Category Uncategorized

There’s an old word for Trump’s brand of nationalism: ‘hatriotism’

The term perfectly describes people who cloak toxic intolerance in patriotism. Let’s bring it back.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/07/theres-an-old-word-for-trumps-brand-of-nationalism-hatriotism?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

I will start by saying that I am saddened by the fact that these kinds definitions are needed for the types of global events we are seeing. At the same time, things are happening, and a response is required.

As a Canadian, I think that most Canadians are pretty happy to be Canadian – no major complaints. However, my sense of what makes being Canadian good is that Canadians are known as peaceful, polite and always welcoming of diversity. This idea of Canada being “the best country” has never been part of any dialogue I’ve been part of – and Canadians, I think, generally recognize that there are lots of things we do well, and lots of things to learn from how other countries do things well.

Some things, however, just don’t mix: Free speech is great – but once it crosses the line into hate speech, it has no place. I’m happy to love being a Canadian, (for myself and others) but not once it crosses into discrimination, exclusivity and pushing others away. Being welcoming, positive and supportive will always be better than building walls (whether physical or emotional), rejecting diversity and pushing people away. 🙂

I have recently had two websites come my way (thanks to others who found them and passed them on to me!).

Based on first impressions, they both seem extremely well-researched and valuable. I am sharing them both with you here. Happy reading and researching! 🙂

The Gold Standard: Extensive research on the carbon footprint of various activities, concrete actions to take to reduce our footprint, and data for individuals/businesses etc. Includes data on carbon reductions, as well as offsets, for any reductions that we are not able to make.

Climate Neutral: Certification for businesses that are making concrete efforts to measure and significantly reduce/eliminate their carbon footprint.

Hi all,

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in the last few months. Here’s a quick explanation. As a result of a relatively minor car accident (other driver at fault, I hit my knee on the vehicle dashboard), I broke my kneecap at the end of January. That meant that a lot of the winter was taken up with recovery/physio etc, which then basically merged into summer holidays.

As a result, I have fallen behind on some things, including updates here. However, I have some new ideas that I have been working on during recovery, and hopefully those will make their way up here soon, along with some more basic updates that just didn’t happen over the last few months. Stay tuned! 🙂

Starting to get caught up here on items that I had noted but not actually posted while I was recovering from my knee injury. Here is further evidence to add to the growing pile of reports, all encouraging a plant-based diet as one of several key responses to climate change. It really is easier than it sounds like (if you haven’t done it already.) Give it a try and see how it feels. Doesn’t have to be all or nothing – every step that everybody takes is another piece in the collective response. 🙂

IPCC leaked report: Going vegetarian and controlling land use are key to climate crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/03/ipcc-land-use-food-production-key-to-climate-crisis-leaked-report?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Rick Steves Wants to Save the World, One Vacation at a Time https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/20/magazine/rick-steves-travel-world.html

https://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/ensure-fair-travel-advisories-for-the-middle-east

I just found out that there has been a change to the Canadian travel advisories for Egypt! It has been upgraded from “Avoid non-essential travel” to “Exercise a high degree of caution,” with a couple of exceptions for certain regions.
https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/egypt

For a variety of reasons, (many of which I am unclear about), I was unable to get traction on this petition, compared, for example, to another public petition that I also have active right now. However, myself and others have had a variety of conversations with various decision-makers around this issue over the years. I take absolutely no credit for this change. However, I am very grateful to all of the decision-makers that have found the time to chat with me (and others), over the last several years – for their time, openness to discussing this topic and for the change that they have now implemented.

The petition will stay live for at least a bit longer. If I see that there is some traction there, that would be great, and would help to demonstrate public support on this important issue.

Great article on power and gender dynamics – which go far beyond the US case studies the author examines.

This quote really succinctly summarizes some key pieces of the male-dominated status quo, in my opinion.

According to this script, power is meritocratic; those who earn it do so individually through their own hard work. Power has a particular look and a particular sound: tall and deep-voiced. Power is all-encompassing: a partner and children are the backdrop for a life centered on the pursuit of greatness; family indicates that the powerful person is grounded enough to be trusted, but the family is fundamentally a body that benefits from the powerful person, not a body that benefits him and fundamentally enables his success. (Bold mine).

And here is an alternate option:

From these women, the message is clear: Their strength comes from collaborative, generational efforts to move toward the good. The promise of America is not the possibility of individuals going at it alone and achieving in a high-profile way as a result, and the purpose of politics is not personal empowerment. The gift of power requires the responsibility of appreciating who came before you and how you might do your part to push forward. Powerful men have always considered their individual legacies. These powerful women seem more interested in their role in improving an evolving and complex ecosystem. (Bold mine).

Women shouldn’t adapt to the existing lie; men in the political realm should be more honest.  (Bold mine).

Thoughts?

When Honest Women Replace ‘Self-Made’ Men https://nyti.ms/2H5HQLW

Trump’s economy is great for billionaires, not for working people

And, I would suggest, this is not a problem that is limited to the US. Massive income and wealth gaps are destructive in so many ways. Stronger systems are needed, as mentioned – free post-secondary education and so many others – along with so many other changes.

So, here are a few questions that come to mind around questions of income inequality:

• At what point will it be seen as socially undesirable to be a CEO, for example, who makes massive sums of money when entry level staff are struggling to make ends meet?
• Why, in some circles, is it seen as desirable to be ultra-wealthy, find tax loopholes etc?
• On a more basic level, (this is the simple living Menno coming out in me), do we really fully challenge ourselves to not be tempted by a house/car/income that is bigger than we actually need? Do we nudge ourselves to see simple living and equality as a positive goal to embrace?
• How would our houses and lifestyles be viewed by the newcomer families that we support?
• Do we support political systems, parties and policies that truly support equality for everybody, including equality and justice for the environment?

There’s lots more that I could add, but I’ll leave it here for now. 🙂

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/16/trump-economy-billionaires-working-people?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Immediate fossil fuel phaseout could arrest climate change – study

This is a further reminder that critical changes are both necessary, and capable of having significant influence on the future stability and sustainability of the planet. This is a matter of choice – and it’s a choice that needs to be made now, not in a generation or two. 🙂

The study found that if all fossil fuel infrastructure – power plants, factories, vehicles, ships and planes – from now on are replaced by zero-carbon alternatives at the end of their useful lives, there is a 64% chance of staying under 1.5C.

Naturally, in order to increase that 64% to something higher, infrastructure must be replaced before it would be otherwise. In addition, other steps must be taken, starting immediately – smaller houses, more solar panels and wind turbines, removing gas vehicles from the roads as quickly as possible and other steps as well.

The work also assumes a rapid end to beef and dairy consumption, which is responsible for significant global emissions.

This means a significant, and immediate move towards a heavily plant-based diet for everybody. It means no longer viewing meat and dairy-based meals as the default for school cafeterias, restaurants, church potlucks and other places where people gather. It means making the switch even if you really like cheese and burgers and yogurt, or if meat is what you grew up eating. All of those may be true, but we are in a crisis, and drastic times call for drastic measures, and the time for change is now. 🙂

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/immediate-fossil-fuel-phaseout-could-arrest-climate-change-study?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Totally agree! 🙂

As a tangent, I will add that I find there is inconsistency around grant proposal language (inputs, outputs, outcomes, indicators etc). Feels to me that there is a lot that could be done to make that process more clear, and, by extension, more helpful – both for the donor (get more useful info) and for the partner (opens up space for more useful conversation and communication).

There are other areas where this is applicable as well, but I’ll leave it here for now. 🙂

Thoughts?

NOTE: For some reason, the link seems to be showing up either not at all, or twice. Hopefully it works when I publish. If not, I’ll try to correct it. 🙂