Dialogue for a New World For our final webinar of Season 3 this Wednesday, May 19th, we are honoured to feature bestselling author and award-winning public relations professional, James Hoggan. A tireless advocate for ethics in public discourse and Chair of the David Suzuki Institute, Hoggan founded the influential online news site DeSmog, named one of Time Magazine’s best blogs in 2011. Hoggan became so disenchanted with disinformation on climate change in both the mainstream and social media that he began to reveal how much corporations mislead the public on climate issues. He discovered that strategies that mislead people are more developed and robust than those used to educate people with the facts. Hoggan is now championing new ways to speak, learn, listen and connect to overcome disinformation and polarization. His latest book, I'm Right and You’re an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up, examines why people tend to shout at each other rather than listen to what science is trying to tell us about the climate emergency. Hoggan believes that honest differences of opinion lie at the heart of democracy. He supports that people hold strongly divergent goals and should challenge issues but they should be encouraged to take part in passionate discussion. "We need more warm-heartedness and more compassion," says Hoggan. Without this shift, we will never successfully complete the journey to carbon neutrality by mid-century. Hoggan's other books include: Do the Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public and Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming. |
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Following Hoggan's talk, there will also be short interviews with a variety of community voices, represented by Ella Kim, Naomi Leung and Charlene George, followed by extra time for a special in-depth Q+A session and discussion from noon to 12:30 pm. Ella Kim is a UBC Honours graduate in Sociology, Environment and Society. She will be starting her Masters degree in the Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology (REES) program at the University of Alberta in the fall. Her passions align with environmentalism and social justice, and her recent research interests have been focused on just transitions for workers and communities that will be impacted by green industry shifts. Kim is also currently a volunteer policy analyst for the BC Council for International Cooperation’s youth-led climate change branch. Through her time as a volunteer, she has worked on a survey regarding the climate change related concerns and opinions of BC youth, and a green jobs database for Canadian youth. Ella will share how youth are trying to move the climate change dialogue forward and why it matters. Naomi Leung or 梁珮恩 is a 17 year old climate and racial justice activist. She is a second generation immigrant with parents from Malaysia and Hong Kong and she is a settler on un-surrendered Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations territories in Richmond, BC. Naomi is a member of Sustainabiliteens, a movement of youth climate strikers across Metro Vancouver driven by climate justice, who advocated for the passing of Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2020. She also coordinates Climate Education Reform BC, a youth-led organization determined to see an educational system that prepares students for the Climate Crisis. Charlene George is a member of the t’Sou-ke peoples on the west coast of Vancouver Island and a cultural guide. She believes we must strive to better balance our relationship with each other, Western and Indigenous knowledge systems, and ways of knowing. |
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Urgent Fairy Creek Update |
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The RCMP are poised to arrest the Fairy Creek forest defenders this Wednesday. Fairy Creek is in Premier John Horgan’s riding. Please take a moment to leave a message on Premier John Horgan’s voice mail. He has promised to save old-growth forest and needs to honour this. Premier John Horgan’s phone number is 250-387-1715. Please check the Rainforest Flying Squad Facebook Page for more information on how you can help. |
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Public Input Improves the CRD Solid Waste Management Plan |
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On May 12th, the CRD Board approved the revised Solid Waste management Plan for the Region. It will now be submitted to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for final approval. A number of public groups had a major influence on the final plan including Creatively United, the Mount Work Coalition and Zero Waste BC and the Willis Point and Prospect Lake Community Associations. The main changes in the plan include: - Committing the CRD to becoming a national leader in zero waste and a circular economy.
- Inclusion of an aspiration target to reduce per capita waste disposal from 250 kg in 2030 to 125 kg in an amended plan following 2030.
- Deferring the expansion of the Hartland landfill till at least 2030 thus protecting the 73 acres of forests and preserving recreational activities in this beautiful area.
- Commitment to consider innovative integrated resource management technologies for Esquimalt to eliminate all wastes to the landfill.
- Such new technologies can potentially reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the CRD target of becoming net carbon neutral by 2050.
- CRD to contribute up to $4 million to reduce impacts of new road access to the landfill to meet community needs.
- Aligning Zero Waste Victoria’s plan with CRD waste reduction targets.
- Consider a regional organics processing facility to reduce the need to transport organics— kitchen waste and yard waste - outside the region and save carbon emissions.
- Consider new approaches to managing biosolids from the CRD liquid waste treatment facility to avoid land disposal and potential contaminants that impact groundwater and the environment.
The CRD Board acknowledged that the public had a major influence on shaping the final plan by promoting more aggressive zero waste targets, aligning the plan’s commitment to a circular economy and thus contributing to the overall target of net carbon neutrality by 2050. The Chair of the Board noted that this plan is really a place holder for a more ambitious plan to be developed over the coming years as the waste reduction targets are implemented and new technologies are investigated. He congratulated all members of the public who commented on the plan. There is public optimism that with an intent to pursue more aggressive waste diversion targets, there will be no need to expand the landfill so the trees and recreation values of the Mt. Work area can be protected forever. |
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Building for a One Planet Region Thursday, May 27th, 5-7 pm |
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When we look at Victoria and Saanich’s ecological footprint, buildings are the third largest component (after food and transportation). So how do we build housing and do urban and community development so as to reduce both our ecological and carbon footprint (by about 70%, and soon) and ensure that everyone in the region has a decent life – which obviously includes adequate and affordable housing. |
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Indigenous Plant Walk Saturday, May 29th, 1-3 pm |
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Join PEPAḴIYE Ashley Cooper in exploring the native plants that dwell at the Compost Education Centre and learn about their traditional uses. We will also consider the larger bioregion that underlies the cityscape and discuss how we can grow beyond a colonial system of food production into one that also respects traditional foods, native ecosystems, and the Indigenous cultures of this land. |
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Regime of Obstruction 2021 Free Virtual Conference, June 2021 |
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Regime of Obstruction looks at fossil fuel industry power and how we can challenge it. Taking place over the month of June, this free event series is open to the public. It features talks, panels, workshops and documentary film screenings by academic and community-based researchers, Indigenous leaders, filmmakers and activists. Join team members from the Corporate Mapping Project (CMP), along with featured speakers including Eriel Deranger, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, filmmakers Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott, and others. |
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Creatively United Solutions Hub |
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Healthy, happy communities begin from the ground up. Help us inspire generations to protect and preserve the natural world and confront climate change, so families, communities and nature can prosper together. |
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About Creatively United & Our Community Partners |
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The Creatively United for the Planet Society is a registered non-profit society. Since 2012, we have brought together more than 10,000 people from throughout the region who care about happy, healthy, and resilient communities. We have done so through eight zero-waste sustainability showcases, numerous community events and educational talks, collaborative partnerships, a video series, and the CreativelyUnited.org free community information network, resource and solutions sharing hub. The Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund, supported by The Victoria Foundation, is dedicated to changing human consciousness towards global environmental change by combining science with the creativity of the performing arts. Creatively United and Climate and the Arts both appreciate the support of the Polis Foundation for its assistance in the production of these webinars. |
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