Up in the Air: The Icarus Foundation Blog

Hardest Hit by Climate Change? Woman.

A report released by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, calls on the need for women to be included in the discussion on solving climate change.  The hardest hit are women living in impoverished developing countries, despite the fact that they are least responsible for the causes of climate change, as reported in the United Nations Population Fund (UNEP) State of the World Population 2009.  These effects to women include losses to agriculture from draughts and hurricane storms hitting coastal areas.  Women of the developing world are especially vulnerable to these effects because they rely on agriculture for income and have been found to be more likely to die in natural disasters, like extreme weather, than men especially in areas of low income with status gaps between men and women.  Because of this the report calls upon the need for the international community to step up its protection and preparedness for women and girls starting with education and reducing poverty rates to improve their chances of survival and success when climate change disasters strike.

Read the full report here http://www.wedo.org/category/learn/campaigns/climatechange

Copenhagen Watch

No one can doubt that the topic of climate change is as complex as it is contentious. The notion that we could achieve an international agreement given the diversity of needs, conditions and aspirations of over 150 countries is overwhelmingly ambitious. But that's exactly what's happening in Copenhagen and we can watch the results of their efforts unfold before their eyes thanks to the development of a powerful simulation model - C-ROADS  -  being used by negotiators this coming week.

The Climate Scoreboard is an online tool that allows the public, journalists and other interested parties to track progress in the ongoing negotiations to produce an international climate treaty. The Scoreboard automatically reports, on a daily basis, whether proposals in the treaty process commit countries to enough greenhouse gas emissions reductions to achieve widely expressed goals, such as limiting future warming to 1.5 to 2.0°C (2.7 to 3.6°F) above pre-industrial temperatures.

The same team have produced a simulation (C-LEARN) that enables anyone to play "what if?". It's a fantastic teaching tool and awareness raiser and, if any educators are reading this, then I suggest you use. All of us need to become carbon literate and this tool helps show not just the size of the challenge but its inter-connected complexity. The simulator does not yet show which sectors and activities contribute to climate change but it's only a matter of time before one comes available. Click on the title and you'll be linked to the real thing! The video is worth a view too - see button on widget!

The C-Lean Simulation Tool (instructions, if you need them, are here)

 

CPAWS Demands That Canada Make our Forests Count!

CPAWs, Canadian Parks and Wildlife Soceity, is working to convince Canada and other developed countries to make forest conservation a major topic at the next international climate change agreement. 

 

Their cause has just been strengthened by the report, The Carbon the World Forgot, released by the Canadian Boreal Initiative.  This report identifies that North America’s boreal forests are one of the most significant carbon sinks in the world, storing 22% of all carbon on the earth’s surface, this is twice as much as tropical rainforests.  The significance of these forests as a carbon sink had been greatly under estimated in the past.

 

CPAWs hopes that this report will persuade Canada to take a leading role in climate change talks at Copenhagen in December.  Canada has yet to speak out on behalf of developed countries for the need to develop new rules to protect from deforestation in mitigating climate change.

 

So far Canada has measured its performance in climate change against a projected business as usual scenario.  It is difficult to demonstrate that this approach has environmental integrity.  CPAWs is still hoping that Canada will step up and adopt measures that will result in real emissions reductions.  This would include protecting the boreal forests.  To see what you can do, check out CPAW's Make Forests Count campaign.

Manitoba based Prariemango has the right ideas on how to build a sustainable tourism industry.  They take a community first, bottom up approach for tourism that works to build sustainable communities encompassing cultural and social empowerment, economic action and environmental growth.  Through insight, education and leadership this organization hopes to overcome barriers and implement a self-sustaining tourism industry in the province.  The brainchild of Richard Magleo, he explains that the idea behind Prairiemango was his goal to build a "real identity" of Manitoba.

Manitoba is rich in natural tourism resources including Churchill in the north, a projected UNESCO site to the east dubbed by some as the "lungs of the north" that are all looking to eco-tourism as a part of its overall economic stability, cultural appreciation and environmental conservation. Prairiemango seeks to provide the tourism industry with insight, educational tools and the necessary leadership skills needed to create a road map to sustainable tourism development in Manitoba.

This change is occurring at a time of environmental concern in the tourism industry.  These factors allow for growth in the tourism industry and opportunity to promote the environment through tourism. With Prariemango’s logic, eco-tourism can be an integral part of a sustainability strategy that will provide economic stability, cultural understanding and environmental conservation.  Check out their newly launched website here.

First Online Student Symposium on Tourism and Climate Change Announced

The Icarus Foundation has announced they will host a one-day online student symposium on tourism and climate change in spring, 2010.  The conference will be student led with student content.  Participants in the forum will include tourism industry representatives, university and college students and faculty members and The Icarus Foundation.  Confirmed sponsors so far include Intrepid Travel, i-to-i and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Originally planned to include the Canadian institutions only, initial response has included a great deal of interest from American students and institutions, so the Foundation recently decided to widen the scope to be North American focused.

Scheduled for March 29,2010, students will present and discuss project work that explore the issues and possible solutions surrounding climate change and tourism. Through interactive presentations, including aspects of video, audio, and text, students will foster discussion on the next steps needed for the industry to move forward meaningfully. 

Recent years have seen an increase in research on tourism and climate change amongst academics.  Additionally, dialogue on climate change amongst the tourism industry has also increased.  The goal of this symposium is to connect students to industry in North America on the topic of climate change.  This project is very timely given the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) scheduled for December of this year.

Contrary to existing research and dialogue, there is little action amongst the tourism industry to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism and few research studies or projects exist that provide actionable tools through which industry can easily learn.  As students will be the leaders of tomorrow and move into leadership positions within the hospitality and tourism industry, it is important that they have the opportunity to share information and engage in dialogue.

Students, speak with your faculty member to ensure that your university or college is participating! For more information on participating in or sponsoring this event please contact aousmand @ theicarusfoundation.com, or go to www.theicarusfoundation.com

Download Studenthandout

Times of Change- The Tourism 2023 Vision

On October 8, 2009, Forum for the Future, a non-profit sustainable development organization, introduced its project the “Tourism 2023 Vision” at the ABTA travel conference.  The purpose of this project is to help the UK outbound travel and tourism industry understand the challenges it faces in planning for a sustainable future.  This ‘what if’ report outlines what could happen to tourism in the future as a result of climate change, population growth and shortages of oil and other resources through the exploration of four possible scenarios that could impact the future state of the tourism market. Major UK based tour operators, airlines, cruise companies and travel agents participated in the exercise and signed the Tourism 2023 Vision, committing themselves, individually and as a group, to creating a sustainable industry by 2023.

 

In summary, these Tourism 2023 scenarios include “Boom & Bust” where new technologies make green traveling easier and where an aging population takes medical holidays for cheap operations elsewhere. “Divided Disquiet” where political instability will have made many world destinations unattractive to tourists, except for doomsday tourism where people will flock to see rapidly disappearing natural resources. “Price and Privilege” where the rising costs of fuel and energy will make long distance travel too expensive for most people. “Carbon Clampdown” where legislative measures such as personal carbon credits combined with increased awareness on the risks of climate change could result in a reduced demand for international travel.

 

This vision for action that resulted from the 18 month project is based on six principles: protecting the environment, developing employees, providing customers with mainstream sustainable products, ensuring that destinations benefit from tourism, innovating to create sustainable transport and resorts and developing a business which is environmentally, socially and financially sustainable. The group of signatories are expected to focus on measures for promoting low carbon destinations and travel options, reducing landfill waste, better returning economic benefits back to local communities, and improving resort water efficiency.

 

The project has been successful in drawing attention to some challenges the tourism industry will face in achieving sustainability.  It has also been successful in convincing businesses and organizations that their practices must change to ensure sustainability in the future of tourism.  Currently only targeting the UK tourism industry, these principles could be applied to the Canadian tourism industry to further the conversations on sustainable tourism and act as a catalyst for action.  

Comments on Discussion Paper

Just in case you haven't seen it, you can download the Icarus Discussion paper on Climate Change here.

Download icarus_discussion_paper.pdf

We welcome and really want your comments, creative ideas and concerns - so please send your comments by clicking on "comments" at the foot of this post.

Gore Takes a Cue from Wayne Gretzky

While I've never really been that interested in sport and the finer points of hockey always eluded me, I always remember the confession of Canada's most succesful players, Wayne Gretzky,  who said, "I pass the puck not to where they are but where they are going to be."

Gore quoted Gretzky in an impassioned speech delivered in Bali a few hours ago talking about the need not just to anticipate (which is what I think the hockey player had in mind) but also to hold space for a player who clearly wasn't yet playing the same game. He urged the participants in the climate change conference not to wait on the US to create an agreement but to "move forward keeping a large blank space in your mandate, saying our mandate is incomplete but we're moving forward in the hope that it will be filled in by the time we have a treaty in Copenhagen at the end of 2009". Gore also said that the US was not the only country that could move forward and that directing anger at the US delegation could result in the entire world losing momentum.

I read into his comment  a request for charity (such an old fashioned word nowadays) as well as anticipation and urgency - wise counsel that reflects the growing awareness of people everywhere that spaceship earth does not have lifeboats; we're all in this together;  and that, unless we see ourselves as  one global family, able to both coach the reluctant as well as calm the reckless we make matters infinitely worse.

Here is a link to the most recent summary of Gore's Bali speech.

For more inspiration - below is a video of Gore's acceptance speech in Oslo on December 10th.

When I think of all that lonely travelling through all those soulless airports and mindless, inconsistent airport security checks that he had to do with a bunch of slides before enough of us "got it" , I feel deeply indebted.......

 

Take a Stand, Exercise your Political Will

Anna Pollock

I am writing this several thousands of miles away from Canada. Sadly I am not in Bali but in Europe, from which vantage point it is less and less possible to ignore the way in which Canada's reputation for fairness, forward thinking and international diplomacy is being trashed so visibly by a Premier who can think only of his own self interest. The issue is no longer about left and right politics and shaming others; it is simply about taking the right action now. The western world has grown prosperous and mean spirited on the back of cheap oil and cheap credit. Both may be diminishing in supply and that will bring its own set of challenges and conflicts.

Right now, however, as Canadian citizens, we have a chance in Bali to do the right thing; to create a multilateral, multi-national agreement and, thereby, show that each of recognizes that nature knows no political boundaries. We're all in this together, rich and poor...., urban or rural, environmentalist or capitalist.

But our democratic rights are curtailed. Unless we petition our leaders between elections, they appear to be able to do what they wish or think they can get away with. many are cut off from voter sentiment by advisors, pundits, spin merchants. There's a small window available. Avaaz - a social network of concerned citizens invites Canadians to expres their concerns by signing a petition.

I reproduce their e-mail in full below. Click on Avaaz above or the first link in their email below to get to the petition form quickly.

Dear friends,

Right now, a major UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement on stopping catastrophic climate change. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the UN talks! On Saturday, experts gave us the global "fossil" award for being the worst country in the world on climate change.

There's still a few days left to save Canada's reputation -- and the climate -- but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali. Click below to sign the petition and we'll advertize the number of signatures we get in an ad campaign across Canada this week. Our goal is to get 25,000 people to sign in just 3 days before the ads run. Click below, then forward this email to all your friends and family right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/4.php

Enough is enough. Prime Minister Harper's short-sighted, undemocratic and big oil-driven policy on climate change is damaging the world and destroying our image as a good country. We're supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.

The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue -- we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he change course. Sign up now and forward this email to everyone you know - we've got just 3 days to hit 25,000 signatures!

With much respect and hope,

Ricken Patel,
Avaaz.org

PS - Here are links to some more info on this:

David Suzuki (the Nature of Things) calls the government's spin on climate change "humiliating" and "ludicrous"
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/283829

The former editor-in-chief of CBC news discusses the damage done by Canada's climate policy to our international reputation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_burman/2007/12/canada_flounders_on_issue_of_c.html

The Fossil of the Day Award site:
http://www.avaaz.org/fossils

What Are We Waiting For?

Where Did All the Ice Go?

This set of photographs was obtained from the Corporate Knights Forum and shows simply how fast the Arctic Ice Cap is melting. Apparently scientists are "stunned" by the loss of ice, with an area almost as big as Britain disappearing in the last week alone (Sept 5th, 2007)

So much ice has disaapeared that the northwest passage across the top of Canada is now fully navigable. If this pace of melting continues, the Artic will be free of ice by 2030.

More details can be found in an article published by the ever vigilent Guardian Newspaper here or you could go straight to the National Snow and Ice Data Center and read their Fall Summary that shows the extent to which the NorthWest Passge is opening up and ice levels are receding. 

Why is this not front page news in Canada? The entire geography and economy of this country is changing in front of our eyes with enormous political, economic and ecological consequences. The pace and magnitude of this change is unprecedented. We're looking at the destruction of an entire way of life and economy of the Inuit people,  the potential extinction of the Polar Bear and many other species that comprise the Arctic ecosystem. The competition to stake claim on the Artic's mineral and subterranean fuel resources will undoubtedly stiffen with Russia, Denmark and Canada asserting their rights. Huge changes in shipping patterns will follow as the faster polar route cuts months off the time required to ship goods from one continent to another.

Even if you're in shipping, mining and energy and stand to benefit materially from these changes, you must be wondering how and why an entire population can manage to avoid a vociferous public debate on the pros and cons of this change and whether or not there are benefits to slowing the pace while we examine the consequences?