28 minute read
New Michael Moore Film Planet of the Humans–Friend or Diabolical Foe?
Article by Sage Birchwater
Has filmmaker Michael Moore, the darling of the progressive left, gone rogue? His Earth Day, April 22, 2020, release of Planet of the Humans received immediate backlash from the global environmental community. Many were furious at his trashing of the decadeslong efforts by the climate change activists to move away from fossil fuel dependency and into more earth-friendly renewable energy sources.
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The film, directed by Jeff Gibbs and produced by Ozzie Zehner, suggests that green energy is a scam. This message stood the alternative energy movement on its ear. Maybe that was the filmmakers’ intention.
Unlike his previous films, like Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, and Sicko, Moore makes no cameo appearance in Planet of the Humans. He leaves the narration and talking head action to Gibbs and Zehner. But his role as executive producer wasn’t lost on his base of supporters chomping on the bit for his next evisceration of the system.
Most weren’t prepared for what they got.
Moore, in iconoclastic high gear, defrocked and vilified the efforts of green movement activists like Bill McKibben, Al Gore, and Robert Kennedy Jr., exposing inconsistencies, hypocrisies, and subversive links between Big Green and Big Money. The film makes the claim that renewables are not sustainable and ultimately are dependent on Big Oil, coal, and gas.
Canada’s Green Party Leader Elizabeth May waded into the debate, calling the film “dreadful, ill-informed, and unhelpful.” She said it could set climate action back.
She criticized the film’s assessment of renewable energy technology as outdated by at least a decade.
Energy specialist Ketan Joshi calls the film “toxic misinformation on par with the worst climate change deniers.”
Rock icon and environmental crusader Neil Young says the film destroys Moore’s credibility. He is confident whatever damage this film caused in the short term will ultimately bring to light the real facts, “which are turning up everywhere.”
Some activists called for an outright ban of the film because it promotes lies and misrepresentation of the current state of the alternative energy movement.
Tim Hjersted, director and co-founder of www.filmsforaction.org, took a different tact. He supports critical engagement with the film “through the lens of media literacy.”
What does that mean, exactly?
Simply said, it’s about acknowledging the film’s merits as well as its flaws and not being too quick to shoot the messenger.
For example, he says the film gets it right saying that humanity needs to get rid of its delusion that renewables will be able to power our industrial society at its current levels of production and consumption. Raw materials feeding society’s insatiable appetite is unsustainable. Period.
According to Hjersted, civilization needs to power down as well as switch to renewables.
“Renewables plus dramatically reduced consumption of energy and resources is the solution,” he says. “That’s the most important takeaway from the film.”
Hjersted begins his review of the film with a quote from master of etiquette, Arthur Martine: “In disputes upon moral or scientific points, let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So, you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument and gaining a new discovery.”
Despite its many flawed details, Hjersted says the film is asking us to come to terms with some difficult realities we are avoiding.
“Sustaining industrial civilization’s infinite growth on renewables is neither desirable nor possible,” he says. “There’s a need to power down and for ‘degrowth’.” But how do we get there?
I first learned of Planet of the Humans from a trusted friend in Ottawa Valley who sent us a link to the film by email. Initially,I was in shock after watching it. Then I was outraged.
After taking a deep breath, I started checking out the reviews and commentary by other trusted sources.
There’s a poignant section in the film about biofuel energy production, and I sent a link to the film to members of our local group Rail Ties Be Wise. For the past four years we have been working together to oppose Atlantic Power Corporation’s plan to burn rail ties in its biofuels plant in Williams Lake.
Initial reaction from our group was predictable. Anger, disgust, and disillusionment.
Michael Moore has a recklessness similar to Donald Trump’s in his use of distorted facts to get his point across. This can work against him and cause critics to throw the baby out with the bathwater and distrust everything he has to say.
The film gets one thing right: we can’t continue on the way we are going. The green movement crawling into bed with Wall Street, which demands ever-increasing profits and consumption to survive, just continues our spiral to oblivion.
So how do we move forward in this age of coronavirus to keep the earth habitable? Can we rein ourselves in? If so, how?
By all means check out Planet of the Humans, but also log on to Tim Hjersted’s review of the film and follow some of the various links he provides to learn more about “power down” and “degrowth.” Also, check out other films he has highlighted that offer hope in a positive green direction.
https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/ thoughts-about-planet-of-the-humans/
Planet of the Humans can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI7czE -GG
Sage is a freelance writer and lives in Williams Lake with his partner, Caterina. He has been enjoying the rich cultural life of the CaribooChilcotin Coast since 1973.
— LOCAL FOOD QUESNEL — Guardian of the Vegetables:
Gardening Through the Pandemic
Afew months ago, our world still felt ‘normal.’
My poignant ‘before’ moment happened the weekend before spring break at a show our performance art group was putting on in Prince George. We were in the dressing room of the PG Playhouse putting on our costumes. I remember looking around at our troupe, these people I love so much, and feeling so grateful for the life I was living. I thought back to four years ago when I first began performing and how it had felt like I had run away to join the circus. I loved how it still seemed like that, but how it was now so familiar. Scarlet asked me to help pin her costume ears, and as I wove hair and bobby pins over her headband she said with a laugh, “It’s going to be such a crazy week for teaching: we have a time change tomorrow, then it’s a full moon, and then Friday the 13th, and it all happens the week before spring break!” I was also working in the schools, and in the coming week we all kept counting down the days till the weekend. “Everything will be fine,” we told ourselves and each other. “We just have to make it through this week.”
How wrong we were.
During the first two weeks of isolation I felt anxious, trapped, weirdly happy, scared, sad, angry, excited, confused, sleepy, weepy, giggly, in despair…sometimes all in the same hour!
There was still over two feet of snow here. The days when I had enough energy to crawl and swim through the snow and into the forest I felt better. I hugged trees. I petted moss. I slid down banks and giggled when I just missed landing in the devil’s club at the bottom. I would feel like I had done something, accomplished something. I would have a bath when I got back, and I would write until the water was cold and my toes wrinkled.
But other days I would fall into the internet for hours and emerge feeling drained and sad. I would sit outside with my tea and look up at the stars. In these moments I would sometimes feel better. I would listen to the wind in the trees and admire my beautiful garden gate, half buried in snow, and it all felt so peaceful. I would think about what I had heard about the pollution clearing over L.A. and about the sky in China being visible for the first time in ages, and I would feel grateful that, in spite of the hardships we were all facing, the Earth was getting a needed rest.
Article by Terri Smith
But other times I would not feel better. I would feel trapped, almost claustrophobic. I would feel my heartbeat rise. I would fight panic and wonder how everything here could look the same and yet I could feel so different. I would struggle to breathe, and I would cry, and I would feel ashamed for how I felt, and I would feel afraid and sad for everyone.
And then spring began to arrive, and I began to spend hours digging quack grass out of the soil in the greenhouse. I planted a few radish seeds every week to check when the soil was warm enough for germination. With my hands in the earth, I felt fine.
Some days I didn’t want to drag myself out there. But eventually I would, and the minute I would step into the comforting warmth of the greenhouse I would feel better.
When the first radishes finally sprouted, I lay down on the soil so I could examine them at eye level.Each perfect leaf filled me with joy! I felt such relief that spring was truly coming. I had almost been unable to believe it really would. The world was still turning, and even though everything else felt so out-ofcontrol and overwhelming, growing food was something I could do.
I can nurture tiny seeds and help them grow into beautiful and vibrant plants that will provide us with food.
The garden has saved me. It gives me a focus, and the act of gardening calms my mind. The physical labour of gardening is good for my body. The orderliness of watering and turning seedlings, of opening and closing the greenhouse provides structure in a time when I have no idea what day it is.
There is also the food. Even before the garden grows, I dig dandelions from the
Terri Smith wrapped in gardening cover row. The first Saturday of May is World Naked Gardening Day (and it's always so cold here! Photo: Mark Rupp
beds where I will plant the potatoes. I clip garlic chives and pull small bulbs of garlic. I pick young dandelion greens and lamb’s quarter and stinging nettle and make myself a breakfast of sautéed dandelion root and garlic, poached eggs, and wild greens.
I do not know what is to come. But I do know I will be okay, as long as I can garden. -GG
Terri Smith is an artist, educator, gardener, burlesque performer, and sometimes reluctant writer living in Quesnel, BC. She teaches workshops on gardening and needle felting and can be found on Facebook at Road’s End Vegetable Company, or Something Magical.
#TrashtalkTuesdays
Article by Oliver Berger
Wow, what a crazy past few months!
At first, I was sad to see our Share Sheds close, along with the best Salvation Army (Williams Lake) in British Columbia—a serious gold mine for reusables. Then, all my class presentations got cancelled as schools closed their doors to students. No more garbage talks with the kids. Ugh, what was happening around me? I could not even take my reusable mug to get a to-go coffee anymore!
Many efforts to curb single-use products and promote sharing with reusing and repurposing came to a grinding halt. What was a waste educator to do?
It does not matter whether there is a fire, a flood, or a pandemic, there is one thing in life we can always rely upon, other than dishes, and that my friends, is garbage.
Just as doctors and nurses keep on helping humans, food continues to be served and gas keeps on getting pumped, and you might not always notice, but garbage keeps on moving. Out the door it goes from your home to the garbage can, to the depot, to the truck, and finally, to the landfill. The leftovers do not really lay to rest here, either—they begin to degrade or ferment and compact, releasing leachates and methane gas. However, we will save that topic for another day.
How am I adapting?
Just like many other educators out there have done, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society waste educator Mary Forbes and I have taken to the World Wide Web to spread our message. We adapted our message from talking in front of large groups of people to video-educating via phone through social
media. We just imagine a small phone is you, the public, and roll with it.
With spring clean up on our minds, we initially talked about properly recycling all the built-up packaging and why it is so important to sort your materials accurately. After showing you how easy it is to build your own wastediversion station at home, we showcased different categories for plastics recycling, from stretchy to crinkly, bubbly, crunchy, rigid, and bendy.
Later, we live-streamed from the main transfer station in Williams Lake, explaining the influx of traffic. The yard and garden waste section saw a large increase in tonnage so far this season due to the extra time people have to play in their gardens and because many folks are hard at work fire-proofing their properties. There was a traffic jam at the dump!
These discussions led us into International Composting Awareness Week, which ran from May 3–9. We wanted to teach how to manage your yard and kitchen waste at home. The Potato House Project in Williams Lake experienced record interest in its ‘Black Gold’ soil amendment and was inundated with inquiries about gardening and composting. We took advantage of the hype and made some videos on how to compost at home, giving away some of our trade secrets and covering every aspect of food waste recovery from Bokashi, to vermi-composting, to using animals, and the different backyard composters you can build yourself.
The feedback so far has been wonderful! Everyone is keen on learning so much more during these interesting times. We have a perfect chance to look inside our homes and ourselves with new eyes. Asking questions
Shovels ready.... Mary and Oliver begin delivering waste education online! See the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society Facebook page for the next #trashtalktuesdays. Photo: Project Alchemist
such as, “How can I improve this? How can I improve myself?” Maybe you want to learn how to bake or cook healthier. Perhaps you are finally going to fix that bike in your backyard. Or even better, maybe you have now decided to craft some items from your leftovers bin into something wonderful for your new garden.
Our educating has shifted right back to where it has always been. Repairing is reusing, composting is recycling food waste energy into soil, and cooking for yourself is reducing the energy it takes to make the food when you eat out.
Speaking of eating out, we are once again dealing with extra take-out containers. Not being able to bring our own take-out containers is super frustrating; however, I challenge you to say no to the cutlery, at least. You have these at home; bring them with you. Refuse the plastic bag at the grocery store, use the cart you already have, and unload those items into your vehicle, as is. The other day I brought my plastic coffee cup lid back with me and reused it on my next cup. We can and will adapt around these new protocols.
Keep on tagging along as Mary Forbes and I show you more tips. Tune into the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society’s facebook page every Tuesday for our next Trash Talk #trashtalktuesdays, or to see our previous talks, or check us out on Instagram @ccc_ society. -GG
Oliver Berger has a 38-year degree in life, enjoying school from birth to the present in the Cariboo area. Constantly venturing around this Earth on a quest to learn new skills, Oliver’s priorities include dedication to and education about the management of society’s leftovers.
Healthy Living A Rainbow of Food Choices
Article by Danielle Goward, R.H.N & C.P.T & P.P.N.S
During this global pandemic, our packed with chlorophyll, a phytonutrient Research has also shown that it may play a role health has become a huge concern that is essentially plant blood and carries all regulating mood and warding off depression. and a hot topic. This has led to the necessary nutrients for plants to grow During this pandemic we need to take care some people panic-buying natural and survive. For humans, it helps purify our of ourselves through a holistic approach that health products and supplements and home blood and detoxify our body. Phytonutrients/ includes our mental and emotional health. -GG gym equipment, creating a record-breaking phytochemicals contain a variety of vitamins, boom in the health and fitness industry. minerals, and antioxidants, just like a Here is an example of an isolation workout
As a registered holistic nutritionist and multi-vitamin. that you can do outside with a set of stairs. certified personal trainer, I have been advising Blue and Violet: beets, blueberries, Repeat 3–5 times. my clients to keep it simple and get creative blackberries, purple grapes, purple cabbage, with their food and activity. Eating a rainbow red onion, plums, purple asparagus—super Stair “ISO” Workout every day is one way to ensure that your body packed with antioxidants, particularly • Jog up the stairs is receiving immune boosting antioxidants, anthocyanin, responsible for protecting cells 20 Jumping Jacks Jog/Walk back down vitamins, and minerals.
Here in the Cariboo, our growing season and climate provide a beautiful palette of vibrant fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods aren’t from oxidation (damage) and reducing risk for heart disease, cancer, and stroke.
Red: tomatoes, bell peppers, red grapes, strawberries, rhubarb—high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant for heart health, cancer recipes, and creativity to your meals and snacks.
A fun family activity that both adults and children will enjoy is to make a colourful • Jog up the stairs 20 Reverse Lunges (10 each leg) Walk back down Jog/ coloured just to be aesthetically pleasing; they rainbow chart and post it on the fridge. This • Jog up the stairs also represent their nutrient profiles. activity naturally introduces new foods, 20 Squats Jog/Walk back down
Yellow and Orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, Health Canada recommends getting at least 20 Bicycle Crunches Jog/Walk back pumpkin, corn, squash, apricots, peaches— 30 minutes of activity every day. What does down high in carotenoids. You may have heard of that look like? It means family walks or hikes, beta-carotene. It is converted to vitamin A and bike riding, swimming in local lakes, yard work, Danielle Goward is a registered holistic is responsible for maintaining healthy eyesight gardening, home workouts, and any other nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and and mucous membranes. Lutein is also type of movement that gets your heart rate up. a pre- and postnatal fitness specialist. She carotenoid, which prevents cataracts and ageI suggest getting 30 minutes of activity and specializes in women’s health and hormones, related macular degeneration. at least 30 minutes of being outside. Vitamin sports nutrition, and digestive health, and
Green: spinach, broccoli, kale, asparagus, D plays a vital role for our immune system. It operates La Health Boutique in Williams Lake. arugula, green grapes, green beans, cucumber, is known as the “sunshine” vitamin because Contact her at danielle@lahealthboutique.com lettuce, cabbage, celery, herbs—vibrantly our skin synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight. for more info.
Head over to www.lahealthboutique.com/ • Jog up the stairs 20 Push Ups Jog/Walk back down prevention, and men’s health. shop to download a free Rainbow Chart. • Jog up the stairs
C r e a m y B e e t r o o t H u m m u s
INGREDIENTS
1
15 oz 15 oz
2 Tbsp 3 Tbsp 3 1/4 cup medium roasted organic beetroot (boiled will work, too) can organic chickpeas, drained can organic cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed organic tahini organic lemon juice organic garlic cloves organic avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil) pink Himalayan sea salt
METHOD
1. Dice roasted beet into large chunks and add to food processor, blender, or hand emulsifier.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except avocado oil, and blend until it has a smooth, creamy texture. Scrape with spatula periodically.
3. Drizzle in avocado oil and keep mixing until thoroughly blended.
4. For an extra zing, add more lemon juice or zest and adjust seasonings to preference. If it is too thick, thin with water.
Stephen Pellizzari NOTARY PUBLIC
Cariboo Mall
575 Alder Avenue
Box 2105, 100 Mile House, BC V0K 2E0
Stephen Pellizzari NOTARY PUBLIC
Pause to Feathers Creations: Inspiration and Awareness from the Wild
Article by LeRae Haynes | Photos by Grant Hill
Keep your feeders full! Evening Grosbeaks can eat up to 46 black oil sunflower seeds per minute. This is the entry level Basic Bird Feeder. Cedar construction will last for years. Feeders start at $45
Grant Hill from Pause to Feather Creations promotes wildlife awareness and conservation with passion, creativity, and a heartfelt belief that you should never, ever take the presence of wildlife for granted.
One of the ways he does this is by making bird houses, nature and wildlife prints with barn wood frames, bird feeders, bat houses, butterfly houses, lady bug houses, bee houses, squirrel feeders, saw whet owl houses, and suet feeders.
Three years ago, he left the corporate world of industrial cleaning supplies. There was a big conflict between that and what he believed, and he knew something had to change.
“I always had a love for nature, and about the time I knew a change was coming, I started making a few bird feeders,” he explains. “The first one was born from a lack of good bird feeders out there, and after I made it my wife said, ‘That’s nice. You should sell some.’”
The name Pause to Feathers is a play on words from a couple of sources, he explains. “Getting out in nature is good for the soul,” Hill says. “It relaxes people and reduces your heart rate. It’s good to pause in your daily routine and take in nature around you. I often hike without worrying about how far I’m going, and it’s not uncommon for me to take three hours to travel two kilometres. It’s all about learning to pause.”
The other meaning is ‘paws’, as in animals, and ‘feathers’ refers to the bird-related nature of Hill’s products.
He says he has found a lot of like-minded people and organizations out there helping
Chickadee aka "Chicky bum bum"
wildlife, and that it’s important to him to recognize and support them. He does this through donations, consulting, fundraising, and raising awareness.
Hill supports PawPrint Ridge Pet Services and Rescue a local service that assists with feral cats and abused pets, as well as the organization, Stop the Spray B.C., (www. stopthespraybc.com) saying spraying logging cut blocks with glyphosate is the biggest holocaust we have going on right now.
Also on his list is Pacific Wild’s campaign, The Call, (www.pacificwild.org/make-a-difference/ join-the-call/) an organization working to stop the wolf cull in B.C. He explains that the group is well funded and does a fantastic job with legal and science based education and information from wolf biologists, and ecologists around the world. “The wolf cull is downright cruel, snaring and hunting from helicopters,” he says.
“I also support Project Bouchie Lake Bluebird by making relatively inexpensive bluebird boxes,” Hill says. “I sell them for $10 and half of the money goes to the Baker Creek Enhancement Society in Quesnel, with a focus on nature awareness and wildlife enhancement.”
Hill donates his exquisite wildlife photography to Quesnel Hospice’s fundraising auctions. “Fundraising for them really matters to me because their volunteers are amazing and also because I will be there one day,” he says.
Various community groups have benefitted from his knowledge and passion through his Power Point presentations on topics such as
"Hey fella's, over here!" All good bird feeding campaigns should have at least one of these. Ask me why!
bats, held in partnership with the Community Bat Program of B.C.
“I also do a presentation on the decline of bird populations and bird feeding, and a ‘feel good’ nature presentation,” he says.
Building bat, bee, and bluebird boxes is another way Hill helps protect a range of species from declining populations. Bat populations, for example, are in worldwide decline.
“Bats have a slow reproductive rate and about 50 percent die off in the first year,” he says.“Their habitat is being destroyed, and the White Nose Syndrome (fungus) is now moving across North America, wiping them out.”
Hill has sold 235 bat houses so far, and says the smaller house size helps spread the bats out, hopefully reducing the spread of the fungus.
He brings a passion for wild animals and artistry together in his beautiful wildlife
photography, skillfully framed in barn wood. He also does custom framing for people bringing the customer’s photo or picture to life.
“The pictures that people bring to me for framing are of extremely high sentimental value and it means the world that they entrust them to me,” he explains.
In all the jobs Hill has had in his life, he says there has never been a customer satisfaction element. Until now.
“It’s satisfying and encouraging to talk to people with similar interests, and it’s amazing to see changing perception in people who’ve never thought about bats or bees in a positive way,” he says.
“When people walk away from my booth, or from my presentations with new awareness and inspiration, the feeling is unbelievable. I never dreamed this would ever happen.”
For more information on his products, phone (250) 255-8875, email granthillhome@ outlook.com or follow Pause to Feathers Creations on Facebook. To see his vast array of products available visit the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market online store at https://www. localline.ca/williams-lake-farmers-market -GG
LeRae Haynes is a freelance writer, song writer, and instigator of lots of music with people of all ages in the community. She fearlessly owns 10 ukuleles, clinging to the belief that you’re not a hoarder if you play them all.
The Bat House. Cedar constructed, five chamber bat house and nursery box, holds up to 200 little brown bats. Pause to Feathers Creations works in partnership with the Community Bat Programs of BC. Note, Deluxe Bird Feeder on the chair.
Vegan Street Tacos
Recipe by Jessica Kirby
If I could eat any one thing for the rest of my life it would be street tacos. I make them about a zillion different ways, but this is my favourite for impressing the veggies and meat lovers in my life.
FOR THE TACOS
1 can 1 can 6-8 1 cup 1 cup
1/4 cup 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp black beans corn (optional) street taco shells, warmed cheese, grated or feta, crumbled cauli crumble–make fresh (see diretions) or use Big Mountain Foods pre-seasoned ready to eat water or veggie broth chili powder garlic powder cumin
METHOD
1. Drain and rinse beans and place them in a pan with the element set to medium. Mash the beans roughly—you want some chunk left in the mixture.
2. Add your cauli crumble and broth or water and stir. 3. Add all spices, adjust to taste, and cook until thoroughly warmed. 4.Fill tacos with bean mix and top with pico de gallo, avocado dressing, and cheese. Optional toppings include avocado slices, lettuce, pickled cabbage, or anything else you love on tacos. Enjoy!
FOR THE AVOCADO SAUCE
2 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 1/4 cup avocados cumin garlic lime, juiced cilantro salt and pepper to taste hot sauce or dried chilis, optional
METHOD
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, or vigorously by hand with a fork.
FOR THE CAULI CRUMBLE
1 cup 1/2 Tbsp 1 tsp
1 tsp cauliflower, grated oil chili powder
garlic powder
METHOD
1. Grate 1 cup of fresh cauliflower using the medium grate on a box grater. 2. Warm a pan with 1/2 Tbsp of oil and add cauliflower, chili powder, garlic, and salt and pepper. 3. Cook on medium for 6–8 minutes, until lightly browned, set aside.
FOR THE PICO DE GALLO
1/4 cup 1/8 cup 1/2 1/2 tsp 1 purple onion, diced small cilantro, chopped red pepper, diced small cumin lime, juiced salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir to combine, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Giving Nature a Chance Improves Our Chances of Well-Being
Article by David Suzuki
Photo by christels on Pixabay
In early 1995, eight grey wolves were transferred from Jasper National Park in Alberta to Yellowstone National Park in the Unites States. Within two years, 23 more were brought in. The last wolves in Yellowstone had been killed in the 1920s.
What happened next was remarkable. Over time, the wolves not only reduced rapidly increasing elk populations, but also caused elk and deer to move away from valley bottoms and riverbanks where they were easy prey. Deer and elk populations levelled off, new growth came in along rivers and valleys— attracting a wide variety of wildlife—and rivers even changed as new, healthier vegetation stabilized slopes and banks. The wolves now number about 94 in eight packs.
This is one example of “rewilding,” trying to restore an ecosystem to a wilder state by reintroducing species that had been driven away or wiped out. It goes further than conservation, which is protecting and restoring habitats without necessarily reintroducing native plants and animals.
Rewilding comes in many forms, and it’s something almost anyone can become involved in. The David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project is a simple, successful effort to reintroduce native plants that support a range of pollinators, including monarch and other butterflies. The intent is to create a habitat network that can support critters as they feed, breed, and migrate.
On a bigger scale, restoring and protecting habitat corridors for animals like caribou and grizzly bears that require large ranges ensures that they and the many species under their “umbrella” can survive and hopefully thrive. (“Umbrella” species are those whose conservation also protects numerous other species that share their range. They are often indicators of ecosystem health.)
Whether it’s conservation or rewilding, we know that when we give nature a chance, it bounces back. Because we’re part of nature and rely on everything it provides, that’s to our benefit.
We can’t change the planet back to a wild paradise, but we can take steps to reverse some of the damage we’ve done. As the Butterflyway Project shows, efforts can start small, on your block or in your neighbourhood. But don’t be surprised if people want to join in. (Keep in mind physical distancing and other health rules and recommendations.) The idea has been spreading as fast as milkweed in southern Ontario!
There are so many opportunities to bring nature back, from the many lawns that rarely get used to forests and wetlands taken over by resource development. Lawns could be “rewilded” or used to grow food. Cleaning up the many abandoned and orphaned oil wells and the roads and clearings around them would bring ecosystems and habitat back to health while providing good jobs.
A growing number of economists, ecologists, scientists, and planners are recognizing the value of “natural assets”—the many services and functions nature provides that often cost less and are more efficient than built infrastructure.
Research by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, in collaboration with a number of towns and cities in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Ontario, found protecting or restoring ecosystems offers immense value in terms of water purity, flood control, storm protection, and more—without the expensive maintenance and limited shelf life of built infrastructure that provides similar services.
Beyond their local benefits, healthy, intact ecosystems do so much, from sequestering carbon to providing food. They can even prevent or at least reduce the number of deadly diseases that jump from animals to humans—60 per cent of new or re-emerging diseases since 1940, including HIV, Ebola, Zika, and a number of coronaviruses came from animals, wild and domestic, in part because of forest and habitat destruction.
We know when we give nature a chance to recover, it will, and when we work to restore it, amazing things can happen. We’re showing now that we’re capable of doing what’s needed to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy. It’s a difficult time for so many people around the world. But we’ve come together, and we’ve slowed down. Let’s imagine a world where we recognize our interdependence with nature—that what we do to it, we do to ourselves.
Let’s give nature a chance and, in doing so, give our species a better chance for happier, healthier ways to live. -GG
DAVID SUZUKI is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior editor, Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org
