Rebalancing Act

Hear Leslie Anne chat with the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper about hidden gems on Lake Ontario, water literacy and the importance of environmental protection.  Links:  https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca http://www.waterkeeper.ca https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/children-of-the-poisoned-river-mercury-poisoning-grassy-narrows-first-nation/ 

In honour of National Indigenous People’s Day next week we are replaying our first episode which focused on Indigenous law and climate change.

We want to acknowledge the tragedy that is the discovery of a grave of 215 children on the grounds of a residential school this past week. Leslie Anne thought hard about including an additional recording in the episode when editing but couldn't bring herself to talk more about it. We know this isn't history. We know this isn't shocking. But it is still heartbreaking. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-emlúps-te-secwépemc-215-children-former-kamloops-indian-residential-school-1.6043778 Water is life - https://standwithstandingrock.net/mni-wiconi/  https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-change-impacting-water-cycle  https://www.zmescience.com/science/the-story-of-the-three-tons-of-water-in-your-jeans/ Sound effects curtesy of Zapsplat.

This week Leslie Anne spoke with Mayor Boucher of Antigonish and Sean Fleming about AREA and renewable power! https://www.areans.ca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine_Reference https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/climate-and-environment/in-u-s-people-of-colour-more-exposed-than-whites-to-air-pollution-1.5407491 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/solar-garden-antigonish-mahone-bay-berwick-1.5393118

We talked forest fires this week with Maria Sharpe of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and Mike Flannigan of University of Alberta and Wildland Fire Service.  Some things they mention: CBC World on Fire Podcast - https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-422-world-on-fire Fire Smart Program - https://firesmartcanada.ca  Fire Triangle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_triangle  We also spotlighted another podcast by a friend of the pod, David Evans. You can find more information about Water, we doing? here: https://www.aquaticbiosphere.ca/podcast 

This week Leslie Anne gets a little personal talking about forest fires. She talks about the role they've played in her life and the role they play in their ecosystems. Links:  https://www.ontario.ca/page/karner-blue https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/ https://www.tvo.org/article/ontario-needs-to-reignite-its-love-of-starting-fires-in-the-right-places

We interview Brittany Maguire about regenerative farming, food security and how they interact with climate solutions. Brittany is currently working on food security issues at Meal Exchange.  Meal Exchange is a nationally registered charity that works in collaboration with post-secondary students and campuses to increase access to good food and build more resilient food systems across campuses in Canada. They are currently raising funds to build awareness and facilitate collaboration to empower students and catalyze change. Donate here: www.mealexchange.com/donate  And as usual links to learn more! For the poem check it out here: https://poets.org/poem/complaint-el-rio-grande   https://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/climate/regenerative-grazing-cattle-climate.html   https://farmersforclimatesolutions.ca/about-us https://www.nfu.ca/join/ https://www.nfu.ca/publications/tackling-the-farm-crisis-and-the-climate-crisis/?fbclid=IwAR2mxyeaM3DVvFWOxosrft6wth9I9C-4Sij22hr0pxa3rg0C9oQiKGuwIiM 

Join us for our first episode of our second season! We talk all about the importance of soil and the living things all around us, the challenges that they in a changing climate, and what we can do about it. If you want more Rebalancing Act in your lives, you can find us at @rebalancingact on Instagram, @rebalancingact_ on Twitter, and at rebalancingact.ca

This week we talked energy co-ops and energy democracy! The co-ops: Co-Energy: http://coenergy.coop Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative: https://www.orec.ca Some academic articles Leslie Anne read: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2019.1564212 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617303031 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00043/full Park Slope grocery coop in Brooklyn, New York: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/25/the-grocery-store-where-produce-meets-politics/amp Lion Sounds from Zapsplat.com

This week we talked carbon footprints and how valuable they really are in our minds... https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham/ https://grist.org/energy/footprint-fantasy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/10/how-fossil-fuel-industry-got-media-think-climate-change-was-debatable/ “Google says it has wiped out its entire carbon footprint by investing in "high-quality carbon offsets". It became carbon-neutral in 2007 and says it has now compensated for all of the carbon it has ever created.” http://news.mit.edu//2008/techtalk52-23.pdf https://www.rinkwatch.org/ Sounds from Zapsplat.com

Solarpunk primer: http://www.re-des.org/a-solarpunk-manifesto/ Our guest, Andrew Luba's website. Link here to learn more about his documentary and to buy his new board game, FUTURES: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goodpartygames/futures  Solarpunk inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/solarpunkfarms/?hl=en  Learn more about 2040 The Documentary here: whatsyour2040.com Why is the Spanish Flu called as such? Learn here: https://www.history.com/news/why-was-it-called-the-spanish-flu

This week we talked turtles! The connection between conservation and climate change might not be obvious but conservation is crucial to support Natural Climate Solutions, climate mitigation and adaptation measures and to protect our biodiversity! Let alone the inherent value of turtles. Ways to Support Mi’kmaq fisheries - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u_LF_bCFBbSijzqJgHNh4-MfpYz0hfdv/view The Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, where Jackie works. Check out their Instagram, I promise it’s worth it. - https://www.algonquinwrs.ca, https://www.instagram.com/algonquinwrs/ Jackie’s bio - https://laurentian.ca/faculty/jlitzgus The study that assessed the effectiveness of Indigenous lead conservation as compared to government managed conservation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901119301042 More Ontario turtle resources! https://ontarioturtle.ca/turtles/ https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/how-to-identify-ontarios-8-species-of-turtles/

Show Notes: 1. The New Yorker, “The Last Time That Democracy Almost Died” Jan 27 2020 Link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/03/the-last-time-democracy-almost-died 2. Lethbridge College, Alberta, Wind Turbine Technician program Link: https://lethbridgecollege.ca/programs/wind-turbine-technician 3. Bowling alone: an influential text documenting the decline of civil society in North America Link: http://bowlingalone.com/ 4. TED Talk “The lies our culture tells us about what matters - and a better way to live” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB4MS1hsWXU&ab_channel=TED 5. United Nations resources on civil society Link: https://www.un.org/en/sections/resources-different-audiences/civil-society/index.html 6. Website with details of France’s citizen’s assembly on climate policy Link: https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/

We talk good policy making, behavioural science and a comparison between COVID and climate change response policies! Show Notes: Sebastian’s bio - https://www.bi.team/people/sebastian-salomon-ballada/ The world is coming together to fight coronavirus. It can do the same for the climate crisis - https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-and-climate-crisis-response-intl-hnk/index.html Eight Lessons from COVID-19 to Guide Our Climate Response - https://eos.org/articles/eight-lessons-from-covid-19-to-guide-our-climate-response The tale of two Crises: COVID-19 and the Climate - https://www.evergreen.ca/blog/entry/the-tale-of-two-crises-covid-19-and-the-climate/ Climate scientist and epidemiologist Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.noc/video/6863995933638577414

Motivational interviewing (MI), a style of personal interaction you can learn in a few weeks, is a key solution for spurring  action on climate change. MI was developed by psychologists originally in work with patients suffering from addiction, but now is used in many settings to encourage self-reflection and help change minds. In this episode we talk with Vince, an expert in MI who will give us examples and talk about the process. Kiran and Leslie Anne will reflect on the value of MI and how they see it being used and we will hear about windmills and birds in climate allies this week! Show Notes: https://www.enviromentum.org/ Vincent Schutt’s organization Motivational Interviewing organization, Environmentum Vince’s book recommendation: Motivational Interviewing with Adolescents and Young Adults, by Sylvie Naar-King and Mariann Suarez https://motivationalinterviewing.org/ Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers - gives an explanation of MI and how to start learning https://coady.stfx.ca The Coady International Institute - where Leslie Anne learned about Motivational Interviewing. They offer leadership courses and programs https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6592 Painting windmills black could reduce bird mortality rates by up to 70%! An exciting climate win-win-win to advocate for https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/motivational_interviewing.pdf A Motivational Interviewing resource - page 3 highlights the types of questions and relational style at the heart of MI. This includes asking open-ended questions, affirming, reflecting, and summarizing.

Show Notes: This week we talked eels, manatees, wildfires and Indigenous epistemologies. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe wherever you are listening to this podcast. For more information on things mentioned in the episode, or Indigenous sovereignty and its intersections with climate change more broadly, check out the links below. If you have questions you can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or at rebalancingact.ca!  Learn more about American Eels here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/american-eel Check out Indigenous fire management practices: https://grist.org/justice/with-wildfires-on-the-rise-indigenous-fire-management-is-poised-to-make-a-comeback/ Natural Climate Solutions and the study which finds they can contribute over ⅓ of the carbon reduction needed: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645 The study that assessed the effectiveness of Indigenous lead conservation as compared to government managed conservation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901119301042 Grasslands and restoration: https://thenarwhal.ca/carbon-cache-grasslands/?fbclid=IwAR0LErwj0htB1o12dwHBFkOJIwZbbyhNihhIdGKlxvYSBduBboZ4I2C0_as Peatlands and carbon sequestration: https://thenarwhal.ca/ring-of-fire-ontario-peatlands-carbon-climate/ Australian fire setting birds: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7843527/The-native-Australian-bird-making-bushfire-crisis-worse-spreading-flames.html The 2014 Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsilhqot%27in_Nation_v_British_Columbia Exciting coral reef news: https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/science/restoring-coral-reef-florida-keys/67-e4e1c076-13a7-4733-8ae3-7a41ccfd98eb Reefs and health science reserach: https://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/medicine/ Mote Marine (the home of Hugh and Buffet): https://mote.org Indigenous knowledge and a new role for it in statistical modelling: https://medium.com/ubcscience/stats-660805dd930a Indigenous Guardian programs as an example of Indigenous land management: https://landneedsguardians.ca/latest/guardians-partner-on-climate-and-wildlife-research Funny video on land “acknowledgements”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlG17C19nYo&t=1s

Hearing lots of talk about oil dependency? Not sure what it means to have a resource based economy? Why does Banana Republic have such a problematic name? Does the resource curse impact climate action too?⁠ In this episode we dive into what is a rentier state and why does having a resource heavy economy matter.  The Forgotten History of Banana Republic: https://catapult.co/stories/the-forgotten-history-of-banana-republic 

Housing affordability (or lack thereof) seems to be on the lips of all Canadians these days - or at least everyone Kiran and Leslie Anne know. Join Kiran for a conversation with Craig Ruttan, Policy Director of Energy, Housing and Economic Enablers at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, for a conversation about how we can increase housing affordability and sustainability in Ontario. Sounds like a win-win!

Leslie Anne takes a deep dive in this episode into climate models. How accurate are they? How do we test them? How should we be using them?

In the final episode of Rebalancing Act's mini-season about climate finance, Kiran is joined by climate strategist Pete Richardson. Pete works at Manifest Climate, a fast-growing startup providing climate change solutions & consulting to help companies manage their climate risk and build resilience. Pete and Kiran discuss Pete's own career journey, how Manifest Climate is helping companies navigate the fast-changing world of climate risk, and advice for anyone wanting to build a career solving climate change (and more!). If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to listen to the other episodes of our miniseries.