Did you know that Creatively United for the Planet non-profit society lends support to our community in a number of ways, including showcasing more than 270 non-profit organizations in our free non-profit directory and their events, including the new International Peace Charter (IPC) organization which celebrated Elizabeth May bringing a petition of more than 1200 signatures forward to the House of Commons this May.
Creatively United’s founder, Frances Litman, was one of the keynote speakers; others included Emily Lowan, leader of the BC Green Party, community peace activist Dr. Anneli Driessen and IPC founder Miles Craig.
Here is the poignant speech that Frances delivered to an enthusiastic audience:
Since 2012, Creatively United has been leading, convening and bringing the public, the arts and non-profits together to explore solutions for some of our community’s most pressing problems.
Our community recognizes that Healthy, Happy communities begin from the ground up…literally from the soil, water and air and biodiversity that ensures life for all.
Peace is absolutely essential to our collective well-being. War is mentally and physically toxic to all forms of life.
The pollution of war encircles our planet — the one home we all share…from the radiation, forever chemicals, fossil fuel byproducts and other air and waterborn pollutants that find their way into our soil, animals, fish, forests, plants and emit carbon at a rate that is accelerating climate change to hazardous tipping points that we have never experienced before …
Peace promises beauty, the equitable distribution of resources to sustain life, and solutions to counter-act the rising temperatures and destablization of our natural resources to ensure our air remains breathable, our water drinkable and seeds, trees and plants continue to grow so we can have food and shelter.
At the expenses of many, a relative few are waging a war on our resources, like our forests (the planet’s lungs, a carbon and water filtration system unlike any other, and home to rich soils, plants and medicines that ensure our survival) and water systems which are quickly being depleted and polluted by the fossil fuel industry for fracking and heavy infrastructure to support a devastating last century industry and war.
Every natural system we have is being destablized by despot billionaires for the benefit of their power driven, egocentric lifestyles where enough will never be enough.
Nothing or no one is immune from the devastation that war creates on all levels of our being.
The top three military spenders — the U.S., China and Russia — are generating a climate debt on behalf of the entire planet. The same can be said of other aggressors. Every degree of climate warming we are trying to avoid is undermined by wars.
Global military spending has reached a record $2.7 trillion. Imagine what we could do with those trillions of dollars!
Each dollar allocated to the military generates more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions of a dollar spent elsewhere.
Right now, the petroleum industry is enjoying billions of dollars in record-breaking profits from war, while most of the world’s population struggles to survive and is being forced to pay more every day for absolutely everything.
Furthermore, Canada and the US are currently dismantling endangered species legislation and removing mitigation requirements for all protected species to satisfy further growth of the fossil fuel industry.
So what’s the solution?
When Award-winning writer and environmental activist, Kathleen D. Moore was asked What can one person do? Her reply was: Stop acting as one person! Be a voice for change.
Imagine, if we united as communities to invest in curriculum at all levels of learning to enhance ambassadorship, mindful communication, cultural understanding and compassion, citizen’s assemblies and proportional representation… where humanity was focused on all aspects of peace, not war? Where compassion extends beyond the human form and to include the natural world which we are all part of and rely on for our survival.
Do the best you can with what you can offer! Are you a good debater, writer, artist, organizer, wellness professional??? Use your skills … be the change you want to see in the world.
We must become creative and united. CreativelyUnited.org offers resources, events, and information, including a directory of more than 270 non-profits doing hero work in our communities… like the International Peace Charter.
Take hope in knowing there are plenty of compassionate, peace loving people taking action and whose work is amplified with every person who lends a hand in whatever way they can.
We need to focus on what we want vs what we don’t want. Know that solutions exist — we just need to implement them… we have to be creative and united. Together is better.
Images: Anneli Driessen addressing the room, Frances (in blue top) surrounded by some of the attendees
