The podcast begins with Cate and Danny reminiscing on when they both first experienced electricity in a meaningful way. As kids, they each had realizations of the true power of electricity, which made me think back to my own experiences. I remember getting in bed on a cold winter night when I was a kid and my flannel sheets had built up so much static that they would produce little sparks under the covers. I was terrified at first until I realized the static sparks were virtually harmless and then I thought it was pretty cool. I enjoy how from the very beginning of the podcast, I was able to connect to the message as it made me start thinking about my own memories. As a listener, this intro definitely got me engaged from the start.

One major theme in this episode was that the sun is our main source of power and we take it for granted. Humans use the sun to power everything – directly and indirectly. It is and has been a resource, a tool, and a vastly powerful entity. I mean, it’s literally at the center of our solar system. So, Cate and Danny explain the relationship between humans and the sun throughout history.

Cate and Danny describe how different societies learned how to harness the sun’s power to develop new technologies and progress. They also spend time talking about our current society and where we’re at with solar energy. Danny explains that solar power currently makes up 3% of global energy use, but he says that even though it sounds small, that number is growing at a rapid rate, doubling every two years. This means we could be close to 100% solar energy in 10 years’ time. This statistic shocked me because I tend to imagine a dominant renewable energy future to exist in the far, far future, in a dream-like, sustainable utopia, in at least 50 to 100 years. But in just 10 years, I’ll only be in my early thirties. Is it possible that we could make so much progress in solar energy in just 10 years? I feel a bit skeptical of this fact, but I think that’s the point of this podcast – to make listeners think more about renewable energy possibilities and open up big questions for discussion.

Another topic that Cate and Danny made me think about was our human connection to the sun and to the natural world. Danny suggests that the sun is essential to everything we do and, therefore, we are connected to it, but Cate counters that by asking whether we are genuinely connected to it. I mean, it is a fact that we are connected to the sun in many ways, but the question is whether we feel and know that connection. Cate questions whether humans have separated ourselves from the sun in the same way many of us have disconnected from the natural world despite our reliance on it. One of my favourite parts of this podcast followed this discussion when Cate poetically shares her first memory of feeling connected to the natural world. She describes laying on the back of her dad’s car at night when she was a kid, looking up at the vast night sky. She describes it as the following, “Rather than looking at the stars, I kind of looked through them and it was the first time I sensed something absolutely massive, unknowable, and unknown to me. And I felt incredibly tiny.”

Cate goes on to explain the surreal feeling of realizing that your own existence is so small and sometimes seemingly meaningless compared to the vastness of the universe. Kind of existential, right? It seems depressing in a way, but it’s an important realization that we are a small part of a greater system. As 8-year-old Cate was staring at the night sky, she had a sense of awe and connection to the natural world, and they state that this is the sense we need to revitalize and feel again in the present day, in everything we do.

In my environmental studies undergraduate program, the idea of being connected to nature was ingrained in me. We learn that humans are not separate from nature but we are a part of it just as much as the other mammals, the birds, the trees, the lichens, and the microorganisms. We’re not the center of the universe and connecting with nature is how we will be properly able to coexist with it and allow it to thrive. Danny describes this exact idea by explaining the need for nature-based solutions in our technology and engineering, which he calls “biomimicry” – the approach of mimicking ways nature succeeds in human designs. He says this is the best way that humans can fit back into nature rather than work against it or separate from it. Solar energy is one of these ways.

The podcast also features a few interesting, sustainable-minded individuals, including Andrew Birch, the co-founder of the business, Open Solar. He describes the work Open Solar does, putting an emphasis on the beauty and simplicity of solar energy using the word “magical” to describe it. He discusses the economic benefits of solar energy, like the huge capacity to create jobs. One thing Andrew claimed that I was not convinced about was that developing countries will be able to jump straight to solar energy in the future and skip major fossil fuel development phases. I have a hard time believing that this is possible given the level of greed and wealth that exists in the world, but maybe that is just my skepticism shining through again. I am definitely interested in learning more about Open Solar after listening to Andrew speak so enthusiastically about solar energy and the future.

Moving on, Cate and Danny also address some of the common concerns people have with solar energy, landing on a “no one size fits all” solution. A mix of energy supplies will be needed in the future. This was a refreshing take on renewable energy for me because the downfalls of specific types of renewables are addressed and acknowledged, but there is still possibility.

About halfway through the podcast, Cate expressed that she was concerned about equitable distribution of renewable energy – exactly my own concern while listening. The two of them thoroughly address concerns of equity and environmental justice by explaining that clean energy initiatives need to be carefully thought through in order to guarantee that they are not displacing anyone and are benefiting everyone involved. Danny explains how his company ensures diverse entrepreneurs get training and funding to succeed in clean energy projects. The most important thing here is that communities have ownership and autonomy when it comes to the energy systems and the associated benefits. They also talk about the necessity of racial and gender equity in addressing the climate crisis, which is absolutely essential in my opinion. This discussion of the episode was so important to me and I think they did really well at addressing issues of inclusivity and justice in the sustainable development space.

Following the topic of equity, they introduce their next guests, Brett Isaac and Clara Pratte of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is an Indigenous territory in the States, covering land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Brett and Clara saw a need for a clean energy future in their nation, so they decided to lead the nation out of a coal-dependent past into solar energy and possibility. They are the founders and co-CEOs of Navajo Power, which builds clean energy projects on Indigenous lands.

Brett describes solar energy in a humble way as the Navajo people have a strong relationship with the sun. The Navajo have traditional stories about the sun. They pray to the sun, believe in the sun, and it is clear that they have gratitude for the sun as they use it as a resource. The podcast dives deeper into the struggles of historical environmental injustice that the Navajo people have experienced, including legacy impacts from uranium mines and the exacerbated effects from COVID-19. 

The most encouraging part of this podcast episode was the hope embedded within it. When focusing on the Navajo nation, the exploitation and struggles are outlined, but the main focus is on the reclamation of energy, taking back power for themselves. The land and ecosystems are described beautifully along with the commitment of Navajo Power to conserving and restoring the landscape. Not only is the environment benefitting, but local communities are gaining electricity and running water on their own homelands, jobs are being created bringing in local income, and community empowerment is growing. I love that the podcast gave such a voice to Brett and Clara. The podcast probably spent about half of the time on Cate and Danny’s thoughts and half on the diverse voices of their guests who were able to speak on their own work. 

At the end of the podcast, Cate and Danny bring in Katie Milkman, professor and researcher of psychology and economics and author of How to Change, to address the human default to resist change. Katie explains the common barriers to change that humans have embedded in us as well as the best solutions to embrace change and begin with small individual actions. I enjoyed this part of the podcast, but I did feel like some things were missing. Individual actions are said to lead to bigger social change in the podcast, which I agree with, but I also think systemic issues go beyond the individual. I would have liked to hear more about ways to hold people in power accountable for creating and embracing systemic change as a way to overcome barriers to change. The closing of this podcast was a great starter, though. 

Overall, I learned a lot about the feasibility of solar energy in the future. I also gained a lot of hope from listening to all the stances on the social and environmental benefits of solar energy. If you are like me and the ideas of renewable energy bounce around back and forth in your head, I recommend giving this episode a listen. At the very least, you will think deeply about some of the questions Cate and Danny bring up and learn about some cool solar energy projects. 

You can give this episode a listen, as well as the other episodes of “Climate of Change”, exclusively at Audible.ca

The post Climate of Change Episode 3: “Faith, Hope, and Electricity” – A Review appeared first on A\J.

Maybe it was the way Canada kept insisting that their good intentions were enough to excuse abuse and neglect. Or how, though they kept saying “sorry”, they couldn’t help but take up all the space, ‘flagspreading’ their way to occupy 98% of the sofa without once handing over the remote. Tired of watching Beachcombers re-runs and being gaslit over wounds ancient and fresh, Indigenous Peoples negotiated, accommodated and — finally — litigated. 

So it’s no big surprise that Canada’s legal systems tend to borrow from family law when it comes to repairing relationships. From the issuance of Advance Costs to fund litigation, all the way down to the idea of reconciliation itself, instruments developed to settle disputes between quarrelling parties have been adapted to address this country’s most fundamental fallout. 

Let’s look at just one case: colloquially known as the Defend the Treaties trial, Anderson v Alberta was launched in 2008 by Beaver Lake Cree Nation(BLCN). Located 200 km north of Edmonton in the heart of what was once Alberta’s boreal forest, BLCN was faced with the explosive expansion of oil and gas projects in their territory. As a result, the community was finding it increasingly impossible to get out on the land to hunt, fish, and collect berries and medicines. Without these activities, it was growing difficult for families to make ends meet, and to pass on cultural knowledge from elders to parents, and from parents to children. 

Imagine if every time you set out to check on your traplines, you discovered another road, another well, another tailings pond. What you once knew as a sinuous landscape layered with lineages of your ancestral ecosystem knowledge has become a maze of dead-ends and no-go zones. Imagine if the rare caribou or moose you did encounter was inedible, the meat poisoned after the animal licked at the salty-tasting bitumen that seeps to the bog’s surface because of in situ oil sands extraction. 

For the small Indigenous Nation, the writing was on the wall: go to court, or lose everything at the heart of what it means to be Beaver Lake Cree.  

The Ecological Promise at the Heart of Canada’s Treaties

“A truly exceptional matter of public interest.” 

That’s how Canada’s Supreme Court described Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s legal challenge. At its core, the case involves a tiny Nation standing up to Canada and Alberta to demand that the protections assured in Treaty 6 be upheld. The treaty, signed in 1876, spells it out in black and white: Indigenous rights to hunt, fish, and practice cultural activities on their territory are enshrined in perpetuity in one of the country’s oldest contracts. 

The treaty protects not just reserve land, but access to vast tracts of boreal forest that Beaver Lake Cree have been sustained by, and have stewarded, for thousands of years. 

The Defend the Treaties case emphasises that it’s the cumulative impacts of industry on treaty rights that is at issue. A win would force regulators to evaluate new project applications not piecemeal, as is currently the practice, but according to how any well, mine, or pipeline fit into the overall picture affecting the availability, health and productivity of hunting and fishing grounds. 

When the case was filed, environmentalists took notice. A scrappy start-up organisation called RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs) took on fundraising for the case. “We felt like it shouldn’t be up to First Nations to bear the huge cost of holding industry to account,” says RAVEN’s founding Executive Director Susan Smitten. “It’s not fair to rely on the poorest people in what is now called Canada to stand alone and be the voice of reason in this effort. They have the power of their treaties to protect the planet, and we have the power of a nation to support them.” 

Together with Chief Al Lameman, for whom the Defend the Treaties case was initially named, Smitten first stewarded funds from the Cooperative Bank of the UK, whose members invested, recognizing the strategic importance of BLCN’s challenge in halting the devastating impacts of tar sands extraction. Since then, RAVEN has raised more than $2 million dollars to cover a portion of BLCN’s hefty legal bills. 

For the governments of Canada and Alberta, Beaver Lake Cree’s ambitious challenge was a dire portent of a future where oil was no longer king. They knew that adopting a holistic view of project impacts would slow down the gold-rush frenzy that fuels the race to develop Alberta’s tar sands and get at vast deposits of bitumen and natural gas.  

Besides the fact that Alberta is sitting on the largest deposit of crude oil on the planet is the irrevocable climate reality that if we extract and burn it, we’ll assure the extinction of a million species: including, if we really blow it, ourselves. 

The whole industry is built on the pressure of short-term imperatives. Especially in the years since the Copenhagen and Paris climate agreements, the race has been on to squeeze as much profit out of the tar sands as possible before serious emissions controls come along to curtail development and ultimately make their product obsolete. If industry continues at its rampant pace, there just won’t be any caribou left for Beaver Lake Cree Nation members to hunt – that would turn the conversation from one about conservation of precious resources into one about compensation for irrevocable losses. 

The challenge for Beaver Lake Cree is simple and urgent: if tar sands development continues to expand in their territories, BLCN’s treaty won’t be worth the parchment that it’s written on. 

Court to First Nations: How broke are you? 

After a decade of fighting motions to strike and appeals, the Nation has won the right to have its case heard in court: the trial is set for 2024. Beaver Lake Cree are also making the case for why the government should advance them the money needed to pay for it. 

12 long years after filing the Defend the Treaties challenge, Beaver Lake Cree Nation was exhausted and flat out of funds. So, in 2018, Chief Germaine Anderson applied for what are known as Advance Costs. 

Let’s just go back to the family law analogy. When a married couple who disagree are seeking a divorce, if the husband holds all the financial cards, it puts the wife at an unfair disadvantage. He can finagle the house, the car, and even the kids if she is reduced to relying on legal aid or forced to go under-represented. To avoid that kind of scenario, the courts developed an instrument so that the richer party would be ordered to advance a set amount to the more ‘impecunious’ party, allowing them to afford a decent lawyer. Though they are sometimes called ‘awards’, Advance Costs are not grants but rather are a tool to level the playing field so that both parties are on more equal footing. 

To receive Advance Costs, the less wealthy party has to turn out their pockets in front of the court and prove just how broke they are. 

That’s exactly what Beaver Lake Cree Nation did. It really should come as no surprise that a rural Indigenous Nation — struggling to cope with outdated infrastructure, substandard housing and a shabby education budget — might not be able to sustain million-dollar litigation. But the Nation had to argue for the necessity of, for example, paying for the delivery of clean drinking water to community members ahead of spending that money on litigation. 

Having gone through the patronising process of being nickel and dimed by the government, the Nation managed to prove their ‘impecuniousness’ and in 2019 BLCN was awarded Advance Costs. Had that lower court ruling stood, it would have required Alberta, Canada and BLCN to share the costs of litigation to the tune of $300k each, annually, for the duration of the trial. 

In keeping with tactics the powers that be had been deploying all along, the award decision was appealed and overturned. With their very existence as a people at stake, fiercely committed to seeing justice done, BLCN took their Advance Costs fight to the Supreme Court of Canada. 

A milestone for Indigenous justice

After months of nail-biting, in March 2022 Beaver Lake Cree Nation received a unanimous Supreme Court Decision that will echo down the years as a landmark ruling on Indigenous access to justice. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Alberta’s removal of Beaver Lake Cree’s Advanced Cost order.

The Supreme Court recognized that in an era defined by reconciliation and respecting Indigenous self-determination — to take care of pressing community needs first, before spending on court costs — must come first.

While the SCC ruling requires Beaver Lake Cree Nation to go back to the trial judge for a deep dive into BLCN’s financial situation and how it meets the fine-print criteria of “pressing needs” set out by the court, their appeal is a huge win for access to justice. 

It is also a big win for RAVEN. 

“It’s not every day we watch the needle move to advance the law in favour of Indigenous rights,” says Smitten. “We’re really proud to be part of this, and humbled by the never-flagging determination of BLCN’s leadership.”

All’s fair in love and litigation

Advance costs are actually extraordinarily rare, as they require that applicants pass a series of legal tests. Anderson v. Alberta clarified what those tests will be going forward. One thing that has not changed is that Advance Costs are only available for cases that are considered to be in the public interest. The court determined that there is a strong public interest in obtaining a ruling on the claims brought forward by Beaver Lake Cree Nation in its Defend the Treaties challenge. That alone may seem obvious — tar sands expansion affects us all, and Albertans, Indigenous and settler alike, have treaty obligations that should matter to everyone. 

But the court went further. Recognizing that we are in a new era where self-determination and reconciliation confer upon First Nations the right to allocate spending as they see fit, the Supreme Court affirmed that Indigenous governments — not courts — are best suited to set their own priorities and identify the needs of their communities. 

The Court also found that when a government has used delay and outspend tactics — bloating the costs of, and timeline for, urgent legal action — the court should ‘exercise its discretion’ in awarding Advance Costs. From now on, the fact that a First Nation might choose to allocate its limited funds to address the needs of its community – including for cultural survival and to fund basic services that most other Canadians take for granted – should not be used as a basis to disqualify the First Nation from advance costs for litigation to protect its Section 35 rights. 

Back to our family law metaphor: the court’s new ruling means that the person in charge of the household and children will be able to determine their own priorities and needs ahead of what some judge decides is ‘best for them’. This ruling takes some of the paternalism out of the Advance Cost process and opens the door for Nations to meet government and industry on a more level playing field. 

The Supreme Court also awarded solicitor-client costs to Beaver Lake Cree Nation for all three levels of court hearings related to the Advance Cost application and appeal. Now that Canada and Alberta have to pay BLCN back for what the Nation spent on the Advance Costs process, BLCN can immediately use these funds to gather evidence, elder testimony, and prepare arguments for what could be one of the most monumental legal challenges Canada has ever seen. 

An ambiguous win

BLCN’s victory was a major milestone in the Nation’s decades-long process to push back against the cumulative impacts of industrial development in their territory. But you’d never know what a big win they scored from reading mainstream media coverage. 

Most outlets failed to recognize the groundbreaking nature of the SCC ruling. Headlines reported both that the Nation had won, and that they had lost. Partly, that’s because the Nation was sent back to the lower court in Alberta for a rehearing on Advance Costs, this time using the new test set out by the Supreme Court. But under those conditions, the Nation not only qualifies: they literally set the standard. The opportunity to go back to the court to adjudicate the award amount and terms under these new Supreme Court criteria may result in an even larger sum being awarded to the Nation. 

Karey Brooks, lawyer for Beaver Lake Cree Nation, is unequivocal. “The Supreme Court of Canada ruling is a huge win for access to justice.” 

She explains that the Court recognized Indigenous self-determination when it emphasised that a Nation’s pressing needs must be understood within the broader context from which a First Nation government makes decisions.

“I think it’s a huge win in that respect.” 

Fair’s Fair: Enshrining Access to Justice into Law

Going before the courts – for both advancing the original claim to trial and to achieve Advance Costs — Beaver Lake Cree Nation has been validated, and their right not only to pursue their case but to receive support, fully affirmed.

“The greatest barrier to justice – and victory for this court challenge – is the high cost of the legal system,” says RAVEN’s Susan Smitten. “How fantastic that a small group of dedicated donors was able to shore up this challenge to fund a trial that could stagger the tar sands behemoth. Also: how spooky to think how many worthy cases have faltered due to lack of resources.”

The implications of this judgement are nation-wide and capture in law the sovereignty of a Nation’s decision-making. Judges will now be able to take into account systemic factors such as the history of colonialism, displacement, and residential schools and how that history continues to operate today. 

Thanks to Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Indigenous Peoples will no longer, as a judge in Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench put it, have to “stand naked before the court.”

No matter how the lower court chooses to award Advance Costs, Beaver Lake Cree will still be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for the duration of the trial, which could last several years. No matter how the court rules: RAVEN will be there. 

“When we join forces as Indigenous Peoples and settlers, we can move mountains – and create better laws” Susan Smitten, Executive Director, RAVEN

This story was generously funded through support from Metcalfe Foundation.

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The post Mediating a Marriage on the Rocks: Anderson v. Alberta appeared first on A\J.

A ‘just transition’ is defined as ‘a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy’ by the Climate Justice Alliance. Just transitions take a holistic view of where we are going, as well as how we get there. When thinking of a just transition towards green energy, one of the groups that will be disproportionately affected is Indigenous communities. This is a direct result of a disproportionate dependency on fossil fuels to fuel both energy needs and daily life requirements. Additionally, these communities are also likely to experience the effects of climate change much more than others due to these changes impacting many aspects of their lives. Some of these changes can include loss of land and resources, extreme weather events impacting agriculture, future supply chain issues, and more. As a result of this, it is of paramount importance that for these indigenous communities, we ensure the transition to green energy is a just one.

This is where Melina Laboucan-Massimo saw an opportunity to make a difference. Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree, from the community of Little Buffalo, located in Alberta, Canada. Little Buffalo is an oil sands region, and as a result, Laboucan-Massimo grew up witnessing firsthand the negative impacts that oil sand development has had on the environment, as well as the development of her Indigenous community. To put into perspective how little the oil sands have done for Indigenous communities, Laboucan-Massimo states in this article with the Nobel Women’s Initiative that since 1978 over $14 billion had been made off of her family’s traditional territory, yet they still don’t have running water. She goes on to say that the more than 2600 oil wells on the land make it impossible to live sustainably, to make matters worse, almost 70% of Lubicon territory has been leased for future development without the consent of the Lubicon people, directly violating their charter rights.

Laboucan-Massimo has been attending protests about this matter since 1988, at the tender age of 7 years old. This first protest was in her Lubicron Cree community of Little Buffalo which held a 6-day protest against oil and gas drilling on their land. While her parents and grandparents were part of the blockade, Laboucan-Massimo watched from the safety of their car, with this experience having a profound impact on her. This protest in 1988 was a whole 34 years ago, yet oil and gas drilling continues on this land, much to its detriment. If the community of Little Buffalo sounds familiar, then you were probably paying attention to the news in 2011. This is because in 2011 the Rainbow Pipeline spill occurred on this land, causing a total of 28,000 barrels of oil to be spilled – the largest oil spill in Alberta in three decades. This spill is still impacting the community to this day, and those responsible for it, Plains Midstream, were only fined a measly $1.3 million two years after the spill. Were those funds used to clean up the area or were they enough to cover the costs of those cleanup efforts? No and no. After this spill, Laboucan-Massimo felt even more inspired to take action, saying in an interview with Mongabay, “Wow, I need to really start building: What does transition technology look like? What does a just transition look like in our communities? That’s why I founded Sacred Earth Solar, which began with my Master’s thesis…”

The creation and inspiration behind Sacred Earth Solar are why I find Laboucan-Massimo to be so inspiring personally. Sacred Earth Solar was born out of their Master’s degree thesis in Indigenous Governance, with a focus on energy which was completed at the University of Victoria. As part of her thesis, Laboucan-Massimo proposed building a solar-powered center in her hometown of Little Buffalo, in order to ensure just transition to green energy. This proposal was not without resistance, with Laboucan-Massimo recalling in an interview with Fashion Magazine, “One of my professors actually tried to dissuade me from doing it—he said ‘It’s too big of an undertaking, you’re not going to finish in time.’” Despite these concerns, Laboucan-Massimo decided to go ahead with the project due to her determination of creating a just transition for her community, as well as wanting to inspire others to do so. This was completed in 2015 and since then, the project has provided power to the community’s health center. This project, now known as the Piitapan Solar Project, involved the installation of 80 solar panels resulting in a 20.8kW renewable energy project – not only does this provide green energy, but also creates jobs in the community, and provides a template for other communities to follow. How inspiring is that? Despite even professors voicing their concerns, and having no experience directly in that field, Laboucan-Massimo followed through on her mission of creating a more sustainable future for her community.

After the establishment of this solar project, Laboucan-Massimo created the aforementioned Sacred Earth Solar. Sacred Earth Solar has now branched out to create projects outside of the Piitapan Solar Project in Little Buffalo. In all of its work, Sacred Earth Solar ensures that a just transition, as defined earlier in this article, can take place. According to their website, Sacred Earth Solar currently assists Indigenous communities in exploring renewable energy within the broader context of antiracist climate work, ensuring that these communities are given priority in keeping their communities safe and healthy. A just transition is one that Laboucan-Massimo is very passionate about, and in addition to setting up Sacred Earth Solar, also sits as the Senior Director of Just Transition at Indigenous Climate Action, an organization that aims to integrate Indigenous rights and knowledge into developing solutions for the climate crisis. Other initiatives by Sacred Earth Solar, and as a result Laboucan-Massimo, include the solarization of the art studio at Nimkii Aazhibikong with Onaman Collective in partnership with Indigenous Climate Action, which will serve as a centre for the language revitalization, transmission of indigenous knowledge, and communal space for Anishinaabek and surrounding Indigenous communities to have a communal space to share teachings. Another initiative included sending several sets of solar panels to Indigenous youth who were protesting at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek. These solar panels were used to power the kitchen and charge devices so that they could have communication, but also record the police brutality that was on display. Laboucan-Massimo in addition to sending these panels also joined Indigenous leaders, environmental activists, and other celebrities in the condemnation of the logging at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek. Sacred Earth Solar has continued to provide green energy for those fighting for climate justice by solarizing three homes at the Gidimt’en checkpoint in Wet’suwet’en Territory. This was done so that families could have access to their territory as the Gidimt’en checkpoint is directly in the path of the proposed Coastal Gas Link pipeline. Additionally, Sacred Earth Solar has been creating tiny homes that run off of solar energy to assist those protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline. These tiny homes are set up directly in the path of the pipeline, acting as both an act of resistance, but also a symbol of how green energy can be used for a just transition.

As you can see, Laboucan-Massimo’s Master’s thesis has grown a movement towards a just transition outside of her home community of Little Buffalo. Sacred Earth Solar may, in my opinion, be one of her most notable initiatives, however, Laboucan-Massimo has done much more than this. In addition to being the Director of Just Transition at Indigenous Climate Action, she was appointed as the first Indigenous research fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation where she has continued her research on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge, and Renewable Energy. In order to disseminate the message around green energy in Indigenous communities, Laboucan-Massimo created the Power to the People series. This series takes a look at the renewable energy revolution in Indigenous communities around Canada and the world, showcasing how a just transition may occur. This series found many different projects from wind farms, to solar plants, to tidal electric projects, and serves as a showcase for how other communities may become self-sufficient. Laboucan-Massimo has also worked alongside icons such as Jane Fonda, David Suzuki, and Naomi Klein to help build a better future for not only Indigenous people but the planet. She has also given many speeches which have inspired many, some of these including US Congress, the Harvard Law Forum, in British Parliament, and numerous international organizations like Amnesty International, allowing for her message of equitable climate justice to be heard around the world.

If you did a thesis, I implore you to think back to it. I can remember the thesis I completed in my undergraduate degree very well. Now, prior to this, have you thought about your thesis since completing it? Furthermore, has your thesis been of use? For some of you I’m sure that answer is yes, but for others like myself, not so much. It is of such great inspiration that Laboucan-Massimo took an issue that was so dear to her, and despite resistance from even her own professors, turned this thesis into a project that has since spiraled outwards, creating a movement. It is a great message of being the change you want to see, no matter how big the mountain you must climb is. Laboucan-Massimo could have stopped there, feeling that by improving her community she has done enough, but instead she has since campaigned to create a just transition to green energy for Indigenous people and communities around the world, and also acts as an example of how the entire world must act. It is for these reasons that Melina Laboucan-Massimo is an Every Day Eco-Hero.

The post Every Day Eco-Heroes: Melina Laboucan-Massimo appeared first on A\J.

Artwork by Margarita Krasutskaya

On the theme of eco-anxiety, we partnered with Earth Day Canada to create our ‘Every Day Eco-Heroes’ series. The aim of this series was to shine a spotlight on Canadian environmental activists who make every day, Earth Day. This series can be found here:

1. Autumn Peltier 
2. Shefaza Esmail
3. Melina Laboucan-Massimo

Additionally we created a few off series posts, centred around ideas of sustainability and the feelings of eco-anxiety! These articles can be found here:

1. Sowing a Better Future
2. Our Environmental Origin Stories
3. Addressing Eco-Anxiety
4. Touch the Earth

Thank you so much for joining us for this collaboration, and a very special thanks to Earth Day Canada for making this possible. We hope you have had a great Earth Day so far, and hope that these articles can inspire you in some form or fashion to make every day Earth Day.

The post Earth Day 2022 appeared first on A\J.

There are actions that individuals can take at the household level, such as planting native species in your garden or taking public transit. There are also actions that people can take at a collective level, such as organizing litter clean-ups. And then there are actions that people can take at a government scale, such as advocating for greener policies and voting for individuals who represent positive environmental and social change. All types of approaches are important and needed to address the slew of issues, but what happens when the laws and policies in a given area restrict certain sustainable actions at the household or individual scale? What if there are policies in place that perpetuate unsustainability? For these problems, the government scale is needed to make systemic changes. This starts with people who advocate for change to their local government as well as representatives of the people who translate their hopes into action and change. Our local politicians are these representatives who hold the power of listening to their community members, addressing their concerns, and implementing change to allow our individual and collective sustainable actions to continue.

This week’s hero for our Every Day Eco-Hero series is Shefaza Esmail, a researcher, teacher, nature-lover, and down-to-earth human who is passionate about making steps towards systemic change for the environment and for people. Through Shefaza’s studies in engineering and environmental studies, her PhD research experiences, and her teaching experiences, she has developed an understanding of the importance of politics and system-level change in the environmental movement. That is why she has decided to run for office in Waterloo as the Green Party candidate for the upcoming provincial election. This article shares Shefaza’s story of why she decided to take the path of politics to approach the systemic changes she wants to see happen in local communities, why she is an Earth Day hero, and what her hopes are for this election to work toward a sustainable and just future. 

Shefaza’s educational and environmental foundations

Born in Tanzania, Shefaza moved to Canada with her family in 2001. She started her undergrad at McGill University in the Arts and Science program. Her curiosity and enjoyment of learning fueled her studies and she realized she wanted to continue learning in a new area. She found a unique program called “bioresources engineering” in the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at McGill, based at their MacDonald campus.

Not long after joining this program at MacDonald Campus, she realized that she was part of a strong community. It was a smaller campus with smaller class sizes and the classes were taught by professors who really cared about their students. One professor who particularly inspired Shefaza was Dr. Robert Bonnell, who created fun assignments that got students excited about engineering. Shefaza remembers having to power something using only rubber bands or only a flame, and also making sumo robots that would battle each other. Learning in this hands-on and creative way fueled the way Shefaza decided to teach when she became a teacher later on.

Shefaza did her Master’s in Chemical Engineering and worked a bit as a Facilities Engineering Intern before moving on to do her PhD in the Environment Faculty at the University of Waterloo (UW). She felt very excited about environmental engineering, but realized that there was more to learn about the social sides of environmental problems.

“The issues at the environmental level cannot only be solved by engineering solutions. We need to look at the policy, the economics, the social aspects – the social aspect is a really big aspect and I didn’t have a lot of grasp on that, so I came back to Environment [the faculty at UW], but this time, I brought the engineering and wanted to learn the other parts. That’s why I chose this interdisciplinary department, the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS).” 

From PhD researcher and teacher to politician

Shefaza’s PhD research focused on agriculture and food waste in Tanzania. She saw a lot of potential in Tanzania for a circular-based economy. Once beginning her research, she realized that Tanzania had a strong urban agriculture community of folks who did not want land to be idle but who wanted to give life to land and have that life sustain them and their communities. She noticed that lots of people were growing a variety of crops, but it was a volatile business given the fluctuating market prices and by-laws that restricted urban agricultural practices. She saw first-hand groups of people who were interested in doing sustainable, community-based projects for themselves, but there were laws that prevented them from doing those things and from being sustainable. 

During her PhD, Shefaza also got the opportunity to teach, which she continues doing at UW and loves. She has met many students who are eager to share great ideas and have strong interests in improving their understanding of the world. These students inspire her to show them new ways to see the world, for example, through field ecology courses that immerse students in nature.

“There is life that we can give to students connecting them back to nature, but also they are the ones who have these ideas of how we can make the world a better place. The systems we have are going to prevent that, similar to the folks who are trying to do urban agriculture in Tanzania.”

Through all her educational experiences and teaching, Shefaza learned that we need systemic change at the policy level. Then, she was approached by the Green Party twice. The second time, having finished her PhD and having had time to think about herself in the role of a politician, she decided that it was time to take that leap and run.

What made Shefaza say “yes” to politics?

When I asked her if she had ever imagined herself to be running for a political party 5 years ago or even 1 year ago, she quickly responded with the following: 

“I did not. I never imagined myself in politics because I found it all very confusing. I still remember grade ten civics learning about the first-past-the-post system and not understanding it, and I was a good student! I understood things very quickly.” 

Her confusion led her to feel turned off from politics in her early career.

“I wonder if other people feel the same way because it’s politics – it’s supposed to be decisions that affect our lives and I wonder what emotions that brings up in people. For me, the shame of not understanding led to guilt because I didn’t understand the first-past-the-post system and I also didn’t really understand the party system. I felt like I pushed away from that … Then, in university, Jack Layton was running for NDP and he made things accessible. I just remember understanding what he said and that made me feel like I had a chance at understanding what the politics were like here in Canada and that I could make a difference. After that, I lost interest again… but it came back when I was teaching … I learned a lot about it because I had to teach it.”

As Shefaza was teaching and learning, she was getting more involved in politics and getting to know the liberal, conservative, and NDP sides of issues but still didn’t really know much about the Green Party until she was approached to be a candidate. At this point, she learned about the Green Party’s values, federally and provincially, and found that they aligned very well with her own.

“I hadn’t really seen myself in a political point of view and I think that’s the problem with politics. We think that politics is about politics, but it isn’t. It’s supposed to be about people and I’ve always been a people person, and by translation, I could be a voice for people, which would make me a politician – a representative of the people.”

Shefaza’s vision for the future

“We can achieve a communal sense of being through sustainability. We just need to be able to envision what that looks like and that’s what politicians are supposed to do – to see where we are going, and to make decisions and set the roots for us to be able to get there. It isn’t about buying votes or a popularity contest or a tug-of-war, it’s supposed to be envisioning a future together.”

Shefaza has a vision of a better future for the people in Waterloo. Part of this vision stems from her time at MacDonald Campus during her undergrad at McGill University. MacDonald Campus was a “self-sustaining eco-hub”. It had a farm, a student-run composting initiative, and a student-run “happy belly” program where students would go to grocery stores on stocking days, take the food that would be thrown away, cook it all, and serve it for free to anyone on campus the next day. All of these initiatives brought people together and fostered a sense of community, creating an “in-built sustainability ethos”, which inspired Shefaza by showing her what life could look like – what a future could look like for other places.

“People want to have space to connect, to walk, have things to do, cook good food that is locally available and affordable … We can achieve a communal sense of being through sustainability. We just need to be able to envision what that looks like and that’s what politicians are supposed to do – to see where we are going, and to make decisions and set the roots for us to be able to get there. It isn’t about buying votes or a popularity contest or a tug-of-war, it’s supposed to be envisioning a future together. And we trust our politicians to do this for us, which is why we vote for them to make those decisions on our behalf. But that is not happening and it needs to happen.”

Politics is not just for the politicians

As I prepared for this interview with Shefaza, I reflected on my own limited knowledge of politics in Canada. My only formal political education came from grade ten civics class, which I didn’t enjoy and don’t remember much from. In my university studies, I began to learn a bit more about the importance of politics in a more indirect way and I am now just beginning to understand our political system and what it means to me as an individual. When I shared this with Shefaza, she said the following:

“Every decision that a politician makes has an impact, not just on you, but on your family, friends, neighbours – everyone.”

“It’s interesting that you bring up grade ten civics because it is the power of a teacher to either teach you well or turn you off completely, and even if they do teach you well, the system is still very confusing and there’s a chance you may turn it off anyway … But it’s funny because schools have student associations and you vote for someone to be your representative in those, so even though you’re not learning about politics in a structured way, you’re actually taking part in politics in high school and university.”

There are still many people, not only young people, who don’t fully grasp the importance of politics, likely because if our grade ten civics class does not teach us this importance, we have to find these lessons elsewhere, but some people may not find themselves in places where those lessons are taught. So, I asked Shefaza what she would say to someone who doesn’t fully understand why politics is important for them.

“Politics makes the decisions for your everyday life. They decide where money that you are giving as a tax-payer will be spent … From your income, there is a portion of it that goes to the government … It’s important to think ‘where is my money going once I don’t get it?’ First, your money is going to a government body that you are entrusting to spend well. If they end up going on a shopping spree with your money, will you feel good about it? Probably not. Although, it depends what they buy … Every decision that a politician makes has an impact, not just on you, but on your family, friends, neighbours – everyone.”

Eco-anxiety, youth, and politics

Shefaza is passionate about getting young people involved in politics as well as teaching youth the importance of connecting with nature. Having done several partnerships and Earth Day events with the Waterloo and Kitchener public libraries as well as the City of Waterloo Museum, she has been able to connect with several groups of youth in the region to teach them about nature and spark their curiosity.

“It’s really important to get the youth involved and not just the ones who can vote. It’s important for youth to be informed of the values of the people who are representing them or who want to represent them, and see what they stand for and make that informed decision at the polls. It’s time we voted from our hearts.”

Considering the importance of youth getting involved in politics and how youth are being severely impacted by eco-anxiety, I asked Shefaza what she had to say on these topics.

“With climate change, there is a potential for apathy and there is a potential for empathy, but it really depends on whether or not you’re acknowledging how you’re feeling with every piece of news that comes. And that is the first step to understanding what you can actually do about it.”

“When talking about the environmental movement to youth, it’s a bit like learning from them rather than telling them about it because they are living it. We’re seeing news of more natural disasters, fires, droughts – in places there didn’t necessarily used to be. And it’s not just a current effect but will be a future effect. I think the youth are already acutely aware of that. So, I wouldn’t say that there is anything I could tell them about the environmental movement except one thing: really understand how it’s impacting your emotions. In the way we live right now, emotions aren’t talked about as freely as opinions, and opinions are very much based on emotions … With climate change, there is a potential for apathy and there is a potential for empathy, but it really depends on whether or not you’re acknowledging how you’re feeling with every piece of news that comes. And that is the first step to understanding what you can actually do about it.”

One of the courses that Shefaza has taught at UW was on climate change and films. With each film, Shefaza had the students reflect on their feelings and thoughts as they watched. From conducting a research study in tandem with teaching the course, Shefaza learned that the students feel and think a lot about climate change. This experience really reiterated for her the power of a teacher to be able to guide students through their feelings.

“It is important to acknowledge the times that we are making them sad and help them through that, and it is important to acknowledge the times when they are inspired to show them how they can channel that inspiration into action.”

“We need to be able to support them on this journey as they are feeling things related to climate change, especially as we’re teaching them about climate change. It is important to acknowledge the times that we are making them sad and help them through that, and it is important to acknowledge the times when they are inspired to show them how they can channel that inspiration into action … Creating that support network for students is really important as we start talking more about climate change, not just in the Faculty of Environment, but in all Faculties.”

And this is why Shefaza is an eco-hero. Not only is she actively pursuing positive environmental change at the policy level, but she also aims to guide, inspire, and teach youth about environmental change and help them through eco-anxiety. Shefaza has explored environmental solutions in many spaces through the diversity of educational and professional experiences she has accumulated. The political space is her next challenge, which she is approaching with compassion, curiosity, and commitment. I can’t wait to see how she uses this political platform to share her visions for a sustainable and just future, especially around Earth Day. I hope to see many more people like her – people who see unsustainable, inequitable systems that need improvement and feel driven to change them – taking that leap and running for office in the coming years.

Note: Alternatives Journal chose the eco-hero to spotlight. Earth Day Canada is affiliated with the series, but is not a political organization and does not endorse the Green Party in this piece.

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The Nature Force is of extreme importance as according to the Insurance Institute of Canada’s (IIC) 2020 report, the average cost of claims associated with extreme weather is expected to rise by 138% annually, growing up to $5 billion. As you can see, this is an issue that must be addressed now, and that’s what The Nature Force intends to do. As mentioned, this will be done through increasing natural infrastructure through the conservation and restoration of the wetlands that help attenuate flood risk.

Source: The Nature Force

I was provided the opportunity to speak to Mark Gloutney, national director of science for Ducks Unlimited Canada about this project and had a great conversation about it. When asked how this initiative was started, Mark said that this industry-first initiative came about as a result of Ducks Unlimited Canada realising the opportunities that a partnership between themselves and insurance companies would bring. They recognised that there should be a linkage between the insurance industry and the work they do due to the flood attenuating impacts of Ducks Unlimited and because the risk of flood loss and damage is only going to increase in the years to come. This resulted in conversations between Ducks Unlimited Canada, and Tina Osen, President of HUB Canada. Mark stated that Tina was extremely instrumental in the success of planning and organising this project. Tina realised that this project could be catalytic in its nature, and set out on gathering other insurance industry players. They realised that this is a way to do something that would help demonstrate how natural solutions and infrastructure can be part of the solution to climate change, and as a result, 15 insurance companies are now partnered with The Nature Force. Mark said that what’s especially great about this is that Ducks Unlimited Canada will be forming an advisory, or oversight committee with key representatives from HUB to ensure that the vision of The Nature Force stays on track and that there’s good dialogue, traction, messaging and vision between the insurance sector and Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Moving on, I had a few questions for Mark surrounding the planning and execution of this project. Mark went on to elaborate that they would be setting up three pilot projects. One in Ontario, one in Quebec, and one in the Fraser Delta in British Columbia. These projects will demonstrate that natural infrastructure is part of the solution, and allow them to build models which will help understand what features in a particular watershed will have the most consequence for flood attenuation and climate resilience. The plan is that once these are identified, Ducks Unlimited Canada will come in and complete restoration work on these sites. Once completed, they can take the results to the government, policymakers, and municipal planners so that this knowledge can be integrated into future land use planning decisions. This information can then also be shared with other conservation authorities to demonstrate how natural infrastructure can be integrated. Importantly he noted, once this is done it won’t be solely on the insurance industry to pay for the investment, but society as a whole, as all levels of society will recognise this as a solution, over time increasing investments and increasing climate resiliency across the Canadian landscape.

Now that I understood how the project would work, I was curious about any case studies, or examples that were worked on while preparing. Mark explained that Ducks Unlimited Canada had done a lot of modeling in Ontario that looked at the capacity of wetlands in terms of their ability to store water and function on the landscape like a sponge. He then goes on to outline that they had done quite a bit of work with Dr. Blair Feltmate, Head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. With Dr. Feltmate’s, help they modeled the Credit river in Toronto, observing what would happen in two different storm events with differing instances of wetland environments, and seeing how the flood level changed with these variables. Dr. Feltmate and the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation have access to economic consequence information, and with their help, it was possible to show the economic consequences of these differing flood events. This was formative in their research because it was clear that as you modelled the loss of the wetlands on that watershed you saw property value loss increasing dramatically for both storm events. This was completed about three years ago and the team in Ontario has been working with these results to create The Nature Force. 

The Nature Force begins its planning stage this April 2022, as such, I asked Mark if there are any timelines in place for this project. He stated that the initial stages starting in April will be a period of planning where watersheds to be modelled will be chosen, conservation and planning partners will be assembled, and then a model will be built that states the four or five restoration solutions that will have the biggest impact in reducing the floods. This will take a little while and it is expected that they will be doing restoration in Ontario and Quebec by around next spring. He goes on to say that the Fraser Delta may take a little longer due to the complexity of the landscape it is situated on. This complexity is due both to land interest, as well as the topography of the land and proximity to the ocean of the delta, which results in differing conditions to those found in Ontario or Quebec. 

Understanding how the project was planned to take place, I was curious about any challenges that The Nature Force has faced, or anticipate in the future, and how they planned on dealing with these. Mark outlined that one of the main issues anticipated is surrounding land ownership. In an ideal scenario, you can find a watershed with the right assembly of partners to make conservation easy, however, this is often not the case. Instances of conservation efforts on agricultural land require models to show what is gained and lost for society through this conservation. Private land ownership is always tricky as well as this is of course, on private property – in these cases the landowners are negotiated with to try to suit the needs of the landowner, as well as the needs of society by attenuating flood risk. Another challenge is associated with the regulatory environment which is always rather uncertain, and there are always elements that cannot be anticipated. Another challenge that was of interest was whether or not species at risk are situated in these areas. Due to the regulatory environment, these species are protected on an individual basis, rather than looking at the population. This means that while a project may be beneficial to the species in the long term if an individual, or individuals in the area are impacted by the project, it may need to be adjusted to suit this regulatory environment. 

As evidenced through the resources provided on The Nature Force website, as well as the conversation with Mark Gloutney, it is clear that this project is of extreme importance, and also being set up well for success. Hopefully, this project will indeed be catalytic in its nature and spark more conversations and projects around climate change mitigation and adaptation, especially through the use of natural infrastructure and wetland conservation. With the planning stage under-way as of this April, I look forward to seeing the projects begin next spring and share the same excitement as Mark and The Nature Force in seeing the results from these projects turned into positive, climate change mitigating action over the coming years.

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We all feel anxious at times so I’m sure you’re wondering what symptoms are associated with eco-anxiety other than this fear of the destruction of our environment. According to Healthline, one of the main feelings associated with eco-anxiety is that of hopelessness about the future. I’m sure every single one of you reading this has felt that feeling at some point, I think it might be a requirement to become an environmentalist. Other symptoms they’ve listed include frustration, especially towards climate deniers, existential dread, guilt surrounding your own carbon footprint, and obsessive thoughts about the climate. Physical symptoms observed have included sleep problems, appetite changes and difficulty concentrating. 

You may be wondering why eco-anxiety seems to be on such a sharp rise in recent years. There are a variety of reasons for this. Firstly, no matter how much you try, it is pretty impossible to ignore the fact that without the earth we would not be able to exist. Even the starkest climate deniers can agree that we need earth, and as such, it is only natural to feel a sense of loss and to grieve for the earth as we become more aware of the rapidly accelerating changes taking place. The second reason is through lived experiences – while hearing about climate change is one thing, living through it is another. For people who have had to experience increased instances of extreme weather events such as hurricanes or drought, the realities of climate change are quite apparent. As someone from the Caribbean, I can attest that this lived experience makes it near impossible to not feel eco-anxiety at times. Gradual changes can also impact people of course, and rising temperatures can also lead to adverse effects. Another reason for the increased instance of eco-anxiety in the population is due to increased media coverage. I’m sure you’ve all felt like you can’t escape the news, and like it is a constant stream of negativity. Reporting on climate change and disasters, while incredibly important, also results in people feeling as though they can’t escape, causing them to feel demotivated. Constant news coverage also results in doomscrolling on social media, leading to people feeling trapped under a constant barrage of doom and gloom. The final reason for an increase in eco-anxiety is due to regret for one’s own individual actions. We now know the extent of our impacts on the climate, and it is hard to not feel guilty about these actions. For example, feeling guilty about using your air conditioner too much, or for all the flights you have taken over your life, or even for just not recycling that piece of paper yesterday. These feelings of guilt can also lead to feeling powerless due to being just one individual. 

When looking at eco-anxiety it is clear that this is an issue that will be felt around the world, however, there are groups of people who face a higher chance of climate-related stress due to, in part, their greater vulnerability to climate change. Groups who are higher at risk include Indigenous communities, people living in coastal or island regions, children and older adults, and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. There are many complex factors that play into this increased instance of risk. Inuit communities face the loss of sea ice which plays a crucial role in not only their way of life but also their culture and identity. Indigenous and other communities that rely on hunting, fishing and farming as their way of life are also at risk due to decreasing availability of fish and other wild animals, as well as increased instances of drought causing crops to be unable to grow. Communities that rely on tourism are also at risk. Travel destinations often rely on the beauty of their natural environment to attract visitors, however, the destruction of natural environments due to climate change will result in fewer tourists and as a result, less income for these communities

Now that you know what eco-anxiety is, why it is on the rise, and who is most at risk, I would like to share my own experience with it. I have studied environmental science since my undergraduate degree, following that with a Masters of Environment and Sustainability. Due to this, I have been surrounded by environmental news, and what sometimes feels like a constant downpour of new climate crises. As a result, in my third year of university to be completely honest, I was rather depressed. Going to class every day was a constant reminder that we, and I, were not doing enough to combat climate change and that even if I did change, I felt it was too late. This resulted in me feeling hopeless and apathetic about the future, often wondering to myself what the point of it all was. This was also at a time when it was quite apparent that the reefs back in my home of Barbados were dying, and we were also experiencing one of our worst droughts ever. I say this all to let you know that if you ever feel this way, you really aren’t alone. I spent the first semester of that year pessimistic and apathetic. If you asked me what I thought of the future, I would’ve probably (annoyingly) said ‘What future?’, if you asked me what we could do I would have replied with a quick ‘nothing.’ Now, do I still feel eco-anxiety? Of course! I honestly think that if you are in tune with the environment it is impossible to avoid. However, apathy doesn’t lead to change, and change is something that we desperately need. I was privileged to be able to go to therapy during this time which helped me understand what I was feeling and identify ways to better cope with these feelings. This coupled with changes in my life, such as becoming vegetarian, spending more time in nature, and living an all-around more eco-friendly lifestyle have helped me deal with my own feelings greatly.

At this point, I’m sure you’re wondering how to address eco-anxiety. MedicalNewsToday has some great tips, as well as a few of my own. The first, and one I can say from personal experience helped me greatly, is by taking action. Action can be taken by volunteering with environmental groups, spreading environmental awareness, and making greener choices in your lifestyle, such as by reducing your meat intake. For me, taking action was done in the form of going vegetarian, attending more rallies, and volunteering – all of which helped relieve a sense of hopelessness about my future. Another way to help alleviate eco-anxiety is by spending time in nature and fostering a better personal connection with the environment. Some professionals recommend keeping a rock, dried flower, or other natural objects to look at or touch as a grounding technique when feeling overwhelmed. Refusing to be in denial is another important, but difficult way to deal with these feelings. Despite wanting to push these feelings away or bury your head in the sand, dealing with them and acknowledging them is incredibly important. Allow yourself to understand why you are feeling this way, and if you feel guilt, forgive yourself for your past actions and commit to doing better moving forward. That is not to say however that you need to be engaged in climate change discourse at all times. It is important to know when to disengage and allow yourself to rest, and also important to ensure that the information causing you this anxiety is accurate and trustworthy. Finally, if possible, speaking to a professional can always help with any feelings of anxiety, and eco-anxiety is no different. If you don’t want to, or can’t speak to a professional, try speaking to someone you trust about these feelings, and always remember, you really aren’t alone. Eco-anxiety is something that we will all probably feel at some point, however, I hope that these feelings can be turned into ones of action and will help us to create a better, less stressful future.

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The first activist we would like to shine a spotlight on is someone a few of you may already know, but who deserves to be recognised by all in Canada, as well as globally. This person is Autumn Peltier. Peltier is from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Being born and raised here, Peltier was surrounded by the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world. Growing up in such an environment allowed her to understand the importance of freshwater and why we must protect it. When she was just eight years old, Peltier attended a ceremony at Serpent River First Nation in Ontario with her mother. It was at Serpent River that Peltier first noticed signs warning of ‘toxic’ drinking water. Water contamination on reserves has been an issue for years at this point, and one that the government, despite making promises, still have not been able to address. In an interview from 2019 with Women of Influence she recounts her mother explaining that for over ten years this community has had a boiled-water advisory, and the shock that made her feel. In an interview with Maclean’s, Peltier says that this ceremony was an eye opener for the work that she does.

Peltier also drew inspiration from her Aunt Josephine Mandamin, stating in the 2021 interview with Macleans that prior to her passing, Josephine asked that she continue with her work. “Carrying on her legacy is one of the most important things to me,” stated Peltier. Josephine Mandamin, also known as “Water Walker” was a founding member of the water protectors movement, a founder of the Mother Earth Water Walkers, and Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner. It is through Mandamin as well as her mother that Peltier was inspired to take action, saying “I advocate for water because we all came from water and water is literally the only reason we are here today and living on this earth.” In her interview with Macleans in 2021, Peltier was asked what the best piece of advice she had received from Mandamin, stating it was just before she passed when she said, “‘People are going to try to stop you, but you just have to keep on doing the work and keep on loving the water.’ And she was right. It was her saying that that helped me realize that I can’t let people get to me.” With such influential people surrounding her from her youth, it is apparent why she has been so inspired, as well as commendable for continuing on their legacy. 

(PHOTO: IREVAPHOTOGRAPHY LINDA ROY OF WIIKWEMKOONG UNCEDED FIRST NATION, MANITOULIN ISLAND ONTARIO, source: FashionMagazine.com)

Due to the influence of her Aunt Josephine and mother, Peltier has been an activist from young, which I find to be greatly inspiring personally. Can you remember what you were doing at age 12? The first instance in which Peltier was thrust into the spotlight was in 2016, at the age of 12, and a moment which I’m sure a few of you remember. This was at the annual winter meeting of the Assembly of First Nations where at such a young age, she showed more courage than most grown adults, directly criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to his face, saying “I am very unhappy with the choices you’ve made,” to which Trudeau responded “I understand that. I will protect the water.” In her 2021 interview with Macleans, Peltier addresses this moment and the action that has been taken by the Prime Minister since. In this interview she states that the moment was not planned, and that she had actually been told not to say anything to the Prime Minister, as she states however, not many people are given the opportunity to share their thoughts with him, and she had to take that opportunity. Since then, the Trudeau government promised to end all water boil advisories across Canada by March, 2021 – a promise that was not met. In response to this, Peltier said “To promise to resolve a big issue like that within a certain amount of time and [not do it], and there are still communities that can’t drink their water after over 25 years, how are we supposed to trust the government? How are we supposed to believe him? I feel he pretends to care.” When asked what Trudeau could do to regain this trust she responded by saying rather than making empty promises or simply speaking on the issue, that action is actually taken. As you can see, sadly much hasn’t changed in government since then, but neither has Peltier’s persistence and determination to enact these changes. 

Since 2016, much has changed for Autumn Peltier. As of 2019, she was named the new “water walker” or Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation, a role she took upon the passing of previous water commissioner, Josephine Mandamin, her aunt. When asked about her appointal, Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare said that it was a very easy choice to make as “Autumn has extensive nibi giikendaaswin (water knowledge). She has been bringing global attention to the water issues in our country for a few years now.” Additionally, Autumn has given many inspiring speeches. The first of which was in 2018 where she was invited to speak at the Global Landscapes Forum in New York City where she directly addressed the UN and other important decision makers. During this address, her passion for water protection was thoroughly conveyed with quotes such as “We can’t eat money or drink oil” being quoted globally. Peltier was invited to speak at the United Nation Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019, Peltier shared the stage with a fellow youth activist I’m certain all of you know, Greta Thunberg. This speech in 2019 saw her gaining a large following, with her instagram growing from five thousand to over one hundred thousand after the event, allowing her voice to be heard across the globe and inspire thousands. 

Recognition is not what Peltier strives for, but rather action, however she has received numerous awards over the years that have resulted in more people being aware of her efforts, and as such supporting them. Some of these awards include being at the top of the Maclean’s 20 to watch in 2020 list, as well as being named as the only woman in the BBC Top Women of 2019. Peltier was also nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2017, 2018, and 2019, also being named a “science defender” by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2019. Most recently, Peltier was awarded the 2021 RevolutionHer Community Vision Youth Award for her work as the Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation. 

Autumn Peltier is an inspiration to me not only because of how young she began her activism, but also due to her persistence and passion for water protection over the years. While many become jaded in the face of environmental concerns and often lose motivation, Peltier has continued to advocate bravely, never afraid to stand up for what she believes in. As touched on in the 2021 Macleans interview, the COVID pandemic has shown that in emergencies, funds and resources are able to be mobilised readily – a frustrating fact for Peltier as these same funds can clearly be allocated to the current drinking water emergencies being faced on reserves. 

We hope that by learning more about Peltier and her advocacy you too feel this frustration about the inaction of the government, and that you turn this frustration into action and advocacy. This Earth Day, call in sick to work and make your voices heard about water rights, and of course, all environmental rights. Stay tuned for next week’s continuation of this series, highlighting another, lesser known environmental activist deserving of our recognition. 

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Siobhan’s Environmental Origin Story

I am about to graduate my undergrad in Environment, Resources and Sustainability with a minor in English Language and Literature. Throughout my 5-year degree, I have had 4 very different co-op jobs in environmental education, ecological lab work, environmental journalism (at A\J!), and fieldwork in Labrador for my own research. I am passionate about ecology and writing and using creative means for environmental learning. I’m a budding environmental professional and I’m eager to go into the world and make positive change.

All of this is fine and dandy, but you could learn all of that about me from my LinkedIn page. It’s only a part of my bigger story. We all have a story (or multiple) of how we have become who we are now and I often reflect on mine. It always starts with, naturally, my childhood. I’ve been an advocate for nature my entire life. I developed a relationship with nature from a young age because I had the privilege to do so. I had a heart for animals, plants, and the natural parts of life. I went camping and hiking with my family when I was young. I had parents who forced me outside to play on nice days (and there wasn’t that much else to do back then anyway). Growing up, I used my imagination to create games with nature. I climbed trees, I caught bugs and let them crawl up my arms and legs, I made “cookies” out of mud and grass and whatever other special ingredients I could find. I remember having fun outdoors and feeling free when I was.

A lot of my comfort in nature stems from my time spent at my family’s cottage in Prince Edward Island. PEI is my favourite place in the world and my heart belongs there. I was so lucky to spend most of my childhood summers at the cottage, right by the ocean. I was given a lot of freedom there. My grandparents, who were usually taking care of my sister and I when my dad couldn’t stay long because of work, let us explore to our hearts’ content. I ran around playing games with my cousins, chasing butterflies, swimming in the ocean, catching crabs and lobsters and starfish, playing in the red clay along the cliffs, and exploring everywhere I possibly could. It was a dream.

In high school, I started becoming more aware of environmental issues despite never having any formal environmental education in any of my schooling years. I started making changes in my lifestyle to be more environmentally-conscious. I began with the simplest first steps into environmental learning: I started caring about recycling and composting and reducing waste. At 16, I went vegan. A small seed of environmentalism started growing inside of me. As it grew, I started thinking more about environmental issues, and I felt driven to know more and do more. I took an interest in my high school biology classes as it was the closest subject at my school to any kind of environmental science. Then, I began to feel driven to talking to people about environmental issues. And then, the time came when I had to choose where and what I wanted to study in university. Biology was the natural choice.

I went to Queen’s University for my first year in General Science. During my year, I realized that Queen’s wasn’t the right fit for me. I also realized I was in the wrong program. I was not passionate about biology and chemistry and geology. I was passionate about environmentalism, including how humans were so tied to environmental issues, so I started avidly searching other universities for a program that suited my passion. My search led me to the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment. I discovered a program called Environment, Resources, and Sustainability, which included a diversity of interdisciplinary courses with topics ranging from ecology, to environmental history; environmental assessment, policy and governance; gender and environment; environmental psychology; water governance; and beyond. From my first day in ERS, I knew it was exactly where I needed and wanted to be. I found my niche. I realized that I could spend my education – and in turn, my career and life – studying and pursuing my passion. I desperately wanted to make the world a better place for people and nature, and that has not changed in me. That passion led me here, to A\J, to tell stories about environmental topics in the hopes of informing and inspiring others. It has led me to all the spaces I’ve been able to dip my toes in my undergrad and I expect it will lead me into whatever comes next for me.

Although the passion for environmentalism is a huge driver in this field of work, it can be really hard to stay motivated at times, especially since constantly learning about environmental and world issues can be depressing and often brings feelings of eco-anxiety, cynicism, and helplessness. But staying focused on the vision of a better world is crucial. I do so by looking to my friends, my professors, and other activists. There are so many people in environmental work who are just so incredibly motivating and encouraging. Being inspired by others helps all those negative feelings fade and reignites the excitement. 

I’m still a very fresh environmental thinker, writer, and researcher – it’s barely just the beginning for me – but I really do see myself spending my whole life in this field of work. As the years go by, I might become more jaded and hard around the edges, but I know the core purpose of why I chose to be in this space will be the same. It’s pretty simple. No matter where I end up or what I end up doing throughout my career, my heart for people and for nature will drive me towards the spaces that need me most. I can only hope now, at the start of this journey, that I will thrive in those spaces, places, and opportunities, and help others to do the same.

Alex’s Environmental Origin Story

My environmental origin story is probably different to yours, however, at the end of the day we all want the same thing – a sustainable future for the earth we are lucky enough to live on. I was born and raised in Barbados – a small island in the Caribbean and it is due to this upbringing that I am as passionate about the environment as I am.

From the time I was young, no one has been able to keep me from the beach or from the embrace of the ocean. As a kid I probably spent more time in the sea than I did at my house – what I would give to spend that much time in the Caribbean sun again! There has always been something about the ocean that calms me – the quietness I feel when snorkeling is a kind of stillness I have never been able to replicate, a calmness that grounds me and reminds me of the harmony that should exist between us and nature. I can remember going snorkeling for as long as I remember going to the beach. When I was young, my dad would pull me out on a boogie board so that I could see the reefs that I wasn’t quite strong enough to swim to yet. As I grew older I continued to snorkel on these same reefs and even found a few new ones of my own. To this day one of my favourite hobbies is floating along the surface of the ocean, trying my best not to disturb the fish as we peacefully coexist.

In school I was always interested in geography, more specifically earth system sciences and earth processes. The hurricanes that seemed to just miss us every year intrigued me, as well as the way that earth evolved over millennia due to tectonic movements. For example, Barbados is one of the few islands in the Caribbean that is not volcanic, but rather having been formed by the collision of the Atlantic and Caribbean plates causing a landmass to be built up. Coral was then formed on this landmass and as it continued to grow and be pushed upward, Barbados was formed. Coral reefs – pretty important! We’ll be back to them soon. As a result, my plan was always to major in geography – we didn’t have any environmental science courses at my school, so this wasn’t even on my horizon. It wasn’t until I went to Queen’s University in 2015 when I realised that while I love earth processes, I might love earth itself even more. During my first year I took general science which allowed me to take a few courses more geared towards environmental science – at the time, the first environmental science course offered at Queen’s was in second year. During this time I was also beginning to notice a change in a natural environment I knew very well. The reefs. 

If you know anything about reefs I’m sure you know they haven’t been having a great time recently. Coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures and ocean acidification due to a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide has resulted in reefs around the world being threatened. Recently, it was announced that the Great Barrier Reef was experiencing another mass bleaching event – this time even more concerningly during the cooler periods when La Nina is in effect. I have unfortunately been able to witness these effects firsthand. I truly wish I had documented the reefs I have had the privilege to snorkel on over the course of my life. A piece of me is glad I didn’t – the memories make me sad enough, I don’t know if I could handle looking at pictures of what once was. Over the course of my life I have watched these reefs turn from bountiful underwater landscapes, teeming with vibrant forms of all ocean life, to barren, grey landscapes, covered in seaweed and fire coral. Sidenote – don’t touch any coral, however DON’T TOUCH fire coral, it feels like a third degree burn… maybe this is nature getting back at us. Not only has the coral died, but the fish which it provides a habitat for have disappeared as well. What used to be schools of vibrant parrot fish, cavalli, snapper, have turned into fleeting schools of small baitfish like sprats, or even the newly arrived and invasive lionfish species. These changes were directly as a result of coral bleaching as the water has become warmer, as well as poorly planned coastal construction projects which have resulted in fine sediments being deposited on the reefs, starving them of light.

Being able to see these changes first hand while also reading about them in textbooks or on the news was really what made me realise that my passion aligned more with protecting the earth than it did studying its processes. It also made me realise the disproportionate effects of climate change as the large countries creating the majority of these warming greenhouse gases weren’t feeling the true effects of the pollution they were causing. While people in North America joked about warmer Christmases, our reefs were dying, hurricanes were becoming more prevalent, and the worst droughts we had faced in years were causing water use bans. Imagine having trucks bring you all of the water you were allowed to use once a week. Can you? All the while continuing to peddle my home as a tropical paradise to be used to escape from the reality of the ‘real world’. It is paradise – but it’s only a consistent paradise for tourists, especially those staying on all inclusive resorts that do almost nothing for our island economy.  As a result I decided to major in Environmental Science and minor in Geography. I still felt there was more to learn, and more that I could do however, and decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Environment and Sustainability from Western University.

This brings me to today. In the past I have worked for the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology creating flood maps for Caribbean nations as they prepare for more inclement weather events. Now at A\J, I am lucky enough to have the opportunity and the platform to raise awareness about environmental issues. And that is really what I have always strived for. To make people aware of their actions and the consequences of living a life of blissful ignorance. Sure, it’d be lovely to drive a way-too-fast sports car, eat all the steak in the world, fly around on planes with no guilt, but that’s not the case and it never will be. At present I am happy to have some impact, and have the chance for my voice to be heard and hopefully inspire. While my initial passion for the environment may have been spurred in my home of Barbados, as we all know, climate change is a global issue and not a local one. I try my best to create positive environmental change here in Canada, as well as back home, however I know there is more to be done. I think this is something that everyone realises at some point in their environmental awakening – we can’t ever do enough. There is always more to be done and ways we can improve. I try to live my life with this in the back of my mind at all times and hope that my actions will inspire others to take action, and to always remember, to try just a little bit harder.

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The First Earth Day Rally, credit Earthday.org

Fast forward twenty years and Earth Day had finally gone global. This coincided with the creation of Earth Day the organization in France and Canada, leading to the creation of Earth Day Canada (Jour de la Terre Canada). Since 1995, Quebec has celebrated Earth Day by hosting environmental awareness activities and rallies, and has continued to grow due to their ability to mobilise numerous stakeholders. During the 90s, the importance of Earth Day had grown so much that US President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Gaylord Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honour given to civilians in the US, due to his role in the establishment of Earth Day. 

Earth Day has been able to remain successful due to its readiness to evolve with the times. This was seen in Earth Day 2000 where the now widely established internet was used to reach out to over 5000 environmental groups in 184 countries. The message that year was clear, citizens demanded fast action on climate change. There were of course challenges along the way. In the 2010s, Earth Day and climate change activists were met with an influx of climate deniers, rich oil lobbyists, and a public that was slipping into cynical views of environmental change. Despite these challenges, Earth Day and earthday.org were able to prevail, and continue to establish themselves as global environmental movements. 

Now, Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by over 1 billion people each year as a day to create local, and global environmental change. By adopting digital strategies and using the power of social media, Earth Day has been able to continue to grow and mobilise citizens around the world. Even in the face of a global pandemic, Earth Day was able to shift its celebrations to digitally uplift the voice of concerned environmentalists all across the globe. 

This year, we are very excited to be creating a series in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, as we prepare to celebrate this April 22nd. This series will be titled “Every Day Eco Heroes” and will celebrate the efforts of environmentalists both locally and globally by shining a spotlight on their actions. By doing so, we hope to inspire all of you to treat every day like it is Earth Day, and be the best eco-heroes we can be. This main series will be posted every Friday, starting next week on April 8. Apart from this main series, we also have a few fun, more informal articles which will be released every Monday. These posts will include environmental tips and ways that we can all show Earth a little more love. 

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