Broken Earth Day and Feeling Dotty
- It is time reconcile what we are doing to the Earth and each other –

GLOBAL — At nearly 1,000 events in over 100 countries on May 5 people around the world will tell the story of a planet already reeling from the numerous impacts of the climate crisis. The international climate action group, 350.org has organized this event. “We just celebrated Earth Day. May 5 is more like Broken Earth Day, a worldwide witness to the destruction global warming is already causing,” said Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org.

According to the research, 82 percent of Americans report that they personally experienced one or more types of extreme weather or a natural disaster in the past year. Anthony A. Leiserowitz of Yale University, one of the researchers who commissioned the new poll, told the New York Times. “People are starting to connect the dots.” Sudbury will be connecting the dots at La Fromagerie on Cedar St in a series of events.

At one pm they will be listening to Citizens Climate Lobby’s monthly call. Our guest speaker this month is Major General Jackson recently retired from the United States Marine Corps. Mindful of the strategic risks inherent in petroleum-based fuels, Jackson has been a strong advocate of Defense Department initiatives to use more energy from clean, renewable sources and less from fossil fuels.

At 2:00 pm, citizens will be connecting dots in a sharing circle. Here is a rough itinerary:
 

• Elder Christina Agawa from the Batchawana First Nation will open the circle with a traditional ceremony and teaching

• Dr. David Pearson will make connections between weird weather in Northern Ontario and the science of climate change

• A fictitious yet somewhat truthful colloquy about putting a price on carbon between a socialist and a conservative

• Dr. David Robinson will speak more about putting a price on carbon pollution

• Doreen Ojala will share a vision of how we will create a sustainable food system

• Other concerned citizens will share their perspectives, including reflections from someone who faced the reality of the climate crisis head-on last year in a workshop coordinated by Greater Sudbury’s Climate Change Consortium

• Second to last Bob Rogers, co chair of Greater Sudbury’s Climate Change Consortium, will share a few words about the Consortium and release publicly a report on the “Opening the Gate” workshop in February

• Closing comments of hope

• Photo to be taken of us holding our dots.

At 3:00 pm a local musician will connect our spirits and share some carbon free energy using a solar charged battery as his source of electricity. A hat will be passed around to raise money for Northern Lights Festival Boreal and a Citizens Climate Lobby conference in Ottawa.

Quotes:

Doreen Ojala, Project Manager for the Foodshed Project will share the following, “Our climate is warming and our resources are depleting - soil, clean air, water, biodiversity, climate, and ultimately our ability to be resilient against change. To regenerate the earth, we must develop local and regional foodshed's to feed us in the future: small-scale diverse food systems that support a one-earth ecological footprint. It will require a magnitude of cooperation that is untold in the history of the consciousness. It will require us to think with our hearts, and with our stomachs. Hunger is on our doorsteps, and in the community of the vulnerable. It is time to shrug our apathy and face the limitations that our earth has put upon us as we meet our greatest universal challenge - survival in the 21 st century. We have the capacity to build a new society based on good earth science and the truth - what are we waiting for - "peak oil" to be real too?”
 

Cathy Orlando, Canadian Project Manager for Citizens Climate Lobby says, “It is time to reconcile what we are doing to the Earth and each other. New research suggests that global warming is causing the cycle of evaporation and rainfall over the oceans to intensify more than scientists had expected, an ominous finding that may indicate an even higher potential for extreme weather in coming decades. We have the technology and sound economic plans to avert catastrophe in a socially responsible manner. All we lack is political will. People need to tell politicians to act on the climate right now. For me that means helping the politicians from any political party who seek to put a price on carbon pollution.”