Judge Smith was suitably impressed and “recognized Mrs. Rogerson’s original strain as a new, unique, and distinct breed. He went on to encourage development of the (breed) … and he later developed the first breed standards.”

Mrs. Rogerson’s new breed was the Gloster (for Mrs. Rogerson’s home shire) Fancy Canary, and it came in two versions, the Gloster Corona and the Gloster Consort.

The Gloster Corona (left) and Gloster Consort (right) (images from Animal World)

The Gloster Corona was, as its name suggests, crowned with crested plumage, the first to catch the eyes of canary admirers already drawn to its pleasant singing and good-hearted demeanour. The Gloster Consort was, as its name suggests, a bit less regal-looking and, if it were human, possibly harbouring a grudge for being denied the crown and the attention. But each version was equally important and Mrs. Rogerson’s creation, coming in an age when canaries were admired for their singing – and for their utility to us as harbingers of doom in our coal mines – developed a strong and loyal following, persisting to this day as a leading canary-fanciers favourite.

Four years before the birth of the Gloster Consort, a young man was born on a Greek island who would, as fate would have it, come to learn a thing or two about birds. And, interestingly, nine years after the exhibition, a young man would be born in a town in southwest Ontario who would, as fate would have it, also come to learn a thing or two about birds.

Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson (left), Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (right)

***

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the Greek island of Corfu, and came to international prominence when his acquaintance with Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain became more than an acquaintance. In 1946, King George VI gave his permission and blessing to the marriage of his daughter, the presumptive heiress to the throne, to this tall, handsome young princeling who’s lineage could be traced back to the German principalities, a lineage shared with his betrothed (and with many of the sovereigns of Europe, in fact).

Prince Phillip was a constant presence in my life. I was born 10 years after Phillip’s Queen ascended to the throne and I have watched from afar as a loyal subject of his (and my) Queen and an admirer of his for the way in which he navigated his life. In many ways, the dynamic that underpinned the relationship between Phillip and Elizabeth was mirrored in my own world as my mother, ‘Queen May’, ruled the realm with the genial assistance of her consort, my father George. My Dad, a former Royal Marine Commando, stayed at home during most of my childhood while my Mom went off to work at the hospital, or the modelling agency, or the nursing home. My Dad did the cooking and cleaning, along with whatever odd job that he’d pick up in his former trade as a carpet-master and flooring specialist. And he did it with a smile on his face that only broadened when he’d meet his grandchildren in his daily parade as the King of Queen Street. A man who could (and probably did; he always hedged when asked specifically) kill somebody with his bare hands, hands that were scarred and calloused from a life’s labour, would stop everything and drop everything to pick up a beaming grandchild and whisk her up into an impromptu dance. And then he’d hurry home to ensure that the supper was on and the place was set for my Mom’s return from work, the happiest part of my Dad’s day.

(George and May McConnachie, circa 1960s)

In most respects, I saw this as completely normal and assumed that every father was so hard yet soft, a sinner yet a saint. Sometimes, though, I’d question how my Dad put aside his masculinity as a member of the supposed superior sex to assume what was a traditional feminine role, the helpmate, in the very patriarchal society of the 1960s and 70s. Did it make him more or less of a man? And what lessons would I draw as I grew into my own manhood?

In these questioning times, and perhaps sensing my unease, my Dad and I would start talking (both of us well-known non-stop talkers) about the military career of Prince Phillip and the important roles that he played for Canada, Scotland and the rest of the British Empire. How he carried himself with great dignity. How he put his family first. How he took the most masculine step possible, to take a step back to allow someone else to shine, and to do so with a sense of duty and responsibility that was absolutely necessary to the role. Being the consort of a Queen was no easy task, but there always seemed to be a smile on Phillip’s face as he beamed at his Queen and she at he. It seemed as real to me as the love that was demonstrated between my parents, and I knew that my mother’s successes in this world were directly related to the scrubbing of the laundry and the seasoning of the stew, and the countless other little duties, that my father fulfilled with a joyfulness in his heart that everyone felt.

Both Prince Phillip and my Dad (and my Mom’s consort), George, were born in the year 1921. They both fought in battles in far off lands and fought battles for their families closer to home. They were faulty human beings – as we all are – but each managed to persevere through their own limitations and life’s challenges to be the strongest supporters and the loudest fan of their respective Queens. It is a lesson that I have taken to heart – and taken home to roost whenever I have been fortunate enough to be joined in my own life’s journey by a Queen.

***

Phillip of Greece and George of Glasgow shared many traits and commonalities. One of the most obvious to me was the love of the outdoors, a respect for nature and an understanding that we human beings are but one small species in a giant ecosystem called life-on-earth. I used to watch the annual BBC specials on the Royal Family, and invariably there’d be a mention of Prince Phillip’s conservation efforts, specifically in the area of birds. My Dad kept his conservation efforts nearer to us, opening the back door in the morning and stepping out to feed his ‘wee beasties’, the squirrels, chipmunks and birds that would soon be eating their own meals from his hands. He’d share wisdom straight from de Saint-Exupéry about the importance of stewardship, not the fleeting kind but the long-tailed kind of stewardship that came with as many tears as triumphs. He’d share tales from his own wartime adventures, the birds that he saw in Egypt or the crows in the bell towers in Italy. He’d sing songs that he’d make up, swearing to me that he was only replicating what he’d been taught by the birds. To this day, I’ll engage in singathons with the jays and others in the trees near me (of which they might not always appreciate), just to recall the feeling of, that moment of, my hero, my father, being in tune with nature. And everything being good in the world

“To this day, I’ll engage in singathons with the jays and others in the trees near me (of which they might not always appreciate), just to recall the feeling of, that moment of, my hero, my father, being in tune with nature. And everything being good in the world.”

My Dad was a near-urban wildlife aficionado, a product of his own upbringing in the tenement blocks of Glasgow. He would sally forth with a backpack on his back as a boy, especially when he was visiting relatives in the relatively bucolic Firth of Forth town called North Queensferry, right across from Mary Queen of Scots’ castle in Edinburgh. And the stories that he’d tell, of going up and down the moors, of splashing through the streams, and of lazing under the bright skies while watching the birds overhead and wondering if these winged creatures were actually God’s cherubim incarnate.

When my Dad talked of nature, he’d do so with a reverence in his voice, of the quiet and the peace. Of the giant trees and glistening lakes. Of the clear skies and clearer water, water that was so cool that you could quench your thirst even on the hottest day. Of the animals, large and small, that made the woods and forests their homes. And of the need to respect nature and all her parts, of which we were just one little aspect.

“You’re one in a million to me, Davey, but to the rest of the planet you’re just one of a million.”

As I got older and started reading history books about my father’s battles, I started to gain a deeper understanding of why my Dad, a man of action, would retreat into nature as a place of both solitude and rebirth. In battle, there is no peace, no quiet. In battle, the trees are torn asunder by artillery shells and the lakes stained red. In battle, there is constant thirst, a thirst for life, that is parched by the heat and the dust and the fear, and cool respites are few and far between. In battle, the woods and the forests become death-traps, for the humans and for every species, eerily devoid of bird calls but overflowing with smoke and fire and flames. And death.

Nature, alive, is full of life. Nature, alive, breathes and breeds new life. Nature, alive, is now a known antidote and remedy for those suffering from mental anguish and illness, a perfect ‘safe space’ to retreat into to undergo nature therapy. Breathing with the trees. Ebbing and flowing with the waters. Waking with the birds and drifting off to sleep to the cicadas. Meditation and introspection, a humbling that comes by appreciating your own inanity in this world full of pomposity and insanity.

Today, when I am perplexed by a problem and need to clear my mind, nothing works better than taking Zoey the dog (half border collie, half husky, all go) for a walk in the nearby nature trail here in Exeter, Ontario. I become mindful of each step we take. I become mindful of the sounds of the forest. I become mindful of the wind chilling my cheek. And, in doing so, my mind gains space from the perplexing problem. In most cases, that space and distance is enough to allow my logical thoughts to win the argument in my head and allow me to take the appropriate step(s). My emotional side has been succoured by nature. Nature becomes my consort, if you will.

***

In addition to the aforementioned Phillip and George, there’s another gentleman who embodies the spirit of being a consort in life and to life. Graeme Gibson of London (Ontario) was born into conditions more akin to George than Phillip. The son of Scottish immigrants, he and his family moved around a fair bit as a lad as they sought opportunities in this new land, but Graeme managed to take the right steps by graduating from the prestigious Upper Canada College and the University of Western Ontario. He was drawn to literature, as an outlet, and to the idea that change must be fostered, as a zeitgeist. His early works, released in the late 1960s and early 1970s, were considered by many in Canada’s literary circles as benchmarks of experiential literature, exploring important themes from perspectives not then shared by many. The works were rich in imagery and challenging in comprehension, requiring a degree of open-mindedness that narrowed mass market appeal. But Graeme understood that the purpose of literature was to serve the need of the story, and the storyteller, and if that meant limiting sales potential then so be it.

Becoming a champion of storytelling and storytellers was one of Graeme’s noble purposes, that driving compulsion to act in a manner that is not self-serving but serves the greater good.

Becoming a champion of storytelling and storytellers was one of Graeme’s noble purposes, that driving compulsion to act in a manner that is not self-serving but serves the greater good Graeme was one of the founders of the Writers’ Union of Canada, helped form the Writer’s Trust of Canada, and was a co-founder and president of PEN Canada. In the world of Canadian literature, the name Graeme Gibson became synonymous with fighting for writers’ right to write, and using their collective voices to affect change. And given that most Canadian writers exist within a very small cage of celebrity – with the resulting financial rewards that come with it – Graeme was really fighting for those who could not, through their small sales footprint (or not-yet-written first novel) earn enough daily bread to feed themselves, let alone the neighbourhood birds.

I was drawn to PEN Canada in the early 1980s as that organization began advocating for causes that resonated with my still-developing soul. PEN Canada’s mission:

PEN Canada celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression and aids writers in peril.

There seemed to be two voices that I heard most frequently from PEN. Graeme Gibson was the fiery organizer and orator. Margaret Atwood was the voice from upon high, a Canadian literary author with truly global impacts, and especially important in the areas of equal rights, civil rights and the right to have our voices heard. I could hear his voice but I saw her eyes, those eyes that seemed capable of reproach as stinging as anything she could have written. “Must be tough to be married to her,” my Dad chuckled as we watched the news, adding “and I should know!”

In my life’s journey, I got a chance to dabble in the world of Canadian literature during my time working as the publishing director of the NHL. One year, we released TOTAL HOCKEY encyclopaedia and HOCKEY FOR DUMMIES, both of which rocketed up the charts of Canadian Non-Fiction Bestsellers. I got invited to a few events, rubbed leather-patched elbows with the literati, and learned, to my delight, that the loud tall organizer was the one married to the Queen of Canadian literature. And then paid a bit more attention whenever either would pop up in the news.

At some point, I began to wonder what it must have been like to be married to Margaret Atwood, Canada’s Nobel-winning writer. Especially given that Graeme was a writer himself. How did he manage to be both a fiery advocate and soulful supporter?

How do you dance through life with your partner without stepping on the toes of her Muses?

How do you dance through life with your partner without stepping on the toes of her Muses? How do you add and not take away from her work, being there in whatever capacity may be required? Do you interrupt to offer tea or just bring it?

This contemplative time was after my Dad had passed and during a momentary crisis in my personal life that saw me need to become a good first officer to my marital captain as she launched and developed a new business. There was a random news item from Buckingham Palace that reminded me of Phillip, and of George. And, in hindsight, it helped me to understand Graeme Gibson a little bit better, and myself in the process, too. Something about a species at risk that the Duke of Edinburgh’s conservation trust had managed to nurse back to health, all in and around the ‘annus horribilis’ suffered by Elizabeth and family.

***

So, how do you act as a consort to your partner?

The verbs in the motto of PEN Canada hold a clue:

CELEBRATE. DEFEND. AID.

In the case of Phillip of Greece, he certainly spent considerable time consoling and counselling his Queen as she underwent her travails. In the case of George of Glasgow, he’d put a pot of soup on and make sure that my Mom’s chair was ready for her return. For Graeme of London, I’m guessing that, during moments of crisis in his family, he would celebrate, defend and aid his Queen to the best of his capacities, and in a manner that given the longevity of their relationship, must have worked. Margaret Atwood didn’t get any less famous for her writing or less prodigious in her output.

Now, interestingly, much like Phillip and George, Graeme also became a conservationist and ecological admirer. In his case, Graeme Gibson was a key driver behind the creation of the Pelee Island Bird Sanctuary in Canada’s southernmost point, a near-urban natural oasis that now teems with avian life, migratory and sedentary. Graeme, like the other gentleman consorts mentioned herein, took to nature as a remedy to the noises and nuisances of city life, and perhaps to step away, if even for just a brief moment, from his duties to his Queen. The smallest bird became the biggest focal point. The nurturing, the tears and the triumphs all part of the process of grounding oneself while giving back.

And therein lies the secret, I believe, to how we humans can stop putting our needs first and become consorts to our Queen, Mother Nature.

***

Mining foreman R. Thornburg shows a small cage with a canary used for testing carbon monoxide gas in 1928. George McCaa, U.S. Bureau of Mines

In 1986, the last canary was released from service to the coal mines. In all likelihood, it was not one of Mrs. Rogerson’s Gloster Canaries, be they Corona or Consort. The Gloster Canary was specially bred for its attractiveness and appeal. The canaries that worked in the coal mines were of less exalted stock, albeit hardier than their swankier cousins.

The practice of using canaries to detect carbon monoxide in mining operations was pioneered in 1911 by Dr. John Haldane, who some describe as the ‘father of oxygen therapy’. There was solid science behind the idea, specifically:

Canaries, like other birds, are good early detectors of carbon monoxide because they’re vulnerable to airborne poisons, Inglis-Arkell writes. Because they need such immense quantities of oxygen to enable them to fly and fly to heights that would make people altitude sick, their anatomy allows them to get a dose of oxygen when they inhale and another when they exhale, by holding air in extra sacs, he writes. Relative to mice or other easily transportable animals that could have been carried in by the miners, they get a double dose of air and any poisons the air might contain, so miners would get an earlier warning.

The use of canaries as ‘early warning systems’ took root in British mining companies, and soon jumped the pond to influence North American coal miners. The canaries were not only prized by the miners for their life-saving abilities but were also welcomed for their songs. “They are so ingrained in the culture, miners report whistling to the birds and coaxing them as they worked, treating them as pets.”

The phrase ‘a canary in a coal mine’ came into popular use not long after the birds went to work. In the broadest sense, it means that something is an early warning sign of danger ahead. Al Gore applied the analogy to the concept of the extinction of species and the skyrocketing GhGs are canaries in a coal mine of an ecosystem in crisis, in this case the ecosystem that sustains human life. That ‘inconvenient truth’ that Gore was sharing helped to ignite a heightened degree of awareness of environmentalism within everyday society, and became some of the foundational learning of today’s young environmental leaders. The ones leading the research, organizing a blockade to protect the old growth forests, or running for office to affect positive legislative change.

They make these sacrifices for a greater good, beyond simply the preservation of a butterfly or bumble bee. They are sacrificing for the butterfly and the bumble bee, yes, but they do so in service to humanity, keeping a watchful eye on the hands on the Extinction Clock, readying to raise the alarm or scramble to save another last-of. Because, fundamentally, these scientists, researchers, academics and activists understand and appreciate a simple truth: humans are but one species among billions on this planet, equally (if not more) vulnerable to the changes wrought by anthropogenic climate change. Fires, floods and famines, oh my! And if it isn’t good for the canary, it can’t be good for us.

***

We humans, large in numbers but small in planetary significance, have played an outsized role in the destruction and degradation of the natural environment. And while we’ve always been a messy species, we’ve really taken it up a notch since the Industrial Revolution.

You can blame our fossil-fuel-burning machinery poisoning the atmosphere with greenhouse gasses, which contributed to raising the global temperature which eventually begat the mass extinction events that we’re now watching unspool in front of our eyes like a slow-motion train wreck. And given that we’re the most golden of the Goldilocks species, the most vulnerable to extremes and to change in a time of extreme change, we should probably be paying more attention and taking more actions.

Credit: Ed Himelblau, The New Yorker

Start by birdwatching. We are far too zoomed in on our own daily minutiae to appreciate the larger world around us, and the changes that threaten our very existence.

We need to turn the binoculars around and stop demanding that EVERYONE LOOK AT US! We need to become passionate observers of the planet’s beautifully complicated ecosystems, large and small, near and far. 

We need to turn the binoculars around and stop demanding that EVERYONE LOOK AT US! We need to become passionate observers of the planet’s beautifully complicated ecosystems, large and small, near and far. We need to watch the birds as they go about their daily lives. We need to listen to the birds as they call to each other, this song a love poem, this song an elegy. We need to learn about the birds, and from the birds, where they live and why. We need to go to where the birds are and to build welcoming spaces for the birds where we are. There is so much we need to know and an incredible urgency to do so.

We, as humans, need to understand and appreciate the fact that ‘we’re all in this together’ is more than a motto to survive the pandemic. It’s a reminder that we are in a codependent relationship with the natural world – and we humans are more dependent upon the planet than the planet is on humans. We will need all the birds and all the bees that we can to be our allies in our survival. It’s a reminder that we humans are now the canaries and we seem hellbent as a species toward our own self-destruction, going out of our way to poison our cages, our foodstocks and our futures. We must start our efforts by changing the climate of misanthropy; after all, a self-loathing human is a dangerous beast and threatens to take a lot of other species down with it.

Once we’ve come to terms with our horrible-for-nature impacts, once we’ve accepted our responsibilities for past sins of commission and omission, and once we’ve realized that this planet is not all about us, we can begin to take tentative first steps to repairing our relationship with nature. And, yes, we are in a committed relationship with nature but, contrary to our human beliefs, we are most definitely not the most important partner in that relationship. Hell, our partner did pretty well before meeting us and will most certainly do just fine once we’ve departed. And we will depart sooner rather than later on our current trajectory, or more correctly we will be thrown out by an exasperated partner tired of waiting for us to change our ways and be a significantly more loving and more respectful significant other.

We have prioritized us and only us, at the expense of all others. We have blashemphed our inheritance and sullied our home. We have put our needs first, especially recently as the science became clearer while hurdles were thrown in the path of progress-seekers. Rather than acting in a manner that CELEBRATED, DEFENDED and AIDED our Queen in our role as consorts to nature, too many of us have DEGRADED, DESTROYED and EXPLOITED nature for our own benefit or for the benefit of societies that prioritize profits over people. The canaries have already given their lives for us and yet, still, we remain obtuse to the creeping gasses ready to suffocate our lives.

But as in all relationships, there is a chance to change our ways, although we might be on chance Nth by now. Our partner is very forgiving.

For far too long, humanity has demanded a subservience from nature. Some of our holiest books sanction our desecration in the name of the divine (and to the benefit of the few and the detriment of the most). We are the Lords, we are told, and we can bend Nature to meet our needs. But we are not Lords. We are simply a subspecies of simians that somehow managed to find a niche in time to proclaim our preeminence. We build edifices to and from our egos to ourselves and our perceived greatness. We’ll chop down giant, majestic trees to make the paper to make our words immortal, or until the next fire comes along. We use, we exploit, we degrade and we disrespect. Not all of us, and certainly not among the youngest of us, who seem to comprehend the severity of the bill of consequences that they’ll be paying for their ancestor’s transgressions against the environment. And I guess this message is specifically geared towards them.

It will not be easy to navigate your way forward in this new age of Mother Nature pushing back and standing up for herself. The ripples caused by the rising GhGs are well nigh ashore in our present world, manifesting as extreme everything. And these ripples will likely become tsunamis before the worst has passed.

What can we do? many may be asking. May I suggest an edit to How can we help? How can we become a consort to nature, a helpmate in the day to day and a warrior when called upon to fight on our partner’s behalf? We could do worse than look to the examples set by Phillip of Greece, George of Glasgow and Graeme of London.

In the introduction to his seminal book, The Bedside Book of Birds – An Avian Miscellany, Graeme Gibson wrote:

“With the zeal of a convert and the instigated imagination of an ex-novelist, I started taking note of, then collecting, and finally obsessively searching out texts that illustrated something — almost anything — about our human response to birds. This book is the result. It isn’t so much about birds themselves as it is about the richly varied relationships we have established with them during the hundreds of thousands of years that we and they have shared life on earth.”

How will we become the types of humans who deserve to share in a future with such a luminary partner? May I suggest a nature consort’s vow:

CELEBRATE NATURE. DEFEND NATURE. AID NATURE.

Until death do us part.

LEARN MORE AND DO MORE

How do we become better partners and better consorts for nature? Well, there are many steps that you can take and many great organizations doing work in your backyard that can help you gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the role of nature in your life. Nature Canada, for example, works to help Canadians understand how to be better consorts to nature:

We believe that when the heart is engaged, the mind and body will follow. That is why, since our founding in 1939, Nature Canada has been connecting Canadians to nature, trying to instill in them a nature ethic – a respect for nature, an appreciation for its wonders, and the will to act in nature’s defense.

They’ve got many great programs, and one that would have definitely interested my Dad (and was a topic near to the hearts of Prince Phillip and Graeme Gibson) is birds in urban environments, the dangers that our cities present to our avian friends, and the steps being taken (or should be taken) to minimize the human impact on birds, and nature in general. Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly Cities program seeks to address the devastating impacts of our built structures on the avian ecosystem, and was launched because in “the last 50 years, North American bird populations have dropped by more than 25%.”

Thank you for reading our FOR THE LOVE OF NATURE series, be sure to check out the other articles as well!

And don’t forget to register for Nature Canada’s Pimlott Award Celebration happening this Wednesday on March 2, 2022, where Margaret Atwood and the late Graeme Gibson will be honoured and recognized as champions for birds and nature. Check it out here!

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The green new decade is underway!

The EcoFair’s 4-day online event showcases environmental non-profits and environmentally-friendly businesses, film screenings and discussions, webinars, games night, mix ‘n mingles and more. All for free!

• Don’t miss the EcoFair Launch Event Webinar.
• Enjoy a fun Eco-Games Night!
• Join exhibitor Facebook livestreams and eco-Humber bike ride
• At the EcoFair Finale meet exhibitors and learn more in interactive workshops.

Visit the EcoFair website to sign up for the EcoFair newsletter to get updates and event details  direct to your inbox. While there, enjoy family-friendly activities at the Fun & Games tab, explore EcoTour Maps that highlight sustainable features in neighbourhoods across Toronto, and learn about this year’s environmental non-profits and eco-businesses at the Exhibitor Showcase.

Together let’s celebrate the wonderful people, environmental groups, and eco-businesses that are helping create a greener and healthier City for us all. Everyone can share and learn tips on ways to live more sustainably, and be inspired to make a difference. The green new decade is underway!

As always, the EcoFair is organized 100% by volunteers. This event is the 13th Annual EcoFair at the Barns – now online!

Co-hosted by Green Neighbours Network of Toronto and Transition Toronto.

Start Date: November 4 2021 & Start Time: 7:00 PM

End Date: November 7 2021 & End Time: 4:00 PM

email: ecofairtoronto@gmail.com

twitter and instagram: @EcoFairToronto

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https://us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=3530d69eb9e3c548dfc46f70c&id=fa7904884c

The post 2021 EcoFair Toronto Nov 4-7 appeared first on A\J.

In light of the new climate change report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a working group of the United Nations (UN), this week’s WTF will be focused on the most interesting and alarming aspects of the published study.

The Origins of the Evolution and the Ascent of Humanity, Part One

On Monday, the United Nations issued their 2021 Climate Report in advance of November’s COP26, and the headlines were shocking:

UN climate report is our ‘final wake-up call,’ say environmental experts

Island nations react to devastating U.N. climate change report: “We are on the edge of extinction”

ALARMING NEW UN CLIMATE REPORT SAYS HUMANITY HAS REALLY SCREWED ITSELF

The news cycles and social feeds were full of stories, explainers, and what-next articles and posts that exploded in the days following, although they’ve slowed to a relative trickle as I type this on a Thursday. Perhaps we’re all taking time to digest the devastating nature of the findings, that we humans have had a MASSIVE negative impact on the quality of life for all species on this planet. Perhaps we’re wrestling with the guilt of our individual and collective contributions to the negative impacts that manifest as life-stealing wildfires, droughts, famines, and extreme weather events. And perhaps, we’re all taking this time to prepare ourselves to follow the natural course of evolution: preserve your species by doing the things and taking the actions that will allow your species to perpetuate itself into the future.

Revolutions, the few insisting upon massive change for the many, are generally very painful and frequently pyrrhic exercises. Evolutions, when the mass of change(s) forces all to follow suit, can also be painful but generally prove to have longer-lasting consequences. For us humans, some simian ancestor developed an opposable thumb, learned to use it for benefit and betterment, and, voila, it gave our family tree members an advantage to climb to the top of the food chain. 

But how does this connect to our publication and global climate change in general? Read on to find out!

Climate Change – Undeniably Our Fault

Source: Reuters

“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.”

When reading the newly published Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) these are the first words you are greeted by – stark and to the point. This is a fact we have long known; however, the IPCC uses facts that even the most avid climate change denier may have a hard time arguing. For example, it is often argued that the earth is warming due to natural processes, and this is all part of a climate cycle. Well, the IPCC report shows through extensive data modeling that with only natural processes (such as a solar and volcanic activity), the earth would have warmed by a mere 0.2°C while in actuality due to human processes, it has warmed closer to 1.2°C. The same IPCC has of course warned us of the dangers of reaching an increase in temperature by 1.5°C only a few years ago (Spoiler: It’s very bad).

Thankfully, while the report is full of alarming facts, it also shows that we can still negate some of the future impacts of climate change. On our current trajectory, it is predicted that global temperature will rise by 3°C, however, if we can decrease our fossil fuel usage completely by 2050, and begin using carbon sequestration methods, it is predicted that the rise will level off at around 1.5°C.

But just how bad is the difference between a rise in 1.5°C, and that of 3, or even 4°C? For example, the report shows that if there is a 2°C rise, extreme temperature events that used to occur once every 50 years will instead occur 14 times in a 50-year span. Even more alarmingly, with an increase of 4°C, extreme temperature events occur 39 times over the same period. The difference in extreme droughts between the two is just about double as well. These, of course, will bring massive interruptions to agricultural systems and put a strain on water supplies.

For readers in Canada these climate changes will bring about warmer temperatures with higher levels of precipitation, this precipitation will not be useful for agriculture, however, as the moisture in the soil column is expected to evaporate rapidly due to higher temperatures. I am from Barbados, as such, for readers like myself who are from areas that climate change will disproportionately impact, such as the Caribbean, these changes will be seen through increased hurricane frequency and severity increased instances of extreme drought, and of course, rising sea levels. These effects can already be seen with a record-breaking fifth named storm by July 1^st. If this doesn’t sound impressive (or scary!) – there aren’t usually five named storms until the end of August.

I don’t know about you, but I agree with this IPCC report – the time to act is now.

Limiting Future Climate Change

Source: Giving Compass

The report provided specific solutions to limit future climate change while being cognisant of the fact (as we have mentioned above) that much damage has already been done to the Earth by it. It is important to note, that the suggested solutions were provided in the hopes that nations all over the world would begin working on them immediately—as is a running theme in this report, climate change is very much an urgent and pressing matter in which we are running out of time to effectively combat it.

The main solution suggested that we must limit human-induced global warming by targeting/limiting cumulative CO₂ or any other carbon-based emissions. The hope of the report is that nations look toward reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, as a first start in limiting the production of other greenhouse gases. Additionally, the report suggests “sustained reductions” in CH₄ (commonly known as methane), would aid not only in decreasing the effect of global warming but also would improve global air quality.

Furthermore, the report concluded that scenarios with low or very low GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions lead within the next 20 years might dramatically restore climate impact drives to manageable states. However, it will take collaborative work from all nations in order to make these scenarios a reality.

Can you imagine, if we play our cards right, in 2040 we might have a utopia free from climatic disasters?

UN CLIMATE REPORT 2021: The Origins of the Evolution and the Ascent of Humanity, Part Two

Here at A\J, we’re working on a print issue this summer that aims to use the device of ‘climate fiction’ to project what the future will look like in 2071, the year A\J (hopefully) turns 100. And the head-space required to bridge space and time has proved helpful to this writer as he wrestles with understanding if this report will be the actual tipping point (or part thereof) that moves our species forward. The science and research and data presented in the 2021 report isn’t all that different from the 2001 report; we’ve simply lost 20 years trying to make our fellow humans understand the importance of what we’re studying, learning, and sharing. We had our then-editor, Megan Nourse, at COP21, supposedly the A-HA moment of global climate awakening and action-taking. We’re just now being shocked awake, judging by today’s headlines.

So how do we ensure that, finally, the message gets through to the mass of humanity (and, more importantly, the humans holding the power to make better decisions), allowing the natural evolution to a more sustainable future to occur in the most expedient (and least painful) way possible? Well, if we Canadians have learned anything through the Covid-19 era it’s that strong, clear, and simple public health messages repeated FREQUENTLY do hold the power to help the average citizen to comprehend and make better decisions individually and collectively. 

HERE IS THE THREAT. IT IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. WE’RE NOT SUGAR-COATING ANYTHING. IT IS REAL AND YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED, HOWEVER, WE CAN ALL DO THINGS TO MINIMIZE THAT THREAT AND YOU CAN MITIGATE THAT DANGER FOR YOU AND YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS BY (wearing a mask, social distancing, getting vaccinated, etc.). AND DOING SO WILL ALLOW US TO GET THROUGH THIS AS QUICKLY AND PAINLESSLY AS POSSIBLE.

And that message has been repeated, in iteration, consistently for the past 18 months and will likely be a presence for at least another year longer. We Canadians were confused by this novel coronavirus, we needed to be educated, informed, and alerted, and then we needed to be guided through the process to minimize the risk and to flatten the curve. And, as a whole, we did a pretty good job, at least compared to our G20 peers.

Is climate change an emergency? ABSOLUTELY. Does it hold the potential to be a MUCH DEADLIER threat than Covid-19? ABSOLUTELY. Does it threaten the life and well-being of all Canadians, let alone all species on this planet? ABSOLUTELY. Can we come together and act together to minimize the pain that will accrue in the short term (paying yesterday’s climate bill) before the sunnier days ahead? ABSOLUTELY….if we are helped along the way. And if we truly want it to happen.

The evolution of the planet is happening, regardless of what we do. Can we humans leverage our humanity to make that evolution happen for the benefit and betterment of all species? 

That only time can tell!

The post The WTF: The Week This Friday Vol. 61 appeared first on A\J.

I never understood why I had to make a catchy headline; I always loved to read anything even if the headline was boring and dull. Give me a news article called “subsidiaries in the oil industry and their effect on integrated ecosystems” and I would happily read it with my morning coffee. Maybe, I am unique in that regard, but I think it has more to do with an ever-present desire to absorb content. I want my brain to full of objective information and I want to share it with others, thus my position at Alternatives Journal.

Although, I quickly became curious about this topic. Not so much the evolution of headlines, but rather the evolution of journalistic media into the subjective and sensational industry it is currently. I also wanted to understand how this style of reporting has affected the promotion/relevance of environmental issues. I was already interested in environmental communication, from a purely scholarly perspective. But I also know that if no one talks about climate change because it is not “interesting” enough then we have a real problem on our hands.

I first stumbled upon a report published by the RAND Corporation in 2019, called “News in a Digital Age: Comparing the Presentation of News Information Over Time…”. The study was analyzing how the style of news presentation in print journalism and broadcast journalism changed between 1989 to 2017. It also analyzed how online journalism differed from print journalism (in the 2012 – 2017 period). The report was published in a series of studies, researching how media (in its presentation of facts, data, etc.) affected society’s political/civil discourse.

The key findings of this particular report that are of interest in this article were thus:

1. Print journalism has made significant shifts to being more subjective (opinion-based). Stating specifically that there were “meaningful shifts” away from a focus on events, time, and other strict details toward a more narrative approach (with more personal perspective and emotion)
2. Online journalism has become a “subjective advocate”. It is more direct and personal than print media and likely takes an advocate role in any social issue.

Interestingly, subjective journalism might reduce the trust between readers and media, as it is more personal and might reduce fact-based content. To which I argue that I started this article with personal information in hopes that it might connect me to you (my wonderful reader) and encourage you to read further. Often people look for a story with people they can relate to or at the very least sympathize with. For example, if you were reading about a theft of a small business in your locality would you only want the strict details of the crime, OR would you also want comments on how the owners were affected as well? In my opinion, subjectivity leans towards humanity. It is simple we should write like a human to cater to our human readers.

This thought is further corroborated by other sources as well. The book “Beyond News: The Future of Journalism” written by Mitchell Stephens, states that journalists should take the role of an appropriately opinionated analyst, rather than a strict teller of details.

However, in the scurry of remaining relatable and interesting, online and print reporting has also taken a turn towards requiring a “shock” feature. Another way, journalism has shifted greatly in the last few decades has to do with a tantalizing term – media sensationalism. As one article describes it, today’s journalism is solely focused on the expansion of truth to appear more “exciting and dramatic”, largely in efforts to gain higher ratings and views on any published article. This includes making clickbait-style headlines and often over-reporting on a story that has garnered mass attention in its initial publication. This style of repetitive publishing has often been seen in news media about acts of mass violence.

The danger of sensational journalism is that it often ignores seemingly “dull” stories that will not make for a good story much less a catchy headline. In this regard, important and pressing matters such as smaller events connected to climate change are often not reported on heavily or at all and are ignored until a greater calamity arises. For example, a report on subnormal algae blooms in Lake Eerie does not get attention, even though it speaks to a larger issue of global warming and the pollution of our lakes.

It will likely take something drastic, such as the contamination of drinking water in the communities or mass amounts of biodiversity loss in the lake to actually get the attention of media circuits. This lack of reporting also leads to less motion by governance bodies, who often respond directly to pressure from the public and media attention on social/environmental issues. All of which leads to a cycle of inaction that allows smaller environmental problems to build into larger, less manageable, environmental disasters. It takes a few little fires, to create one large unstoppable wildfire, and this same ecological ideology can be applied to the effect of environmental journalism.

This begs the question, what should environmental reporting and media actually aspire to be? To which I would say that particular thought process is pointless. We cannot correct decades of sensationalism, nor should we attempt to correct subjectivity in writing (proven to be helpful in all manner of reporting). Instead, I would ask consumers of media to expand their horizons in what they read.

As one article published in the Ecologist suggests, support independent media (such as A/J) by sharing and promoting their content in order to create a progressive and environmentally aware collective. The next environmental movement might very well lie within the words of countless articles online and on social media. But I would like to think that it actually begins in you and what stories you want to read.

I hope selfishly that it is mine and other dedicated publications, striving to make the small fires a BIG deal. What a scandalous thought, am I right?

The post Can You Hear Our Earth Dying? – Journalism and the Environmental Movement appeared first on A\J.

Source: The Guardian

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently starting its investigation into eco-sabotage in the state of Washington. It has been reported that are over 40 cases of environmental crimes committed largely by people to damage oil and transportation companies—eco sabotage occurs by outside parties on railways and rail lines connected to oil production.

The most serious allegation occurred on December 22, 2020, when a train got derailed and caused a spill of 29 000 gallons of oil, leading to the evacuation of 120 people nearby. This incident was thought to be caused by activists sabotaging railways to show their solidarity with indigenous communities nearby.

Similar incidents occurred around the same time, the most notable one being on November 28, 2020; two women were arrested for placing a shunt (a wire that when placed across a track to stop a train by a series of electrical signals). Both women face up to 20 years in prison for acts of eco-terrorism and violating Title 18 of the US Code. It is thought that these two women were also “acting on behalf” (even though the following Indigenous community did not urge or promote such behaviour) of the Indigenous people in the Wet’suwet’en territory.

This group is located largely in northern British Columbia, where a new pipeline (Coastal Gaslink) is being created. In order to stop this construction, protestors have taken to acts of eco-sabotage, however, have failed to see that more environmental damage has been caused in due process. It is not to suggest that such developments (pipelines) do not deserve fair protest, as it does lead to societal harm by infringing on indigenous rights and environmental harm. Although, violence is likely not the route to take as it radicalizes an issue that can be diplomatically handled. That issue is:

Building a pipeline across the land owned by the most important people in your country. How is that respectful at all?

Snap Election?

Source: Green Party

Our friends at GreenPac, the environmental non-partisan, nonprofit that works year-round to identify, elect, and support environmental leaders, (and provides parliamentary internship opportunities for young Canadian environmental students – a great program!), has their fingers on the pulse of Parliament Hill and thus we paid attention when we received their most recent dispatch:

It looks like a federal election call may be right around the corner.

In the face of wildfire and heat domes, this is an election where climate and the environment – and their intersection to health, economy, and justice – need to be front and centre. That’s where GreenPAC comes in! Elections are all about platforms and promises. But, at GreenPAC, we work to activate and inspire environmental leadership, action, and accountability in politics.

In terms of ‘moving the needle’ on environmental issues, federal legislative changes hold the potential to provide the national mandates to hit the fast-forward button on many key environmental fronts. Making that legislative change happen comes by electing ‘environmental leaders from all political stripes. And that’s where GreenPac helps out, by endorsing candidates with strong environmental bona fides and by working with local organizers to host ALL CANDIDATES DEBATES. 

Specifically, GreenPac has launched a campaign in anticipation of the writ’s drop called 100 DEBATES ON THE ENVIRONMENT:

The mission is simple: Ensure Canadian politicians across the country know they need an ambitious and actionable climate plan in order to win votes in the 2021 Election. How? By organizing 100 Debates on the Environment. We did it in 2019 and we’re doing it again! We already have 45+ organizers coming on board to organize a debate in their ridings. What are you waiting for? Become an organizer now! We’ll give you all the tools & support you need to make it a breeze.

Sounds like an interesting idea and something that we at A\J will be following closely in the weeks and months ahead.

Here and Now

Source: IIED

A new report released this week by the UK’s Meteorological Office entitled State of the UK Climate 2020 makes it abundantly clear that the impacts of the climate crisis are already changing the localized climates for our communities. The report, the ninth in a series of exhaustively researched and reviewed, provides unequivocal evidence in its Executive Summary:

• The UK’s climate is changing. Recent decades have been warmer, wetter, and sunnier than the 20th century.

• The year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest, and eighth sunniest on record for the UK. No other year has fallen in the top-10 for all three variables for the UK.
• The UK has warmed at a broadly consistent but slightly higher rate than the observed change in global mean temperature.

As the report’s lead author, Mike Kendon, a climate information scientist at the UK Met Office, shared with the BBC:

“A lot of people think climate change is in the future – but this proves the climate is already changing here in the UK. “As it continues to warm we are going to see more and more extreme weather such as heatwaves and floods.”

So what does that mean in terms of real-world, right-now impacts? Again, from the BBC:

Liz Bentley, head of the Royal Meteorological Society, said that even if governments could achieve the challenging outcome of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5C – which looks very unlikely – that would still lead to a 10% increase in the amount of water the air can hold.

“In the UK,” she said, “we are likely to see temperatures of 40C. As we get 1.5C warming, that’ll be something we see on a regular basis.

“People don’t realise that even a small temperature rise of 0.1 or 0.2 degrees overall can make a huge difference – especially in the frequency and intensity of extreme events.

“We had roads melting last year, rails start to buckle, electric cabling starts to buckle. It often takes a massive high-impact event to change attitudes to the climate – so let’s hope what’s been happening recently with extreme weather will raise the will to tackle the problem.”

And hopefully, the leaders of our communities pay heed to researchers like Dr. Bentley and summon their own will to enact policies and promote projects that align our actions with the facts as they’re unfurling in front of our eyes.

Mangrove Forests Are Disappearing, The Answer Lies in its Invertebrates

Source: Oceana

A journal article published this week suggests that mangrove forests (forests located by the coast of many tropical countries) might be threatened by the reduced diversity of invertebrates in them. Mangrove ecosystems are important in many countries as they prevent flooding into inland areas and provide many other ecological benefits. Unfortunately, they are also threatened by deforestation and other anthropocentric activities).

It is thought that this deforestation has also impacted the diversity of invertebrates (largely aquatic) in the area and has reduced the appearance of less common species. This is quite terrible news, as the main ecological functioning in mangrove forests relies on mutual relationships with a healthy and diverse group of invertebrates—these small organisms sustain both flora and fauna in this ecosystem.

Researchers found that mangrove ecosystems have “low functional redundancy”. This means that it does not have that great of ecological insurance. For example, in ecosystems with high functional redundancy if one species were to disappear another would likely be able to fulfill its function in the ecosystem. In mangrove ecosystems and others with low functional redundancy, if a species were to disappear there would be no replacement and that would likely lead to its ultimate downfall.

It is now crucial to address the functional diversity in mangrove ecosystems, lest we see them gone forever in the next decade.

The post The WTF: The Week This Friday Vol. 59 appeared first on A\J.

The years from 1968 to 1971 saw the creation of environmental organizations and institutions including Pollution Probe at the University of Toronto, the York University Faculty of Environmental Studies (the first interdisciplinary environmental degree in North America), and both the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada. Also in 1971, a faculty and student group began Alternatives: Perspectives on Society and Environment at Trent University. 

Alternatives was intentionally created to be as much magazine as an academic journal. We wanted to reach a wide audience rather than any specific academic discipline or specialization. As useful as academic publications written mostly for academics are we believed that solving environmental problems required greater society-wide understanding, concern, and action. And, we believed environmental problems would be with us for a long time.

We got that right even though some early environmental problems did get fixed, at least in part. Many other problems have emerged since and have proven to be more intractable. We should not, however, overlook the improvements that the environmental movement has spurred over these five decades. Humans can fix the problems we create.

The early issues of Alternatives addressed waste and recycling well before blue boxes were an everyday thing. We also questioned the second Toronto airport which, it was claimed at the time, was urgently needed. Fifty years later there still is no second airport. Water quality is also still concerning, but at least rivers flowing into the Great Lakes do not catch on fire. And, one can buy organic food just about anywhere whereas in 1971 store workers were apologetic (or confused) if one asked for organic produce. 

It takes looking back on that long-ago time to realize that environmental concern has led to some significant improvements. Habitat loss has, however, continued and profound challenges like climate change have arisen. 

Reading our very first issue repeatedly, I was also struck that we got some other things right enough to contribute in a small way to changing how universities approach environmental problems. In that first issue, we chose authors from diverse disciplines (including anthropology, political science, economics, biology, and history) and called for an interdisciplinary approach to environmental problems (see both the editorial in that issue 1 and the excellent article by Peter Victor). Environmental problems themselves have driven the creation of university-based interdisciplinary efforts. Most universities now offer many interdisciplinary degree options — many more than there were in the 1970s.

Alternatives first issue made several other points worth noting in a 50-year retrospect. Joel Edelstein documented the horrors of Los Angeles smog where school children, including his young son, could not play outdoors many days of the year. Henry Steck noted the extent to which technological choices contributed to environmental problems. We know now that urban air quality has since improved considerably because catalytic converters are required in all gas-powered cars and coal-fired electricity is now close to a thing of the past in North America. Technology choices may not solve every environmental problem, but they can make a huge difference.

We were also very clear from the outset that Canada’s environmental challenges could not be treated in isolation from those of other nations. Geoff Mains’s article in that first issue (titled Canada, the United States, and the Environment) makes this clear. A reader of this piece today would also see more easily the extent to which environmental problems are global. In 1971 few were thinking about ozone depletion, climate change, or global habitat loss.

Indeed, to get a better sense of how far we have come and how far we have to go take an afternoon to read the first year or two of A/J and other publications of the day while reflecting on what has changed and what has changed not.

A word from Alternatives Journal: This is our last piece on the AJ Pilot Issue Revisited series. Thank you for joining us in this period of reflection and happiness. Fifty years of publication, all of them devoted to you. We would not want anything less and dare not ask for anything more. Well, maybe to keep reading and dreaming with us. From our first issue all the way to the last.

The post A Word from Our Founder, Time Flies – A/J Pilot Issue Revisited appeared first on A\J.

Source: The Guardian

Stumbled upon an interesting and somewhat amusing story of an Italian team that has been, since 2008, covering a glacier in northern Italy, the Presena glacier, with huge reflective tarps during summer months to minimize the ice loss due to rising heat. The glacier has already lost one-third of its volume since 1993, and the project has managed to grow from covering an area of around 30,000 square metres in 2008 to more than 100,000 square metres today.

The work is carried out by a private firm under contract to the government, and one of the project’s key goals is to protect a glacier that supports a wintertime ski economy. The article continues:

Once in place, the sheets, which measure 70m by 5m, are hardly distinguishable from the packed white snow beneath. The Austrian-made tarps cost up to €400 ($450) each and it takes the team six weeks to install them – and another six weeks to remove them before winter sets in again.

Which got me thinking about the other vital glaciers and mountainous ice caps like those that lie atop the Himalayas. And some glaciers and their kin closer to home here in Canada. As we ponder the best ways to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate emergency that are already present in our lives – with an eye towards minimizing the duration and degree of devastation that we’ll need to endure before the worst is over – we’ll need to start getting more creative in taking small but meaningful steps to protect species at risks, including glaciers.

And given the recent headline in the Washington Post…

Earth is now losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. And it’s going to get worse.

…we’re probably going to need a lot more blankets!

Quebec Chooses Environment Over 14 Billion Dollar Gas Project 

Source: Montreal CTV News

Quebec has rejected 14 billion dollars from a natural gas project in Saguenay, as it works to reduce the province’s overall environmental impact. The proposed development had to do with the creation of a power and processing plant in Port Saguenay, Quebec—the plant would primarily function in liquifying natural gas transported from Western Canada. Additionally, the project would also fund the development of a 780-kilometre pipeline connecting to other natural gas lines in Ontario.

Premier François Legault had been in favour of this project In the beginning as it would diversify their economy, which had been largely dependent on metal and forestry industries. Although, this soon changed as the company in charge of the project had failed to pass three main criteria (provided by the provincial government) pertaining to its environmental impacts. This included: (1) aiding the province in the transition towards green energy; (2) lower the province’s greenhouse gas emissions; (3) garner public support for the project.

The company behind the proposal, known as GNL Quebec, had initial plans to make the plant carbon neutral in an effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced in the processing centre. However, the Quebec environmental review board estimated that these “reductions” would not likely occur. The project was then rejected by the province in lieu of consultation from the aforementioned review board and due to protests from many environmental groups; including most prominently the David Suzuki Foundation and Greenpeace. It is also important to note that many indigenous communities within the province had also opposed the project, likely further fueling the government’s decision to halt it.

Join Ontario’s Youth Environment Council!

Source: Ontario.ca

The Ontario provincial government is creating a new Youth Environment Council to allow young environmental activists to help solve climate change and other environmental issues in their area! The group would be a collection of passionate nine to 12 year-olds who would apply to have a position in the council through a volunteer-based system. The applications would be due on August 4^th, 2021 and the program would begin in the fall of 2021 (at the beginning of the school year)—the final members will be announced this summer.

The list of topics that the government would like the youth group to work on would be as follows:

• How can the government strengthen its understanding of youth climate issues regionally?
• How can the government ensure that youth voices are fully inclusive in creating environmental solutions?
• What connections/relationships can be created between policy-makers and young environmental activists?

This program would also provide learning opportunities to its council, such that they might have a future career in environmental assessment or law-making. The group is expected to meet monthly (from September 2021 – April 2022) and will be sourced from all regions of Ontario, including from Indigenous communities.

If you or your child is interested and has a passion for the environment, then this opportunity might be your gateway into changing the world for the better!

Ancient Threats Uncovered in Melting Glaciers

Source: BBC

This week, a team of scientists and researchers released a study detailing that they’ve recently uncovered 33 species of viruses found frozen in two glaciers in the Himalayas, 28 of which have never been detected before.

From the news report:

Researchers from Ohio State University report that the glacial ice containing the viruses dates as far back as 14,500 years. It was found more than 6,700 metres above sea level, at the Guliya ice cap in western China, and removed for analysis in 2015.

As you can see, we’re literally just scratching the surface of our knowledge of the natural world, while we wrestle with our own worst efforts to destroy much of nature. And all the while wrestling with the impacts of one virus – the coronavirus – on the human population across the planet. So should we be worried about the viruses ‘re-animating and inflicting some prehistoric pox upon the people?

Again, from the report:

The remaining viruses had previously been cataloged, and – perhaps adding another bit of relief to this discovery – tend to infect bacteria, not humans or animals. Additionally, the researchers say, environmental clues suggest that the newly discovered viruses didn’t attack humans either. More likely, they thrived in plants and soil.

So, in this case, we’re pretty sure that nothing untoward will happen. But with the number of potential viruses buried in permafrost and glaciers starts melting measured in the millions (if not billions), we humans have another good reason to be more careful as we engage with an awakening natural world less than enamored with our collective behavior

The post The WTF: The Week This Friday Vol. 58 appeared first on A\J.

As Alternatives Journal approaches its 50^th anniversary, we would love to hear feedback from you on our company and its work thus far! We are looking for young passionate writers who are interested in a future in journalism to give their take on A/J.

How do you think we are doing? How can we improve? What should we do to create the best environment for up-and-coming writers such as yourself? Most importantly, what do you think are the core beliefs and aspirations of our organization?

If you are interested, please send us an email with a sample of your work to this address: ishani.dasgupta@alternativesjournal.ca

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing your work! You can change the world, and we would love to help you with it.

The post Get Your Voice Published – Call for Young Writers! appeared first on A\J.

Source: NZ Herald 

Today farmers in New Zealand have taken to the streets in thousands to stage a protest against environmental regulations passed by the national government. It was named the Howl of Protest and included a span of over 51 towns and cities in the country. The protest included many farmers driving tractors and holding signs into capitals and busy urban locations, to garner the most attention—the most notable vehicle was a five kilometre long convoy used for the protest in the town of Dunedin.

The protest sparked after the country introduced new environmental regulations focused on decreasing the amount of pollution, biodiversity loss, and emissions directly from unsustainable agricultural practices. In 2019, a report published by the government explained the consequences of the continuation of such practices in the country: the loss of over 4000 native species and the disappearance of many sensitive ecosystems (significantly wetlands). More recently, in 2020 the same reporting group found that over 60% of the country’s rivers were not swimmable dually because of farming and housing processes.

The leading protest group which organized this event, known as Groundswell NZ, does not believe that a “one-size-fits-all approach” would not be feasible to solve the agri-environmental issue. However, any action that rewards the environment and places its importance above established industry is much needed in New Zealand.

Such drastic change will of course include uncomfortable decisions made by those industries. But it is in the best interest of these protesting farmers to make some of them at least, to save the very land they work on.

Out of this world – or out of our minds?

Source: Gadgets 360

You may have heard, read, or seen Sir Richard Branson ushering in the era of space tourism with the recent launch of VSS Unity 1. And, like many of you, perhaps you were thinking…..is this a good thing?

Well, as it turns out, you are not alone. Aside from the Facebook and Instagram memes reminding our billionaire space cowboys that we’ve got enough problems here on earth to sort out first, many writers and thinkers have been pondering the ethical and environmental impacts of space tourism. A recent article on CTV.com featured the headline: 

“Space travel is open for business, but what about the environmental impact?”

Specifically, the main areas of concern related to the carbon footprint of fossil-fuel-powered jet flights and the risks associated with the elements they will deposit in the atmosphere. And this might not be such a big problem today, when “there were 114 attempted orbital launches in the world, according to NASA, which compares to the airline industry’s more than 100,000 flights each day”, but imagine a near-future when throngs of us flightless humans desire to replicate Sir Richard’s weightlessness feat. 

Eloise Marais, an associate professor of physical geography at University College London, is currently conducting research on pollutant emissions from rocket launches. While this might be the most obvious threat, Marais’s research focuses on something that may be even more threatening, which is the damage to the ozone layer that may accrue from deposits of CFCs and oxides that are expelled by the solid-fuel rockets that propel the starships to the stars.

Many might assume that the biggest environmental threat from increased space travel is from higher greenhouse gas emissions, Marais’ research is focused on an area some see as a more significant threat, which is the potential damage to the ozone layer, which helps shield the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. 

“Solid rocket fuel is really the worst,” Marais said. “They produce a lot of chlorine, a lot of nitrogen oxides and those are quite efficient at depleting ozone.”

And Dr. Marais isn’t alone. 

“While several environmental impacts are resulting from the launch of space vehicles, the depletion of stratospheric ozone is the most studied and most immediately concerning,” Jessica Dallas, currently a senior policy advisor at the New Zealand Space Agency, wrote in an analysis of research on space launch emissions published last year in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

So before I buy my million-dollar ticket (I’m starting a GoFundMe tomorrow) to join the Galatic Empire, I think I’ll do more thinking about whether these types of vanity projects really do hold the potential for human growth and development.

Space exploration, I can see. We, humans, are always interested in learning more and doing more. Space tourism that caters to the privileged and deep-pocketed few? No thanks, especially not with the rising evidence of the environmental damage being caused in pursuit of a weightless selfie.

“Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it.”

Source: United Nations

As the world slowly creeps out of a Covid-inspired lockdown, we’ve learned a few things about ourselves as individuals and as a species. Individually, we can be incredibly inventive and resilient (a vaccine in 9 months!) and incredibly selfish (anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, etc.), sometimes at the same time. As a species, we’ve learned that we are equally threatened by global forces like a virulent pandemic (or, maybe an anthropogenic climate crisis?) as any other species. 

This is why we should all be paying a lot more attention to the folks at the United Nations’ UN WATER team. They recently released a report entitled New UNDRR report launched with stark warnings that drought could be the next pandemic.

The introduction to the report includes this warning:

“Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, said: “Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it. Most of the world will be living with water stress in the next few years. Demand will outstrip supply during certain periods.”

And from the precis to the report itself:

“Droughts have deep, widespread, and underestimated impacts on societies, ecosystems, and economies. They incur costs that are borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable people.  The extensive impacts of drought are consistently underreported even though they span large areas, cascade through systems and scales, and linger through time, affecting millions of people and contributing to food insecurity, poverty, and inequality. Climate change is increasing temperatures and disrupting rainfall patterns, increasing the frequency, severity, and duration of droughts in many regions across the globe.  As we move towards a 2˚C warmer world, urgent action is required to better understand and more effectively manage drought risk to reduce the devastating toll on human lives and livelihoods, and ecosystems.”

A recent survey of news headlines from the western US added the following emphasis:

• Severe drought threatens Hoover dam reservoir – and water for US west
• The shocking numbers behind the Lake Mead drought crisis
• New Water Wars Are Coming to the American West

And a reminder from our friends at the World Wildlife Organization:

“Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use. As a result, some 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year.”

From water usage reduction programs for homes and businesses through to new investments in desalination projects, there is an URGENT need for new solutions and approaches to this problem. And while there may not be a vaccine that will allow us to prevent this crisis, we can definitely put the same energies and resources towards coming together as a species to ideate, create and innovate our way to a more verdant tomorrow. And we’ll all drink to that!

Canada Stalls Improving Environmental Protection Law

Source: Water Canada

An article released this week by Canada’s National Observer suggests that health workers must take an active role in rewriting Canada’s environmental protection laws and regulations to maintain a certain degree of public health that might be threatened by rising pollution in the country.

The article discusses the history of the Canadian Environmental Act (CEPA), starting with its creation in 1988—its only purpose was to regulate environmental issues which affected the health of Canadian citizens and residents. Many revisions have been made to the legislation since its introduction and most recently Bill C-28 introduced steps to strengthen the CEPA in April 2021.

However, the national government is still hesitant to pass such legislation and despite a push from many civil society groups, it has yet to be approved. Additionally, recommendations provided by the groups suggest that having a healthy environment is more important than economic processes within any industry and such policy should be enforced. Within this, the groups advise that air quality be measurable and a binding promise between industry and its residents, enforced by the CEPA.

Despite the promise of this bill on protecting Canadians from environmental issues (such as pollution), the Canadian government has yet to pass this legislation. The country will have time to review this bill in the fall, hopefully, they will make an informed decision on improving our own environmental protection act. 

2 New Right Whales Entangled and Found in Canadian Waters

Source: CBC

After a devastating loss in population over the last few decades, the North Atlantic Right Whales seemed to finally be recovering. However, last week 2 new whales were found entangled in fishing lines off the coast of New Brunswick. These are the first new entanglements to be reported since 2019 in Canadian waters, but do not bode well for the whale population which is severely ill-prepared for even the loss of a few individuals—there being only 350 individuals left in the world.

The first whale was spotted by the Campobello Whale Rescue and was reported to be a 16-year old female, who had been spotted in a similar state in the winter but was not approached. The second individual was newly entangled and was observed this Tuesday and identified by its ecological tracking number.

As discussed in a prior article, the main reason for the rapid decline of these whale species has recently been due to fishing lines; historically these whales were hunted when they were abundant during the colonial era of exploitation. The solution to protecting this species has been difficult as it targets primarily the lobster fishing industry (the main source of income for many locales).

Agreements to reduce the number of fishing lines near whale habitat have been discussed and briefly enforced, however, was soon challenged in court by many fishing groups. A solution to both protect the whale species and maintain a highly important economic fishing sector has yet to be reached.

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By the time I started working in publishing as an adult, the industry was at an inflection point; in both the technology that drove the work and the relative importance of the medium in comparison with the burgeoning television industry. What once required a room full of typesetters, layout artists, and hand-cut editing – along with full-size negatives that would be ‘dropped in at the last moment – had been replaced by a desktop computer. Granted they ran $5000 each back in the day while possessing the computing capacity of today’s average smartphone. The on-site photoshoots had been replaced by the first iteration of digitized imagery, and anything that wasn’t tangible could soon be replicated digitally with the release of Photoshop 1.0. The back-end of the publishing process – the printing – was also adapting at this time, reducing the costs and speeding the process.

And that’s the point to keep in mind: the process was being streamlined because the earlier generation of profits-for-all had become curtailed as revenues shifted from print to visual (television). The philosophy of ‘’do more with less” was the mandate from the magazine’s financial officer and, if that advice wasn’t heeded, ‘efficiencies’ could be found, starting with your job! Like many great industry-based technological great leaps, the changes in the publishing industry, many of which are still present as challenges today, were conceived initially in times of plenty – then put on the shelf until the times of ‘less’ came upon us. And those “times of less” started to bite into the profitability of every publishing entity and especially for magazine publications like A\J that were (and still are) non-traditional, niche content serving a small but committed audience both of readers and a less defined audience of potential advertisers.

Don’t get me wrong: the revolution that is digital publishing truly opened the door for knowledge mobilization on a grand scale. 

And well before the internet created the conditions of ‘information for all, small, niche publishers in the 1990s began addressing topics and subjects that held appeal to them but might not have caught the attention of any of the existing (and conservative) publishers. Think ADBUSTERS – and the zeitgeist that underpinned its creation (capitalistic cannibalism is bad for us!) – with its pages packed with satire and parody ads of the largest corporate culprits. Which provided the home for the like-minded that helped to inspire the original ‘OCCUPY WALL STREET’ movement.

At A\J, we got with the program…eventually. We started including color, images, and more expansive illustrations in the magazine in the 1990s and really started to kick it up as we rolled into the aughts. Oh sure, we might have looked a bit different as we redesigned the magazine’s visual face (primarily cover) from time to time as the 1990s rolled forward, but the core work that we delivered – demystifying the academically dense study area of environmental science – continued unabated.

As we come into the 2010s, many things in our world and how we do our work changed….again. The explosion of digital media – online news sites and social media feeds – challenged us to our very core, and in many ways the HOW forced us to look at the WHY. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

We, the organization, had been ensconced in academia since our founding in 1971. We were very good at speaking to those ‘inside the deep green tent’, the people with the same training as our editors and writers (professors and grad students). And while that was still important, it was less critical than helping to mobilize that knowledge to build allies with those who might be of a lighter-green persuasion. We needed to understand how to support the corporate community as they dipped their toes in the sustainability waters. We needed to know how to continue to share stories from the environmental community and the academic community, but to reach more and more eyeballs, and especially those younger readers frustrated with the slow pace of vitally-needed change.

A quarterly or bi-monthly publication works at its own pace, has its own culture, and tells stories in its own way. And yet, there was this huge need to serve content on a more frequent basis, to share lighter-green stories that could resonate with the average reader – and maybe even inspire them to take their first eco-steps. But what is a website? Is it the past content? The future? How does it get supported? And how do you promote it?

These were all vital questions and team A\J has spent many of the intervening years reflecting, reshaping, and, hopefully, improving our holistic abilities to publish environmental media stories in the manner (and via the medium) most appropriate for achieving the outcome. 

That is moving the needle of public environmental literacy. 

All the while trying to understand how to sustain a print magazine in a time when the ‘print is dead’ echoes continue to wash over our industry. The IN MEMORIAM (PUBLICATIONS) segment of our industry’s OSCARS keeps expanding.

And yet, despite all this change, the core reason why we do our work remains the same:

1. To support environmental education, in all its flowerings;
2. To support environmental journalism and to help provide a training ground for the next generation of environmental journalists;
3. And, in doing so, to provide the critically-needed media/communications canvas for the Canadian environmental community to share stories that capture attention, create interest, motivate desire and spark action.

That’s never changed. When Bob Paehlke stayed up late nights in the 1970s, these were the guiding missions that helped him to sustain his work. And they keep me up at night too. 

We’re 50 years old this year and theoretically, we should be readying for our happy retirement, knowing that our work is done and there’s no more left to be written. But that isn’t the case. We have all the science, data, and existing solutions (upon which improved versions will emanate) that we need to make the quick and relatively painless leap to a zero-carbon world. But between the distractions of living (which isn’t getting easier for many), the distractions that are foisted upon us to keep us from living, and the vested interests holding us back, the FACTS don’t seem to be followed by urgent and meaningful ACTION.

So we persevere. And we strive to stay true to our founding missions, even though every other aspect of our work has changed since 1971, some for the worst but mostly for the better. After all, it may have taken us 50 years to make the case for environmentalism to the taste of public appetite and industry interest suggests that the vaunted ‘big, green tipping point’ is just around the corner, probably prodded along (with a taser) by the worsening impacts of the climate crisis (before we get on the right side of it). In many ways, you could say that “we’re an overnight success….50 years in the making!”

So read on… and shine on you crazy diamonds!

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