I was thrilled to hear that France Moore Lappé is coming to Ottawa, to give a talk about “The World We Want: Visionary Ideas for a Small Planet.”

Lappé is author of the groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet (1971)—a book which had a big influence on how I think about food—and 16 other books on food, politics and the environment. She’ll be here to talk about her latest, titled EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want (2011).

EcoMind is about the “myths” we tell ourselves about the environment, the economy and humanity that stop us from changing things for the better. For example, says Lappé, when we tell ourselves that environmental problems stem from rampant economic “growth,” we see the solution as limiting growth. But Lappé says that growth is essential—for the plants and animals around us and for ourselves—and that we can redefine growth as not about amassing (or wasting) more but about enhancing our well-being.

According to Lappé, our beliefs that we’ve become disconnected from nature, for example, or that our “consumer society” is to blame, are “thought traps” that make us feel powerless to stop seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change or food “scarcity.” EcoMind says the way forward lies in reframing the problems in order to open up new possibilities for action that are in line with nature.

If you have the chance, head to “The World We Want.” It’s on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts, 310 St. Patrick St. at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Tickets are $10 in advance (available at USC Canada or Octopus Books) or $15 at the door.

Some additional links to check out:

Frances Moore Lappé’s bio: http://smallplanet.org/about/frances/bio

Article by Frances Moore Lappé in the Ottawa Citizen about the “myth” of food scarcity: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Food+scarcity+dangerous+myth/6033424/story.html?shr=f

Video of Frances Moore Lappé talking about EcoMind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9RFkkxqDY

In Minto Park, at the corner of Elgin and Gilmour Streets downtown, there’s a new sugar maple tree. It was planted this week to honour environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Muta Mathaai, who passed away on September 25, 2011.

Wangari Mathaai never lived in Ottawa, but her life’s work has influence and relevance here—and throughout the world. Dr. Mathaai was a Kenyan environmentalist, scientist, human and women’s rights advocate, political activist and parliamentarian.

Wangari Mathaai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 as a grassroots community-based tree-planting program to address environmental degradation and empower women; it’s become a global movement working for human rights, democracy, peace and climate justice as well. Her work was challenging, at times dangerous, but she persevered. “It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change,” she said, “So we must stand up for what we believe in.” Professor Mathaai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and has received dozens of other awards and recognitions.

To celebrate Wangari Mathaai’s life and achievements, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, an organization based in Ottawa that Dr. Mathaai herself helped found in 2004, along with Ecology Ottawa, hosted the tree-planting ceremony on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at Minto Park, with the High Commissioner of Kenya, Simon Nabukwesi, the Ambassador of Norway, Else Eikeland, and Mayor Jim Watson attending.

For Wangari Mathaai, sustainability, human rights, peace and justice were interconnected. “She did not put women’s rights, democracy and the environment into separate boxes,” said Liz Bernstein, Executive Director of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, at the ceremony.

Mathaai also believed that every person could take action. Ecology Ottawa’s Trevor Haché summed it up this way: “May this tree that we will plant today in the ceremony serve as inspiration and an important reminder to all Ottawa citizens that we have the power to effect change and we will always encourage our elected officials to do more to protect the planet.”

Trailer “I will be a hummingbird”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw&feature=player_embedded#! or

http://www.dirtthemovie.org/

Trailer for Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Mathaai http://greenbeltmovement.org/w.php?id=82

In Ottawa we usually don’t make a big deal of internationally-designated days, but this year’s UN World Habitat Day on October 3 seemed significant. The theme: Cities and Climate Change.

According to UN-HABITAT, the world’s cities are responsible for up to 70 per cent of harmful greenhouse gases. Transportation using fossil fuels and industrial activity are particularly significant sources of urban greenhouse gas emissions.

So cities are big contributors to climate change – but people in cities are also affected by the consequences of climate change, like flooding. And cities are, arguably, a big part of the solution.

The City of Ottawa has said municipalities can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Ottawa, transportation and buildings’ energy use each account for 40 percent of greenhouse gases, with the remaining 20 percent from the waste sector. The City has had a climate change management plan to address these. But there’s a long road ahead of us.

One of the problems is that climate change here isn’t that obvious, so it’s easy not to think much about it. But the City says our hottest days are getting hotter and more frequent, and declining air quality is a big concern. In 2005 the City recorded 290 deaths and 750 hospital admissions attributable to air pollution, and projected increases in these numbers over the next 25 years. Climate change is affecting our health, changing our environment and costing us in many ways.

Individual action helps – people riding bikes instead of driving, choosing locally-grown food when possible, and turning down thermostats. We need more from all levels of government, though. And we need to be talking about it a lot more.

I think this is happening. Just last week, for example, we had the Ottawa Action to Protest the Tar Sands, a Museum of Nature screening of the film Carbon Nation, and – if you happened to attend the Kickass Talks for CARE on October 2 – Ottawa’s Richard Weber sharing evidence of climate change from the Arctic.

There’s another event coming up this week. It’s part of the System Change Not Climate Change initiative launched by the Council of Canadians’ Climate Justice for People and the Planet campaign to build awareness and inspire people to find alternatives to climate change. Members of Transition Ottawa are hosting a presentation and discussion about what system change means and how environmental and social justice are linked. The event is on Thursday, October 6 from 7:30-9:15 p.m. at 2 Monk St. (one block from 5^th Avenue and Bank St.) in the Glebe; RSVP at http://transitionottawa.ning.com.

It seems daunting, even impossible, to do anything about climate change. But groups and movements like Transition Towns, System Change Not Climate Change, and Worldchanging and its successor are coming up with solutions that are feasible yet retain what’s best about our cities. Check them out when you have the chance.

Interpretive Programs in Gatineau Park

Oct. 1 and 2, Gatineau Park will run an interpretive program called Follies of the Fall Forest at 12:30 in English and 2:30 in French at the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre, Chelsea. The 2-hour program is free, led by a naturalist, and includes a guided trail walk.

Café scientifique at the Canadian Museum of Nature

The Canadian Museum of Nature is holding a “Café scientifique” on Friday, Sept. 30 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. The Café includes a dinner and a screening of the documentary Carbon Nation, described as a climate change solutions movie even for those who don’t believe in climate change. According to the film’s website, it’s “an optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that shows tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national & energy security and promotes health & a clean environment.” Following the movie, environmentalists Bruce Yateman and Bernie Couture will lead a discussion about the feasibility of having a small carbon footprint. Tickets $35 ($28 for Museum members). Register in advance at 613-566-4791.

If that’s not enough, it’s also a good time of year to check out a Farmers’ Market or go for a hike and enjoy the start of autumn.

Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

In case you haven’t heard, the Council of Canadians, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Greenpeace Canada along with other organizations and individuals are calling on people to protest the tar sands industry with an action and rally in Ottawa on Monday, Sept. 26 on Parliament Hill. A planned sit-in and a solidarity rally at the Centennial Flame both begin at 10:00 a.m. (Organizers held a mandatory training session on Sept. 25 for people participating in the sit-in which is a civil disobedience action.) Be sure to check the Ottawa Action website for details if you’re thinking of getting involved or want to find out more.

Organizers say the action is necessary to send a message to the Canadian government that tar sands mining and other unsustainable forms of energy extraction like shale fracking are unacceptable – not only because of their harmful effects on people and the environment but because they extend our dependence on fossil fuels when we should be investing in alternatives. The Council of Canadians, for example, has called for a Canadian Energy Strategy based on principles of energy security and ecological sustainability.

The Ottawa Action follows the protest earlier this month in Washington, D.C. of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands to the U.S. Gulf coast. So far dozens of organizations have endorsed the Ottawa Action – including, for example, the Assembly of First Nations, the Dene Nation, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Physicians for Global Survival (PGS) and the UK Tar Sands Network. Individual supporters include Bill McKibben (founder of 350.org), Gorden Pinsent, Graham Greene, Naomi Klein, Shirley Douglas, Tantoo Cardinal and Dave Thomas as well as scientists, First Nations leaders and other prominent Canadians.

You can also follow what’s happening through Ottawa Action on Twitter (@OttawaAction) on Twitter or Facebook (see OttawaAction.ca for details).

“What could the Peace and Environment Resource Centre become?”

It’s a question that Ottawa’s Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC) is asking. PERC is inviting anyone with an interest in the environment, peace and social justice to meet on Thursday, September 22 2011 to explore what PERC does – and what it could do. The session will take place from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, First Street at Bank.

PERC has been promoting social justice and the environment in Ottawa for years. It’s a volunteer-run, charitable organization that raises awareness, links groups and individuals working on similar issues, offers a resource library, and provides alternative media coverage of social and environmental matters. It publishes a print newspaper, the Peace and Environment News (PEN), 6 times a year – recent issues have covered sustainable energy, food, green business, mining and human rights, and more. The PERC website offers news, highlights from the PEN and links to other resources.

PERC provides a forum for groups and individuals to keep in touch and informed on important issues, thanks to a core of dedicated people who keep it going. Still, PERC’s board, staff and volunteers are thinking ahead. They’re opening up the discussion to get people’s thoughts on what PERC could be. The public meeting is a great opportunity to have some input. (They can always use volunteers year-round, too – see their website for details.)

What inspires people to do something about the environment? Often, it’s knowing what we can do to make a difference, and that we’re not alone in our efforts.

This past Saturday I attended Social Capital Ottawa, a conference bringing together people using social media in Ottawa. It was a great opportunity to meet other Ottawa bloggers and Twitterers “in real life,” and to learn more about using social media effectively. (Sessions covered everything from writing to selecting social media tools, using social media for social change, making sense of social media metrics and more.)

One of the main observations I came away with is that with Ottawa’s social media users, the whole really is more than the sum of the parts. That is, bloggers, Tweeters and Facebook users – although using social media for different purposes – aren’t just putting stuff out there for others to read; they’re creating conversations, connecting people – and building community.

Glen Gower of Ottawa Start, who gave the conference’s keynote address, said a couple of things that stuck with me. One is that blogging and Tweeting enable people to channel “collective community energy,” which Ottawans have been doing for a long time, just in other ways. Another is that people in Ottawa, through their use of social media, are building our city.

This got me thinking about the people who are helping connect those of us who are concerned about Ottawa’s environment – using blogs and Tweets to share ideas and challenges, and to encourage us to inspire each other:

• Individuals blogging about living sustainably (like The Mindful Merchant, The No Plastic Project, Unstuffed, Eco Mama, Experiments in Efficiency, Family Transition to Resilience and Living Lightly, After the Harvest), reconnecting with nature (Dandelions and Concrete), or being a green consumer (Heartfelt, Ecochick);
• People and groups using blogs, Twitter and other social media to raise awareness and advocate for the environment (e.g. @EcologyOttawa, @ottriverkeeper, Virtual Nonsense, @SouthMarch, The Champlain Oaks) and to help envision a sustainable city (Transition Ottawa, Spacing Ottawa).

(These examples are the tip of the iceberg, so to speak – please share others you know of.)

Building Ottawa as a community of people living sustainably takes more than a few social media tools. But people using these tools help us learn and share what’s possible.

Is Ottawa bike-friendly?

We have an enviable network of recreational pathways, and many other decent biking routes. We have Sunday Bikedays and Bixi bike rentals. We can transport our bikes if need be on the O-Train and some OC Transpo buses. And we now have a segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue, launched on July 10.

The League of American Bicyclists and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition say we’re bike-friendly – to a point. They’ve awarded the City of Ottawa a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award for its cycling initiatives.

Silver is not the Award’s highest designation, and cycling in Ottawa is not always smooth sailing. Ottawa has far too many accidents involving bikes, and numerous problem areas, some documented on Ottawa Biking Problems, where people can report on challenges they encounter.

So we’re not Copenhagen, where over a third of people commute by bike every day; nor, fortunately, are we following Toronto’s example of removing cycling infrastructure.

We could do more as a city, but there are some signs that we’re gradually changing infrastructure and attitudes to make cycling safer and more convenient, so that biking becomes a real option for getting around, for more people.

Some of the recent changes in this direction include the NCC’s Park and Cycle pilot program, which provides parking lots for commuters to leave their cars and cycle the rest of the way downtown; the addition of cycling directions for Ottawa to Google Maps; and services like complementary Bluesfest bike parking offered by Citizens for Safe Cycling and Bluesfest.

Ottawa also has many resources for people looking for assistance or gear, like Can-Bike courses and Recycles and Recyclore bike shops. (See Ottawa Start for additional cycling links.) We’re also starting to see a slightly greater diversity of bikes available for people with a range of abilities.

Then there are the people and groups who are helping change our perceptions of what is “cycleable,” and encouraging us to see cycling as something that most people can do, whether it’s a commute to work, a leisurely outing on a bike path, a mountain bike ride or a quick trip to the grocery store. This includes bloggers like Andrea Grant’s Apartment 613 post about bike-accessible places to go swimming around Ottawa; Ottawa cycling advocate Kathleen Wilker’s family biking blog; and Ottawa Cycle Chic, which does as much for promoting cycling as an everyday activity as it does for bike fashion. (I have to say that I’m pro-helmet, myself). As well, the organisation Cycling Vision Ottawa aims to support people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable on their bikes.

These developments are important for Ottawa. As cycling advocates point out, biking not only has environmental and health benefits but also gives us a connection that we wouldn’t otherwise have to nature, to the urban landscape and to each other. A recent Sustainable Cities Collective post states that “the most vital element for the future of our cities is that the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding” – i.e., a way to really get to know and connect with our communities and our city.

In other words, a bike-friendly city is also a friendly city. Sounds like a good idea for Ottawa.

This blog is about positive things people can do for the environment – so I hope you’ll forgive a bit of cynicism over Environment Week, held in Canada every June and this year from June 5-11.

The press release about Environment Week from Canada’s Minister of Environment says “Canadian Environment Week is a call to action to all Canadians to get involved, to adopt a greener lifestyle, to celebrate actions that promote a cleaner environment and inspire others to do the same.” The City of Ottawa, quoting Environment Canada, says this week is a time to “celebrate our achievements and initiatives,” noting that the 2011 theme of Environment Week is Preserving our Forests, Protecting our Future.

It sounds good. But this is the same city government that allowed the Beaver Pond Forest to be cut down in January, just as the UN’s International Year of Forests was getting underway. The City of Ottawa’s big Environment Week announcement this week? The launch of a Tree Watering Bag Pilot Project that will attach polyethylene containers full of water to 1,500 new city trees as a way to water them more effectively. Growing trees, conserving water and doing so cost-effectively are good, but isn’t it a bit like fiddling while Rome burns?

The federal government, meanwhile, cut 50 Environment Canada staff last week on the eve of celebrating that department’s 40^th anniversary. The Canadian government has been criticized internationally for inaction on climate change, and challenged to protect species at risk. Sure, we can do more as individuals. But what difference will it make without corresponding measures at municipal, provincial and national levels?

Maybe the answer is in how we as individuals and communities come together to keep decision-makers focused on the things that matter to us, like the environment.

If so, then Ottawa does have something to celebrate. Groups like Sustainable Living Ottawa West, Sustainable Living Ottawa East, Transition Ottawa, Ecology Ottawa, Just Food and many others that not only support us to adopt more sustainable lifestyles but also give us a way to come together. Bloggers who share their ideas and efforts to live “green” (like those mentioned in an earlier post and comments on it), and people who take the time to read them. Community associations and environmental organizations who monitor what our governments are doing and take action when they see governments falling short.

We depend on these initiatives and the many people behind them. They are part of “the new voice of Canada,” as Paul Renaud of the Coalition to Protect the South March Highlands has so eloquently put it. This voice, he has said, is:

“A voice that says that the protection and preservation of native heritage is important because it strengthens us all and teaches us many things.

A voice that says that we too are an integral part of this natural ecosystem. We do not walk on it, we exist within it and we are only alive because of it.

A voice that says that our society must return to a ‘sustainable relationship’ with all living beings – regardless of colour, creed, and culture, and with respect for all species of life.

A voice that says that greed is no substitute for responsibility.

A voice that says Leadership means taking responsibility to solve problems through meaningful consultation with ALL stakeholders.”

Perhaps, then, this is how we should mark Environment Week: by celebrating the people and groups in our city who act individually and collectively to protect our environment and to remind our governments of their responsibilities.

This weekend, June 4 and 5, 2011, you’ll find lots of activities with an environmental twist taking place in Ottawa.

For family-friendly activities, you can’t beat the Ottawa International Children’s Festival. It always offers a variety of amazing live performances but this year it includes an initiative to help children envision ways to address climate change. The Climate Change Project: Children’s Forests of the Future allows visitors to experience drama and music performances, create their own art, and see creations by Ottawa students in collaboration with professional artists and climate change scientists. The Festival takes place June 1-5 at Lebreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum.

If you’re gardening, or hankering to, then the Fletcher Wildlife Garden’s Annual Plant Sale is for you. You can learn which native plants will attract birds and butterflies to your yard while eliminating the need for sprinklers, fertilizers and pesticides. The sale is Saturday June 4 from 9:30 am-12:30 pm at Fletcher Wildlife Garden on the east side of Prince of Wales Drive south of the Arboretum (take a stroll around the Garden while you’re there).

If you prefer to do spring cleaning, you can participate in Ottawa’s Give Away Weekend on Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5. Check the City’s website for suggestions on what kinds of household items to set out at the curb for people to take away for free. Or, donate your stuff to the South March Highlands-Carp River Conservation Inc. group which is taking part in the Island Park Drive Yard Sale on Saturday; contact Andrea Prazmowski at praz@magma.ca to donate items. If you haven’t had your fill of garage sales following last week’s Great Glebe Garage Sale, you can find other opportunities to reuse and recycle stuff by checking Ottawa Start’s garage sale postings at http://twitter.com/#!/ott_garage_sale or other recycling suggestions at http://ottawastart.com/used.php.

If you’re hooked on cycling after Bike to Work month in May, you can keep up the momentum with the first ever Capital Velofest. Established by Capital Vélo Fest Inc., a non-profit corporation that hopes to inspire people to ride their bikes more, the Velofest will include a “bicycle rodeo” at Ottawa City Hall on Saturday June 4 from 11 am-4 pm offering a bike display and demonstrations, bicycle polo, bike parts jewellery making, seminars on bike safety and maintenance, and more. The Velofest includes a Tour la Nuit from 7-11 pm.

Last but not least, this weekend’s Doors Open Ottawa offers a chance to visit private and public buildings that are not normally open to the public. It includes several sites that are environmentally noteworthy, like the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre (800 Green Creek Dr.) that treats Ottawa’s wastewater, or the green-roofed CD Howe Building at 235 Queen St. New to Doors Open Ottawa this year is the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation’s Beaver Barracks at 464 Metcalfe St., billed as “the greenest rental building in Ottawa” with “the largest residential geothermal exchange system in Canada” as well as low-flow fixtures, a green roof and secure bike parking. You can also visit several LEED-certified buildings including the Huron Early Learning Centre at 24 Capilano Dr., Ottawa’s first LEED-certified child care centre, the new OC Transpo Industrial Garage at 745 Industrial Ave., and the Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters at 2465 Don Reid Dr.
Let us know if you have any other suggestions for the weekend!