My concern is that when slow moving events such as air and water pollution, global warming and degradation of ecosystems occur, we seem to have a blind spot.  Will we go back to sleep this time too?  Settle into our comfortable collective trance where we believe everything is OK? 

NZ really is paradise on earth, compared to many countries in the world today, even though the MFE report does indicate we have a lot of work to do to make sure we continue to enjoy the beauty and abundance.  As Hugh Logan said, the report gives facts, not action.  So who is going to take this information and really work it, I mean REALLY work it! 

What if we all did? 

Individuals, businesses, industry, agriculture, media, educational organizations, interest groups, communities, local governments, the combined Parliament working together, our nation.  All acting in concert. 

What if, as well as news segments on weather, money, sport, horoscopes, celebrities and crime, we had daily segments on environmental indicators and stories about the action people and organizations are taking to improve our planet? 

What if, through awareness and education we changed the paradigm of highly consumeristic behaviour to a culture of self responsibility in the choices we make that are kinder to the environment?    

What if, business and agriculture really signed up to going beyond sustainability.  To becoming restorative?   To realizing that a new business model is needed for our future.  That profit is not THE reason to be in business, it’s a byproduct of being the best you can be, in a national business culture where environment and people come first. 

I call this Mecology – making decisions and taking actions that creates a world I want to belong to.

Now is the time to face up to the truth.  Our wasteful ways are killing us and the planet.  With an ecological footprint of 5.9 hectares per person, NZ is the 6^th largest in the OECD according to the MFE Report.  The world bio-capacity estimate of 1.8 hectares per person means that as a nation we must move to an elegantly simple lifestyle where we live more lightly on the earth – or more people will starve. 

The information is already out there on what to do.  Education is the tool for a massive shift in conscious commitment by NZ’ers to secure a future we want to be a part of.  And the MFE report in every letterbox in the country would be a good start. 

This is not greenie, environmental, tree hugging stuff.  Its practical, realistic truth.  Otherwise I for one, will weep gut wrenching tears of despair that in 2008 we knew what action we needed to take, but we fell asleep and in the following five years, the greatest human disaster overtook us.

What will get the attention of Aucklanders initially will be the pictures though – thanks to Martin Thomas and Gareth Eyres. 

Downtown Auckland with a 20 metre sea rise … fascinating!   The roof of that wonderful historic ferry building is just visible and the top half of the Hilton Hotel looks like a ship anchored offshore. 

In the article, Two Degrees of Separation, Simon moves from property damage to agriculture and tourism implications, weather bombs and floods to drought and water shortages, mosquito vectors to public health.  Surely people are starting to get that its all connected! 

If you have ever been in a serious earthquake you know that its happened and then you deal with the results.  With Climate Change, we are in a process where the results will be felt long after the “rumble”.   So many people are not taking it seriously. Some don’t want to know.  If its not happening now, why worry? 

But I am heartened by what seems a fast evolution in thinking within business, communities and individually.    More and more people, almost daily, understand that they can make a difference.  Just by living their life differently.  In the UK a survey revealed that 74% of people believe that one person can make a difference.

The problem is that when people do take action, it is not immediately apparent that something positive has happened.  So people sometimes give up and go back to habits they know. 

And then there are the committed people.  In homes, communities, businesses, congregations, organizations and politics, where energy and action are two dangerously powerful weapons of mass survival.  These are not those “radical environmental activists” we have labeled environmentally responsible people in the past.  No.   When a Chief Executive of a major NZ business rides to work on a bike to save carbon emissions he is not being a “radical activist.”  He is acting responsibly and as a leader in his field, a fantastic role model.  Well, actually, maybe he is being a radical activist because he is living his values  … so activists are OK people, right?

Yes they are and thats what Mecology is all about.  Being responsible for our own personal ecosystem.    www.mecology.com

Who cares if in Christmas past you ran yourself ragged buying presents, glazing the ham and decorating the house with tinsel and flashing lights?   Lets change the way we do things at Christmas, for our sanity and for the planet. 

Among my ideas for greening your Christmas:  

·        Buy a Xmas tree from a company who will pick it up and mulch it when finished

·        Only put on the Chrissie lights at night and switch them off before bed

·        Or, rather than a tree, arrange old tree branches and twigs, paint them, hang decorations from them – including names of loved ones who won’t be with you

·        Instead of a pine tree, why not get a shrub that has a good shape and reuse it every year instead?  One that can survive three weeks inside

·        Don’t buy non-paper gift wrap – and keep paper or gift bags to reuse in coming years

·        Alternatively, use coloured pages from those magazines you no longer read.

·        Forget the ribbon, make something natural to wrap your presents – flax or coloured cotton strips from the bargain bin at the fabric shop

·        Email or blog your Christmas cards

·        If you get cards, recycle them at the local kindie in the new year for art

·        Use your own shopping bags for shopping – not only at the supermarket (can we PLEASE stop using plastic bags!) but also at all shops, just keep your receipt handy

·        Watch the product packaging on your presents – it all goes to landfill, or if its cardboard, make sure you recycle it

·        Keep Christmas food delicious but simple and elegant – buy what you need with a few luxurious items rather than going for the whole overindulgent mess that normally happens – and your new years resolution to lose weight will be easier!

·        Keep an eye on food waste.  If you’re throwing things out it means you need to buy less

·        Buy local produce where possible, farmers markets are great as well as organic shops

·        Go for carbon neutral wines – and really enjoy the taste in moderation!

·        Use real dishes, not plastic or Styrofoam.  Washing dishes can be a bonding experience when the whole gang do it together! 

Perhaps the most obvious way to Green your Christmas is to do what we all crave when we are on holiday.  Go for a walk in nature and see it with new eyes.  As the world heats up, where flood, droughts and ever increasing human population impacts on our world, this is the time to reconnect with nature and commit to its safekeeping for the future. 

We need to think about and become more aligned with our real values, rather than allowing those who benefit financially from Christmas to subtly direct our actions.  Some retailers have taken Greening Christmas to heart and offer real choices for consumers that don’t negatively impact on the planet (much or not at all). Others haven’t got the significance yet that consumer awareness is now so high, people are using their wallets and credit cards in an ethical way – many preferring to buy from businesses that have similar values to then. 

I believe Christmas is a time of appreciation – for the people who love me, for my health, nature and the wildlife I love so much.   Don’t be seduced into the idea that you need to prove you love people with an expensive gift or two.   Love has nothing to do with money.

Some of my `green’ Christmas gift ideas include 

·        Cook something delicious – with chocolate!

·        Offer to build something or work in someone’s garden – especially for those who don’t have the time or health for such work

·        Plan an outing for a friend or relative – a picnic, a meal, a visit to the beach or park

·        Spend time, not money – create a fun game from existing games (but change the rules!) or as a group create a new set of games where adults and children can laugh and play together.  After all, adults are really just kids in big skins!

·        Recycle old gifts “that you have never used”

·        Buy gifts for developing countries through Oxfam with “Oxfam Unwrapped”

·        Go for vouchers – online magazine subscriptions, experience gifts, tickets to the Zoo or Adopt An Animal for conservation, tickets to shows or sports events, book vouchers

·        Buy NZ products, reduce the carbon footprint on transport

·        If you do want to buy overseas products, why not support the Fair Trade programme?

·        Do secret Santa gifts – only buy one gift for a nominated person rather than everyone

·        Buy plants for the garden, particularly those that will feed the birds

·        Find a special or antique book in a second hand book shop and write a note that explains why you have chosen this gift for them

·        Write a poem, paint a picture, take a photo, sculpt something or sing a song for someone

·        Send anonymous gifts to people who may not have family around them at Xmas

·        Volunteer for Christmas lunches or dinners at places where people provide cheer 

And what do I want for Christmas?  Well, aside from the whole world working together to counteract the issues we will face in the future from global warming, peak oil to insufficient food production and limited fresh water for all – its moments rather than gifts that make me feel loved. 

Today, with the pressure and distraction inherent in modern life, we often miss opportunities to tell people that we love, admire or appreciate them. Christmas is the time to make those authentic connections with the special people in our lives … to share our humanity.    Love is not about money, it’s simply about the heart.   Wishing you a carbon neutral Christmas!

Linda Shaw describes herself as an ordinary woman who feels an extraordinary passion to help shape a better future for our planet. To that end the Auckland woman has left behind a corporate career to take on a new role as an `eco-advocate’ – holding workshops and speaking with people across New Zealand on how to be inspired, informed and take action to protect the environment. 

During November and December Linda is holding a series of workshops on `Changing the World in 5 Minutes a Day’.

“So many people feel either despair or inertia when it comes to knowing what to do to help with the serious situation our world is in because of climate change and issues such as peak oil,” says Linda. “For that reason I’ve designed a series of simple but effective ways that will help move people away from anxiety and confusion to feeling in control of what happens next … for themselves, for their family, community and the larger world.” 

Subjects covered in the workshops include: 

• Resourcefulness to discover new ways of living
• Resilience to adapt to coming events
• Reskilling in areas that support your future lifestyle
• Flexibility to handle changes and to work in a communal way with others
• Courage to think and act differently in a changing world
• Committing to action and to work with people to create an impact
• Learning to laugh in the face of the most challenging decade in human history

Linda’s background is in speaking, training, management, local government and export marketing. She is currently president of the Auckland chapter of the National Speakers Association of New Zealand. 

While she is no scientist, economist or politician, Linda believes it is ordinary humans making real changes in their lives who can have the greatest impact. “The Ecologist Magazine’s latest poll showed 74% of people believe that one person can make a difference,” says Linda who calls her business Mecology: You Are A Global Movement of One (www.mecology.com).  

Dates for Linda’s workshops are:

• November 21, 7pm, St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont Street, Ponsonby
• November 28, 7pm Earthsong Community Hall, Swanson Road, Ranui
• December 1, 9.30am Rose Garden Community Centre, Belmont, North Shore

 “We only have a very small window left where we might be able to turn things around,” says Linda. “Experts worldwide think, at best, we might only have 10 or 15 years left. We can’t wait for governments or God to fix the problem.” 

In the worst-case scenario of the future, Linda believes New Zealand could be facing issues such as: 

• An influx of refugees driven from their homes by wars over oil & water
• A more authoritarian & controlling government to keep security
• Oil availability declining after 2009 which dramatically impacts lives
• More flooding, mudslides, tornadoes and violent weather patterns
• Water and energy shortages in this country
• Australians flocking to this country & expat Kiwis returning home
• Increased food prices in New Zealand and overseas causing instability

For workshop information and bookings contact Linda on     09 419 9934

Would you like to interview Linda? Need more information or a photo? Please contact Kimberley Paterson at Soul PR on  09 424 4218 or kimberley@soulpr.com  

The evidence is becoming overwhelming.  We need to change our wasteful, demanding lifestyles (and fast) or else we face a future where news headlines are full of disasters, destruction, depletion, disputes and death.  Much more than we see now!

The inspiring upside is that people are responding and have been for decades.  We had the “early adopters”, those people who were ahead of their time and who we should be giving medals to today.  We had the “followers of a trend”, people who saw sense and worked to mitigate environmental and social damage. We now have the people who have “woken up”, those of us fighting to move out of denial and despair into optimism and action.

I want to hear the stories of optimism and action!  I want to feel like we are all in this together, working collaboratively (and not wasting precious resources like human passion, time and energy duplicating things) and being smart about what actions we take.

Personally, it feels like I live in two realities.  I live in beautiful New Zealand and as I look out my window, the garden is growing, the birds visit, the sun is shining, the cat sleeps on the desk and all seems well with the world.  Then I explore information about the challenges we face, the conditions people and wildlife are attempting to survive in, disease, malnutrition, lack of water, destruction of community life, conflicts, ecosystems imminent collapse and all that and I know deep down in my soul, that all is not well with the world.

Time to step up!  Are you with me?

The following is a brief regional summary of the fourth Global Environmental Outlook report by the United Nation’s Environment Programme.

ASIA AND PACIFIC

This region, home to 60 per cent of the world’s people, is making progress in reducing poverty. It is also improving its ability to protect the environment, energy efficiency is increasing in many places, and drinking water provision has advanced a lot in the last decade. But increases in consumption and associated waste have contributed to the huge growth in existing environmental problems including urban air quality, fresh water stress, agricultural land use and the illegal traffic in electronic and hazardous waste. More than one billion people are exposed to outdoor air pollution.

POLAR REGIONS

The Polar Regions are already feeling the impacts of climate change. Two key global impacts are ocean circulation, driven by differences in sea water density which is determined by temperature and salt content, and sea level rise. The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass faster than it is replacing it. If it melts completely sea levels will rise by seven metres. The giant West Antarctic ice sheet is also vulnerable. Some scientists think its complete collapse this century is conceivable.

NORTH AMERICA

With only 5.1 per cent of the world’s people, North America consumes just over 24 per cent of global primary energy. Energy consumption per head in both Canada and the United States has grown since 1987, with the total rising by 18 per cent. From 1987 to 2003, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in North America increased 27.8 per cent. Other key issues include urban sprawl, and freshwater quality and quantity. But energy efficiency gains have been countered by the use of larger vehicles, low fuel economy standards, and increases in car numbers and distances travelled. It also continues to suffer increasing urban sprawl.

AFRICA

Land degradation is the biggest threat to the region. It affects about five million square kilometres or one-sixth of the continent. Land is under pressure because of increased demand for resources from the growing population and natural disasters like drought and floods. Food production per head is now 12 percent lower than in 1981. This is exacerbated by unfair subsidies in developed nations. Climate change leading to forced migrations also makes the problems worse.

EUROPE

Europe has made great strides in the past 20 years in cutting many forms of pollution, but rising average incomes has led to higher emissions of greenhouse gases and are contributing to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, higher energy use, poor urban air quality, and transport problems driven by demands for increased mobility. The EU is emerging as a global leader in environmental governance. But there is still much room for improvement in the use of energy and resources.

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

Crammed cities and wildlife loss are key problems for the region which must also act fast to reduce social inequalities. It has the world’s worst income inequality, with 39 percent of the urban population living below the poverty line. Urban air pollution is also a problem. Only 14 per cent of the region’s sewage is adequately treated. The region contains 23.4 per cent of the world’s forest cover but is rapidly losing it. Trade, unplanned urbanisation and lack of land-use planning are driving their conversion to pasture and to monocultures for export and to provide biofuel. Deforestation affects water quantity and quality and is a big source of greenhouse gas emissions.  

WEST ASIA

The region has made progress in environmental governance in the past two decades. But continued population growth, military conflicts, and rapid development have resulted in significant increase in environmental challenges and pressures on natural resources. Key environmental issues are freshwater scarcity, degradation of land, coastal and marine ecosystems, urban management, and peace and security.

Of course I assume he is talking about humans.  I also ask these questions about all species on the planet, animal, plant and insect.  After all, I speak up for those who don’t have a human voice in this debate! 

But why would I be concerned about their fate when we humans need to be “saved”?Because we are all inextricably linked through nature.  They go, we go. 

So with the above in mind, I feel into hysterical laughter today when I heard and then read the latest report from the New Zealand Institute Chief Executive David Skilling who says New Zealand’s economy is too fragile to be tampered with by forcing Labour’s emissions trading scheme on businesses.   He is reported as saying that New Zealand should be a “fast follower” of other comparable countries in taking action to cut emissions, as it will not gain anything by positioning as a leader in the fight against climate change.   It recommends that the government delay meeting its carbon emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol by about eight years, to 2020. 

If our economy now is “too fragile” to handle cutting emissions, then when the inevitable need to dramatically transform the way we do business locally and in the world happens, we won’t make it.  By “comparable countries” I assume he means USA, Australia and China – hardly demonstrating the “lets do the decent thing and throttle back on our lifestyles so the rest of the world makes it” track record so far!   What research are these people reading?  Or perhaps a more important question is what are they recommending NZ businesses do to withstand the immediate and long term disintegration of “business as usual”?

Thank goodness I know a lot of NZ businesses are already way ahead of Labour, National and the New Zealand Institute in future proofing themselves.  Other businesses (like some people) still have their head in the sand.  May I respectfully suggest that they buy a shovel … NOW!

Professor Tim Flannery, Australian scientist and author of The Weather Makers tells us that “(regarding CO²) by mid 2005 we had reached the 455 parts per million – a level we had not expected to reach for a decade.”   Prof Flannery said his figures were “beyond the worst case scenario as we thought of it in 2001.”  In other words, global warming is going faster than we realise.

Link that with oil depletion and eventual demise of oil supply and I say, lets get a move on and be a world leader – there is a gap waiting to be filled on this.   We have done it before – changed how humans see themselves – Womens Suffrage and Nuclear Free NZ are two examples.

The November Ecologist Magazine also says that 74% of UK people polled thought that one person can make a difference with these issues.  YAY!  Exactly what I believe.   Are you ready to prove it?

Go to my website www.mecology.com over the next few weeks as I develop resources to share with you.  If you live in Auckland, you may be interested in my workshops coming up in November.

Earlier this month I attended the Eco Show in Taupo, New Zealand and heard three presentations by Richard Heinberg, international expert on Peak Oil.  (I also go to take him out to lunch on Sunday which was a terrific experience!).  Richard is clear that Peak Oil has come and gone and we are now moving to an era of energy depletion that will dramatically change the face of how most humans live on the planet.  As he says we must recognise our addiction to oil and begin the withdrawal process as soon as possible.  I recommend the book “Power Down” by Richard Heinberg, if you are brave enough to want to know the truth.  Other information is available on www.postcarbon.org Post Carbon Institute.

There are alternatives to living the way we do.  Our grandparents did it.  I remember my grandmother in England.  She lived through World War II and all the attendant rationing by having her own garden, chickens and was the local black market supplier for pork and ham.  I’m not suggesting you have pigs in your back garden – great manure for the vege patch (vege patch you yell!) – but your neighbour will probably be upset, particularly if you live in the city!  Instead we need to collectively find solutions to the impending (and already here!) problems we face.

Richard also talked about Transition Towns – they have arrived in NZ, go check out the website www.yesterdaysfuture.net/blog/?p=42  for more information.  You too can begin the process of converting your community to a Transition Town!  This sort of process is where much of our solutions lie – galvanising a community or a bunch of communities to work together creatively and plan effectively for the future.

Once we have our own backyard sorted, we can focus on what we can do to help other countries/peoples understand we are all in it together.

As Margaret Mead said “A small group of thoughtful and committed people could change the world.  Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

You know what this means don’t you.   Countries, companies and people are falling behind in efforts to limit global warming and its negative impacts.   Corinne Le Quere, a physicist who worked on the study, said “It means that we are not on the track we thought we were in terms of controlling global warming.”

We need MASSIVE ACTION!   We need to throttle back on our comfortable and reckless lifestyles (I mean affluent societies like New Zealand, not the 2 billion people who are struggling to survive in the world right now).  People do feel a responsibility to DO something, many don’t know what though.  And others have changed their light bulbs and reduced their use of the car and think that will be enough.In a changing world that is speeding towards a future that we don’t want to imagine, we humans are the ones who can stop the slide.  Perhaps not reverse the trend but at least be inspired to take a stand.

You up for it?

Quote from Lester R Brown, Earth Policy Institute, www.earth-policy.org 

“We recently entered a new century, but we are also entering a new world, one where the collisions between our demands and the earth’s capacity to satisfy them are becoming daily events.  It may be another crop-withering heat wave, another village abandoned because of invading sand dunes, or another aquifer pumped dry.  If we do not act quickly to reverse the trends, these seemingly isolated events will occur more and more frequently, accumulating and combining to determine our future.”  

Media stories on environmental issues, climate change and anticipated global warming are hard to miss, so many people are very aware of what is to come.   People react differently to the news that their lifestyle is about to change – and that it probably won’t be a good thing.  Some are proactively changing their ways by things such as reducing car use, reconsidering purchases and eliminating waste in all forms. Other people have a different reaction – helplessness, confusion, “its too big for me to handle”, “what can I do on my own?”,  “I’m OK mate!”   And a minority of people have the “Yeah right” attitude and don’t think things will change.  After all, New Zealand has been cushioned against global warming effects so far, but there are places in the world already suffering what is in our future.   Just ask Australia, China, Sudan, The Maldives and Tuvalu about that. 

So what has this got to do with Local and Regional Government?   Your Councils will decide on key issues like public transport, roading development, landfill and toxic waste, water conservation and management, biodiversity and reserves, coastal development (in some cases), stormwater management and civil defense.  All issues impacted by global warming.  They will also have an impact on how communities develop and in the future, the strength and resilience of communities will be the mortar that holds us together through the tough times. Just ask Northland, Gisborne and Matata about that. 

And what if all Local Authorities worked collaboratively together to influence national government on issues of global warming?   After all, they represent us.  Many Councils have signed up to be Cities of Peace and Nuclear Free, why not sign up to Restoring Life on Earth principles? 

Last month was the 114^th Anniversary of Womens Suffrage in NZ.   The women (and a few men) who put themselves on the line so women could have a vote would be horrified by voter apathy displayed by women and men today.   Lets honour their legacy. 

So if you care about the place you live, play, learn, grow and work in, or places in the world where others live, open that envelope now, read your choices carefully, contact candidates if you need to – and VOTE SMART FOR THE PLANET!