Love Your Planet!

What a gorgeous week it has been so far here in Vancouver. Warm days with clear skies and brilliant sunshine. The walk into work feels like a dream some days even more so since changing my path to include walking by the water for half of the morning journey.

It could be the weather and the global warning advisory for those laying in the sun or the non-stop research and development for Keli’s film Plant This Seed, but there is definitely a growing urgency within us to affect change. Whether you have seen or read any of the films and books mentioned over the years in these observations or maybe you are just now starting to realize, that the everyday decisions you make affect the world we live.

It’s about time that apathy and fear be replaced by action and love. The bottom line is that we cannot continue living the way we live. Change is not imminent it is upon us now. Let us take some steps now before one day we have a way of life forced upon us that contradicts our evolutionary spirit. The truth is the world is changing in so many different ways and very rapidly. Of special consequence is the change in the planet’s climate. I understand that many of you don’t want to hear about this argument anymore. Some of you know about it and yet feel helpless to do anything.

Five years ago when we found ourselves deeply entrenched in reading and researching the state of the world politically, socially, economically and environmentally, it was impossible to simply take in all this information and carry on the same every day. The change process had begun within our minds and then our hearts, soon thereafter our very words and actions would change who we were. We were definitely moving towards a crossroads on planet earth and we believed it.

We sold our car and started taking city transit. When the transit system went on strike we switched to walking everywhere, which is still our favourite way to get in and around Vancouver. We investigated into organic vegetables and fruits, searching out local produce and other products made in Canada. We picked up a Greenpeace booklet listing all the foods that use genetically modified organisms and soon after cleared out much of the contents in our kitchen shelves. Every little bit counts and there is more to do. Recycling. Saving electricity and cutting back water usage. Composting. Hybrid cars. Alternative sources of energy. Hemp.

As the new film coming out May 24th states, to many of us this is An Inconvenient Truth, but it is one that we should not ignore. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, An Inconvenient Truth is a film that “eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. The film is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry.”

The new issue of Vanity Fair is the first ever Green Issue with 50 ways to help save the planet. First ever green issue???? I know, it’s alarming isn’t it. The front cover of the issue spotlights the eco-warriors from Hollywood and the White House with Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Al Gore himself. I hope journalists, editors and writers who haven’t found this topic sexy enough or worthy of their ink, will finally reach out and lend their hands to help inform and educate the citizens of earth.

Don’t be fooled. You will be hearing and reading more and more stories about keeping our planet green. You may even feel that many celebrities and politicians are simply jumping on the green bandwagon for more exposure and fame but the fact is many of us around the world have been spreading the message for years. Scientists have come and gone while still working to find solutions for our troubled oasis. Politicians and environmentalists have been gagged, vilified and ignored. Now we are heading into a time where we will no longer whisper in the halls but rather shout from the tops of mountains to be heard.

So I simply ask you to bring this topic into your homes, with your families and friends, to ignite discussion and action to our climate crisis. Share the smiles from doing what you CAN do to help save the world. It’s about sharing information and knowledge and applying our newfound wisdom to our lives.

This has been another Observation from the Island.

peace,

1,731,147,815 seconds and counting

What an immaculate day! The first month of Spring is upon us and we couldn't ask for anything more. The sun is brilliant lighting up the blue sky and there is a small wind gliding over the water this morning. South of the border spring actually started earlier. Astronomers now say that spring season starts a day earlier, March 20, in all time zones in North America.

In the southern hemisphere, the vernal equinox corresponds to the center of the Sun crossing the celestial equator moving southward and occurs on the date of the northern autumnal equinox. During the 20th century, March 21 was actually the exception rather than the rule. The vernal equinox landed on March 21 only 36 out of 100 years. And from 1981 to 2102, Americans will celebrate the first day of spring no later than March 20.

In the years 2008 and 2012, those living in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific, Mountain and Central time zones will see spring begin even earlier, on March 19. And in 2016, it will start on March 19 for the entire United States.

This information spins in my brain as I think about the concept of time as we know it or have been taught. All this information is based on the gregorian calendar, which was constructed to give a close approximation to the tropical year, which is the actual length of time it takes for Earth to complete one orbit around the sun. Meanwhile it is the Mayan calendar that fascinates me which apparently was written up until December 21st, 2012, the last year of their calendar. Scholars have known for decades that the 13-baktun cycle of the Mayan "Long Count" system of timekeeping was set to end precisely on a winter solstice, and that this system was put in place some 2300 years ago.

The Mayans were incredible skywatchers. The Mayan civilization of Central America was and is the most advanced in relation to time-science knowledge. They actually have 22 calendars in total, covering the many timing cycles in the Universe and Solar System. In 2012 the plane of our Solar System will line up exactly with the plane of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. This cycle has taken 26,000 years to complete and to many it will be an incredible day of discovery.

Each year it seems we are all feeling like we are running out of time. Our days are filled to the brim with work, family, community, children, sports, shopping, exercising - there is never enough time for all the things we imagine ourselves to be doing. It is the belief of many that we are living in very fast times. Have you ever read Alvin Toffler's book - FUTURESHOCK? Time is actually speeding up (or collapsing). For thousands of years the Schumann Resonance or pulse (heartbeat) of Earth has been 7.83 cycles per second, the military have used this as a very reliable reference. However, since 1980 this resonance has been slowly rising. It is now over 12 cycles per second! This mean there is the equalivant of less than 16 hours per day instead of the old 24 hours.

So I checked out a website called www.deathclock.com. According to this website which is reminding me of how short life is, I have 1,731,147,815 seconds and counting until my last day on earth, March 1-2061. Enjoy life! Don't waste a precious moment and go out and embrace it all.

This has been another Observation from the Island.

peace.

Global warming brings love swarming

Although it was raining on the way into Granville Island today the sun has already appeared, making its way through the dark gray clouds circulating the city. The uncertainty of today’s climate paints the sky in dark colours highlighting it with streaks of sunshine, some kind of silver lining. But the topic on my mind today seems to challenge every coffee shop discussion or watering hole debate about any positive outlook on the loom and gloom of our planet’s health.

This is nothing new. I first started writing passionately about all of this after reading more about peak oil in Matt Savinar’s book The Oil Age is Over. Subsequent films like The End of Suburbia, Why We Fight, Fast Food Nation and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room further supported these thoughts. I remember how writing those observations a couple years back brought out much discussion, questioning and full out frustration and anger. I was the new doomsayer.

Many people don’t want a change in the status quo – on this side of the Atlantic. Many of us already feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities of work and family in this global economy. This week it was the eloquence of Terry Glavin’s cover story on global warming in the Georgia Straight, featuring Tim Flannery author of the Weather Makers, as well as a documentary we watched last night called Darwin’s Nightmare, which has brought this topic once again to my high-tapping-typing fingers today.

Glavin’s article gave readers a snapshot of our planet’s declining health. From the warmest Canadian winter ever seen to record amounts of water pouring into the arctic seas from melting glaciers, the signs continue to mount. Then there is the story that even most Canadians don’t even know about as British Columbia’s mountain pine beetles and their ferocious appetite, have eaten up a landscape comparable to the size of the United Kingdom. Indeed everything is changing. Where there was cold water now there is warm. Where there were thousands of fish now they are few and far between. Why are these stories still barely heard now, just as they were when people began writing and researching into them over ten years ago?

“Canada’s oil industry has now surpassed Saudi Arabia to become the primary supplier of fossil fuels to the United States. The administration of President George W. Bush, himself an oil man, adopted a strict policy of censorship to see to it that no federal official, not even James Hanson, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, would candidly and honestly explain all those grim global-warming scenarios.”

As I continued reading Glavin’s article I was inspired as his interview with Tim Flannery gave me a hope that was reminiscent of Keli’s aspirations with her film Plant This Seed. With the advent of the information age we have become the overwhelmed age with so many possible personal choices, that we are sinking with indecision. One of Keli’s underlying theories of her film was that “personal conscious action was the key to a sustainable future.” Flannery echoes this same sentiment stating that “personal lifestyle choices and voluntary, individual actions, like getting out from behind the wheels of SUVs and driving hybrid-fuel vehicles instead, can make an enormous contribution.”

Flannery goes on to say that a 70-percent reduction in current emission levels is what is needed to help start the change. To many who feel hopeless this sounds unattainable but the reality is we can make new choices to move into this direction. “Just switching to a hybrid-fuel vehicle and that’s 70 percent right there”, says Flannery.

Last night as I watched the documentary film Darwin’s Nightmare I couldn’t help think about Lavin’s article and Savinar’s book again, was Tanzania a preview of things to come? Said to be the birthplace of mankind, "The Great Lakes Region" is the green, fertile and mineral rich center of Africa. The region is also known for its unique wild life, snowy volcanoes and famous National Parks. At the same time, this part of the world lays beneath the shadows of a looming dark future.

Filmmaker Hubert Sauper tells us of massive epidemics, food shortages and civil wars that have ravaged this area in almost dead silence to the rest of the world. “In the Eastern Congo alone, the casualties of war on each single day equal the number of deaths on September 11th in New York. The hidden causes of such troubles are, in most cases, imperialistic interests in natural resources.”

Just like the story of global warming that can be told through the eyes of so many different affected interests around the world, Sauper states that his film could also have been told through “Sierra Leone, only the fish would be diamonds, in Honduras, bananas, and in Libya, Nigeria or Angola, crude oil. The arrogance of rich countries towards the third world (that's three quarters of humanity) is creating immeasurable future dangers for all peoples.”

Today I simply ask you not to become complacent but instead become vigilant to learn. Do not feel hopeless but spread the word of hope. The learning process is essential not only for personal growth but for the continued growth of our planet. Ask questions and think outside the box. I do not believe that the majority of the world’s citizens are out to destroy the world but I do believe the majority is unaware of their personal contribution to this destruction. This includes you and I. We can change the world.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=17132
http://www.darwinsnightmare.com/

This has been another Observation from the Island.

When the lights go out in the city

When the lights go out in the city you may feel a bit disorientated. Your morning ritual of repeatedly hitting the snooze button is replaced with a periodic glance at the cell phone before you catch a couple more winks. You get dressed in the dark and make breakfast to candlelight wondering if the power will come back on while you're at work, or if you’ll return to a refrigerator full of spoiled food. You arrive at work, turn on all the lights and get some coffee going only to realize you are out of coffee and forgot your wallet at home. So you walk back home which is only ten minutes away to grab your wallet. Of course you don’t bring your umbrella with you and on the way back it starts to rain hard. Welcome to my morning.

For the second time in less than two months the power has gone out on our street. I can only attribute it to the construction occurring in our neighbourhood. Two brand new condominium projects are going up around the corner in a city that has seen non-stop development in the last five years with no end in sight. For those of you not living in Vancouver and have never been here, our great city is going through a massive boom. Move over Alberta here comes BC! There are brand new projects ranging from new bridges and housing projects to an Olympic village and a new sky train route from the airport to downtown. With the Olympics only four years away, more than 20 billion dollars is being invested in new construction in Vancouver, which may bring more of you from across the country moving to our amazing city, as there seems to be more work than workers for all of these plans.

Last night, filmmaker Keli Westgate held a meeting for the Plant This Seed documentary that she is developing. Dig Deep Films in association with the Ace Film Company and the Phreeagent Creative Group will be producing the feature length documentary about the Canadian Hemp industry – a first of its kind in Canada. Keli heads to Toronto at the end of the month to attend the Hot Docs International Film Festival to plant seeds in the minds of broadcasters and investors. This summer she will hit the road with her crew to continue filming with a cross-country tour stopping to meet with the pioneers of an industry that had disappeared for 60 years.

We are now in the middle of our funding drive that will take us into July, as we get ready to hit the road. Sponsorship packages will be delivered to all interested parties who wish to take part in this great Canadian film project. We are putting out a call to all of our friends, family, neighbours, business owners and philanthropists to raise enough funds to finance the next leg of our production. We encourage you to contact us to find out more information on how you can get involved. We are also planning some fund raising events to take place in the upcoming months, more details to follow soon.

This has been a dream of Keli’s for quite a few years, since she first discovered all of the amazing properties of the hemp plant. Since she introduced me to the heaps of information and research about hemp it was a no-brainer to be involved with this film. Other phreeagent members have also come aboard; Jas Atwal has been creating logo concepts for the film, Dorian Leslie will be working on the website and animations in the film, Michael Campitelli aka Calamalka, will be providing the score to the film. Keli will also hook up with photographer Steve Carty when she is in Toronto for some new publicity photos.

It has been a wild journey and we are very excited with the progress and amazing support we have found from everyone. We hope everyone can just dig a little deeper, jump on board and contribute their support to this great project. Please contact us at keli@plantthisseed.com for more information and let us know about any other great ideas you may have to support the film. Thank you.

Happy Easter weekend Lydia, Steve and Derek!!

This has been another Observation from the Island.

p.s. Feel free to leave a comment here at the blog. Let me know if you are enjoying the Observations!

Peace.

Blogs, Canucks, Eagles and Le français

The gracious folks at http://www.beyondrobson.com/ have added Observations from the Island to their list of Vancouver blogs! Beyond Robson is the Vancouver FreshDaily website headed up by Ariadna Peretz, it’s about the obscure and obvious of Vancouver. You'll find information on everything that affects the citizens of this city, be it the next demonstration, the last fashion event or the least comfortable park bench. They also have sites for Montreal and Toronto. Check it out.

While we are on the subject of the west coast – how about those Vancouver canucks? I find Vancouver to be a very interesting sports town in that it is difficult to keep people interested in professional sports. Remember the Grizzlies? Maybe this is a good thing, as Vancouver seems to lead the country and many parts of the world in staying fit and healthy. At the beginning of the hockey season many critics predicted Vancouver prime for a Stanley Cup and now we are hanging by a thin piece of hockey tape just to make the playoffs. A couple of weeks ago at the height of their miserable performance I watched in disbelief as the local news spent the first twenty-five minutes dogging the entire team and organization. It was like the news anchors took it on themselves to inform the team that the city had had enough. Is there nothing else to report about? I guess we’ll know soon enough if local businesses will lose out again since there was no hockey last year and possibly the season finale just around the corner. Regardless, I stand firm – GO HABS GO!

Moving farther west onto Denman Island is an amazing website I came across this week. There is an eagle’s nest located on Hornby Island in the Gulf Island area of British Columbia. The pair of eagles has been nesting there for about 19 years usually producing two young per year. In September of 2004 Doug Carrick organized that a video camera be placed in the nest. Doug is a considerably dedicated conservationist, a retired schoolteacher and still an educator and eagle lover with the pair of bald eagles nesting just behind his house. Check this site out it is now getting about a million hits a day. http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp

It was with mixed emotions that I read the heading this week that “bowing to protests, Chirac will replace controversial youth labour law” in France. The contentious "first job contract" law would have made it possible for employers to fire workers under the age of 26 within two years without cause. Crazy. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin stood by the nutty law despite weeks of protests and anger. In a televised address on Monday, Villepin shared his regret over the strikes and street protests. "The necessary conditions of confidence and calm are not there, either among young people, or companies, to allow the application of the First Job Contract," Villepin said.

In March of 2003 we headed to Thailand for a trip after attending many of the peace rallies that were taking place all over the world in record numbers to oppose any war in Iraq. I remember that we left Canada feeling very positive that so many people around the world were on the same page and understood that this type of war mentality was not in line with millions of citizens. Unfortunately as our trip came near it’s end so had our hope as the U.S. led coalition forces began their air strike. So I congratulate the millions in France who spoke up and held their ground giving renewed hope that we all can make a difference in changing the world.

Peace,

This has been another Observation from the Island.

p.s. Thanks for the visit cousin Mikey! Have a safe trip back to Ontario.

Carnival of characters

Dreams. Last night was definitely a first as far as my personal dreams go. For the last month I’ve been on contract, writing for a marketing & communications company on Granville Island. So last night I was playing catch up in the Phreeagent world writing a new YET update for the website, that I finally posted with new images as well. For those of you who don’t know, I manage a website and artist agency called Phreeagent Creative Group, which promotes creative talent, events and projects in multi-media, arts and communications. Finally the day was over and I was officially exhausted.

I headed to bed around midnight for a deep sleep and found myself traveling through time and landing in a small beach home in Grand Bend, Ontario. I had the impression that I was on my way to another destination and this was merely a pit stop, as if I was on Christmas holidays heading from one merry home to another. From old real-estate agent friends to former co-workers from the ivory tower days. Make up artists from Vancouver and family from Quebec who I hadn’t seen for years. They all managed to keep popping into this small condo near the water on a gorgeous sunny day. As the night appeared we all silently fell asleep there but I was only able to sleep for a few hours and was out on the balcony by three in the morning. As I came back inside I realized a few others were awake and packing, getting ready to leave as if three a.m. was their departure time. So I made it mine as well and left, only to wake from my dream mere moments later.

It felt like the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, with all these various characters popping out of nowhere and you had to look closely and you would find another person and another. Past, present and possibly a nod to the future, it was all about people. Bizarre. Yet I had no idea why we were all there. There seemed to be no celebration or real reason for any of it. So it makes me think of the following.

If you’ve never been to Quebec City you must check it out, as it is a one of a kind in our country. Give someone you haven’t spoke to in a long time a call or write them a letter, you never know how you might brighten up their day. Don’t burn your bridges you may have to go back the way you came in order to go in a new direction of your choosing. Sing, hum, play music and listen to music. In my opinion, it seems to have the most powerful effect of all the arts. Check out the music at http://www.beatsinspace.com/ if your looking for something fresh. Lastly, enjoy your dream state; it is the window to endless creative imagination.

This has been another Observation from the Island.
Have a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday Stew

Another gorgeous day from the island, days like this make the rainy season a mere memory. Outside the water is busy with potential buyers cruising through the sea of yachts waiting for their new owner’s to bust out the champagne over the bow, appeasing King Neptune. Filling their lungs with the smell of that new fiberglass hull. The streets are filled with hump day shoppers filling up on groceries, Canadian art, maple syrup and beaver sweaters while the seawall slowly populates with those who escaped the office today.

Up here on the second floor all is quite but the constant rat-a-tat-tat of the keyboard strokes. Left alone to hold up shop and to bring new life, words and ideas into new projects, as I near the end of my first month here. Meanwhile, my amazing other half is live on set as they film a series of new Ikea commercials. Ah on set, that is where she bustles with light and enthusiasm, in production where we long to be.

Now with coffee in hand with today’s newspaper, time for a small break that inspires a new thread of words….

All that I want is peace in my heart and I feel it there amongst the rubble of disenfranchised souls burning away around the globe. Oh the economy booms and echoes silently across the ocean to the rows of empty plates awaiting their daily porridge. The daily news reports the scripted truth to the masses that await the latest tragedy. Today they raise their pitchforks in the air and ask for his head, his arms, and his legs – his everything. It’s your turn to pay they say although you were nowhere to be found that day, locked away.

Throw the throne from the speech and all that is left are words that preach. Take a page out of the southern textbook and fill the seats with rhetoric. A five-point plan, that’s all we got, so say it again, and again and again. A single C-note for your kids and a few million for more cops, fill the jails with those who smoke pot, accountability and a GST cut. Keep it simple stupid so not to attract too much attention, besides, who knows how long you have. Minority priority.

Once again the cars run smoothly around the track never looking back. The grass is no longer green and the skies no longer lit as everything turns to dusk. Sirens blaring and there is only sound left to gage your direction. This is insurance at its best while the sun rises and sets. Then there was the sound of violins with harps and horns to boot. Soon the sparrows will swoop down on to their prey wondering what it was that turned their flight plan this way.

Loving the Island

So I love my new gig. At the moment the main thing I’m responsible for is writing and editing articles for a new website we are working on, as well as pitching in ideas on all our creative meetings. Fantastic. So I’ve actually stumbled into a situation where I feel a strong connection between my key responsibilities and the very things I want to become better at, writing and communications. Finally. It’s perfect really and with the joy of heading to the vibrant energy on Granville Island – what else could I ask for? Well, it seems there is more.

As you may know, I’ve been touting this year as the time I bark at the moon and get things done. Year of the dog. A time for balance between my undying passion to spread the word and works of great Canadian artists, as well as finally preparing more of my own creative endeavours to share with the rest of the world. So as I sit here writing and listening to my new boss exquisitely play the guitar, my mind wanders to the editing feat that awaits me at home.

Over eight years ago I began writing my little heart out. I had been writing before that but nothing could compare to what I felt was my most prolific period and most inspiring. In a few short months I had written eleven books of poetry and possibly some lyrics (still to be seen). I found the more I traveled the more I wrote, turning bits and pieces of exotic sights, traditional scents and unique conversations, into newly written rants and observations. I was addicted. Everywhere I went I had my writing book and pens. Little yellow sticky pages would fill my pockets at the end of the days that I forgot my writing book, and all these words and sentences would eventually turn into the latest written piece.

Beats. Images. Words. Design. It seems I can’t go very long thinking about one without one of the others. On St.Patrick’s day I sold my first digital painting of 2006. I’ve always admired great paintings and photographs but never truly imagined myself creating a painting, never mind selling one. Since I started printing some of my designs on to canvas and large size prints two years ago I’ve managed to sell a dozen of them and I’m still shocked.

So like I said, year of the dog, and it is time to push forward even further with some of this creativity that stews within me. I’m in the process of choosing the next paintings to be framed and ready to join the walls of everyday art collectors, as well as beginning the next stage of editing the crate full of books sitting in my closet. As the world continues to shake, rattle and roll into unknown territory, I look forward to the new Observations that will now be communicated through this blog. I hope you continue to enjoy reading them and passing them on to your friends. Thank you all for your comments and great feedback as always.
peace,chico