collapse

* Recent Posts

Re: "Christ Is King" by SunflowerP
[Yesterday at 11:06:51 pm]


Re: "Christ Is King" by SunflowerP
[Yesterday at 10:30:17 pm]


Re: "Christ Is King" by Darkhawk
[Yesterday at 08:31:19 pm]


Re: "Christ Is King" by Darkhawk
[Yesterday at 07:54:40 pm]


Re: "Christ Is King" by Sefiru
[Yesterday at 07:44:49 pm]

Author Topic: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option  (Read 13632 times)

PerditaPickle

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: UK
  • Posts: 2104
  • Country: england
  • Total likes: 641
  • It's all metta - at least, I believe it should be
    • View Profile
    • Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity
  • Religion: Druid-ish
  • Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #15 on: September 30, 2019, 11:48:50 am »
We CAN do this.

Thank you, Altair, for your posts in this thread - your latter one was much more articulately put than I could've possibly managed.
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
(From the Metta Sutta)

My Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity blog

PerditaPickle

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: UK
  • Posts: 2104
  • Country: england
  • Total likes: 641
  • It's all metta - at least, I believe it should be
    • View Profile
    • Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity
  • Religion: Druid-ish
  • Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #16 on: September 30, 2019, 02:17:26 pm »
My own response to follow in a reply, in due course.

My union had a 'green week' around the time of the climate strike, so I organised an awareness-raising stall in Reception in my office building - I invited a gentleman from Waste Management at our local council to answer people's FAQs about recycling and composting.  And he was authorised to sign people up to receive a free composting bin, delivered to their homes!  Also brought along some other freebies for people to take away, including recipe packs for using up left-over food.

I'd thought it'd take hardly any organising at all, but in the end it took quite a bit of effort (and that's in spite of my roping in another colleague, who's also an 'eco-warrior', to help me with quite a bit of it), and it was also quite nerve-wracking.

This was small scale, because I didn't feel able to tackle anything larger scale - and I'm actually glad I didn't try to tackle anything larger, as it coincided with some family things and some other outside-of-work things.

But I did also manage to play a part in recruiting a fellow union member to the role of Environment Rep during the process of organising this.  So word-of-mouth does have an impact!
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
(From the Metta Sutta)

My Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity blog

Sefiru

  • Senior Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Nov 2013
  • Location: In the walls
  • Posts: 2570
  • Country: ca
  • Total likes: 893
    • View Profile
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #17 on: September 30, 2019, 06:33:08 pm »
I know there's an argument that the plastic wrap packaging which comes on cucumbers is not as environmentally bad as all that/maybe even good for the environment

That's a whole 'nother can of worms, isn't it? I've seen the Green community - probably not the exact same people, but you never know - complain about the amount of packaging on fresh foods, and then turn around and complain about the amount of food that spoils or gets thrown away without being eaten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me on AO3 & Deviantart

SunflowerP

  • Host
  • *
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Location: Calgary AB
  • Posts: 9911
  • Country: ca
  • Total likes: 734
  • Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs!
    • View Profile
    • If You Ain't Makin' Waves, You Ain't Kickin' Hard Enough
  • Religion: Eclectic religious Witchcraft
  • Preferred Pronouns: sie/hir/hirs/hirself
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #18 on: September 30, 2019, 07:38:14 pm »
Also, further apologies for not using the proper quoting codes & etc in the following post....

Off-topic: It looks to me like you did it correctly - unless I missed something in the middle of your post, all those quotes came from the same post, the one from Morag that you did include the full quote code to at the beginning of your post. You don't need a code/trackback for every single quote, just one for each post you're replying to.

Sunflower
I'm the AntiFa genderqueer commie eclectic wiccan Mod your alt-right bros warned you about.
I do so have a life; I just live part of it online!
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” - Oscar Wilde
"Nobody's good at anything until they practice." - Brina (Yewberry)
My much-neglected blog "If You Ain't Makin' Waves, You Ain't Kickin' Hard Enough"

ehbowen

  • Grand Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: Houston, Texas
  • Posts: 1396
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 286
  • A Ways Around the Bend...
    • View Profile
    • Streamliner Schedules
  • Religion: Southern Baptist
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #19 on: October 02, 2019, 04:21:04 am »
Yes, believe it or not I'm here as well on a fortnightly basis!  In our case it's because we live in an apartment block and the neighbours persist in doing things to the communal recycling bin (which I believe to be a 660 litre one, serving 18 households) which prevent the local council from collecting it.  For example putting bags of regular refuse in and or/glass items, or just totally unrecyclable items such as: old mops, old sets of shelves, cushions off of unwanted furniture & etc etc.  I used to sort though it and pull out the bags & etc of non-recyclable stuff until one day I came across a load of syringes which had been wrongly disposed of in there!  So now I've taken to smuggling much of my recycling into work and disposing of it there (in the hope that they do actually recycle this) - or if a friend calls round I ask them if they're likely to have any room in their household's 140 litre bin that fortnight, and if so then I ask them to take away a small bag of our plastic bottles, tin cans etc (all have been rinsed out).

I would hope that this is the case. But not always so. I'm not going to name the former employer, because my present employer is to some extent dependent upon their business...but at some point in the previous decade I worked at a large facility which put out recycling bins all throughout along with big signs saying, "We're going green!" I worked in maintenance, and I knew that there hadn't been any new recycling dumpsters set out. Curious, I talked to a manager of the janitorial team and asked her what they did with the recycling bins. Her answer: "Oh, we just throw them in the regular dumpster. We just want to look like we're recycling." Sigh.
--------Eric H. Bowen
Where's the KABOOM? There was supposed to have been an Earth-shattering KABOOM!
Computers are like air conditioning. They become useless when you open Windows—Linus Torvalds.

Altair

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: New York, New York
  • *
  • Posts: 3752
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 937
  • Fly high and make the world follow
    • View Profile
    • Songs of the Metamythos
  • Religion: tree-hugging pagan
  • Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #20 on: October 02, 2019, 07:37:08 am »
This is great!  <3  How did the canvassing go?

It was easier than I expected, esp. with a group of like-minded people. And the result (our candidate lost, but only by a hair, in a heavily Republican district that went for Trump by 12 percentage points) was eye-opening: Yes, we can defeat Trump in 2020...but it's not going to happen if we don't put in the work to make it happen.
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

TheGreenWizard

  • Master Member
  • ******
  • Join Date: Jul 2017
  • Location: New York, NY
  • Posts: 352
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 161
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Hellenic Pagan
  • Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #21 on: October 17, 2019, 07:52:35 pm »
So a while back we had the All Talk No Action thread in this sub-forum (https://ecauldron.com/forum/faith-in-everyday-life/all-talk-no-action/); since then, climate crisis news seems to have been almost everywhere (and so it should be).

I feel like the no action/sitting-on-our-laurels route is no longer an option, for any of us.  But also, in some ways, it's becoming easier to take action what with all the 'publicity' around this topic.

I therefore want to hear from nature worshiping Pagans in particular, but also from anyone & everyone:  how are you all "ramping up" your individual action/s when it comes to tackling climate change?  And are you taking part in any collective action/s?

My own response to follow in a reply, in due course.

There is no Planet B.

I honestly do not know how I haven't seen this post in the past few weeks. GAH! That out of my system... here we go. So, there is a lot of things going on in my personal and professional life that - in some way, shape, or form - tackle climate crisis. I'll list these out, more in the sense of what I'm doing to help combat it, and less so to put on airs or be judgemental towards others. In addition, I will say this upfront: I recognize my privilege in terms of economics and demographics - I'm a 30 year old white male living in NYC, so there are some advantages that I have over others - but what I am listing here is unique for my own situation. If you find that it's applicable towards you, great! If not, that's also great! We each have our own way of doing things.

That said, here we go:
  • As a middle school science teacher, I am fortunate to be able to teach about both weather and climate science, as well as human impact on Earth's climate - during the school year. I also teach about ecosystems, which feeds into the weather/climate science and Human Impact units. For ecosystems, I generally teach about the Yellowstone Wolves. But this year, I'm going to be centering my unit around composting and gardening so that the students can better connect with the outside world, and so that we can use our greenhouse and growlabs that we have in the building along side our worm compost bin that I have in my classroom.
  • After school, I also co-advise a club called Resiliency in Schools Consortium, where we not only teach students the effects of climate crisis, but also have them create artifacts that educate the public, and help do small things towards fighting climate crisis. For example at my school we're going to be repairing our greenhouse, and then using it (and our grow labs) to grow native species for pollinators - which we'll then plant in the spring/early summer at community parks and gardens. In this club, we're also planting dune grass and trees; the former stabilizes sandy beaches, while the latter helps absorb more carbon dioxide from the air.
  • Also as a teacher, I'm trying to help out with the sustainability coordinator to get more "green" initiatives done - our school doesn't recycle (despite the damn law, our custodial engineer is saying eff it), and that's been a major issue. We also are looking to other things as well.
  • In my apartment - which is on the 5th floor - we hardly use our heat because everyone else is. In fact, we often have to open the windows to make sure that we refresh the air. In addition, we recycle - which we are required by law to do.
  • Food wise, I try to use poultry (read: chicken. Turkey is effing EXPENSIVE in NYC for some damn reason!!!) mainly in our cooking, and switching more to beans, lentils, and other vegetarian dishes. It does get a bit monotonous at times, but I am loving the challenge of trying new recipes.
  • We haven't used bottled water in ages... until our cousin moved in with us and insists on using them... Ugh.
  • Electricity wise: we try to keep lights off, and to switch off the phantom loads. Before I go to bed, I turn off all unnecessary power strips (mainly the entertainment center), and major consumers of electricity (computers, and such), and when I wake up, I turn them back on. I'm probably going to get a timer for them later on, because this is getting tedious.
There's probably more that I do in my day to day that I haven't mentioned... but I can't recall.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go

Altair

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Location: New York, New York
  • *
  • Posts: 3752
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 937
  • Fly high and make the world follow
    • View Profile
    • Songs of the Metamythos
  • Religion: tree-hugging pagan
  • Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #22 on: October 17, 2019, 10:34:39 pm »
Electricity wise: we try to keep lights off, and to switch off the phantom loads. Before I go to bed, I turn off all unnecessary power strips (mainly the entertainment center), and major consumers of electricity (computers, and such), and when I wake up, I turn them back on. I'm probably going to get a timer for them later on, because this is getting tedious.

Young man, if you don't switch to a green ESCO, I'm going to personally kick your butt!
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

PerditaPickle

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: UK
  • Posts: 2104
  • Country: england
  • Total likes: 641
  • It's all metta - at least, I believe it should be
    • View Profile
    • Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity
  • Religion: Druid-ish
  • Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #23 on: October 18, 2019, 01:09:21 pm »
I'll list these out, more in the sense of what I'm doing to help combat it, and less so to put on airs or be judgemental towards others. In addition, I will say this upfront: I recognize my privilege in terms of economics and demographics - I'm a 30 year old white male living in NYC, so there are some advantages that I have over others - but what I am listing here is unique for my own situation. If you find that it's applicable towards you, great! If not, that's also great! We each have our own way of doing things.

Very well expressed.

That's great what you're doing in school, and as we've seen the young appear to be taking on board the climate change message in a way that other generations aren't necessarily so equipping them with the skills and the resilience for the future ahead is awesome.
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
(From the Metta Sutta)

My Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity blog

Anon100

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2019
  • Posts: 556
  • Country: gb
  • Total likes: 204
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Pagan
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #24 on: October 18, 2019, 02:05:49 pm »
This.


I welcome any and all other suggestions, large and small, for any jurisdiction across the globe. We have the ability to make an impact by taking on what we as individuals can, while our governments continue to shirk their duty.

I know. I had read about this ban. While triggered by the burning Amazon, my decision to cut way back on beef has more to do with the effects of cattle raising on forests in general, and not the Amazon specifically.

As a 21-year-old I remember visiting the Mexican state of Chiapas back in 1984, and even back then they were lamenting how their highland forests and others like them--including areas like the already limited wintering ground for our troubled monarch butterflies--were being chopped down to make cheap grazing land so we in the US could get burgers cheaper at Burger King than at McDonald's. I don't know if that was apocryphal, but it prompted a lifelong boycott of Burger King (and god, as a kid how I loved their onion rings!)...but now I've decided, to really make a difference, beef in general has got to be curtailed in my diet.

I'm not giving it up entirely--as Sefiru so aptly put it, I only have so many fucks to give!--but I can step up my choices that much.

We CAN do this.

Um, as suggestions were asked here, can I throw the cat among the pigeons a little.

Simply put if we stopped eating beef what will the cattle farmers do with the land they own to make a profit? I ask because here in my part of the UK the nearest farmer has been trying to get planning permission for building houses on his land for ages and it's only through public pressure and the council that he hasn't got it.
Is there some way we can make the land more valuable for wood production or such as, otherwise farms are likely to become housing estates.

On stopping the problem in South America, is there a list of companies based there? We can't force our governments to stop another countries actions because they don't need to listen and don't have the power, but we could force companies in South America to stop the government ( by threatening to veto their products which would cut their money or even make them bankrupt ). 

Anon100

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2019
  • Posts: 556
  • Country: gb
  • Total likes: 204
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Pagan
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #25 on: October 18, 2019, 03:00:31 pm »

On stopping the problem in South America, is there a list of companies based there? We can't force our governments to stop another countries actions because they don't need to listen and don't have the power, but we could force companies in South America to stop the government ( by threatening to veto their products which would cut their money or even make them bankrupt ).

Ok, I hope it's ok me doing this, but a quick nose at a few public sites informed me that "400 of the world’s 500 largest companies operate in Brazil, including Rolls Royce, BP and Shell from the UK." ( https://www.export.org.uk/news/440790/New-advice-on-doing-business-in-Brazil.htm )

As well as the fact that "Exxon Mobil is the oldest continually operated oil and gas company in Brazil, in business for over a hundred years. Chevron is also there, taking advantage of the booming oil and gas sector. Automotive is also a big winner for US companies; both General Motors and Ford have stable market shares in Brazil." ( https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/articles/2018/april/us-companies-doing-business-in-brazil/ ).

It strikes me that such big investors would have some clout in the country..



If I shouldn't have posted this please let me know or remove it
« Last Edit: October 18, 2019, 03:02:17 pm by Anon100 »

PerditaPickle

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: UK
  • Posts: 2104
  • Country: england
  • Total likes: 641
  • It's all metta - at least, I believe it should be
    • View Profile
    • Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity
  • Religion: Druid-ish
  • Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #26 on: October 19, 2019, 04:47:06 am »
Um, as suggestions were asked here, can I throw the cat among the pigeons a little.

Simply put if we stopped eating beef what will the cattle farmers do with the land they own to make a profit? I ask because here in my part of the UK the nearest farmer has been trying to get planning permission for building houses on his land for ages and it's only through public pressure and the council that he hasn't got it.
Is there some way we can make the land more valuable for wood production or such as, otherwise farms are likely to become housing estates.

On stopping the problem in South America, is there a list of companies based there? We can't force our governments to stop another countries actions because they don't need to listen and don't have the power, but we could force companies in South America to stop the government ( by threatening to veto their products which would cut their money or even make them bankrupt ).

I like your thinking - I'd suggest, if this is something you'd personally be interested in pursuing, looking around some more to see if there are organisations already trying for this sort of action. As it'd obviously be easier by far to pile on with an existing action than start a new one from scratch.  And arguably more effective too, since something like a boycott needs huge numbers to make any impact.

Greenpeace comes to mind. Possibly Friends of the Earth.  If you are on Facebook there's a group which I first heard of on there called People vs. Oil.  There may be others.

Keep me posted if you do indeed go for it, I'd be interested to hear about your experiences.
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
(From the Metta Sutta)

My Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity blog

Anon100

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2019
  • Posts: 556
  • Country: gb
  • Total likes: 204
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Pagan
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #27 on: October 19, 2019, 05:32:40 am »
I like your thinking - I'd suggest, if this is something you'd personally be interested in pursuing, looking around some more to see if there are organisations already trying for this sort of action. As it'd obviously be easier by far to pile on with an existing action than start a new one from scratch.  And arguably more effective too, since something like a boycott needs huge numbers to make any impact.

Greenpeace comes to mind. Possibly Friends of the Earth.  If you are on Facebook there's a group which I first heard of on there called People vs. Oil.  There may be others.

Keep me posted if you do indeed go for it, I'd be interested to hear about your experiences.

Laughing at myself..
I never know when to keep quiet, do I.

Well, as I started it I should really follow through. Ill see if I can knock on some doors ( metaphorically speaking ) over the weekend. An email or two to some of the groups you mentioned, and any more I can think of.

Will let you know what/if anything comes from it.

PerditaPickle

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: UK
  • Posts: 2104
  • Country: england
  • Total likes: 641
  • It's all metta - at least, I believe it should be
    • View Profile
    • Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity
  • Religion: Druid-ish
  • Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #28 on: October 19, 2019, 05:56:52 am »
Laughing at myself..
I never know when to keep quiet, do I.

Well, as I started it I should really follow through. Ill see if I can knock on some doors ( metaphorically speaking ) over the weekend. An email or two to some of the groups you mentioned, and any more I can think of.

Will let you know what/if anything comes from it.

Eeek, I did only say if it was something you'd be interested in!
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
(From the Metta Sutta)

My Portrait of Perpetual Perplexity blog

Anon100

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2019
  • Posts: 556
  • Country: gb
  • Total likes: 204
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Pagan
Re: Global climate crisis - failure to act is no longer an option
« Reply #29 on: October 19, 2019, 06:10:34 am »
Eeek, I did only say if it was something you'd be interested in!

Sorry, my humor was coming out in that reply. I must remember, people can't see my smile online.  ;)

It's not you; that's my nature all over. There's this part of me which will not let me just walk away once I've started, if you know what I mean.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2019, 06:14:39 am by Anon100 »

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
1 Replies
2288 Views
Last post July 05, 2011, 10:19:13 pm
by RandallS
14 Replies
3122 Views
Last post May 02, 2012, 03:47:49 am
by Blossomingmind
52 Replies
10508 Views
Last post March 17, 2019, 06:30:37 pm
by MadZealot
0 Replies
942 Views
Last post June 11, 2019, 08:47:44 am
by Newsposter
0 Replies
3842 Views
Last post November 01, 2021, 06:18:13 pm
by PerditaPickle

* Who's Online

  • Dot Guests: 215
  • Dot Hidden: 0
  • Dot Users: 0

There aren't any users online.

* Please Donate!

The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.

* Shop & Support TC

The links below are affiliate links. When you click on one of these links you will go to the listed shopping site with The Cauldron's affiliate code. Any purchases you make during your visit will earn TC a tiny percentage of your purchase price at no extra cost to you.

* In Memoriam

Chavi (2006)
Elspeth (2010)
Marilyn (2013)

* Cauldron Staff

Host:
Sunflower

Message Board Staff
Board Coordinator:
Darkhawk

Assistant Board Coordinator:
Aster Breo

Senior Staff:
Aisling, Allaya, Jenett, Sefiru

Staff:
Ashmire, EclecticWheel, HarpingHawke, Kylara, PerditaPickle, rocquelaire

Discord Chat Staff
Chat Coordinator:
Morag

'Up All Night' Coordinator:
Altair

Cauldron Council:
Bob, Catja, Chatelaine, Emma-Eldritch, Fausta, Jubes, Kelly, LyricFox, Phouka, Sperran, Star, Steve, Tana

Site Administrator:
Randall

SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal