Planting Seeds for 2019

image courtesy of Pixabay

Late winter enveloped the land of the giant puppets. It was cold outside, and it felt like things were at a standstill. Per, Good Time and NOWCA were upset about the logging going on in local watersheds that could affect their drinking water, and the violation of the rights of the Wet'suwet'en people in Northern BC. It was hard to know what to do.

Maybe the best way to spend their time was to plan, and think about planting some seeds...

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GOOD TIME: I'm feeling paralyzed. It's hard not to be afraid of what summer will bring when the last two were so hot and there were so many fires.

NOWCA: I know how you feel, Good Time. But here's some advice someone gave me a long time ago that might be helpful to you. She said that when you don't know what to do, take care of yourself so that when there is something to do you'll be able to do it.

PER (carrying a big box into the room): That's really sensible, NOWCA. Staying calm and caring for ourselves makes it more likely that we'll take effective action when the opportunity presents itself.

And there's another thing we can do too. Here's a hint: Guess what's in this box?

image courtesy of Pixabay

GOOD TIME: Um, a puppy?

PER (putting the box on the floor): Nope, guess again.

NOWCA (looking into the box): Ah, seeds and gardening supplies!

PER: Hey, that's cheating, NOWCA! You peeked.

GOOD TIME: So we can take care of ourselves and we can plan the garden, and think about planting some seeds!

NOWCA: Yes, in more ways than one. 2019's a crucial year for planting all kinds of the right seeds. And not just in our gardens. Here in Canada, there's a federal election coming up, and we have to plant the seeds that will get a government elected that will do the right thing for our environment, society and economy.

GOOD TIME: You mean like building a pipeline to pay for green infrastructure?

PER: No, and none of that kind of greenwash.

NOWCA (rummaging in the box): I agree, Per. We have to get real about climate change and stop letting our political representatives treat it as a public relations exercise.

GOOD TIME: What exactly do you mean?

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PER: Well, the pipeline Trudeau referred to cost $4.5 billion and the upgrades it needs may never materialize. The world is transitioning to green energy, so if it ever gets built there probably won't be a demand for what goes through it. In the meantime, we could have put that money to developing green energy and infrastructure in Canada and putting people to work.

So we've basically paid $4.5 billion of our tax dollars to a transnational corporation for something of very little value. That's a prime example of greenwash.

NOWCA: Oh, look! I've found kale seeds that were collected from the garden from last year! They'll be perfectly suited to the growing conditions of the garden.

GOOD TIME: And the price is right. I guess we have to wait a month or so to start seedlings, but we can plan the garden in the meantime.

NOWCA: Another example of greenwash is the Site C/LNG fiasco taking place here in BC.

Damming Site C would destroy top quality agricultural land and a wilderness corridor of immense value, and big dams are much more polluting than previously thought. Also, there is no demand for the energy it would produce. And the site is prone to landslides and is completely unsuitable for a dam.

However, the BC Government wants to be able to say it's powering their pet Coastal GasLink Pipeline project with clean energy coming from Site C.

As David Suzuki points out, this project is also in violation of aboriginal rights, and fracked gas is simply not clean. It contaminates water and air, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to produce and its end product creates greenhouse gases.

This project is simply more greenwash.

GOOD TIME: Yet so many people believe what they're being told.

PER: That's why it's so important to know whose interests your news sources represent, and to be aware of media concentration.

GOOD TIME (reaching into the box): Look! I found some marigold seeds!

image courtesy of Pixabay

PER (pulling a seed packet out of the box): And nasturtium seeds too! Not only do they repel insects the way marigolds do, but they're edible! Both the flowers and leaves have a peppery flavour. I just love them! It's neat how many plants repel insects that eat the plants we grow.

NOWCA: I just thought of more greenwash: the logging that's going on in BC. The watersheds that surround our drinking water are being logged and it's going to affect the quality of the water in our region.

The professional reliance model of regulating forestry, although apparently being tweaked, still allows for that, and for critical habitat of endangered caribou to be logged.

GOOD TIME: So basically most of us are being tricked into believing that business as usual is actually good for our environment, right?

NOWCA: You've got it, Good Time.

But back to planting seeds: the federal election is coming up and there's going to be a lot of talk about strategic voting since Canada doesn't have the proportional representation voting system it was promised. Instead of giving Justin Trudeau and his broken promises a second term, it might be a lot better to strategically support climate champions. And, frankly, most of the climate champions I'm seeing these days are with the Green Party. Elizabeth May was the only party leader who came out in support of the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs when their territory was illegally invaded by the RCMP earlier this year.

PER: Strategic voting for the climate would be a good seed to plant, NOWCA. Good thinking!

GOOD TIME (holding up seed packets): It's going to be fun planting the garden with you and strategizing about the federal election. Hey, where's Mr. Pipeline?

NOWCA: He's been away ever since the Wet'suwet'en people protested the Coastal GasLink pipeline construction on their territory. Mr. Pipeline and his friends will probably be busy for awhile painting the whole thing green. It's got to be a challenge but, unfortunately, enough of the public still seems gullible enough to believe them.

GOOD TIME (sighing): When will we ever learn?

image courtesy of Pixabay

A Colonialist Close Up in BC

All week the giant puppets had been watching in horror at the goings on at the Unist'ot'en Camp in traditional Wet'suwet'en territory in Northern BC.

The RCMP had been removing people from the camp on unceded Wet'suwet'en territory. TransCanada Corporation had been seeking entry into this territory, where they were planning to build the massive $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline.

image courtesy of Pixabay

Where was the Prime Minister during this national emergency? On the Sunday before the RCMP invaded the camp, Prime Minister Trudeau was skiing at Whistler and taking selfies.

What about the BC NDP? Premier John Horgan had said in a recent statement that the LNG Canada decision was on the scale of a "moon landing". He was also waxing poetic about the fantasy of an estimated $23 billion in provincial revenue this soon to be stranded asset would bring to the province.

Letters opposing the RCMP action that had been written by The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) were not able to stop the Gidimt'en Checkpoint from being breached by armed RCMP and military, and communications of the Unist'ot'en Camp being cut. Land defenders in this post from the Unist'ot'en Camp describe the injustice of the situation.

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GOOD TIME: What a week! I'm still shaken after seeing that RCMP with machine guns went into the camp on Wet'suwet'en where land defenders were unarmed.

Thank goodness for friends to talk through this with me. How would I sort out everything that's going on without you?

PER: Ya, thank goodness for our mutual support, Good Time. Thank you for being here with me.

It really upsets me that for many it's so hard to know what's really been going on in the Wet'suwet'en Territory. Reading regular media, you'd think protesters were breaking the law. Just compare this

image courtesy of Pixabay

article from Macleans with this video from the women who were at the Unist'ot'en Camp.

 According to the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the BC Civil Liberties Association, our provincial and federal governments are the ones breaking the law.

NOWCA: My heart is so heavy over what's going on in unceded Wet'suwet'en Territory, and the way we're being lied to about it. But I'm grateful for social media and how quickly the truth is being shared. Democracy Now has done a great job of letting people know what's going on just outside of Houston, BC.

GOOD TIME: The problem is a lot of people who read Macleans don't watch things like Democracy Now, APTN News or other news sources that don't have an industry bias. So they inadvertently believe and spread colonialist points of view.

NOWCA (looking around): Speaking of which, where's Mr. Pipeline? I haven't seen him for days?

PER: Oh, he's probably scheming with his friends, making things up to tell the media. For his ilk this is a public relations disaster, and they have ways of making the people defending the land look bad and themselves look good.

GOOD TIME (heaving a sigh): We'll have to look out for the stories that discredit these courageous land defenders. I think we know where to look. I wonder what we can do to counter their influence.

PER: I guess just talk to people. Share stories on social media. Share the page Unist'ot'en has a set up where you can contribute money, and the wishlist/needslist page that people can respond to. And attend actions in your community. There are many. You can find them on the Support Wet'suwet'en Facebook page.

NOWCA: And send lots of prayers. I'm so grateful for these courageous people who are standing up for all of us and the health of the planet we all depend upon.

GOOD TIME: I still can't believe that here in Canada, our governments are breaking the law for the sake of a fracking company.

PER (head down): From what I've read, it sounds like this has been happening for a long time with the complicity of the mainstream media and the RCMP.

NOWCA: But when people find out about this, most can't go back to trusting sources that lied to them. I hope this situation gets people to think more critically about the news they pay attention to.

And when will our politicians stop treating climate change like a public relations exercise instead of the life threatening thing it is? These heroes at the Unist'ot'en Camp are standing up for me and you and our children's children's future.

GOOD TIME: I hope people will take action. This situation breaks my heart. It's unjust and it's causing so much harm.

I have so much gratitude for the courageous people of the Unist'ot'en Camp. I hope they know that we stand with you.

PER and NOWCA nodded their heads in agreement.

GOOD TIME (with tears on cheeks, hugged the other two puppets): Thanks for being here with me. We need each other now more than ever.

image courtesy of Pixabay