2016 EDITION A HANDBOOK ON CLIMATE ACTION FOR BABY BOOMERS Or anyone, any age, currently alive on this extraordinary Earth How History’s Most Privileged Generation Can – With Guts & Gumption – Still Leave Our Kids a Livable Planet Liz Armstrong Congratulations! You opened this handbook – and that’s a big step, because there are millions, maybe billions, thinking that climate change is just way too big a problem for non-scientists to help conquer. It’s not too late to stabilize our climate so that it doesn’t spiral out of control. This is doable, and will happen sooner rather than later if we all pull together. Every human alive today, bar none, can contribute to the success of this urgent mission – putting the brakes on climate change – even if it is the toughest challenge we humans have ever faced. Every phone call, email, mouse click on a petition, every letter to your Member of Parliament, and every conversation urging your friends and neighbours to take action with you – it all counts way more than you might think. We need an avalanche of action, and for you to be part of it. Because we are going to win on this, for the sake of all life, and all generations to come. On we go! INTRODUCTION & QUICK QUIZ What takes your breath away? Here’s my own short-list of small wonders: The flute-like melody of a wood thrush, shooting stars streaking across the night sky, dragonflies darting, diving and hovering on gossamer wings, tiny raucous Spring peeper frogs – and newborn everything! It’s easy to fall in love with so much in this astonishing world, some just out the back door, others far-flung; some mighty, others minute. What takes your breath away? What do you love most? I’m asking because this book makes an urgent plea to lend your voice (and possibly other talents) to help this extraordinary Earth The cost of inaction through a big mess of our making. And thinking about who or is staggering, and what you love most on this planet – what’s important and beautiful and utterly inspiring to you – can be an amazing motivator. climate stabilizing What’s the mess? It’s the one that began about 250 years ago, when remedies are small we-of-the-large-brain fell madly in love with another natural change by comparison. wonder found under the crust of our grand planet Earth – colossal As one keen observer reserves of ancient, grimy stuff in solid, liquid and gaseous form said: “We can afford – the fossil fuels. We weren’t love-struck by the actual stuff itself, but we did fall hard for the ease and convenience that coal, oil to address climate and natural gas brought to ‘modern’ life once we learned how to change, and we can’t extract and burn them – and we’ve been hooked ever since. afford not to.” Fossil fuels have been the powerhouse, the energy source for so much of modern progress, but – over time – they have turned out to be big trouble too. Burning them is slowly, surely pushing life “By the time you finish as we know it to the brink. this handbook, you’ll Are you still with me? Most Baby Boomers – people of all ages really discover it’s not only – do ultra-quick U-turns when climate change comes up in any possible to take action conversation. But before you’re tempted to quietly shut this book for good, please take a minute to answer three quick questions: on climate change, you may become 1. True or False: If Earth’s average temperature rises more than 2º Celsius over pre-industrial levels (it’s already 1ºC warmer), unstoppable! And your the odds of record breaking, deadly climate catastrophes greatly kids will love you even increase. Beyond 2ºC, Earth risks large, abrupt and irreversible more for this.” changes, making it hostile to human life. 2. True or False: We already have virtually all the technical know- how we need to replace climate-wrecking fossil fuels with green, renewable energy alternatives, which will provide an abundant source of sustainable jobs. 3. True or False: It’s impossible for me (meaning you ) to help ‘fix’ an overwhelming problem like climate change. i The answers to Qs 1 & 2 are True, as this book will share, based on the best available scientific evidence. The answer to Question 3 is, of course, up to you, and why I hope you’ll keep on reading. Yes, there is still a lot of confusion about climate change – most of it deliberately caused by fossil fuel companies interested in keeping themselves profitable and us paralyzed and silent. The key group not confused? Virtually all climate scientists – fully 97 percent from around the world – who agree that climate change: a) is happening already; b) will have catastrophic long-term consequences if we don’t change course now; and c) we humans in fossil-fuel driven economies are causing it – yes, us. (See Pogo.) Here’s the bottom line: A stable climate is vital to everything. No matter what your passions are – human rights, peace, helping kids in impoverished countries, growing heirloom tomatoes, saving elephants, enjoying fine wines – things will get tougher and costlier as the world warms. Why am I aiming this handbook at Baby Boomers? Because that’s my generation, and we still have plenty of clout to make a difference if we choose to use it. I know from recently attending my 50th high school reunion that many old friends from way back then Your voice can help prove good ol’ Pogo wrong. share my concerns, and just want to know how to help. (So here’s to you, Class of ‘65 North Toronto CI grads, for spurring me on!) Yes, we can do all sorts of things to reduce our personal fossil fuel “We know how to deal use. But the world needs to do much more. Even if all the green- with climate change. house gases reductions promised at the December 2015 UN climate We know it won’t be negotiations in Paris are achieved, we will still be on course for ‘easy’ but the economic more than 2ºC of warming, and possibly as much as 2.7ºC – sounds trivial but it’s disastrous! Unless national pledges – including and scientific literature Canada’s – are not only upped considerably but actually met, our make clear it will be kids and grandchildren won’t have much reason to hope. straightforward and Our leaders need to understand there is nothing, nothing more super-cheap – and important than leaving this planet livable for all generations to infinitely superior to come. Yes, a 100% clean, renewable energy economy by 2050 is 100% possible, but it will take political guts and gumption on the the catastrophic ‘do part of governments everywhere, driven by citizens like you and me. nothing’ approach.” Take heart, Boomers, there are many simple and effective things Joe Romm, we can do (even if you’ve never done any of ‘em before!) And Climate Progress taking climate action doesn’t need to occupy your whole life 24/7. But, to paraphrase a wise old eighteenth century guy: The biggest mistake is doing nothing because we could only do a little. So let’s get going! Liz April 2016 ii DEDICATION This book is dedicated to all the kids we know and love, who are counting on us to leave them a livable planet. Cut and paste a photo of the kids you love here. (A reminder of what’s at stake…) iii JUST ONE RULE! …And here it is: Whatever else you might do with this book, DON’T LET IT GATHER DUST ON A SHELF. Now that that’s perfectly clear , here are two suggestions for getting started. One: Show this handbook to a friend, saying you’re deeply concerned about climate change. Then say, “How about working together to take some action?” (I have always, always found it easier mustering courage to do new things when I have a ‘buddy’ to team up with. There’s more about this on page 83). Two: if the buddy idea doesn’t work for you, and you don’t feel like acting alone, please pass the book along ASAP to someone who will make sure it gets quickly thumbed and dog-eared, complete with coffee stains, sticky notes and tons of emails and phone numbers scribbled all over it. When I started writing this handbook in the summer of 2014, there was a deathly silence hovering over the topic of climate change. But a lot has changed: We have a new Liberal government promising bold action to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, and a brand new UN climate treaty signed December 12, 2015 in Paris. So now the climate crisis – yes, crisis – is front and centre, where it needs to stay until humanity arrives safely at the end of a very long road called ‘Climate Stability’. The truth is, our now destabilized climate won’t settle down until long after we Boomers – and probably our grandkids – are long gone – that’s the slow-moving nature of our climate system. But we can’t afford to wait any longer for real action. What is already a dire situation will only get wilder and much worse unless humanity acts immediately to speed up our shift off fossil fuels. And that’s where you and I come in…hence this book. Just 500 copies have been printed, with a little help from some generous friends. But we will crank out some more if there’s enough demand – from your book club, hiking group, seniors’ choir and so on – really anyone who wants to make a positive difference on our amazing-but-badly-abused planet.