Imagine a fossil fuel free future

I can imagine a world where burning fossil fuels is not necessary to produce energy. –  Fact: Solar and wind potential is far higher than that of fossil fuels and can meet global energy demand many times over. Source: Carbon Tracker report

Many people cite the need to mine the necessary minerals to transition as unacceptable. Mining can be done with respect for the land and people. Many of the required minerals can and will be recycled.  

Consider the status quo: The biggest mining operations ever undertaken on our planet are for coal, oil, and gas — all to be burned with resulting GHG emissions. Bill McKibben puts it plainly: “We need to stop burning stuff.”

In 2019, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said we must embrace “cathedral thinking,” adding: “We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.”

Further reading

• “If you win the popular imagination, you change the game”: Why we need new stories on climate | The Guardian 
• The Sky’s the Limit: Solar and Wind Energy Potential: Carbon Tracker Initiative
• “It was a set-up, we were fooled”: the coal mine that ate an Indian village | The Guardian

---

Community Carbon Challenge: 2023

The Community Carbon Challenge is about reducing our CO2 emissions. It invites all of us to take action.

We know the three biggest sources of CO2 emissions are how we power our homes, how we travel, and what we eat. The other 20% is the ‘stuff’ we buy. In the coming weeks we will revisit past challenges as a reminder that everyone needs to do everything we can. Let’s reassess our efforts and look at some new ideas in 2023.

AND, we need true leadership from politicians at every level. We need political will to avert climate disaster. We must keep the pressure on our politicians to act in 2023.

Contact Your Representatives:
Graydon Smith — MPP Parry Sound-Muskoka
Scott Aitchison — MP Parry Sound-Muskoka
Our District and Municipal Councils — Find your local representative

---

Municipal Election

I will vote for candidates who advocate for climate action now. Fact: “Climate change is the single biggest challenge of our time. With municipalities influencing roughly half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, it’s essential to scale up local solutions to transition to a resilient low-carbon future.” Source: Climate and sustainability | Federation of Canadian Municipalities (fcm.ca)

Rural, northern, and remote communities are integral to Canada’s economy and quality of life. Municipalities are on the front lines of climate change. From forest fires to ice storms to flooding, cities and communities are where the economic and human costs of global warming hit hardest.
 
Fact: Every $1 invested to reduce GHG emissions results in $6 averted costs. Source: Insurance Bureau of Canada
 
The Climate Emergency Resolution passed by the District of Muskoka and all area Municipalities includes “…ambitious targets to reach the goal of greater than 50% reduction of GHG emissions by 2030…”. Now we need Climate Action!
 
The Municipal election period is Monday, October 17 to Monday, October 24, 2022. During the voting period you can vote by phone or online. Find where and how to vote.
 
What are our local municipal candidates’ ideas, opinions, and positions around climate action? Are they prepared to take the urgent action required? Climate Action Muskoka asked them. Find their responses below.

• Bracebridge — 19/21 candidates responded
• Georgian Bay — 4/9 candidates responded
• Gravenhurst — 17/21 candidates responded
• Huntsville — 13/21 candidates responded
• Lake of Bays — 8/10 candidates responded
• Muskoka Lakes — 10/19 candidates responded

Resources:

• Find where and how to vote
• Let’s Talk: Municipal Politics – Climate Action Muskoka
• Climate Emergency Resolution
• Climate and sustainability | Federation of Canadian Municipalities (fcm.ca)

---

Preserve Your Own Food

I will learn about preserving perishable foods for winter. Fact: It’s environmentally friendly to use seasonally grown and locally sourced fresh produce. Re-using preserving jars eliminates food packaging.

---

Holy Victory Garden, Batman!

So much of our food today comes from the grocery store where year-round we have access to produce from around the world.  So much of this bounty has travelled long distances to reach us.  Much of it comes from places where climate change is threatening the sustainability of its production – think the current California drought.

If you grow at least some your own food the next step is to preserve your own. This is the next level to providing year-round food security. Even if you don’t have a garden, it makes sense to buy local fresh fruit and vegetables in season and preserve them for later use.

Preserving can be as simple as freezing individual foods or preparing and freezing complete meals. Or it can involve canning, pickling, drying, or making jams, jellies, and sauces. Enjoy!

FOOD PRESERVING: 10 Reasons to Preserve Your Own Food

Five Great Ways To Preserve Food For Winter

Quick N Delish – Salsa

16 Great Posters on Preserving Food, When It Was Life or Death

---

Nature-based Solutions

I will act to conserve existing ecosystems and restore damaged ecosystems. Fact: Researchers estimate the “mitigation potential” of nature-based solutions at around 10-12bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – enough to reduce peak warming by about 0.3C. Source: Can ‘nature-based solutions’ help address climate change?

• Acting to conserve natural systems is an essential part of any plan to draw down CO2.
• The protection of wildlife habitat is key to preserving biodiversity, and we know that the extinction of an increasing number of species is a serious concern.
• The human health benefits of nature are well documented. Getting out into nature is just what the doctor ordered for physical and mental health.

In Muskoka, rapid subdivision sprawl and extensive waterfront development are threatening our lakes, forests, and wetlands.

Our local councils have declared a “Climate Emergency” but have no plan to act.

Our local councils must look at every decision they make through a climate change lens. That means  greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation assessment which will measure the anticipated GHG emissions impact, and a climate change resilience assessment for climate change adaptation.

Concerned? Call your local municipal representatives. Find their contact information here.

Contact your MPP, Graydon Smith (Parry Sound—Muskoka) who is also Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. Contact information here.

Learn more about local conservation efforts and how you can participate at Muskoka Conservancy.

Nature-based solutions are not a silver bullet. Among Indigenous communities and non-governmental organisations, they are often seen as a “dangerous distraction” from the need to cut emissions from fossil fuel use. We need both and more!

Resources:

• Nature-based solutions: How can they work for climate, biodiversity and people?
• Explainer: Can climate change and biodiversity loss be tackled together?
• Squeezed by housing crisis, Ontario farmland becomes dangerously rare

---

---

“Silent Spring“ –  2022

I will act to maintain and restore biodiversity.  Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone. Study finds steep, long-term losses across virtually all groups of birds in the U.S. and Canada.  Source

In 1962, Racheal Carson’s book “Silent Spring” was a passionate plea for all humans to act responsibly as stewards of the living earth, advancing the global environmental movement.

At the time, one of the biggest threats to bird populations, besides habitat loss, was the widespread use of DDT to control insects. Fast forward 60 years, in 2022 the widespread use of neonicotinoids to control insects has become a serious threat to bird populations and to the insects that pollinate our food crops.

Carson identified human hubris and financial self-interest as the problem.  Her passionate concern for the future called on us to live as though we humans are an integral part of the earth’s systems.

Today, Global bird populations steadily decline:

A recent update to the study Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone states: “The fate of bird populations is strongly dependent on stopping the loss and degradation of habitats.” Further, the study identifies climate change as an emerging driver of bird population decline.

In Ontario, we need to conserve habitat and reduce climate changing carbon emissions. We do not need more highways and urban sprawl.

What can you do in your own backyard?  Here’s a link to a previous carbon challenge – Carbon Drawdown – Rewilding – Climate Action Muskoka

And from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds

Resources:

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring  |  Rachel Carson – Wikipedia

Study links neonicotinoids to bird declines (farmprogress.com)

Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone | Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Global bird populations steadily decline | Cornell Chronicle – May 5, 2022 update

---

Efficiency without sufficiency is lost

I will question what level of consumption is sufficient to live comfortably. Fact: Without “sufficiency,” gains from increasing efficiency in a growth-based economy are lost. Source: A Critique of Techno-Optimism (PDF)

In his book, “Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle,” Lloyd Alter explores the idea of what is enough, valuing simple solutions that use less of everything and cost less. For example:

• Now that we use LED light bulbs, is it ok to leave the lights on longer?
• Does buying a more efficient refrigerator mean I can now buy a bigger one?
• Can a more efficient clothes dryer ever be more efficient than a clothesline?  
• Do heat pumps and better insulation mean I can have a bigger home? Do we need a bigger homes? Or do we need more small, affordable housing options?

A switch to electric vehicles (EVs) is one of the changes we need to reduce carbon emissions. If I drive an EV is it ok to drive more? Will widespread adoption of EVs contribute to urban sprawl? Or are walking, cycling and public transport more viable options?

We must reduce our emissions and our demand for resources and at the same time provide a decent living standard for everyone. We all need to consider what is sufficient.

More Resources

• Efficiency Without Sufficiency Is Lost (treehugger.com)
• Jevons paradox – Wikipedia
• Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change (ipcc.ch)
• Laundry, Sufficiency and the Climate Pact – Energy Cities (energy-cities.eu)

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---