions are good - but they have to be supported by going to the source of the polluters and telling them what we think.
Never Underestimate - Science Moms
I was originally made aware of the importance of climate scientist Kathryn Hayhoe through the University of Toronto’s School of the Environment lecture series in 2019 where they claimed this outstanding woman as one of their own. A Canadian by birth. Hayhoe began her studies here before becoming the Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law in the Department of Political Science, a director of the Climate Center, and an associate in the Public Health program of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University.
But never underestimate the power of a woman – and a mom – and also a scientist. She has brought the three together as the lead in a new initiative to help us guide the next generation in the important area of climate change. After meeting a young mother frightened about the world of the future for her child, Hayhoe realized they had a common situation and concern. Her approach is creative – channel fears into action. Talk to your family and friends about it – but even more importantly, become an advocate in the places where you have agency – local schools, local governments, churches and local agencies and other levels of government.
Hayhoe recruited five other prominent women scientists and a funding body to begin a ten million dollar educational project designed to educate and empower mothers – grandmothers like me can also join in. It will pay for advertisements featuring the women scientists that will run nationally and follow with ads focusing on states in the US where climate change is already showing significant effect. It’s a long term project that is expected to last for five years and you can read about it here. Its website site includes helpful resources and starts the process with outlining myths and facts.
In a “half the sky” framework, moms matter to politicians and advertisers. Both can tap into their existing concern for climate change. What this project gives them is some straightforward ways to act. Moreover, they will have confidence in the leadership of woman scientists providing them with talking points and the ability to debunk common myths. Among them:
Climate change isn’t settled science.
Climate change is a natural phenomenon.
Climate change is way off in the distant future.
It might get bad but we can handle it.
There is still time to address it (but not too much).
You might check your own response to these statements and see if you are clear on the facts. Next you can view the resources – some for moms and some to share with their children as well as TED talks. There is a sign up sheet for Americans and a similar one for Canadians and other parts of the world would be useful.
The final reminder is that individual small steps are important – but significant action involves government legislation. We have to have the right information and we have to urge those in positions of power to act on it in important and positive ways. Exploring these materials is a really worthwhile way to spend some time during our current lock down.
The Coming Decade's Work
Bill McKibben has changed the narrative from the incredible events of the past week that have been termed surreal – and only now have to be recognized as all too real.
The good news that a black man from the American south finally can be elected to the Senate was swamped by a riot and what to do about it as well as increasing hospitalizations and deaths from the pandemic. At the same time we forget that we are now we have passed the half way mark for dealing with the climate crisis.
The following were milestones:
Prior to 1990 scientists and oil companies study the effects of climate change
1988: James Hansen testifies to US congress
1990: Climate change is recognized as a problem by the public1992: The Rio Earth Summit initiates attempts to deal with it as an international problem
2050 becomes the target year for carbon neutrality
McKibben goes on to say that the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century were basically a waste of time in addressing the issue. Oil companies and politicians united to make nothing happen and the Copenhagan conference in 2009 failed, as did the US Cap and Trade legislation in 2010.
But after that evidence was hard to ignore. We could not ignore rising temperatures, fires and floods. Solar energy and wind power developed and became cheaper. Activism started from the ground up and politicians now had another force than oil companies. The Paris Conference in 2015 had new commitment internationally. The US president didn’t help but momentum was there.
It has to continue. Scientists tell us that to keep on track we have to cut emissions by half by 2030. Moving the goal posts simply won’t do. That means several changes
An end to new fossil fuel infrastructure – which McKibben says may include the closing down of Alberta’s tar sands
Retrofitting of buildings to make them more energy efficient
Changes in transportation – including how we move ourselves
Stopping of Deforestation
Less use of carbon in food production Elimination of tax support of fossil fuel industries
These things have to happen now – and everywhere. There are some positive changes, including the diminished size and strength of many oil producing companies, the growth of electric cars, and positive responses from governments, especially the incoming Biden team. It’s the next 500 weeks that have to make the difference.
There is encouraging news. United by dealing the pandemic, cities of the world are uniting to work together as well as pressuring other levels of government to act. You can find out more about the organization here and watch the brief video below.
Gender Violence
Marking the anniversary of the violence against women at the Montreal Polytechnic is an appropriate time to visit this topic and how it affects the environment. I am indebted as always to Dr. Dennis O’Hara’s presentations for the monthly EcoSabbath and research he does to support his themes.
He started with an overview
“Rooted in discriminatory gender norms and laws and shrouded in impunity, gender-based violence (GBV) occurs in all societies as a means of control, subjugation and exploitation that further reinforces gender inequality. …Occurring in all countries, in all communities, at all stages of life and across settings, GBV encompasses many different expressions of violence, including: physical, sexual and emotional abuse sexual harassment; stalking; rape, including “corrective” rape and rape as a tactic of conflict; domestic violence and intimate partner violence; child marriage; human trafficking; and female genital mutilation. It is any violent act, including threats, coercion and the potential for violence, perpetrated against someone’s will and based on gender norms and unequal power dynamics. GBV is the result of long-standing, deeply entrenched discriminatory norms that treat gender inequality with permissibility and further embed these inequalities within societal structures and institutions.” Castañeda Camey et al, “Gender-based violence and environment linkages: The violence of inequality,” ed. J. Wen, (Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 2020), xi, 3,
Here’s a quick look at the extent of the discrimatory norms and laws.
These discriminatory measures also relate to the environment:
We are starting to hear about food insecurity in our own country during the pandemic. The numbers are appalling in other parts of the world. They are affected by all our assaults on the environment. The above report went on to say that the rnvironmental discussion needs to address gender disparities as follows:
“A Feminist Green New Deal would center the right of access to clean air, water and land for all. It must remediate gendered food insecurity and nutritional disparities by bolstering social safety nets that include healthy food access as a human right. It would invest in regenerative agriculture and food provision strategies that transition away from extractive land practices that only fuel environmental degradation. Programs focused on shifting the cultural conversation around gender-based violence should also be developed; include participation and education of all members of society; ensure engagement of children, extended family, and the wider community; and target institutional and political structures as well.”
The video below is not totally complete with surtitles – but the energy of the participants sends a message that we all need to hear. As is so often the case, those among us with less teach us to care more for the life of the total planet.
Learning through Reflection
Watching a recent video on Farnham Street, I noted the emphasis on reflection after decision making. Shane Parrish observed that if we don’t review the choices we make after the fact, we don’t learn. Organizations that want to make a difference have the same weakness as individuals as the story in a recent Globe and Mail reveals. When someone like the Auditor General Brenda Lysyk releases a report, it reveals we fail to learn from past experience. Ideally all organizations would have such a function as an auditor general – non partisan, independent and speaking to the wider community. While taking a mini-sabbatical from some volunteer work, I found the report on how my province is doing in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic revealing – and thought provoking in the way organizations of all sizes operate.
In an emergency a command structure matters. I remember one I was involved in some years ago and the number was two persons. That made it clear and fortunately we didn’t have to add to it. Who leads? What is the meeting structure? Who takes minutes? How are decisions followed up?
Regrettably, this emergency response got off to a bad start. Ontario was one of the worst sites of the SARS epidemic earlier in the 21st century and recommendations from the Auditor General started in 2003. Among them was a Cabinet Committee for Emergency Management consisting of the Premier plus eight MPPs. That committee finally met for the first time in 2019 and three times in the early part of 2020 for updates and discussion. No minutes were taken. It never took the lead. Efforts instead were led by a group of 21 that expanded to 83 and ultimately to 500. Some did not know whether they were attending with specific responsibilities or were just there. Meetings started by teleconference with unidentified speakers or roles and only later moved to video conference. While the Chief Medical Officer of Health was named Co-Chair, he never chaired. Minutes of decisions were not made. Discussion, as we know, does not necessarily involve making choices.
In most organizations changeover in leadership occurs, but often a new team has no mandate or record from the past. Emergency plans were out-dated and staff was insufficient. To remedy that, the government hired consultants. I know that is a pattern for trying to fix things and I’ve even been one of them. In this case it was a top of the line firm (*single sourced with no competitive bids) resulting in a billing of $1.6 million to create a plan with its first meeting in April – and another $3.2 million to plan for the opening of schools. Neither plan has ever been released There has been little coordination with municipalities.
Lessons from the past were simply not learned. The SARS experience suggested taking early precautions even when the world was still learning about a new virus. Though travel was clearly a source of infections, people were encouraged to go on holidays during the March break. Expertise is often disregarded. The Chief Medical Officer of Health did not exercise his full powers in a medical emergency. Masks were not required until October 2020. Instructions to local authorities were delayed and had been requested as early as May. The Ministry of Health collected data rather than Public Health. Transparency of data was identified as a problem when the CMOH did not release information until Cabinet had approved it. There was a good deal of variety in how local authorities responded, causing further confusion.
The lessons learned were not carried out over time. The Auditor General’s department reviewed the recommendations of 2003 again in 2007, 2014 and 2017 and focused on the need for updating of contact tracing and laboratory procedures. The latter were still paper based and not integrated with public health information systems. Good procedures for testing, tracing and isolating could have reduced the spread by 80%. Targets – always a favorite of governments, were set – but never met, with the worst results in the largest populated areas. By the end of August 2020, Ontario had the third highest number of cases on the country and the second highest rate of deaths per 100,000. We could have done better.
But will we? Rather than reflect, all the government parties have immediately become defensive when they are faced with the reality of choices made in the past. What if, instead of defending themselves, the party in power could respond, “Yes, most of this is true, much as we don’t like to face it” rather than slamming the Auditor General. The opposition could respond, saying, “We agree and we wouldn’t necessarily have done better” rather than “We didn’t cause all these problems when we were in power in the past – it’s the current government’s fault”. What if they all stopped saying “It’s not US and THEM – it’s just US”? How are WE going to do this better from now on?