Letter to Govt via Nature.com

You can write a letter too, @ this link:
NATURE.COM

Here's mine (cuz i care):


Dear Premier Rachel Notley and the Bighorn Country consultation team,

I’m writing you to express my grave concern for the future you wish to build --ie. Honing status-quo [harmful] fossil-fuel developmemt & tar sands expansion:  We are at a crossroads where protecting old-growth forests & wildlife habitat is critical to our future existence -- noT destroying them to make room for more of what is killing us, ie. the cumulative CO2, GHGs & pollution exacerbated by fossil fuel extraction, fracking, tar sands etc..

I am asking you, for the sake of all our futures, to stop supporting deadly polluting projects -- & instead support the creation of a new provincial park to protect Bighorn Country. I believe we need a Wildland Provincial Park designation in the area that prioritizes wildlife habitat and responsible recreation.

The current proposed park boundaries, from Banff and Jasper National parks in the west to the Forestry Trunk Road in the east, are the best way to safeguard the area from development pressure and protect species-at-risk like Grizzlies, Bull Trout and Wolverines. Preserving our wild rivers, forests and mountains is a legacy for all Canadians, & ought to be your govt's top priority -- rather than honing yet more building/mines for polluting tar sands development/ expansion :  THAT is unacceptable today given the tenuous climate we are facing, along with Canada's pledged goals thereto, largely caused by the ravages of unsustainable industries - e.g.. forestry, fossil fuels, mining - on our environment, health & our very future..

Thank you for listening, & for prioritizing this important project.  Real Canadians care about our parks & wilderness, & we take our job as stewards of the land seriously.  We can no longer keep ignoring the toxic wasteland that's replaced carbon-sequestering oxygen-rich forests/ wilderness by the tar sands industry:  ie.   ie. A mega-calamity that will (& already has) put us in dire straits vis-a-vis emissions targets, future prosperity  & renewable-energy goals if allowed to grow unchecked:  that's not climate action!

What we need now is real leadership - ie. helping us transition into thriving sustainability, of which protecting wildlife & their habitat is a key part.
Please protect Alberta wilderness by creating this new provincial park - which will not replace the precious old-growth forest further north, e.g.. The Boreal - along with the legislation/ policies to ensure their protection.

Yes it's time for our leaders to focus on strengthening Canada's wilderness/wildlife protection laws, which are a woeful testament to years of stodgy old-boy politics preoccupied largely with corrupt wealth accumulation of the few &  unsustainable resource mgmt instead of building a prosperous thriving province for all.  Please don't be another backward economic-growth-addicted self-serving premier leading this province into ruin at the expense of our natural environment's health, upon which our own depends:  we cannot afford such idiocy at this critical point..

Yours sincerely,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman
Vancouver, BC, Canada

STEPS to SUCCESSFUL ACTIVISM

Being an activist, participant & supporter of many grassroots campaigns (successful & not), the blow of losing the #StopSiteCDam fight despite strong campaign & overwhelming support has weighed heavily. Time to step up my game --& that of fellow activists-- & prioritize WINNING causes/fights we believe in! Borrowing heavily from the huge volume of advice on the timely topic, i've started this Work In Progress - a 'must-do' list:

●(Feb.14) To offset Site C disappointment & celebrate a long-awaited victory re. Prosperity Mine's rejection (Article: Taseko Loses Court Battle Over New Prosperity Mine), I'm adding this one at the top of list:  PERSEVERANCE.. along with a link to my original letter to CEAA (ya it's good.. & long!) with strong arguments opposing Taseko's first bid for Prosperity Mine: Letter to CEAA: Prosperity Mine

●Face-to-face
You can write all the scathing tweets & heartfelt FB posts you want, but the truth is rhetoric rarely persuades. The way to change minds is through face-to-face engagement. This is what President Obama meant when he said he won Iowa in 2008 because he “spent 87 days going to every small town, fair, fish fry & VFW hall.” Similarly, progress on LGBT rights has not been made just because of eloquent arguments, but because of all the many personal interactions between straight people & their gay friends, neighbors & colleagues.

●Listen & Learn
Talk to those around you; actively hear their stories & learn how the issue affects their lives. By listening, you show the fight isn't just about you --  & you build relationships & trust.  History has shown lasting change is made collectively not individually, by groups/communities with a common belief at their core & a bond of trust among participants.

●Simplify
The more complicated a strategy or tactic, the harder it is to carry out, and the less likely it'll be successful. You can ask a few people to do a lot of things, particularly if they’re committed activists. If you want hundreds or thousands to participate in a campaign, you need to ask the majority of them to do just one thing @ a time, together.

●Common interest
Most people are motivated primarily by self-interest. As a creative community organizer, you must try to figure out people’s common self-interest, the glue that binds political organizations & movements. (Eg. Huge wave of support against our City Council's plan to shut down Insite is what kept Insite open in the end.)

●Create a clear goal
One of the greatest reasons for the DAP protesters’ success was the adherence to a clearly outlined goal & reasons for it:  ie. do not construct this pipeline, as it will infringe upon sacred sites & jeopardize Native Americans’ necessary water supplies

●Social media
Social media has expanded membership bases & enlarged participant pools by proving itself to be a constant means of spreading news & gaining supporters.

●Diversity
The key to any movement’s success is variety in its participants. Because DAP hosted everyone from Vietnam vets to Lissa Yellowbird-Chase (Murdoch-Crane’s guide through the encampment) to multiple sectors, it boasted the multiplicity in its membership that ensured success.

●Connect with other groups
While we usually notice successful movements after they have begun to attract large crowds & hold massive demonstrations, those are effects, not causes, of successful mobilization. It is when small groups connect --which has become exponentially easier in the digital age-- that they gain their power.