GN21 proudly displayed our green colours at Community Buzz this past Saturday.  We met some interesting new folks, and enjoyed the food and music.  The local craftspeople do amazing work which was on display- it was inspiring to hear their stories and see their beautiful creations. 

Thanks to Shirine and Julian for pitching in to help.

From GN21 meeting hosted by Green Neighbours 21 on Wednesday, November 28, 2018

What a dynamic meeting this was! Here's a big thank you to GN21's awesome meeting organizer, Mariko, and to the excellent speakers ...

GN21’s Environmental Book Club

Do you enjoy reading books on environmental topics?  Wish you had someone to discuss them with?  Then join our grassroots environmentally-themed book club!

Our Green Neighbours 21 meeting held on November 3^rd was titled Beyond the People’s Climate March: Next Steps in the Fight against Climate Change. We saw the film Disruption, a powerful depiction of the science behind the present climate emergency and the movement that launched the worldwide People’s Climate March.

Lloyd Alter, editor of the sustainability website Tree Hugger and an architect and sustainable design instructor at Ryerson University, gave a very engaging talk at our GN21 meeting in March.  He discussed good resilient design and especially emphasized the wisdom embedded in the design of old buildings. 

Did you know…?

Americans are “much more likely to believe that there are signs that aliens have visited Earth (77 percent) than that humans are causing climate change (44 percent).”

A writer for the New York Times asked readers for “suggestions of “neglected topics” that we in the news business should cover more aggressively in 2014.” Many said they’d like to see more coverage of climate change.

The massive storm in the Philippines has caused terrible devastation, killing thousands of people, and reminding us of the consequences of inaction. At the same time international climate meetings in Poland concluded recently with disappointing results. And, a recent report points to Canada as the worst climate performer in the developed world. This is the perfect time to let our Members of Parliament know that we want our federal government to take meaningful action on climate change.
 

I’d like to tell you about my summer adventure. No, it wasn’t a trip to an exotic location, or a week by the lake. It was three days at a conference centre in Chicago. Hmmm, not too exciting? In fact, it was very exciting. It was an intense, inspiring and memorable experience. Along with 1200 people from 70 countries around the world I took part in the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training. The Corps is one of several initiatives of the Climate Reality project begun by Al Gore after his ground-breaking movie An Inconvenient Truth in 2006.

The articles that cascade off my computer are mostly tidings of bad news, grim reminders of the urgency of the climate crisis. So my eyes popped open when two recent articles carried a more positive message. You might want to have a look.

There are times when I put on a happy face and try to spread my enthusiasm for climate change work in order to bring more people on board. But sometimes I need to just say it like it is, frightening or not. Today is one of those days.