It's time

Resilience and the Tao of Pooh

This month's post wasn't planned this way, but the unprecedented coronavirus situation has got me thinking about how we react to times of danger and uncertainty.  In these times, with some much time at home and reflection, it's easy for all the stress, anxiety and worry about the future of the world to overwhelm us.  

Like many others, the uncertainty of the health, social and economic impact of the pandemic has created stress and anxiety for me. I am one of the very lucky ones living in Australia with its strong health system and relatively developed safety net. I have a stable job and I can work from home. I have a house that comfortably have me and my partner working from home, and we have a backyard in which we can still enjoy the outdoors while being physically distant from others. I am an introvert so social distancing is nothing new for me. I am in reasonably good health so that I am hopefully low risk, and my parents, siblings, extended family and friends are reasonably safe. And yet, I still feel stress and anxiety. I really feel for those who are in much less favourable circumstances.
   
One of the things I'm really grateful for is that my workplace has been very good with the situation, being able to keep all of us employed, and emphasising that our health and wellbeing is its number one concern. One of the initiatives in our branch has been for a daily health and wellbeing tip be shared by the senior officers group, of which I am part of. 

The tips have so been great so far, not just in terms of the tips themselves, but also in terms of it being a window into another person's soul and perspective. It's a type of social connection that is beyond simply saying hello (which is also good) and is something more deep and meaningful, which is the kind of social connection we introverts thrive on. 

Before sharing my own tip below, I wanted to reflect on the similarities between coronavirus and climate change. Much has been said about how slowing down the economy will likely reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and demonstrates what can be achieved. Much has also been said about the similarities and differences between the political response to coronavirus and the response to climate change. What we have seen in the previous 4 months (initial reports, denial, acceptance, decisive action) is a super condensed version of how humanity reacts to new crises. Our reaction to the threat of climate change has been spread out for 4 or more decades instead of 4 months, and we have not even gotten to the decisive action stage yet. 

If the politicians are sending our messages that our response to coronavirus is a marathon not a sprint, then what does that say about our response to climate change? That it will be a life-long journey, despite the crazy urgency of the threat. 

In any case, the focus of health and wellbeing in response to coronavirus makes me want to reiterate the focus of health and wellbeing on our individual response to climate change. It is definitely a ultra-marathon, not a sprint, and we need to look after ourselves in this. Taking practical, productive, sustainable steps is useful. But we also need to take a break sometimes. Which leads me to the health and wellbeing tip that I contributed to my team just before the Easter long weekend, set out below. While it is directed at our response to coronavirus, I think it is equally applicable to our efforts to combat climate change.

Thanks everyone for their health and wellbeing tips so far - it's been a pleasure to read :)

One practical tip is that I try not to read any COVID updates until later in the morning or lunchtime. When I do get to it, I try to start off with a good news story – I find the Guardian's 'The Good Place' has some positive stories for these times: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/the-good-place. 

Also, I’ve been able to catch up on some books, and it’s led me to ask myself 'What Would Pooh Do?'. This comes from a funny book I’ve been revisiting called the Tao of Pooh, which re-interprets the Winnie the Pooh series through the lens of Taoism. Chapter 2 ('The Tao of Who?') is about how Winnie the Pooh personifies the 'Uncarved Block':

The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed. … This basic Taoist principle applies not only to things in their natural beauty and function, but to people as well. Or Bears. Which brings us to Pooh, the very Epitome of the Uncarved Block. …

As an illustration of the principle, he may appear a bit too simple at times, but no matter how he may seem to others, Pooh is able to accomplish what he does because he is simpleminded. As any old Taoist walking out of the woods can tell you, simpleminded does not necessarily mean stupid. It's rather significant that the Taoist ideal is that of the still, calm, reflecting 'mirror-mind' of the Uncarved Block, and it's rather significant that Pooh, rather than the thinkers Rabbit, Owl, or Eeyore, is the true hero of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner…

When you discard arrogance, complexity and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun. From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain.

One thing I take from this is that, in the face of uncertain and complex challenges that disrupt our lives, it's good to take a breather to enjoy and be grateful for some simple things in our lives. This morning, I made a cup of tea and relished how it warmed me on a fresh Canberra morning. This afternoon, I'll eat some hot cross buns and watch my chickens, marveling at how their lives revolve around a few basic actions - eating, sleeping, pooping, laying and wondering whether or not they should cross the road. And in the future, when physical distancing is a 'distant' memory, I will enjoy the simple act of hugging someone. Peppering the day with a few of these time outs really helps me with dealing with stress or anxiety. This is really just a long way of saying ‘stop and smell the roses’.

Finally, to add to our pet photo collection, attached is a photo of our 2 Golden Girls, Blanche and Rose, going to town on a pile of leaves, caused by cockatoos decimating the neighbour’s elm tree. Blanche is the lighter one and is more adventurous, leading the way, while Rose is the darker one and the one more likely to get caught in a net. My partner and I have yet to decide which one of us are the remaining Golden Girl characters, Dorothy and Sophia.
Hope everyone has a great long weekend :) We all deserve it!

Putting money where your mouth is

In this world, there is always a cost. Our actions have consequences, and nothing comes for free. We've plundered natural resources which has resulted in environmental degradation and human induced climate change. Also, actions to address climate change doesn't come for free. Such actions take time, effort and money. Things won't magically improve if we do not allocate meaningful time, make no effort, and acknowledge that there needs to be some monetary costs to repair what we've done.

Another way of thinking about this is that in this capitalistic world, time, effort and money are indicative of the value was place on things. This means that, when taking action to combat climate change, we need to recognise that time needs to be allocated, energy and effort must be expended, and we need to put our money where our mouth is.

The types of actions that I will talk about in this blog will take up all these things, including money. It may be a little, or it may be a lot. It will also save money in the long run, either directly through less energy costs, or in the fact that the more preventative steps we take now, the less mitigation and adaptive steps we need to take in the future.

So in taking action, we do need to budget some money for our own personal actions. Also, as I said earlier, collective action is even more important, and collective action also required time, effort and money. In this sense, one of the impactful things I can do is donate to organisations that are able to do things that I can't do, are able to do them on a scale I can't achieve, and are able to do those things in an impactful, cost-efficient way.

Addressing climate change is so complex and multifaceted that I don't think one organisation can do everything that is required. Not even one government, which is why collective, multilateral action is required. So, in terms of donations, I don't think you can donate to just one organisation, but you also can't donate to all organisations. With this conundrum, you will have to make a choice about which organisations you want to donate to.

In donating money, it's actually quite a difficult decision. But my key principles are:

• Donate strategically. What are the most important, impactful things that need to be done, and is it getting enough money? Which organisations do these things efficiently and effectively? Donating money to address these gaps can be the most impactful things.
• Assuming that there may be multiple things that need to be done and need to be funded, you want to make sure that the donation does as much as it can. This is why funding something that already has enough money, or will always get enough money, might not be the best way. That's why I try to mix my donations into 3 categories:
• To give to organisations that need that last 10-20% to get the important things done. If these organisations don't get that, then this runs the risk that all the hard work that the other 80-90% funding was all for nothing. That seems like a waste to me.
• To give to organisations doing important things that initial 10-20% to get them going and build momentum. It would be a shame if great ideas and projects never got off the ground because they just didn't get the money at the right time.
• To give to organisations that might not take direct action themselves, but who advocate and change things at a broader policy level, and who build the capacity of other organisations. It is difficult to clearly calculate the effectiveness of advocacy and policy change, but this is important nonetheless.
• Make sure that the funding is clearly additional - that the organisation will not just get the funding elsewhere or that your donation will make a difference. This might be points 1 and 2 above. But it could also be something that is scalable - a donation to plant a tree probably means it is additional, unless the tree planting need or capacity of the organisation or region has already been met.

I'm not going to tell you which issues are most important and to which organisations you should donate. That depends on what you think is important at the time, what matters to you locally, regionally and globally, and the relevant funding context at the time.

I do caution that, some people look at overheads and employment funds. This is interesting approach, but doesn't tell the whole picture. Is what you want for money to go directly to projects? How much of the value and impact of those projects depends on the value add that organisation's workers have? How much capacity building. Policy making? If you want these broader objectives, then perhaps a higher overhead might be justified because it requires people to do the work, and those highly valued people might bring up the overhead. But if you want to give money through the organisation as a conduit, then a lower overhead might be justified.

For me, right now, in the context of bushfires, I think what is most important, most impactful is to reduce deforestation, and increase reforestation. These actions:

• tackle some root (or intermediate) causes of climate change, in the sense that policies that reduce deforestation should go towards reducing demand and consumption of forestry products
• Tackle direct causes of climate change - reducing destruction of forests and encouraging regrowth or new forests
• Support biodiversity which has significant broader environmental benefits

To my mind, funding needs to be provided at the multilateral policy level, as well as at the local level. So I've decided to donate to Rainforest Coalition and Greenfleet. But it's really a personal choice for you, having taken into account the above considerations.

Now to you - what are the organisations that you donate to, and what are the principles that guide your donation decisions?

Addendum: The Celeste Barber issue really highlights that it is super important to understand the organisation that you're directing your donations towards, and how they can/will spend it. While it may be complicated, if you are fundraising for an organisation, you need to do your due diligence and make sure you are accurately representing where the money is going and for what purposes it will be spent.

Addendum 2: Donating to forestry advocacy organisations may also be worthwhile. For example. Friends of the Leadbeater's Possum recently won a huge case against VicForests, and this litigation could potentially lead to significant reductions to, or even a much earlier phase out of, native forestry operations in Victoria. 

Sources:

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/2/20976180/climate-change-best-charities-effective-philanthropy

https://www.rainforestcoalition.org/donations/

https://secure.everyaction.com/8bd1II6WKUubdSfmePv7ZA2

What do I believe in?

As mentioned last month, I'm standing up to say I am extremely concerned with climate change, and I'm going to step up and do even more to try to make a difference. Perhaps it's the lawyer in me, but I'm always hesitant to start acting on something unless I can establish the underlying facts of the situation, and recognise high level principles for taking next steps.

Basic facts

These are the basic facts that shape my response:

1. Greenhouse gases (GHG) get their name because they trap heat and heat the atmosphere, just like a greenhouse. GHG include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases can naturally be released, but are also released by human activity. For example, carbon dioxide is released by the burning of fossil fuels, and methane is released by cattle and rotting food waste in landfill. These gases can be naturally absorbed, for example, by plants through photosynthesis.
   
2. Humans are the cause of a significant increases in GHG since at least the late 1800s, when the industrial revolution began. Over the last 250 years or so, human activity has intensified, resulting in increasing activities that release GHG (eg burning fossil fuels and increase agricultural and livestock production) and increasing activities that remove those living things that absorb GHG (cutting down trees and rainforests).
   
3. Intensified human activity means increased global temperature over a shorter period of time. This might seem slow or gradual to everyday human perception, but is significant from a historical perspective. Any change that occurs too quickly makes it hard for living creatures to adapt and evolve. Changes that might have previously happened over thousands of years will be compressed to centuries or decades. Hotter temperatures mean more extreme weather events.
   
4. Concerns about climate change is not new. In fact, the first concerns were raised as early as the late 19th century, and has grown during the 20th centry. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988. That is over 30 years ago.
   
5. The IPCC, based on scientific evidence, says we need to keep temperatures from rising no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial temperatures. This requires us to reduce 45% from 2010 levels by 2030. 

Overarching principles

With the above facts in mind, here are the main principles around which I will take my individual actions.

1. Principles and evidence based decision making - As may be apparent from the above facts and this list of principles, it is extremely important to based any action on scientific evidence and principles. Even deciding to not take a particular action should be based on scientific evidence and principles. Otherwise, decisions will not be factually sound or consistent with the overall outcomes that you want to achieve. Understanding principles behind a decision is really important, because when faced with the same facts, different principles might result in different (including completely different) actions. 
   
2. Precautionary principle - One of the fundamentals of environmental thinking is the precautionary principle. While it has many different expressions, I take this principle as meaning that taking an action to protect the environment should not be postponed because there is a lack of full scientify certainty about the threat to the environment or what should be done.  That means that where there is sound evidence, but not full certainty, we should take a precautioanry approach, err on the side of caution, and take that protective step anyway. The environment is too precious to waste. While I believe that there is full scientific certainty about human induced climate change, this principle could nonetheless be useful for those who may be on the fence. It is like insurance - you know there is a risk there, why take the chance?
   
3. Equity - This is where divergent views might show up. I believe that we should try to be equitable in our actions, and that includes our response to climate change. What does equity mean? It means giving all stakeholders an equal footing on the most significant aspects of life, noting the systemic and individual differences in standing and opportunities of each stakeholder. So this means protecting the environment, because it does not have a voice in human decision-making. It means thinking about those who are more vulnerable to climate change, who might not have the voices to be heard or the resources to respond to climate change in the same way I might. It means thinking about future populations, who do not have a say in what we do now but who will be living with the consequences of our actions. And it means thinking about how I should act, acknowledging my privileged position and understanding how I act can be part of influencing other people on how they act.
   
4. Taking responsibility - I did not make a conscious decision to cause climate change. I myself did not cause climate change. There are so many other people, from all over the world and all over different time periods, that have contributed to climate change. But nonetheless I have a level of responsibility. I am reaping the benefits of a world developed through agricultural production and the industrial revolution. I enjoy conveniences from fossil fuel energy and a global supply chain. Even if I enjoyed none of those things, don't I have a responsibility to the rest of the world, or to future generations, to do something about a problem that I know about?
   
5. Collective action - On that note, and as mentioned in my previous post, while I can only truly have power over how I act, I acknowledge that my own personal actions are not enough to make a difference. Given the global and structural scale of the problem, there needs to be a global and structural response to climate change. So although I can only take personal action, that personal action should always be contributing to collective action somehow, because it will only be through collective action that we can create global and structural changes. This does not mean that all my actions need to be part of a collective action, but it is recognition that individual action is not enough. A mix of think global, but act local. Having said that, individual is still worthwhile, at the least because it does has some small change, and at it's best, personal action not only demonstrates my own personal capacity to change but could also act as a means to influence others to change.
    
6. Think and act positively - Despite all the doom and gloom of the facts and narratives presented to us, we must still think and act hopefully and positively. Without hope, there is futility and little or no drive to think big and take action. Without positivity, we will often lose many others who we aim to bring along with us.

With the above facts and principles established, I will next move onto the first action I will take ... and it involves putting money where my mouth is.

Is it a video? Is it a video?

A new normal

I woke up to a new year, a new decade, and a new normal. The skies were cloudy orange, unlike the ordinary Canberra I knew. No, this was the smoke from the bushfires surrounding the Canberra region. This was a smoke signal from a scorched earth, fuelled by extreme weather conditions, prolonged drought and even more prolonged inaction. It was the apocalyptic nightmare that many climate scientists had been predicting.

Waking up to outside smoke once or twice might remind of out in the woods and waking up to a burnt out bonfire. But waking up to smoke day after day, with no clear end in sight, means something entirely different. With the end of year holidays ending and new years resolutions percolating, waking up to smoke puts you in a heightened reflective mode.

There's a point when you cannot watch the news anymore. Cannot watch the devastation to the environment, to communities, to animals and to other humans. The harsh realities outside your home forces you to retreat inwards. You reflect on your feelings, your ambitions, your plans for the future. And how that future must include climate change adaptation. Those rose-tinted dreams you harboured as a kid are now tinged by the deep red morning, afternoon and evening sky of bushfire season. The time has come and I am anxious and frightened. At the end of the day, we are of this Earth, and we belong to it. When it cries out, we also cry out. Both because of the pain of the Earth and because of the impact it will have on us.

Like the extremely dry landscape that have fuelled the bushfires, my feelings have been building up for a long time. It's been there since I first heard of the warnings about climate change over a decade ago. It's built as I waited for broader government action, as I watched a government call it the greatest moral challenge of our time, as I watched om as any meaningful, collective action destroyed by politicking across successive Labor and Coalition governments, and other vested interests. It's built as I've stood by, seeing this inaction manifest in my own life. This is the textbook definition of negligence, at all levels.

And like the bushfires themselves, when the conditions converge and a spark is lit, all that fuel is ignited into a roaring phenomenon. In the face of scorched earth,  we must act. In this world, we still have agency and can still decide how we want to act to respond to this threat.

We can do so in many ways. I only have control on how I will act, but I know that individual action alone cannot resolve this, and collective action is also necessary. Challenges as big as this need a response just as big. Individual actions will not work in isolation. But individual, personal actions still contribute in many ways, at the very least to show that we have some sense of control over our actions, and at the most to show and inspire hope that if we can change our individual actions, there is hope for change.

For me, the first step is always reflective and declaratory. I will no longer be a quiet Australian. Having reflected on all the information before me, I declare that I am living in a climate emergency, and that I will stand up and try to do something about it. I have been taking steps over the years (such as reducing my energy usage, composting, cycling to work), but I can always do more. We all have a duty of care, and we have all been negligent to some degree. The time is now to reflect and to respond. I cannot respond to everything all at once. I can only take one step at a time.

For the remainder of this year, I will document each month something that I have done that I think has contributed to our response to climate change. It will be a mix of individual action, and contributing to collective action. It's the only way I can stay sane and believe that I am contributing something meaningful, something productive, something effective, to save this scorched earth on which I stand.