When you’re working from home, you must engage in self-care practices at all times. You need to be in a place of physical, mental, and emotional wellness so that you can do the tasks that your work-from-home job requires you to do.
The disparity between food waste and food insecurity is a somber phenomenon. Estimates from the United Nations report a rise in global food production of up to 300 per cent over the past 50 years whereas the number of people experiencing food insecurity has risen by... Read more
Did you know all wireless devices emit microwave radiation? Did you know that it is now mandatory that every child attending school will be exposed all day to microwave radiation from wifi and all the other wireless devices? Did you know BC School Health Officer, Dr.... Read more
GVAT’s Climate Action Research Team launched their Tuesdays for Trees campaign on the first Tuesday of the New Year. Due to the current Covid restrictions, only a few of us set up signage and a repurposed Xmas tree at the Legislature and walked with signs around the... Read more
Last week, I quoted from a Dec. 2 speech by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the state of the planet. It made for grim reading, but it is the reality we need to face. Mr. Guterres did not end on a pessimistic note, however. Instead, he pointed to many indications of opportunity and hope.
Mount Work Coalition (MWC) welcomes the CRD’s decision to extend the public consultation period on its draft Solid Waste Management Plan to February 15, 2021. MWC, joined by other community groups, requested the extension so that more people could review and comment... Read more
The following profile those portions of each of the Premier of British Columbia’s (John Horgan’s) new Cabinet member’s Mandate Letters sent to Provincial Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries on November 26th, 2020 that highlight ‘climate change or environmental... Read more
The following are a sampling of climate action-related updates, activities or reports from an active Fall 2020, both internationally and closer-to-home: Internationally: On December 2, 2020, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented a sobering State of the... Read more
On Dec. 2, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres gave an important if somewhat overlooked speech at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum on the state of the planet. Guterres was blunt: “To put it simply, the state of the planet is broken,” he said. “Humanity is waging war on nature” – and that is “suicidal.”
On November 19, 2020, the Climate Action Program presented an update to Victoria City Council on the progress made to meet our emissions reduction targets and advance the actions outlined in the Climate Leadership Plan which was released in July 2018. Information on... Read more
First, and very obviously, a wish that might actually come true in 2021: That COVID-19 be over. If the vaccines are as good as promised, and if we can vaccinate around 60 to 70 per cent of the population there is a good chance we can return to something like normal.
I would like to share information on local and regional multimodal transportation policies that can significantly reduce climate emissions and provide other social, health and environmental benefits. This is important because motor vehicles are, by far, the largest... Read more
Pacific Peoples’ Partnership is delighted to offer Stories of Resilience: a transformative cultural and artistic experience designed to lift spirits, recognize resiliency and build Allyship through a celebration of Indigenous stories and art. This program will... Read more
I suggested last week that our society is remarkably immature in its approach to life. Central to this is an exaggerated form of individualism that has achieved a cult-like status. With that comes an acquisitive, greedy and selfish culture that really doesn’t care about other people or about nature.
Our NDP government has decided to punish the poor by reducing the $300 increase to welfare and disability rates to $150, and then eliminating the $150 on March 31, 2021. People on disability and welfare have been unable to receive CERB and other benefits collected for... Read more
Many people pay into the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) through paycheque deductions and become beneficiaries of the same when they retire. For those of you that are concerned on where your investments are going, including the CPP where one of the largest pension plans in... Read more
The CRD just released its draft solid Waste Management Plan for the Victoria region and wants your feedback. Landfills are not sustainable, produce greenhouse gases and should not be expanded. Other options are available. The CRD needs to do more to move to Zero Waste... Read more
In exploring the German concept of bildung and the Nordic experience of folk-bildung I am indebted to a lengthy 2018 overview by Jonathan Reams of the 2017 book The Nordic Secret by Lene Andersen and Tomas Björkman.
A rare opportunity exists to give a beautiful living gift that will not only last lifetimes, supports everyone in our local community and beyond, is convenient, plus is a climate solution in alignment with zero waste. If you are looking for the best Christmas gift,... Read more
The pandemic has shed light on the injustices and discrepancies within our Food Systems, igniting a collective awareness of the need to rethink and restructure the way we interact as a food movement. This December 3rd and 4th, ‘Food Future: Rooted in Change’ will... Read more
Unlike COVID-19, there is no vaccine for curing the climate crisis. At best, we have to become carbon neutral by mid-century to have any chance of managing this existential threat. In this video, a panel of leading solution…
We may be talking about and even acting on climate change — even though our actions usually fall short of our words — but we are not yet talking seriously about the far greater challenge of living as if we have four or five planets, when in reality, we only have one, never mind the implications of that realization.
This November marks the 4th anniversary since Madame Justice of the BC Supreme Court gave the Ecoforestry Institute Society the right to buy Wildwood, keeping it in the public domain forever. We could not have done it without your unwavering support, your generous donations and your love and hard work. It took hundreds of people three years and a big pot of money to get this done.
At present, our planet is doubly afflicted. We have become the most dominant and most dangerous species on Earth. We have only one serious competitor – and that one happens to have been around for more than 2 ½ billion years before the appearance of multi-cellular life and that is the virus and, but for vaccines, it could still win.
Invitation to join the Spirit of Canada Dialogue Project, either as one of the many hosts across Canada or as a member of the core team. An online event from Nov. 27 – 29 will provide an introduction to this project.
Will the candidate you vote for in next month’s election work to protect Victoria’s trees? Elections provide an opportunity for us to compel our future politicians to focus upon issues of special concern, and to record their stances so that we can hold them to account... Read more
Sign the petition here. Landfills worldwide must be decommissioned and not expanded as we move to a society that embraces zero waste and carbon neutrality in the future. We are living in a climate emergency and other cleaner alternative waste management solutions can... Read more
Creatively United is committed to championing solutions at the community level to support a shift to carbon neutrality by 2050. Both the federal and provincial governments in British Columbia are committed to achieving carbon neutrality. A number of local councils... Read more
Learn from members of one of Canada’s leading international river basin negotiating teams how they are working to restore ecosystem health in the Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin following the damming of the River in…
Anyone watching Knowledge Network these days will be aware it’s all about Scotland, from clan wars to wildlife to railways. Good things come from Scotland, from Scottish ales and whisky to haggis and Robbie Burns — well, OK, not everything is wonderful, although haggis is way better than it sounds.
A new park has arrived in the South Jubilee neighbourhood thanks to the City’s purchase of a 12,700 square foot parcel of land comprised of a Garry oak meadow at the corner of Leighton Road and Bank Street. The new park is named Agamemnon and Eleni Kasapi Park in recognition of the family’s preservation of the property in its natural state for the benefit of the community.
Our Canadian government fails to file any objection to the planned US Naval testing in the habitat of Southern Resident Killer Whales. I have no idea why only the Greens raised this issue in Parliament. Only one news agency, the National Observer, carried any... Read more
Since our community meeting with Creatively United for the Planet and other community groups concerned with the CRD’s proposed massive landfill expansion plan at Hartland Landfill (and announced agreement in principle with FortisBC which financially motivates CRD to... Read more
A lot of what we acquire — all that “stuff’’ — ends up as solid waste, while inefficient energy use leads to high levels of energy waste. Not only does this contribute to excessive use of resources — with all the pollution and energy use associated with their extraction, processing and distribution — but it fills our landfills and pollutes our local environment or, if we export it, other people’s environment.
What do people think of when they think of British Columbia? Chances are they think of the mountains, the forests, the coast with its salmon and orca, and Indigenous people and cultures. Indeed we are an ocean province, with a 25,000-kilometre-long coastline.
“The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence.” — Thomas Berry Thank you everyone for your interest... Read more
Eight years ago on November 9th, Creatively United for the Planet became a non-profit society. So much has happened since we incorporated, including: eight zero-waste festivals and dozens of events with hundreds of musicians, artists, speakers, authors and non-profit... Read more
Send this letter to: Denise Blackwell, CRD Board Vice-Chair (dblackwell@crd.bc.ca) Susan Brice, Director (sbrice@crd.bc.ca) Barbara Desjardins, Director (bdesjardins@crd.bc.ca) Fred Haynes, Director (fhaynes@crd.bc.ca) Lisa Helps, Director (lhelps@crd.bc.ca) Mike... Read more
We, meaning government, First Nations, communities, scientists, academics, non-government organizations, industry and citizens, must find a way to pool our collective efforts to responsibly steward the precious natural resources given to us. Blessed Unrest – that’s... Read more
Courtesy of the Times Colonist Photo: A residential neighbourhood in Victoria. ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST Last week, I suggested our region would be well served by a centre focused on how to create healthy, just and sustainable “One Planet” communities and that it... Read more
Leading US political commentator and Washington DC lawyer, Mace Rosenstein, distilled the US election results. Mace was joined by Tom Axworthy, a senior policy advisor to the Canadian Federal government, and Bob Sandford…
The District of Central Saanich, thanks to the generous donation of Mosaic Forest Management, will be giving out 100 Douglas Fir seedlings the week of November 2 to 6, 2020. The seedlings will be available outside Municipal Hall, at 1903 Mt Newton Cross Road, from 9... Read more
Songs for River Dolphins of Punjab . Dr Sunny Sandhu aka Bhoomitra in 2011 rediscovered his love for nature while on an exploration of River Beas and its biodiversity. From a medical doctor he turned into full time Climate healer, musician and teacher.
What’s wrong with how forestry is practised in BC today? Why are old growth forests so precious? What are the solutions and implementation timelines? Join Kathy Code, of the Ecoforestry Institute Society, and Jonathan…
Washington DC lawyer, Mace Rosenstein, provided answers to the following questions: Who actually votes for the President? What is the role of the Electoral College? What are the opportunities for President Trump to game the…
Courtesy of the Times Colonist Photo: A fishing boat passes a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter near Fisherman’s Wharf by Darren Stone Here is an astounding statistic: Of the roughly 196,000 tonnes of wild seafood harvested by B.C. fishers in 2018, worth about $476... Read more
Courtesy of the Times Colonist Photo of Francis King Regional Park, Darren Stone – Times Colonist Last week, I explored how poorly governments of all stripes have been, at all levels, in protecting nature — and thus in protecting us. British Columbia is renowned... Read more
The primary American research body tracking Global Warming and its affects, NOAA, just noted that September was the warmest September since modern records began in 1880. Seven of the warmest Septembers since 1880 have occurred in the past 7 years. So far, 2020 is the... Read more
Bob Haverluck, a Manitoba artist-educator and theologian who works with community groups using the arts, especially comedy to help engage issues of violence against the earth and her creatures; and Gennadiy Ivanov, a…
Our parks and protected areas and their ecosystems that keep us fed, sheltered and alive are the ultimate essential service. They are at risk. The upcoming election in BC is your opportunity to get them on the “Build Back Better” agenda.
