Tackling The Environmental Crisis: Together We Can. Thank you to everyone who took an interest in the three-part webinar series, presented jointly by CFUW-Nepean /-Kanata /-Ottawa,
As promised, recordings of these webinars are now accessible on YouTube.
Webinar No. 1 with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqBUyCOKeNM
Webinar No. 2 with Diana Beresford-Kroeger and Bill Steer — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPwncR17oI&t=2s
Webinar No. 3 with Seth Klein and Sabah Ibrahim — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAdgNwpY2BY
1. Recommendations for reducing plastic waste
See https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/what-others-do/
To learn about Rebecca’s book please visit: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/a/9780231198622
Suggestions for action:
- Get the conversation going about reducing single-use plastic. Do what you can.
- Communicate with the grocery store owners to express your concerns about plastic packaging.
- Refuse any plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic bottles or take-out containers made of plastic at hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets, so that business owners will think again. Mention the subject in any reviews you submit online.
- Encourage local, provincial and federal governments to adopt a “circular economy.”
- Reduce, reuse, repurpose, repair or recycle items made of plastic, regift toys made of plastic… and generally rethink your use of plastic at home. Avoid acquiring what you do not need.
- Try meeting the Plastic Free July challenge, living without plastics for a month, or buying as few items as possible that contain plastic or are wrapped in plastic. Find alternatives to cling wrap; research other ways to keep food fresh.
- Take part in a park or waterfront clean-up, or initiate one yourself.
- Raise awareness that cigarette butts contain plastic and toxins and do not easily decompose.
2. Recommendations for restoring the global forest
See https://dianaberesford-kroeger.com
Diana’s books include The Sweetness of a Simple Life, The Global Forest, Arboretum Borealis: A Lifeline of the Planet, Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest and A Garden for Life. A feature-documentary about her work, the Canadian Screen Awards-nominated Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees, appeared in 2017. Her latest book is To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey From Ancient Celtic Wisdom To a Healing Vision of the Forest. To find out more about these books, please see: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/185368/diana-beresford-kroeger
To book a visit to the Canadian Ecology Centre, please go to: www.canadianecology.ca
Suggestions for action:
- Host a screening of Diana’s film, The Call Of The Forest, in your community.
- Encourage your friends and neighbours to plant and protect trees. Plant and maintain native trees in your neighbourhood or on your property.
- Learn about native trees and their advantages, find a sapling or germinate the seed of a tree and plant it appropriately. “Everyone needs to plant one native tree per year for the next six years.”
- Plant a native tree or grove of trees in honour of someone special to you.
- Form letter-writing teams to advocate for the conservation of wild, natural areas in your region and protest against any proposed development that threatens native species by writing letters to your representatives at municipal, provincial and federal levels of government.
3. Recommendations for Climate Change mitigation
To learn more about or order Seth’s book, A Good War, please see: https://www.sethklein.
To learn more about the Climate Emergency Unit (CEU), visit: https://www.climateemergencyunit.ca
To sign up for the CEU’s newsletter, so you can stay informed about the CEU’s various campaigns, do so here.
Suggestions for action:
- To learn about the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign, and to sign on, please visit https://www.ontarioclimateemergency.ca —as a result of our project, CFUW National and CFUW Ontario Council are already added to the list of signatories supporting this campaign!
- Work on a personal plan to reduce your purchase of unnecessary luxuries and to travel less, or to travel in more environmentally-friendly ways.
- Book an energy audit and consider alternative sources of energy and means of insulation at your home.
- Walk, cycle or use public transport more.
- Advocate for rapid installation and deployment of electric vehicle charging stations.
- Contact your municipality or provincial representatives to demand rapid installation and deployment of electric vehicle charging stations.
- Advocate for a better intercity rail service instead of more, or wider highways.
- Advocate for a sustainable, regenerative, zero emissions economy.
- Form letter-writing teams to urge the government to end fossil fuel subsidies immediately and rapidly wind down the use of fossil fuels.