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| Canada sucks. How is your country doing? |
What do Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Saudi Arabia have in common? All compete for last place in the 2014 Climate Performance Index, which ranks countries on their climate change performance.
My own country, Canada, ranks a dismal 58th out of the 61 countries listed, in between Iran and Australia. Our rating was "very poor" which does not surprise me since our current petro-government is now considering anyone for clean air and against fossil fuels as a "threat to national security".
"As in the previous year, Canada still shows no intention of moving forward with climate policy and therefore remains the worst performer of all industrialised countries."
Here are a few ways you can help your country shoot for one of the three empty top spots (a "very good" rating) on the index. Or for Canada, just a move into the "poor" category would be a major improvement.
Improving Your Personal Climate Change Performance
- take public transportation
- unless it's an emergency, don't fly
- heat your home with wood, preferably from the waste stream (wood pellets are made from waste saw dust, for example)
- sign up for renewable grid energy if it is available in your area
- drive less, walk and bike more
- when buying new appliances make sure they are energy efficient
- use hand tools/kitchen aides
- go off grid - generate your own power (solar, wind, micro-hydro)
- be an energy miser and never, ever waste energy
- write to your political representatives to tell them you resent being labelled an "anti-petroleum terrorist", and prefer being called a "pro-clean energy advocate", or simply a "human who cares"
- join marches, demonstrations, sit-ins, forums, and pro-clean energy celebrations and show your support for renewable energy policies
- don't work for them, and don't buy their products (as much as this is possible)
- ask the nice lady (or man) at the bank if any of your investments are in the dirty energy sector, and if so, divest and tell her or him why you are doing so
- when researching who to vote for, ask all political candidates about their position on climate change policies - tell them you will not vote for candidates that are anti-environment petroleum activists
I hate to say it, but my homeland currently sucks badly with its dismal leadership at the highest level on so many fronts, especially in reducing our impact on global climate change.
How is your country doing in its transition to a renewable future?
The UK hasn't much to be proud of as regards renewable energy, our government recently having cut a subsidy for installing solar panels, when solar is regarded as one of the most (if not the most) promising source of renewable energy. There are many financial axes to grind...and I am very cynical about politicians of almost every colour.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte,
DeleteThe UK is doing much better than Canada. Much better. I hear you about politicians. We have an election coming up and voters here have some serious thinking to do if we are to save our country from those who want to give it all away... including our civil rights.
Found my country in the 'moderate' category (better than expected). I'm not sure, if it's due to government policy or people doing their bit; probably a bit of both. Many families still own one car; people do a lot of biking and walking, are careful not to waste electricity, don't use clothes dryers etc. Many still do gardening and grow their own food.
ReplyDeleteBeing one of the fresher members of the EU, I suppose we still have some of that old-fashioned frugality running through our veins.
P. S. Thank you for the wonderful blog. I'm reading your older posts and finding lots of inspiration.
Anon,
DeleteLove that old-fashioned frugality. That is something you will want to hold on to as it will see you (and your country) through whatever the future brings.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to leave a comment. We love to hear what is happening in other parts of the world unfiltered by the MSM.
Hi Gregg,
ReplyDeleteI try to take comfort in the old slogan - 'the personal is political'. As your list shows, there's plenty we can do rather than waiting around for our politicians to use their brains and their conscience.
I'm an Aussie, and yes our politicians are putting us in a shameful position on the performance index, but as individuals we also have to take responsibility. Australians are loved for being friendly and laid back, but sadly we are a bit apathetic on the whole. I think we've always had it too good!
Madeleine.x
Madeleine,
DeleteWhat is happening in your political system, from what I have read, is eerily similar to the crap that is happening in Canada. Indeed, it seems to be occurring in almost all industrialized nations.
How is it that voters in all those places can be so misguided in where they put their votes? Or perhaps, like in Canada, there is election fraud taking place, something that has been well documented here over the last 3 elections that the Conservative Party won.
Our "leader" has been quoted as saying something like, "No one else is playing by the rules, and we aren't going to either." Not such a good example for young people growing up here amidst all this cheating, corruption, and law-breaking.