There has been some work going on behind the scenes, and I invite you to check out the new and improved MennoAdventures IG page! There are still a few updates being integrated, and I appreciate your patience as those get fixed.
In the meantime, in the comments, please introduce yourself and share where you live – and one sustainability change you have made in the past that you are excited about. Have you reduced or quit flying? Switched to more plant-based eating? Become vegetarian or vegan? Encouraged your office/school/worship space/extended family/friends to be more actively LGBTQ+ safe? Something else? I look forward to hearing what everyone is up to!
After a quieter than expected spring and summer here, due to some scheduling conflicts and vacation time on my end (sorry about that!), things are back up and running – and there are some big ideas being worked on to build up and improve the website over the fall and winter.
You may have noticed that the online store has been growing slowly and steadily. If you haven’t checked it out recently, I encourage you to do so. One of my favourites, from this summer, is the Lomi home composter – we tested ours on some camping trips this summer, and it performed beautifully!
I also had the privilege of attending my first Toronto Pride Parade this summer, visiting with some family and friends, and finding time for some much needed vacation.
Now, we are into fall, and that means it’s back to work! For the website, fall and winter, this year, means an increased focus on all things sustainable, looking at both individual and systemic changes that we need to make, as well as individual changes that lead to systemic changes.
Looking for things that you can change right now, to help build a better tomorrow? Here’s today’s list:
Eliminate (or very significantly reduce) consumption of animal products
Animal products are a very significant contributor to the climate crisis (plus a Whole Foods Plant-Based diet is far healthier!).
Want to go all the way and go into winter plant-based? Use up what you currently have in your fridge or freezer, and don’t by anything else. Instead of adding chicken or other meat to your pasta (for example), add a tin of chickpeas or kidneys – it’s more sustainable, healthier and cheaper. Why pay more to wreck the climate?
Quit flying
If you can’t quit all the way now, cut the worst flights first:
short and medium haul flights, as well as any flights for a short trip eg flying to a resort for a week in winter, flying out for a conference/meeting etc. Instead, find somewhere local for a holiday, and join the meeting remotely.
If you must fly, limit it to only the absolutely essential trips, and limit yourself to one flight/year or less (as your max – less is much better). Can you challenge yourself (and others in your circles) to reduce yourselves to one flight every 5 years? Every 10 years? Something else?
Advocate for better choices and policies at the institutional level
Ironically, some faith groups (and others) are still acting in a manner that seems completely backwards – actively refusing to do what’s needed to address the climate crisis, while ALSO putting huge amounts of time and energy into things like ensuring that they continue to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, newcomers, women, minorities and others. It’s wrong, and the only thing that will change it is if we all speak up and demand something better.
We need to put all of our time and energy into doing what’s right – saving the planet and ending discrimination.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/climate-change-denial-fossil-fuel-think-tank-sceptic-misinformation-1.5297236
Bottom line: Climate change is an absolutely critical issue, and the time for action (other than starting decades ago), is right now. Misinformation campaigns have no place in this, but they are there, and need to be dealt with, so that they do not impede climate action, at the pace that is needed.
Now is not the time for moderate action, or “let’s try a few things that aren’t too difficult and see how they feel” or anything else. It’s time to throw everything we’ve got at the issue.
For me, in the immediate term, that means electing Green MPs (because I believe that they have the strongest climate action plan.) Also, it means switching to proportional representation – to make it easier for people to vote positively (ie for Greens or whoever), instead of feeling pressured to vote negatively (ie “you have to vote for your second or third choice to make sure someone worse doesn’t get elected.”)
If we, collectively, vote overwhelmingly for candidates that support strong climate action, and PR, we can, in one election, shake up the current, broken system and build something better! (As far as I am aware, Greens and NDP are the only two parties that support both – though the Green climate platform is stronger). This will require massive turnout at the polls – but I believe that it’s doable, if we all work together, and bring others along. 🙂
I love the approach the author is taking here. I agree that there are certainly technical and financial discussions that need to be had, and they have value. However, doing the right thing, is ultimately a moral/faith issue, not a financial issue.
If our primary motivation is financial or technical, lots of the important decisions and changes that we need to make will not happen – since the right thing is (often) not the easiest or the cheapest. A deeper sense that we owe it to others to live sustainably is, in my opinion, critical to grounding ourselves to make the radical changes that creation care calls us to do.
Societies have rallied around war efforts (which I disagree with). This is the time to rally around what is right, and set ourselves on a rapid transition to zero carbon, then to carbon negative. There is no more time to delay. With collective effort, we can move forward, at an incredible pace – towards what’s right, instead of what’s easy. 🙂
Sometimes, in conversations around making the changes that are necessary for a cleaner, better environment, I hear people talk about any given change and, referring either to themselves or society generally, say “Well, maybe people could make that change, but it would take decades. Nobody can make that change fast, like the science is asking us to do.”
Here is my response: We have all had decades – starting back before I was born, and decades before my kids were born. Like a student who procrastinates all term and then has to do all of their work in the last week of the term, the opportunity to do things more gradually was there, and it wasn’t taken. Now, we have decades of work to do and we have to get it done. There are no extensions available.
It’s time to act – removing fossil fuel subsidies, adding major subsidies to renewables to speed the transition, switching to a local and heavily plant-based diet, living in smaller and more energy efficient homes, getting gas guzzling vehicles off the roads, flying less, reducing emissions in all areas, electing leaders (like Elizabeth May and the Green Party) who will put climate action at the top of the agenda, knowing that some changes will be relatively easy and some will be harder. We need to meet (and exceed) the major climate agreement targets – and we need to do it fast. I believe that it can be done – all it requires is the will to step out of our comfort zone, make the changes and do the right thing.
