The Video https://youtu.be/LE5-HOB_vRg
Today I want to talk about literally the only thing that actually matters.
This video is going to SUUUUCK...
I have a really hard time making a video on this, because I'm a forever optimist. I also really want to avoid existential nihilism. We can only save humanity if we act. Giving up because things look bleak is
how humanity fails. It's for this reason I've gone 3 years without making this video, but it's also why I've made this past series. Laying the groundwork until this moment.
I wanted to end this video on the pathways to decarbonization work that has been done by the IESO, and many other country's around the world. Similar reports are being done, on HOW humanity transitions to a future economy.
The problem is, they all have one fundamental flaw in them. They want to sustain our current society. I.e. ... They ignore overshoot.
The story begins in 1980 with probably the most important book ever written on this topic, and that is "overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change" by William R. Catton Jr. Actually, that's not entirely true. The story REALLY begins with the invent of one single tool: The plough.
Why?
We'll talk about this in the video. It is because the plough represents humanity's fork in the road. We had sustainable human societies on one path, and on the other side, we have what we created.
Why does Canadian Permaculture Legacy exist?
My youtube channel exists to teach you how to garden. What I've not been clear on is why. I've kind of lied to you all. The reason for this isn't deceit, it's because the reason is too big. CPL exists because gardening is no less than step one of saving the human race. Yes step 1. Of about a thousands steps, but it's step 1.
Saving the human race? That's a bit grandiose, isn't it?
It is what it is.
This isn't a gardening channel. Sure, technically it is, but that's not why it exists. You may be asking yourself, why am I showing you the man behind the curtain (wizard of oz)? Why am I telling you these things? Why am I even spending all my free time, working for $1 an hour on videos about gardening?
When I got into permaculture, I devoured everything I could on the topic. I read a hundred books. I read every article I could. I became consumed by it. Not only permaculture, but WHY we needed it. I got consumed by the works of people like Mr Catton. Richard Heinberg. Jean-Baptiste Fourier, John Tyndall, Wallace Broeker, Thomas Chrowder Chamberlain, Gilbert Plass, William Ophuls. But not just Western "white" writers, also indigenous writing such as Daniel Wildcat, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. The more I learned about the environment, about humanity, about our trajectory and problems, the more I realized I needed to do something about it. So I started teaching people how to garden. We'll get to why, later. First we need to get to the point here.
This channel teaches gardening, but that's not why it exists. It exists because the real purpose of this channel is trying to save humanity. So what is this video about?
It is about the only one thing that matters.
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Resources - get engaged! Consider joining groups for change or contacting your leadership:
https://www.climatechangemakers.org/policy-advocacy
https://www.climatechangemakers.org/action-playbook-public-utilities
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/
https://www.urbangreencouncil.org/what-we-do/electrification/
https://rmi.org/our-work/building-electrification/
https://greenlining.org/publications/equitable-building-electrification-a-framework-for-powering-resilient-communities/
https://contactsenators.com/
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/
https://www.usmayors.org/mayors/meet-the-mayors/
https://www.c2es.org/document/mayors-leading-the-way-on-climate-2020/
Things to Google:
“Find my local city council meeting” + [Your city/state or zip code]
“Public Utilities Commission” + [Your state]
“Mayor climate change policies” + [Your mayor’s name or city name]