Thetis Islanders embrace the Inconvenient Truth

Ignorance is bliss! According to Al Gore (who refers to himself as “almost the next president of the United States’) once we catch on to the mess of the world around us, we are morally compelled to think about it - and act on it. Thetis Islanders are rising to the challenge.

Over 30 community members cozied up for a Friday evening showing of Gore´s recent movie about the climate change crisis called “An Inconvenient Truth’ on the Big Screen at Forbes Hall on Feb 17. Whether it was collective concern about human impact on the environment or a combination of Lon and Lorrie Wood´s generous display of highly addictive popcorn and cookies (complete with organic fair trade coffee and green tea), the room remained packed for over an hour of discussion following the movie.

Kelly Bannister facilitated an open discussion on reactions to the movie and a brainstorm on how we might respond to climate change on individual and community levels. Many ideas were shared, a number of questions were raised, and there was clear evidence that participants were interesting and committed to continuing the conversation beyond the evening. Before breaking for the evening – and only then at the plea of those who had to catch the first ferry the next morning – the group agreed to continue to meet in person bi-monthly and create an ongoing web-based space linked with our community website for posting questions and sharing resources.

Lon Wood, Kelly Bannister and Veronica Shelford (along with anyone else who wishes to join in) agreed to take the lead on implementing the above tasks and plan a second community meeting for April. In fact, Veronica has already created a webpage on the community website to post ideas, links, notices, suggestions, and commentary related to environmental concerns. See http://www.thetisisland.net/environment.htm

A summary of key questions, discussion points and resources (without attribution) is included below, organized according to topic:

Plants

• What species of trees should I be planting on Thetis today in preparation for a very different climate predicted for Thetis 50 years in the future, one where many native trees may not be able to adjust?
• Which trees are better to plant for absorption of carbon dioxide, coniferous or deciduous?
• A combination of trees and shrubs to create more of a multi-layer ecosystem approach is being used in horticulture.

Transportation

• Is it time for Thetis Islanders to think about “the community car’ – a co-operative ownership arrangement for on and off island shared use?
• Let´s set up a more organized system for car-pooling, especially to Duncan, Victoria and Nanaimo.
  
• We should be insisting on auto emissions standards. We need to keep in mind that buying cars that only use half the fuel doesn´t mean we should drive twice as much!
  
• Can our ferry be run on bio-diesel? Bio-diesel from plants has a cost to grow but bio-diesel from recycled fat is also being used now.
  
• Consider participating in a carbon credits program, such as paying to plant trees when you are taking a plane trip to balance out the carbon emissions (note: many such companies have emerged and not all are effective so check out their record and ratings before you sign on).

Food

• There is a direct connection between peak oil and increasing cost of food. We need to support regional economies and local food production. Limit our trips off-island.
  
• A typical meal travels 1000 miles to make it to our tables. Eat simple. Buy local, Grow it yourself. Don´t respond to corporate dollars spent on encouraging you to buy from elsewhere.
  
• There is food being wasted on Thetis (e.g., fruit crops in summer). Let´s look at a food redistribution program to pick unwanted crops and get them to those who can use them.
  
• The Duncan farmer´s market runs all year round on the weekend, we could organize a regular carpool there.
  
• SPUD will deliver organic produce to Chemainus. They let you know how far your food has traveled. We should open a Thetis chapter. (See links section on the environment page to learn more about SPUD)

Energy

• BC Hydro has a program that enables volunteers to go on time use meters, we should ask for this.
  
• Galiano is shutting down hot water heaters during peak periods.
  
• On-demand systems use far less energy but it may not be practical or economical for a home with many sinks and tubs where you want hot water.
  
• Save up laundry and bathing needs for once or twice a week and just turn on your hot water heater then. At other times, just boil water on the stove for smaller hot water needs.
  
• 100% green power is available from BC Hydro but only for commercial customers and there is a high minimum purchase of green certificates required to participate. The cost is about 25% more than regular hydro. (note: at least one person on Thetis is on the green power program).
  
• There used to be a program with BC Hydro where you could sell back your power for a credit if you generated your own power (e.g., solar).
  
• Using low energy light bulbs makes an impact over the long term. These are inexpensive now.
  
• It would be helpful to know comparisons of what pollutes, e.g., driving cars compared with burning wood.
  
• We should organize voluntary community shut down of lights at certain times.
  
• We are burning night and day unless we use a powerbar to stop the phantom load.
  
• Hybird plug-in vehicles are being developed and may be the car of choice.
  
• There is a person in Errington who is converting vehicles to electric. (http://www.canev.com/) There are kits available to convert.

Political considerations and political organizing

• There are huge power structures involved in influencing climate change. The US military´s impact on the environment is enormous, especially with their goals to control energy supplies and nuclear armament in space.
  
• Multinational corporations are also major players.
  
• We as a group can make our voice heard to the Federal Environment Minister. The House of Commons recently voted to be legally bound to the Kyoto Protocol. If we implement Kyoto, what does it mean? What will we do?
  
• Every dollar you spend is a vote. I carefully consider every dollar I spend and focus on local and essential.
  
• As citizens, we only get to vote once in awhile but we can sign petitions and our MLAs.  

Resources and Tips

• “The Weather Makers’ is a book that may be of further interest, along the same lines as Gore´s film but with more detailed scientific explanations. It answers a lot of questions about new technologies, both pros and cons, and discusses both political and moral aspects of climate change at a global scale.
  
• West jet has a new partnership with a company called “Offsetters’ where Westjet pays a “carbon tax’ on a passenger´s seat to create a carbon neutral trip for the passenger. It is free to the passenger but only if you book your Westjet flight through the link on the Offsetters site http://www.offsetters.com/ (which takes you to the Westjet site) instead of on the Westjet site directly.
  
• Lon has been collecting some resources and will make a CD available
  
• “Who Killed the Electric Car’ is another film that should be shown as a community event.

General

• There isn´t anyone who doesn´t benefit from assessing how we are living as individuals. We don´t have to go into despair, we can act in small ways on our own and in larger ways as a group.
  
• As individuals, we need to look at the whole picture because taking a selective approach (just doing what is convenient or is visible to others) may not result in a net difference to the environment.
  
• We should focus on sustainability in our community.
  
• We need to act at more than one level – to take care of things here and to make our individual and collective voices heard in Ottawa.