Archives August 2019

Great video on the importance of making sure that teens get enough sleep. Fairly short, and very informative. Well worth watching. 🙂

Fortunately, personally, we don’t have any really early start times in our family (school starts shortly after 8 for our teens) – but nudging things later would still be of benefit, I think. It’s still before the 8:30 start that she suggests for the earliest recommended start time. Worth taking a serious look at how to adjust our systems to help our teens stay healthy and well-rested.

Recently published on BBC, this is an excellent food emissions calculator. For the record, I am not verifying the data – I trust BBC and the scientists that they work with to do the work, and do it well. 🙂

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46459714

Entering in a food item (not all are there, but there is a reasonably representative list), gives the carbon emissions, and compares both to

• other items with a similar footprint (eg eating tofu 2/week for one year = driving xx km or showering xx times/week) and to
• other similar food items (eg eating tofu has xx emissions, compared to xx for eggs/chicken/beef etc.)

Hint: Tofu, along with other whole foods, plant-based options (eg beans and nuts), has much lower emissions than animal products. 🙂

In light of the ongoing gun-related violence in the US, Amnesty International has issued a travel advisory for the US. (See details below.) I have traveled in places with travel advisories, and have done so with a clear sense of the dangers, along with safety plans etc, as needed. In the US, however, despite rampant gun ownership and violence, most countries still do not have travel advisories against travel into the US.
Until that gap is reconciled, advisories recognize the extent of the problem, and there are meaningful safety plans in place for travelers into the US (as there would be if such levels of random gun violence were taking place anywhere else, for example), I do not plan on entering the US. I encourage others to do the same. 🙂
Thoughts?
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Amnesty International today issued a travel warning calling for possible travelers and visitors to the United States to exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the country due t
Source: Global Human Rights Movement Issues Travel Warning for the U.S. Due to Rampant Gun Violence

Hi all,

I have just added a new section on NGO Program Assessments and Organizational Sustainability: https://sustainabledevelopmentresources.wpcomstaging.com/ngo-program-project-assessements-and-sustainability/ I will be adding more over time, and cleaning up some of the other pages that need updating. Happy Reading! 🙂

SJM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/08/06/gun-violence-america-prompts-growing-list-countries-issue-travel-warnings/?noredirect=on

I have seen some discussion over the last number of years around the question of a travel boycott to the US – specifically in relation to their high rates of gun ownership, assault weapons, gun violence etc.

While I, as a Canadian, would like to be able to travel across the border, as I have many times in the past, I am becoming increasingly concerned – and very close to the point where I am not willing to enter the US any more.

I have been involved a little bit in discussions related to travel advisories for Canada to other places and have learned a little bit about how they work – but it’s still quite unclear to me exactly what the parameters are for each level etc.

However, in my personal experience, it seems to me that if a country in the Middle East, for example, had the rates of personal ownership of high capacity assault weapons as the US does, there would be much stronger travel advisories from Western countries than any of them have for the US at this point.

That suggests that the US advisory is unfairly low – and creates a level of disconnect that is misleading. It suggests that the US is safer than it actually is, particularly in relation to other countries which have higher advisories (which they may or may not deserve.) What might a Canadian (or other) travel advisory look like if the true extent of the gun situation was truly being accounted for?

As a Canadian (and we are generally pretty peaceful types) and a Mennonite/pacifist, I have very strong concerns about the highly weaponized nature of life in the US. I think that the time has come to think more carefully about how to respond to this issue. Is it time for people to start actively avoiding trips into the US until they enact significant gun control laws and get their assault weapons off the streets and out of the hands of civilians?

Thoughts?

Excellent summary from Charity Village on some key pieces related to leadership and transitions.

https://charityvillage.com/cms/content/topic/nextgen_leaders_six_ways_to_make_room_for_the_next_generation_of_leaders#.XS3OAOhKhns

While I am not specifically familiar with the stats related to upcoming transition trends etc, I have definitely seen some of the basic trends reflected in my professional circles. (Of course, seeing it in some places does not mean that it is happening everywhere – just that I have observed it in some places.)

Specifically, what I have observed – in some cases – matches with many of the dynamics highlighted here, particularly in smaller orgs. Without naming names, I will say that I have observed these – and other related dynamics – many times over the years.

I think that we can do better! Let’s open up our orgs and make room for new ideas and new leaders to emerge. That will mean that, sometimes, people will need to let go of positions that they have been in for a long time, in order to create space for others. That’s a good thing – orgs are grateful for the contributions of people who have been there for a long time, and also need to make space for new people to learn, grow and succeed. 🙂

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