In partnership with Climate Change Newmarket-Aurora, NewmarketToday brings you the first in a regular series of columns aimed at creating awareness and engaging our community to take action on climate change.
Climate change is downright scary, isn’t it? Why can’t someone simply come up with emissions reduction technology right now that will keep us under that 1.5C everyone is talking about, so that we can tick that box and get back to life as we know it?
Imagine if the government could just push the "easy" buzzer. I wouldn’t have to save to upgrade my car, retrofit my home, reduce my jet flight travel, look for compostable containers, and only consider how much meat I eat for health reasons. I would not worry about natural gas for electricity production, could make as many trips around town as I like to find bargains, wash my laundry and dishes any time of the day and maybe even use paper towels again.
Well, there isn’t an easy buzzer solution. Some research is confusing as to whether or not certain technologies are the answer, like carbon capture, the various types of hydrogen, mineral mining for short life EV batteries and the possibilities of SMR nuclear or developing fission.
Engineers, scientists, environmentalists and innovators are working on it in many different ways, even revamped biomass renewable diesel in B.C. In the meantime, we need to buy them time, they can’t solve this dilemma alone.
Even if one wants to argue that climate change is a natural phenomenon — though 97 per cent of scientists agree humans are causing global warming — one simply can’t overlook the detrimental cause and effect of human "progress" on the natural world. I am an integral part of the problem as a citizen of the worst offending G7 country for emissions per capita.
I cover my eyes as if for a horror movie when watching documentaries of polar bears struggling to survive on the melting ice flows or penguins and dolphins with plastic around their necks. The destruction of greenspace for urban sprawl and excessive highways brings tears to my eyes and fury in my gut.
The impact humans have on biodiversity, wildlife, oceans, glaciers and poles can no longer be ignored; it was right outside our own windows this summer as a smoky haze and we all have to do more to slow it down.
But how can I make a difference? It is daunting. So much of what is in the media frames a frightening picture and a gloomy vision for more things to come. We worry not just for now but more so for future generations. Yet, we cannot get frozen into inaction by fear and worry. Hope must be a driving force. Statisticians and gamblers may not like it, but every once in a while the odds are beaten. It happens in sports and the lotteries all the time.
Moreover, hope can grow exponentially with every new action. That is what I have found even more so by joining the diverse group of people at Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora. I believe in the power of one and in the strength of the collective. I believe in the human spirit and its resiliency when faced with adversity.
I also believe that when enough individuals start to act, the tide can turn, that we can still draw down greenhouse gas emissions, slow down the glacier
melting, and get on with life that may look somewhat different but still life. Homo sapiens have an uncanny knack of evolving and adapting, just look at the last 50 years — the first laptop, cellphone, space shuttle, artificial intelligence and bionic limbs.
Collective concentrated effort has seen the reversal of the ozone layer damage, the now near eradication of polio, and global co-operation to contain COVID-19. Much can be done to reduce carbon emissions.
In this monthly column, members of Climate Action Newmarket Aurora hope to inspire you with food for thought, to motivate you with hope, and to arm you with real, optimistic options for action. Some actions will be bolder than others. No matter. Every action counts.
Check out our website for stories of why and how people like me, and you, have joined together to fight for the future.
For me, an average imperfect citizen on this planet, I try to say yes to lessening my carbon footprint each day, and while doing so I remember the words of Richard Wagamese who wrote that yes is a very powerful word; "there are many ways to say no and provide obstacles why something can’t happen. Yet, to say yes becomes the most spiritual word in the universe ... And your world can change." (Embers).
We need everyone to say yes to climate action.
Inspired by the international organization Project Drawdown, Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora seeks to engage citizens, institutions, and policymakers in actionable and measurable solutions to stop catastrophic climate change as quickly, safely and equitably as possible. You can contact them at climateaction.newmarketaurora@
