Importance of Relativity

Success! I’ve finally found employment!!! Wooooo0! I’m very excited and as a result, have rewarded myself with doing absolutely nothing! Well,  that’s not exactly true though either, because here I am blogging away – perhaps I’ll slow down later….anyways, what a great time to stop and let the heat of the sunshine drain out all your energy! Thankfully for me, 8 months in the tropics have adjusted my internal temperature so that this is wonderful Don’t get me wrong, I still feel how heavy the air is and yes, it’s hot, but I think I’m coping much better than others. I’ve always  loved the heat though. Remember a few years ago when Europe was suffering from heat waves and people died because of it? That was when I escaped the chill of Ireland to backpack around Spain – most Spaniards, however, had chosen the cool coasts of Barcelona, and there I was – the dumb tourist wandering around the deserted streets of  Madrid at 40 C degree heat at 7pm. Live and learn, or in my case, sweat! And at the end of my trip, back to my studies in Montreal, with arguably the coldest winters in Canada.

Point of the story? People adapt, everything is relative. The other day, we saw South Asians in full out cricket gear playing the under the afternoon sun. This heat must be nothing for South Asians, but for a place that is known for its snow fall, it is out of the ordinary. And so, hot topic of the day is, ironically the heat! And not just in Canada, but in the US as well.

The other day, the national news broadcasted a piece on the suffering of farmers who, with shortages of fresh water, were facing an ailing crop and having to sell cattle before their prime. While droughts are indeed awful, I reminded myself that 1) This is the US and 2) Farmers are not just farmers, but businessmen who control farms the size of small towns and who control the price of corn, much like the way that OPEC controls the price of oil. Silos are stocked to the brim full of supplies in order to control the price, instead of its former use to be dipped in to when supplies were low.  Knowing this, I was disgusted with the news piece to have neglected that point.

I’d like to think that people are good  people and  care about others when a crop dies or business is bad, especially in this economy. I suspect that’s why this news piece aired in the first place – to pull on the heart strings of the average Joe and to highlight the out of the ordinary heat waves.  But believing that Joe is inevitably good, he is not always educated to know that farming has joined the ranks with the rest of corporate America and so will pull up his socks, stop complaining and get back to work. What I find even more disheartening is that this made national news, but the droughts that the rest of the world experiences rarely makes the headlines.

I typed in ‘Somalia Droughts Heat’ in to the google search bar and the first news source, behind research studies, weather reports and alarms was a piece posted by ABC 5 days ago title, “Somalia Drought ‘One of the Largest Humanitarian Crises in Decades.’  Further on down the page, I found the CBC had declared, ‘Somalia drought aid hindered by armed groups.’ This to me, was more a more news worthy subject than farmers in the US.

Admittedly, my knowledge of Somalia and its history is little and I’m very humbled by an Eritrean friend who attempted the topic in her PhD thesis because it’s incredibly complicated and starts dozens of years ago. What I do know is that Somalia hasn’t really had a formal government for 20-30 years and are divided by half that wants independence. More North Americans are more likely to recognize the ‘We are the World’ song in the 80′s that brought Bono, Boy George and many other artists together to raise money for the droughts Somalia was suffering from then. Oddly enough, a remake is in the works!

Mobilizing international food aid is not as easy as it looks – think the forms, red tape and bureaucracy that you have to suffer through when renewing your license and then multiply it by 1000 and throw in a few more countries and disgruntled farmers’ unions that don’t like to part with their stocks. Furthermore, with no formal government, getting food and supplies to people that need them becomes very dangerous and difficult. How to reach the most vulnerable? is likely what is on the minds of most international relief agencies.

As a result, people leave and leave en masse; traveling by (mostly) on foot to neighbouring Ethiopia or Kenya where refugee camps provide an alternative to the already cramped streets of Nairobi or Addis Ababa. Knowing how precarious living standards and conditions can be in a refugee camp, my sympathies are with them. During my grad studies, I was fascinated by environmental changes and what it meant for societies and had written a paper on Environmental Refugees, much like the ones escaping Somalia, only to discover that International Law had yet to include them; to be a refugee, according to the Refugee Convention, doesn’t include the escape of environmental degradation and therefore claimants cannot obtain asylum status or rights in their new country. As a Canadian, I’ll never have to experience this and few Canadians even think of it, but really, what do you do when there is no food or water in your homeland (and therefore no jobs) and  have to migrate to a land that won’t allow you to stay or give you any rights?

Knowing the reality of many Somalis and East Africans, makes me think how stupid we are to complain about the heat, when water is in abundance and air conditioners blazing. Agreed, the plight of farmers is an obstacle, but really it’s a small obstacle that will likely vanish in a couple weeks or when stocks are let out and the weather changes. Is it something that we really need to focus our energy on, complain about or generate sympathy? It’s all relative, I suppose.

 

A Movement in the Making

I kayaked with a beluga whale! I saw a beaver in the wild! I climbed a sand dune! I could not have said that until a few weeks ago and the exhilaration of it spilled over to my blog – see posted about a week ago. I was truly awestruck and still am marveling that this was indeed my country – really, came at me from out of the blue. If anything, it’s made me even more eco-conscious and a great advocate for eco-travel and conservation.

Ironically, just as the thrill for the natural world subsides, my mood falls in to an abyss as word of wildlife destruction in the Gulf Coast starts to permeate the headlines. Not just any wildlife, but the whales that I had so fondly become accustomed to. Shockingly, these massive animals that fear none have found their match in deadly oil that slowly is killing everything it touches.  What an awful thought! I’m not surprised then that the tourism industry would be affected, not only on the Gulf Coast, but also in Canada where oil exploration continues throughout northern Alberta.

Prospecting for oil is big business, which regardless of good intentions and taking the necessary precautions, is driven by consumerism and is done at the expense of another reliable industry. Opting for greater investment in green technology and alternative energies just might save tourism, or save just about every other business out there. Business are waking up to the realities that consumers do not want to support products that are damaging to the environment, cause wildlife extinction or cause air qualities to deteriorate and alas, the CSR executives, Green PR Consultants and Tech junkies are finding more and more areas for work.

Most of the world is waking up to this reality and Canadian industry is well poised to lead the way. Bombardier was just awarded to created energy savings high speed trains for Chinese expansion (think China’s version of the TGV), but Canada’s National VIA Rail hasn’t yet upgraded. Is it that our politicians and CEO’s are simply too old to adjust in their ways of thinking? It seems counter productive to support oil exploration in the name of business development when it destroys others, while at the same time destroying our quality of life through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the animals we enjoy…the list goes on.

The contradictions are astounding and in searching out solutions and sharing ideas, I’ve recently started to blog on another site : http://www.greeniters.com where I hope to continue to share my thoughts and also learn something new along the way about all things Green. Feel free to visit!

A Penny a Day…

As tax season comes to a close and accountants climb back in to their hiding places, the mood is either exuberant (“Yay, I can go on vacation! ) or dismal (“oh no, where do I cut back?). Unfortunately for the most of us, it is the latter. Nobody likes to do taxes – it’s not pleasant – but it’s one of life’s small things that are sometimes necessary, like a trip to the dentist, which will hopefully lead to a better quality of life – better health care, better roads, efficient civil service – all those nice things that make Canadian spaces some of the nicest ones  in the world. If it’s for those reasons, then my disdain for the taxman lessens a little bit as it disappears out of sight for another year. However, it’s when money – my hard earned money – that gets spent on ridiculous things that could have been spotted at Wal-Mart of half the cost or done more efficiently by my 12 yr old neighbour.  I’m not in the marketing business or know the most efficient plans for production, but I know how to balance my budget and I don’t think I can say the same for our government.

We’re all going through rough times and cutting back is necessary – finding money that otherwise wasn’t there. That’s why I’m wondering why exactly Ontario and Alberta’s GST & PST will be combined in to the new HST? It costs a lot to change something like that – money, man power and, well, more money. It claims to be the same percentage, in a different package, but it smells more like a marketing a markup. Last night’s CTV news delicately put it that haircuts, alcohol and construction supplies will be marked up after June 1st.

And so, we must look elsewhere – and yes, it’s come to this – to our own Members of Parliament. Ironic isn’t it, that the government yields the ability to look at everyone else finances, but we rarely get to look at theirs? And it’s looking like we won’t get that chance as the MP’s are refusing to let the Attorney General take a peek. Why would they do that other than to hide the elaborate escapades and bloated bank accounts? If you were really working for the people you represent and want to share in their burden, you’d at least allow the pro’s to take a peek and make suggestions about where to cut back, wouldn’t you?

Finding money is tough! Despite being reprimanded by the US, the UN and the EU, Canada is persevering and will find that money if it’s the last thing they do! Unfortunately it comes in the form of oil and in collaboration with China – I’m not so sure if this is the type of business that we want, from environmentally compromising to politically damaging, it doesn’t look good. Shouldn’t we learn from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico?

In the meantime, it may be true that unemployment rates are slowly shrinking, but not in the way that most of us hope – favoring the low skilled and leaving the managers, executives and highly educated out in the cold. This is not wise, as they are the ones that might have been able to bring in more revenue and therefore more tax opportunities for the province and country. And attracting that type of business is daunting, though not as tough as you might think. Canada’s a great place to do business – close enough to the US border that trade with it is accessible; the dollar is nearly on par; the market has just as much spending power as what Americans do, if not more; and the quality of life and attractiveness of our cities would make any new exec be pleased. Of course, business varies from sector to sector, but in a nutshell – all we’d need to do is create tax incentives for development and support growth opportunities.

Canada is not the US and it never will  be, so finding money and cutting back will always be a challenge. Canadians aren’t dumb either, we know how great our country is and so we don’t let the cost our our taxes deter us from loving it. Our government, however, is a different story; unaccountable MP’s; investment to destroy the environment and lack of work for trained professionals. I love Canada, but the recent ways that we’ve been tackling our economic woes isn’t the way to make Canada better.

Healthy Confusion

Somewhere, mixed up in the mumbo jumbo of the good, bad and ugly of healthy eating, we’ve gotten our priorities mixed up. How else could you explain the mound of literature dedicated to both revealing the sickening trends in the food industry and de-coding the ingredients that dot nearly every package in the supermarket. Michael Pollan’s books In Defense of Food and Food Rules are prime examples, as are documentaries (Food Inc. was top of the list of Oscar nominees and Super Size Me was a box office hit!) and tv sitcoms (Law & Order: SVU just released an episode featuring the gruesomeness of the meat packaging industry).

All this makes me think that we’re not healthy – we just think we are! As consumer’s, I think most of us are blinded by marketing gimmicks, like KFC’s “Bucket for the Cure” campaign which has gone pink for the month in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. The irony and shock as I read about this is astounding – do they actually think that buying fried chicken will put an end to breast cancer?

Traditional views of nutrition – the four food groups, portion control and weight loss myths – are also tough to beat and gets even more complicated when you throw in pesticides, fertilizers, GMO’s and substitutes. I’m convinced that buying local is the way to go – I’m over the moon that the weather is getting close enough to spring that the farmer’s markets will soon be opening up and I can peruse the aisles of fresh produce under the sun! My support of organic is also growing slowly – I really hate to admit it knowing that buying organic will put a dent in my wallet, but I think we just might be better off for it. Making wise decisions about our health is so important at all ages to ensure our quality of life well in to our retirement years that jeopardizing it now seems reckless.

Blurring the Line

It’s been on everyone’s mind for the last several weeks, but no one has dared whisper it for fear that we’ll be jinxed and it’ll fade into the distance like a dream. It’s been hinted at and even overjoyed when we got a snippet of it a few days ago…the sun! Winters are everlasting in Canada and Mother Nature simply can not make up her mind, flip-flopping back and forth between sunny rays and dreary days that I simply just want to hid until it makes up its mind! I marvel at it though, thinking that the sun is such a life-source for every person, animal, or plant on the earth and we never get tired of it. Won’t ever be replaced by Apple’s newest ap or NASA’s expanding technology. Instead, we imitate it , thank God for it and trade stories about what it was like when we didn’t have it.

In general, I love natural landscapes or environments and all things that are a part of it. In fact, most of my ‘to-do-before-I-die’ List is based on natural landscapes / scenery.  So, it should be no big surprise that when I saw Disney’s ‘Earth’, I really enjoyed it.  It shadows four animals and the struggles that they go through to survive, most of which meant migrating with the sun to warmer climates at different times of the year. It really was fascinating and showcased exactly how these animals were having to deal with global warming. It also highlighted the importance of forests, fauna and ecosystems as vital for human development and sustainability.

I don’t want to complain about my government…again – then I’d really turn into a broken record! What I do want to do is more or less to highlight how many people have turned their profession in to a cause in support of conservation, sustainability and advocacy. Journalists, social scientists, film-makers.  There clearly are scores of people out there who have made the environment,conservation and spreading awareness about it a priority, but I’ve noticed that the line between environmental advocacy and reinforcing social norms is getting to be a bit blurry.

The documentaries nominated at last week’s Oscar ceremony were phenomenal and most of them to shed light on hidden atrocities.  The film that won, The Cove, documented a particular Cove in Japan where dolphins were lured and then killed for their meat. In light of the typical Western view that dolphins are the beloved Savior of the Seas, it’s an awful reality, but one that may also be a Japanese food source, like cattle would be in middle America. It is Difficult to enforce  social norms on other nations, isn’t it? Just as I’m sure that dogs in China, guinea pigs in Peru, tarantulas in Cambodia or crickets and scorpions in Thailand are not exactly the delicacies of the North American palate, as long as it is safe to eat and they are not endangered of extinction, then I find it difficult to condemn a practice that may be to the locals as what salmon is to us. If the documentary highlighted how the dolphins were endangered or were vital to other ecosystems in the area, then I might feel more inclined to appreciate this type of cinematography. And although I don’t like to see murdered dolphins, I can accept it as synonymous to a poultry farm or other meat breeding establishments.

By blurring the line between environmental conservation and social advocacy, we’re not really getting anywhere – just a lot of hot air.

Artistic Reflection

I’ve been thinking a lot about how art imitates life. Who could forget the music that characterized much of the 60′s? Buffalo Springfield, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane to name a few. That was protest and self expression all at once. And it’s not just in western culture either; I read yesterday how Sufi poetry in India speaks out against the caste system in India and listened to a report on art that was destroyed in the Haitian earthquake a few weeks ago and what a great tragedy it was for the nation. How to replace historic pieces? It’s seems parallel to losing all your belongings in a fire, except instead of one lifetime’s possessions, it was many century’s worth for the entire population.

The arts are a way of telling history (who could forget the wall paintings by the ancient Egyptians?); an establishment of a nation’s identity.  Why else would Israeli’s have looted the Palestinian Research Center upon its invasion into South Lebanon in 1982?  But when we go to the world’s most established and renowned art center’s, they’re full of artworks from abroad; Greece, Rome, China, Persia, India. Relics of a colonial past? The net worth of the artifacts alone would be astounding, and I’m therefore not surprised about the growing number of lawyers involved in the art trade and recovery.

When I first arrived in Austria, there was a case that surfaced surrounding Gustav Klimt’s work – perhaps the most famous Austrian painter – who’s works were left behind by the fleeing family during WW2. I arrived in Vienna, just in time to see the paintings before the US Supreme Court ordered them to be returned to the family, which now resides in the US. This is one of a very small number of cases, validating the return of property to its rightful owner. It’s debatable whether or not these artworks were national treasures or whether the expulsion of the artist himself invalidated that claim.

I enjoy the arts and am always eager to hear what’s new on the radio or wander the galleries. I’ve got to say though, I haven’t been too impressed with modern thoughts and ideas being reflected in music or in art. Of course, there’s been some bands, who have had personal experiences or strong sentiments toward a given issue – U2′s ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” Midnight Oil’s “Beds are Burning,” Neil Young’s “Rocking in the Free World,” but in general, the type of work that is crowding the airwaves is not nearly as reflective of reality as it used to be… or is it? Do people just not have the same feelings toward Iraq and Afghanistan as the did toward Vietnam? And do visual artists feel more compelled to be abstract or modern in their paint strokes than the impressionists or renaissance painters? Are they torn between making a profit or making a statement?

It’s truly amazing what the arts can do for a pysche and a society. It can up-lift, invigorate, motivate, tell history all at once and be treasured for years to come – definitely something to be treasured!

A Glance at Summits Past and Canada’s Place at Copenhagen

This week, it seems as though the world is holding its breath for the Copenhagen Summit and whether or not it will produce the results long hoped for.  Leading up to it, allegations of climate change fallacies have surfaced, two of the world’s top oil producing giants have deepened their relationship and Canada has finally decided to step up to the plate.  As story after story is reported from Denmark, I’m optimistic that goals will be reached or, at the very least, strived for. At the same time, I wonder how such Summit’s were ever to succeed in the past.

Scandals seem to lurk over the shoulder of any good summit of importance, though have evolved with time from spy allegations to political corruption to the sexual behavior of the day’s notables.  So, why should this be any different? It may be the case that researcher’s had joined two data sets to produce easier to understand results, but it shouldn’t shut down the Summit, after all it’s December in Canada and I haven’t had a chance to use my snow tires yet – hard to deny that climate change is all wrong.

Secondly, the strengthening of relationships between states is hardly new and rarely judged.  In fact, it’s because of such relationships that trade can be profitable, migration improved and criminal networks thwarted.  However, being aware of ties between nations can be significant, remembering a certain non-aggression treaty that foreshadowed World War Two.  Today, therefore, watching Iran and Venezuela continue their charade…er,… I mean, relationship, stresses the need for alternative energy sources in order to avoid two of the world’s top oil producer’s (and non-democracies) from becoming too powerful, which in the current world order, is not manpower or weapons, but the control of natural resources, which enable us to sustain our quality of life and ensure our continuance into the future.

Enter Canada.  We are a nation, full of natural beauty and bounty which should be preserved, not only for the sake of nature, but for the sake of our own sustainability.  Now is the time to be investing in clean energy, exploring new technologies and promoting the way of the future, particularly at a time of rising unemployment.  The PM’s decision to attend the Summit, following the American and Chinese delegations, is commendable, despite his lack of enthusiasm for it.  It will be interesting to see whether Canada will make a valiant effort at Copenhagen to listen, to compromise and to evaluate the events, as a global player, instead of making a less than graceful exit à la UN General Assembly, back in September.

Whatever the outcome and commitments that are made in the next weeks, climate change is here to stay, as I grab my sunscreen and shades and head out into the vast wilderness of the Wal-Mart parking lot to pick up a Christmas tree.