SGI Greens Newsletter – June 2024

SGI Greens Newsletter

Click here for the newsletter in PDF format, or continue reading below.
Please consider printing a 2-sided hard copy and giving it to someone that might be interested in the SGI Greens.

Sections cover Events, General Interest, On Being Green, and a Feature article.
Links to back issues, subscribe/unsubscribe, and join the SGI Greens are at the end.

 

“Imagine a better future, and then make it happen!” – That’s what we Greens do. 

Greens were the only political party that imagined having fun in the Victoria Day Parade. On May 20th, SGI Greens and BC Greens got together and did just that!

Elizabeth and her dog Xo march with the Green Party of Canada and the BC Greens in the Victoria Day Parade 
(Photo credit: Adrian Lam, Times Colonist, Victoria, B.C.)

SGI Greens (Green Party of Canada) news and events:

June 22, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm – Cordova Bay Day
Talk to Elizabeth May and connect with neighbours at St. David’s Church.

July 7 – Victoria Pride Parade
Celebrate diversity and have fun! Help carry our Green banners.

August 10, 12:30 – 4:00 pm – SGI Greens Summer Picnic in Centennial Park.
Meet and catch up with other SGI Greens and friends.

August 31-September 2 – Saanich Fall Fair
Fun for everyone in the community, and a chance to talk to Elizabeth, too!

October 26, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – SGI EDA’s Annual General Meeting

  • During June, members of the Executive Committee will be attending award ceremonies at seven local high schools to present a $1000 scholarship to a student at each school. The students competed by submitting a short essay or video about how they apply one or two Green values in their own life and community.
  • Our Executive Committee meets monthly and posts meeting minutes on our website. 

BC Greens news and events:   (because we’re friends)

  • The next provincial election is scheduled for October 19th and the BC Greens are busy! They need all available hands on deck (to be repaid next year during the federal campaign)! Want to learn more? The fabulous Candidates are here and the list is growing weekly. Events throughout the province are here. If you are uncertain of your electoral area (there have been changes) you can find that at Elections BC. 
  • The four ridings (and their candidates) that overlap parts of the SGI area are:

Saanich North and the Islands (Adam Olsen)
Saanich South (Ned Taylor) – Join him at a coffee chat!
Oak Bay – Gordon Head (Dr. Lisa Gunderson)
Victoria – Swan Lake (Christina Winter) 

Community Information: 

June 1-9 – Ocean Week Victoria 2024
This 9-day festival with a focus on education, conservation, and fun is intended to inspire us all to take action! It offers a varied list of events, from online learning to a SUP tour.

The folks at Creatively United have an excellent online calendar of local events.

Creatively United was inspired by others to create a graphic that contrasts “Degenerative” and “Regenerative” activities.

SGI Greens will be challenging visitors at Cordova Bay Day to similarly contrast what they think is wrong with the world today and what they would like to see in the future. 

Come see us at St. David’s Church on Cordova Bay Road, June 22, 11 am to 3 pm, and add your ideas!

 

General interest:

Good news snippets 

  • The recently released World Happiness Report puts Canada at #15 out of over 130 participating countries. The variables used are GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. The report was prepared by Gallup, the University of Oxford, the UN, and the WHR’s Editorial Board. It’s very readable and well worth a look. 
  • The EU “has become the first international body to criminalize the most serious cases of environmental damage that are comparable to ecocide.” These crimes include everything from illegal fishing of bluefin tuna to carbon market fraud. The new directive is described as “revolutionary” in that it mandates up to 10 years in jail for CEOs and clarifies that complying with a government permit does not free a company of liability.

Climate (and other) solutions

  • Scientists are very concerned about the persistent effects of microplastics which are being funneled through the food chain. One small action we can all take to reduce this is to avoid putting anything plastic into the dishwasher. They don’t dry well in there anyway, so give them a hand wash instead. Gradually replacing synthetic clothing with natural fibres helps, too.

Is this greenwashing?  

  • Ever wondered if we can somehow stop greenwashing? This half-hour panel discussion titled: Will New Rules Put an End to ‘Greenwashing’ in Canada? answers “No” and shows how complex the issue is. As panelist Phil de Luna says: “Becoming sustainable is very hard,” which is why greenwashing is a tempting shortcut for some corporations.
  • Shell is all about bicycling and other green forms of transport, right? Well, they’re being called out by the activists at Brandalism that cover Shell’s greenwashing billboards with their own humorous billboard art.

 

On Being Green:

Our readers 

  • Reader PE liked the May edition, especially the feature about the Saanich Inlet Protection Society, and says: “I am very interested in the action being taken by Carl Olsen on the Goldstream turn off of the Malahat that would result in the removal or destruction of several hundred trees by MOTI.  Saturna Island has worked with Goldstream Hatchery and with Carl in our help with salmon spawning at Goldstream River and collecting of eggs for our own Lyall Creek salmon enhancement project. The kids at Saturna Island Elementary School have for more than 20 years raised the eggs up to hatching and beyond and, when they are more mature, put them into Lyall Creek with the help of Island volunteers. Saturna Islanders are proud of our stream which supports salmon. We value the shared salmon, the shared sea, working together to a common goal, teaching and learning from the Goldstream Hatchery. Its work reaches out into the Gulf Islands to serve us so well. Lots of good work and energy and many inspiring efforts you are covering, no blaming and long diatribes. Thank you.”
    Well, thank you, PE!
  • Reader RA also liked the May edition: “Hi, It’s nice to see a newsletter that has positive information not just negative and criticism. We can make a difference especially by sharing positive initiatives. People are motivated by visioning a better future !!!!!!”
    We couldn’t say it better. Thanks, RA! We’ll keep our eyes on that better future.

What we’re reading
Jane Goodall:  “I have a mission. And the mission is to keep hope alive. And encourage people to take action now, not just moan and groan.”
                       – quoted in an email from The Narwhal

How are Greens different from other political parties?
We have six principles that provide a globally shared vision of a better global future:

  • Greens are fun-loving people. We believe in respect for diversity and social justice, so that everyone can be healthy and happy.
  • Greens love where they live, and want to pass on a healthy planet to future generations. We value ecological wisdom, and strive to ensure sustainability of our environment and economy.
  • Greens have great ideas and are willing to work hard. We believe that nonviolence and participatory democracy are essential for building a better future, together.

Happy People, Healthy Planet, Collaborative Politics – Imagine that! Then act!

 

Feature:  

To Doom or To Do?

The mass media have discovered that climate change is great, providing lots of stories about tornadoes, floods, and heat domes. Social media are rife with similar click-bait. It’s enough to convince readers/viewers that we’re all doomed. And if so, why even bother trying to stop climate change? Boomers become Doomers, and Millennials can just blame them and move on.

The fossil fuel industry loves this – encouraging passivity is as good as climate change denial, maybe even better! It allows them to carry on making a killing while ruining the planet.

Leading climate scientists Michael Mann and Katherine Hayhoe have been urging action on climate change for years. In this co-authored article, The Antidote to Doom is Doing, they say that “We can, and must, use our voices to advocate for change through voting, advocacy, activism and informed dialogue.” By doing this, we can make a meaningful difference.

In addition to climate change, there’s much else to address, and the issues are urgent. The concept of nine planetary boundaries, developed by the late Will Steffen of Australia and others, and the concept of Doughnut Economics developed by Kate Raworth of Britain, list climate change as just one of several great challenges, including loss of biodiversity and pollution.

It can be a bit overwhelming, even for the most ardent Greens. How to proceed?

– Prepared by Tom Niemann

 

Published by the Saanich-Gulf Islands Electoral District Association of the Green Party of Canada.

Please send feedback and contributions to this newsletter to sgiedanews@gmail.com.

Saanich-Gulf Island Greens publish two newsletters:

The monthly SGI Greens Newsletter
The weekly Good Sunday Morning — Elizabeth May’s perspective

Current and back issues of both are at https://sgi.edagreens.ca/news-events/
To subscribe to one or both newsletters, go to sgigreenparty.ca/signup_2020.
Click here to unsubscribe from one or both newsletters.

Join Us! Be a SGI Green!

We acknowledge and respect the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples, on whose territory we live.
The SGI EDA aims to work with them towards a meaningful and mutually beneficial reconciliation.