Category COVID 19 Pandemic

Travel, and especially international travel, has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. With my first international flights, when I was young, not surprisingly, the carbon emissions of our flights was not on my radar. Even later, as an adult, I was, at times, doing more than one return, trans-Atlantic flight per year, without a second thought.

In the last 5-10 years (maybe a bit more), in my circles, at least, I have started seeing increased awareness of the fact that the way we are travelling (either for work or for fun), is not sustainable. At the same time, even in my circles (which include many people who are very aware of the climate crisis, as well as others for whom climate awareness is fairly low), very few people (other than the most highly dedicated climate activists among us), are reducing their flying. People are still flying for work trips (which could perhaps have been done remotely) and still flying long distances for short vacations.

For the climate, Covid was, in many ways, a blessing in disguise. It forced us to stop flying unnecessarily and cut down on endless hours of driving and commuting to work, among other things. However, now that we are two years into Covid, some people are starting again with flying and other high-emissions activities, in some cases with a premise of “we’ve got 2.5 years of missed flying to make up for, so we’re doing extra now…”

Disclaimer for chart on right:

Among other things, this is trying to estimate carbon price/person for a fixed unit (eg an airplane) with inconsistent variables (eg number of people on the plane). If, as it often the case due to Covid etc, a plane is less full than the baseline for this calculation, the emissions/person will be much higher than indicated in the chart.

So, what does this mean? How do we move forward more positively?

• Tourism is responsible for roughly 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. (link). Flying accounts for a significant piece of that, and is a very easy piece to eliminate. Not only do we save $ by not booking expensive flights for holidays, we also significantly reduce our climate impact, especially if we are very intentional about choosing an alternative that is much more climate safe.
• Short and medium flights are very damaging, and are a very carbon intensive way to travel. This is even harder to justify if the trip was non-essential, or could have been done in any other way (eg train etc).
• Long-haul flights are lower emissions/km traveled (in some cases) but the damage is still there from the high number of total KMs travelled. As with shorter flights, many long-haul flights are non-essential and could easily be cancelled.
• Many trips in which a long-haul flight is booked, at least one shorter flight (if not more), is also included in the itinerary eg a short flight from a starting point to a major international airport, for example, and again on the return. Therefore, many trips are adding both the damage from a short-haul flight, with the extensive KMs of a long-haul flights, resulting in very high emissions for what may be a very short vacation.

As we start looking at how to spend this time summer, what changes can we, collectively, make to ensure that we build community and explore, while also not adding unnecessary damage to the environment?

For me, I will not be flying anywhere, as tempting as it is, because of the carbon emissions. What can we do instead?

• camping (in a tent or trailer)
• train trips
• exploring nearby cities or outdoor areas (eg provincial or national parks)
• explore something related to the region you want to travel to, but closer by eg want to travel to Italy? Your nearest big city probably has lots of great Italian restaurants and grocery stores to check out! Want to explore the ruins of an ancient city? Check out your nearest museum instead.
• others?

So, for this summer, and beyond, what changes will you make to how you explore the world, without damaging the climate? Let’s do this together!

‘OK Doomer’ and the Climate Advocates Who Say It’s Not Too Late https://nyti.ms/37R4NR4

A growing chorus of young people is focusing on climate solutions. “‘It’s too late’ means ‘I don’t have to do anything, and the responsibility is off me.’”

‘OK Doomer’ and the Climate Advocates Who Say It’s Not Too Late https://nyti.ms/37R4NR4

With evidence of the climate crisis growing every day, along with the rise of authoritarian governments, war and other tragedies, it can be hard to stay motivated to keep working for what’s right, for a sustainable, livable, safe planet, for everyone.

In development and sustainability circles, a phrase that is often heard is

Individual action is a great place to start, but a terrible place to end.

And it’s true, in certain ways. We absolutely need strong government action on many things. At the same time, the downside to phrasing our work like this is the somewhat implied apathy, which can lead to

It doesn’t really matter how much or little I try to change my own life, my own actions, how much I try to influence my circles or institutions to change. Someday, some bigger agent than me is going to swoop in and fix everything, so I’m off the hook. I can try a little bit, and then stop when it gets hard or inconvenient.

Here’s the catch. Big systems changes are needed, and we have to keep working for them AND those changes if/when they happen will simply accelerate the changes that, in many cases, we can already make now, for ourselves, without waiting.

For example:

So, while we continue to advocate for massive government intervention, which changes can we – individually and in our circles (extended family, faith group, community groups etc) make today? Which changes are you ready to make today? Which changes are we each prepared to make, even if nobody else does it with us?

In the comments below, let’s share which changes we are ready to make today. Which might we be ready to encourage others to do with us? What steps are we taking, today, for a better tomorrow?

More details on sustainabilty, and lots of zero-waste items, on the website!

CBC.ca

Some of you may remember hearing parts of his story several years ago. Now, Hassan Al Kontar has written a book about his experience, since he was welcomed into Canada as a refugee. I haven’t read the book yet, but it is on my e-reader, waiting for me to start (hopefully soon!)

Here is a bit of an update – and his perspective on what he has learned, as a refugee, and in a pandemic.

A group of volunteers, headed by Laurie Cooper of Whistler, B.C., learned about Al Kontar’s plight and organized on his behalf.

Cooper dubbed herself Al Kontar’s “Canadian mom.” She crowdsourced money for him, helped him navigate the asylum system, lobbied the government and co-ordinated with air travellers around the world to hook him up with food, money and supplies — including, of course, his much beloved coffee.

“They restored my faith in humanity,” he said.

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“That’s why my story is not only the Syrian war story. It’s also [about] a country called Canada and people called Canadians,” he said. “Because of them, I am now permanently safe.”

CBC

In addition to working on and speaking on refugee related issues, now that he is safely settled in Canada, Al Kontar has also spoken with the CBC of the impacts of the pandemic, and the related restrictions, especially as they started relatively soon after he had arrived in Canada.

The key to resilience and survival, he says, lies in having empathy for others. During the first couple of weeks of the pandemic, Al Kontar opened his door to find a bag of snacks that an anonymous person had left for him. He took this as an inspiration to volunteer at a food bank.

“If we are going to manage to beat this virus it’s through this kind of behaviour,” he said. (Bold mine)

CBC

It is imperative that we change our systems (including ending wars, actively and seriously addressing our climate crisis etc), so that people are never forced to flee their homes, and make difficult choices. At the same time, there remain countless reasons why people may want to – or need to – leave and resettle somewhere else. It is, without a doubt, our job to welcome others with open arms, every time. It is the right thing to do, and we need to find ways to be welcoming and inclusive, every time. 😀

More details:

• BBC Hassan al-Kontar: Who is the man trapped in an airport helping now?
• Globe: I was a Syrian refugee, trapped in an airport. Now, Canada is my home – and this is what that means to me

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Looking for zero-waste, plant-based or sustainable items? Check out the MennoAdventures online store! There are always lots of great deals to be found, with our many amazing partners! Happy browsing!

As with most things in life, we can not resolve problems until we fully, honestly admit the truth. Whether it’s the Middle East, COVID, the climate crisis, an inter-personal issue or anything else, we can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge. With honestly, hard work and determination to face problems head-on, we can create a better world. 💛

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Looking for zero-waste, plant-based or sustainable items? Check out the MennoAdventures online store! There are always lots of great deals to be found, with our many amazing partners! Happy browsing! 😀

Out of the many tragedies that have emerged from this pandemic, one of the few silver linings is the possibility that, once we have demonstrated the ability to completely shut down and restart our societies, we will, collectively, use that towards restarting in a manner that is safe and sustainable, for people and the planet. The power to do so is in our hands – all we have to do is make the choice, individually and collectively. The data could not be more clear – we know what we need to do, and we know how to do it.

• US urged to cut 50% of emissions by 2030 to spur other countries to action Guardian
• Global lockdown every two years needed to meet Paris CO2 goals – study Guardian
• NYTimes: Volvo Plans to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030 NYT

Carbon dioxide emissions must fall by the equivalent of a global lockdown roughly every two years for the next decade for the world to keep within safe limits of global heating, research has shown. (Bold mine).

Lockdowns around the world led to an unprecedented fall in emissions of about 7% in 2020, or about 2.6bn tonnes of CO2, but reductions of between 1bn and 2bn tonnes are needed every year of the next decade to have a good chance of holding temperature rises to within 1.5C or 2C of pre-industrial levels, as required by the Paris agreement.

Guardian

Changes of this scale, as with the pandemic, are multi-faceted, including individual actions (eg wearing masks, staying home when needed to protect ourselves and others), governmental (eg clear public health orders, income support as needed), business (eg switching to curbside pickup or work from home, where applicable). Likewise, for the climate crisis, we need all levels and sectors involved, doing everything possible to get us to where we need to be.

So, in the most immediate term, reducing our emissions by 50%+ over the next few years (and then further after that) is not a small task. How are we going to get there, and what actions can we take, starting today, to get us there, in each sector?

• Reducing the size of our home by 50% will reduce our heating/cooling emissions in half (as a rough estimate, simply because we have less space to heat/cool). If, by extension, we also own less stuff, there are emissions reductions (and other gains) to be found there, as well.
• Switching from an animal-based diet to a whole-foods, plant-based diet has a significant impact (exact % depends on what you were eating before, and whether you switch fully or partly to plant-based etc)
• Living in a higher density area helps reduce driving-related emissions, as more day-today trips are within walking distance (as does using public transit or an EV when you aren’t walking or biking)
• Significantly reducing or eliminating flights will take out a significant emissions source, depending on how much you were flying before and how much you reduce. Before flying, consider whether the flight is essential or not.
• Electing governments that are serious about tackling the climate crisis
• Supporting businesses that are working to tackle the climate crisis (zero waste and others) instead of business-as-usual
• Countless others – far too many to list here. 🙂

Naturally, different people will tackle things in their own order – and for someone who already lives in a small home in a high density area, downsizing is obviously not the place to start. However, most of us have room to improve, and places to start. What changes have you already made? Which are you interested in trying next? Which are you most curious about? Which do you think will be easier or more challenging?

We’re all in this together, so let’s help each other out, and build a better future for everyone!

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There are always lots of amazing deals on sustainable, zero-waste items in my online store! Check the website for details!

It is shocking (and quite disturbing) to me, that some faith groups still believe that they are called to a mandate of exclusion, instead of inclusion, on any of a wide number of otherwise protected identifiers, including gender and sexuality. Over and over, to the best of my knowledge, faith group and their major texts call for love of neighbour, welcome of the stranger, living simply and service to others. Nothing in that suggests, or allows, discrimination based on who we are at our core, or an acceptance of destruction of creation. And yet, some faith groups still fight for the right to discriminate, and avoid talking serious action on the climate crisis – and it must end.

Major Evangelical Adoption Agency Will Now Serve Gay Parents Nationwide

NYT

At a time when we are facing multiple global crises (including a pandemic and a climate crisis), faith groups should be leaders, setting an example of how to care for all of creation – including all people, animals, and the environment. Instead, some groups still put their energy into excluding others, and denying women the right to a full range of reproductive health services, as though that is the way to a better world for everyone.

A justification that I sometimes hear from others is that something can be found somewhere in one’s ancient texts to justify discrimination. In response, I would suggest that many people only take texts literally on things that are life-limiting for others, without requiring us to change ourselves. I’m suggesting a different approach (along with countless others).

Want to take the Bible or other ancient texts literally? How about focusing on the countless times that we are told not to accumulate wealth? Living simply requires a lot more from us than telling someone else how we think they should live their lives.

Think swapping out “My faith says that you should be straight” and replacing it with “My faith says that I should be less wealthy, live in a smaller home, eat more lentils, help others more, create less garbage and drive less often.”

Likewise, the admonition to not kill or steal features in many faith texts: how about putting our energy into banning militaries and the theft of natural resources (and extreme wealth discrepancies, locally and globally) that is contributing to climate change? The list could go on and on…

For faith groups to be relevant into the future, we need to, collectively, move beyond this idea that we can live our own lives as we wish, while excluding others, and destroying the planet. We can, and must do better, together. We can do it. 🙂

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There are lots of amazing, sustainable and zero waste items in the online store! Check out the website for details!

“The Caveman Diet: We Used To Eat Meat, But Should We Now?” (PBN)

There has been a lot of talk, in recent years/decades, about the idea of eating keto/low carb/like someone who lived in a cave. However, I think we can do better than that.

(Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I am offering is what I believe is common sense advice, and the opportunity to do some further reading and research for yourself and/or with your health care provider).

With that, comes this idea that eating bacon and eggs, steak and burgers is being true to our ancestors in some way.

So, for a person who likes eating bacon and eggs, the idea that continuing to do so is not only healthy, but being supportive of one’s history and ancestors, might have a certain appeal, even if it’s not actually supported by the evidence.

And, it turn out, the link is likely not that clear, and there are a number of gaps in the logic. For example, among others:

• our bodies have changed over time
• the diet that was eaten way back then clearly did not consist of freezers full of plastic-wrapped, factory farmed steaks and other similar items, bought in bulk at the grocery store
• our lifestyle now is widely different than it was in the past
• we understand far more now than we did, even 50-100 years ago, about the climate and emissions impacts of an animal-based diet and the need to switch to a plant-based diet
• the global population now is very different than it was long ago.

Actually, yes. Cavemen used to eat meat whenever they could get it, but this wasn’t often. In fact, almost never. You try hunting animals that are bigger and/or faster than you with the most rudimentary of tools, and you’ll quickly see how hard it is to snare your supper.

So, we actually ate very little meat and, thanks to recent improvements in DNA analysis of ancient teeth fragments, we know that we survived mainly on foraging for plants, nuts, and berries. Foraging is great because it keeps you in tune with nature: in season, eating locally and physically nimble and fit.

PBN

So, where does that leave us now? To reduce emissions, help ensure that everyone has enough to eat and be healthy, and to live in balance with people and the planet, the best evidence suggests a (heavily or fully) plant-based diet as the best path forward. Looking for more ideas, or resources? My website, along with countless others, have info and resources to help make the switch to plant-based eating easier to do.

Eating consciously, along with minimalism (rethinking consumption) mindfulness (rethinking our urges) environmentalism (rethinking our relationship with nature), is vital as we look to come back from Covid better and more harmonious than before. 

Everything is up for grabs when you consider how unhelpful much of our perceived wisdom is.

So eat like a caveman and cut the meat. You’d never have kept up with that bison anyway. (Italics mine).

PBN

2020 was not the year that any of us were expecting, when the year began. A global pandemic forced a radical reset of how the world operates, in countless ways. Some of those changes were relatively easy – such as office workers switching to more remote meetings, with less travel for in person work. Other changes were much more difficult – in addition to the catastrophic death toll that results from any pandemic or other major crisis. Some of these changes, however, have resulted in a significant – if temporary – reduction in our emissions. Contrary to the frequently asked question – “When will things go back to the way they were?” – we were, globally, on a trajectory that was not sustainable. Therefore, we should, instead, be asking “How can we come out of this pandemic to something better than what we had before?” (as many people are already doing).

• Covid Took a Bite From U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2020: NYT
• BBC News – Climate change: US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since WWII
• Amid 2020’s gloom, there are reasons to be hopeful about the climate in 2021 Guardian
• InsideClimate News: Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to Zero.
• InsideClimate News: Many Scientists Now Say Global Warming Could Stop Relatively Quickly After Emissions Go to Zero.
• Lloyd’s market to quit fossil fuel insurance by 2030: Guardian

What does coming out of this to a new, better normal look like? What changes do we need to keep? What new changes will we still need to make? There is not the space here to allow for a comprehensive answer, but there are a few key pieces to highlight:

• We must continue with the significant, rapid reduction in emissions that we saw during this pandemic. The rapid pace of change that happened showed that change is possible, where there is a will. Now, we need to maintain the momentum of these changes, without the catastrophic pressure that comes from a global pandemic. Globally, we all need to act fast, without waiting for others who might be further behind in this process.
• A Universal Basic Income is essential, for many reasons, and should be implemented as soon as possible.
• Multi-party systems, with proportional representation, seemed to fair better (based on research that others have done), and also are key to reducing polarization and misinformation campaigns. Countries that still have First-Past-The-Post or other non-proportional systems should put serious effort into switching as soon as possible.
• Food and travel/transportation are big areas of emissions, both of which we have significant control over in our daily lives. Changes are critical – and will need to go beyond what is easy or comfortable at times.

Moving into a better 2021 – and beyond – means living within our planetary boundaries, not taking more than our fair share and living simply, in balance with our global neighbours and with the earth. (Photo Credit)

Here’s to a new year, filled with lots of good things, including (but not limited to…) progress towards the end of this pandemic, strong climate action, electoral reform, peace and justice locally and globally, and civility towards each other.

Stay tuned for more website updates in the coming months. 💻😊

Link

Guardian

Further data here from the Guardian on the massive environmental impact of air travel, particularly among those who take the most flights in an average year. In addition, the failure to demand that the airline industry pay for the pollution it contributes results in a massive subsidy for airlines, while also contributing significantly to environmental degradation.

Frequent-flying “‘super emitters” who represent just 1% of the world’s population caused half of aviation’s carbon emissions in 2018, according to a study.

Airlines produced a billion tonnes of CO2 and benefited from a $100bn (£75bn) subsidy by not paying for the climate damage they caused, the researchers estimated. The analysis draws together data to give the clearest global picture of the impact of frequent fliers.

Only 11% of the world’s population took a flight in 2018 and 4% flew abroad. US air passengers have by far the biggest carbon footprint among rich countries. Its aviation emissions are bigger than the next 10 countries combined, including the UK, Japan, Germany and Australia, the study reports. (Bold mine).

Guardian

With the significant pause in air travel as a result in the pandemic, what will governments and other players do to ensure that, instead of getting back to “normal” (as it was pre-pandemic), that we build back differently, with a true aim to create a sustainable future?

As a start (and this should have been done decades ago), every industry (airlines and others), must be expected to pay for the damages they create. Furthermore, there can absolutely not be any more subsidies (direct or indirect) that contribute to environmental degradation.

The researchers estimated the cost of the climate damage caused by aviation’s emissions at $100bn in 2018. The absence of payments to cover this damage “represents a major subsidy to the most affluent”, the researchers said. “This highlights the need to scrutinize the sector, and in particular the super emitters.”

Guardian

Building back better is possible, if we, collectively, choose to do it, and put the full power of government, non-profits, civil society, industry and others all together. Individually, tackling this issue means looking at giving up non-essential flights and voting in governments that will take strong action on holding polluters accountable. If we don’t do it now, when will we act?