Fairlawn is a green community that leads by example, is a voice to educate ourselves and others to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at church, at home, in the community and in our workplaces.

Gardening ~ Recycling ~ Locally grown food ~  Property improvements ~ Activism ~ Communications ~ Transportation 

Summary of Fairlawn Green Action activities for 2009

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Some interesting reading from KAIROS ...

Climate action after Copenhagen

The disappointing results of the December conference underline the need for continued action here at home.  Read the People’s Submission on Climate Change.  Still more disappointing, Canada has submitted its targets for carbon emissions reductions under the Copenhagen Accord.  The target is 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.  This is even less than earlier statements from the government that it was planning a 20% reduction below 2006 levels. The weakness of this commitment is seen when translated into the international standard base year of 1990:

Canada’s Kyoto Protocol commitment                                   6% below 1990 by 2012
Suggested government goal (20% below 2006)                  3% below 1990 by 2020
Copenhagen Accord commitment (17% below 2005)       2.5% below 1990 by 2020
Science-based target recommended                                      25-40% below 1990 by 2020

 See the detailed response to the government’s inaction here: http://www.climateactionnetwork.ca/e/news/2010/release/index.php?WEBYEP_DI=4

Consider making your own response to Hon. Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment with copies to your Member of Parliament.  Facebook subscribers can also join Canadians Against Canada’s Climate Plan http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=311309183625&ref=nf

Knock Out Coal by 2010: Lack of action at the federal level makes provincial, local and personal action all the more important.  Current provincial policy is to phase out coal-fired electric plants by 2017.  But do we need to keep them running that long?  Not according to the Ontario Clean Air Alliance.  See the infomation at  http://www.cleanairalliance.org/knockout_coal and consider ordering free, colorful pamphlets for distribution

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Perpetual growth cannot be accommodated on a finite planet
“We will lurch from crisis to existential crisis unless we address the underlying cause: perpetual growth cannot be accommodated on a finite planet.” So writes George Monbiot in a recent piece in The Guardian. As intuitively obvious as this reality is to any thinking person, the article points out that this realization must cause us to fundamentally redefine ourselves and how we interact with each other. Sounds a lot like Christianity...  Check out the full article at http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2009/12/14/this-is-about-us/

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Weather vs. Climate
Climate change is not weather change. The weather oscillates daily ~ all the time; climate changes very slowly over thousands of years. Within that slow change are innumerable variations, but what counts is the underlying pattern. Read the Copenhagen Diagnosis to get a clear message.
http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/Copenhagen/Copenhagen_Diagnosis_LOW.pdf (3 MB)

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CBC Radio Podcast with David Suzuki and Al Gore

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/qpodcast_20091125_23573.mp3  - Make sure to slide the timeline ahead to the "26 minute" mark for the interview with David Suzuki and Al Gore.

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Seminar: How to lobby your MP, date to be rescheduled for the near future Lynn McDonald has agreed to present a seminar at Fairlawn: "Lobby your MP" (how to approach your MP (and your MPP) with a visit to discuss the impact of climate change on social justice/poverty issues). Send an email to Fairlawn Green Action to let us know of your interest, and we'll email you when a new date is arranged. Lynn is Professor of Sociology at the University of Guelph, former MP & environment critic and a founding member of Just Earth. She spoke to us in our October 18th service "A Time to Speak of Poverty, Climate Change and the Role of the Churches."

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Oceans of Trouble
Alanna Mitchell, author of Sea Sick, and Bob McDonald, host of Quirks and Quarks, discuss the state of the global oceans on this CBC podcast
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/09-10/qq-2009-09-12.html

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God's Green Earth: Religion and Ecology
Listen on your computer to an exploration of the emerging field of religion and ecology, which has been largely inspired by Thomas Berry, the Catholic monk who has spent his life exploring the human relationship with the natural world and its implications for religion.
Go to http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/archives/2009/060709.html 

Our Energy Future

• Powerful Options
  Ontario Clean Air Alliance report, Powerful Options: A review of Ontario’s options for replacing aging nuclear plants, says Ontario’s electricity needs can be met at a much lower cost with an integrated combination of energy conservation and efficiency, wind power, natural gas-fired combined heat and power and hydro-electric imports from Quebec and Labrador. Find out more.
   

• Energy conservation and renewable energy
  Find informative web sites with information on Energy conservation and renewable energy.
   

• Kyoto Plus
  KYOTO Plus is a Canadian public engagement campaign to support an urgent solution to the global warming crisis. Participating organizations are Sierra Club Canada, Greenpeace Canada, Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and Oxfam Canada.
  Find out more at http://www.kyotoplus.ca/en/index.html
   

• Carbon tax explained

Slow down your driving speed to help conserve fuel
100 km/h burns 20% less fuel than 120km/h
 

Recycle your old electronic equipment

There's a new program in Toronto for recycling old electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, cell phones, etc. It starts April 2009. Find your local depot easily at "Do what you can" . ca
http://www.dowhatyoucan.ca/electronics/

Film ~ View Al Gore’s short film, “New Thinking on the Climate Crisis”

Top ten myths about sustainability
Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Or, in the words of countless kindergarten teachers, “Don’t take more than your share.” Find out about sustainability by reading the top ten myths about sustainability

Climate Wars
“Global warming is moving much more quickly than scientists thought it would.” So starts Climate Wars, a three part series on CBC radio. The first episode was excellent. And you can get them as podcasts from their website.
http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/climate-wars/index.html

Arithmetic, Population and Energy
Arithmetic, Population and Energy ~ 'The most importantvideo you will ever see' ~ A lecture by Prof. Albert A. Bartlett

Achieve 100% clean electricity within ten years
In an editorial published Sunday in the New York Times, Al Gore outlined the Repower America Plan -- how to achieve 100% clean electricity within ten years. Click here to read the editorial. Gore describes what's required to transform the U.S. energy economy.
More on the movement to Repower America through:

• Energy efficiency
• Renewable power generation
• Unified national smart grid
• 100% clean electricity
• Clean plug-in cars

Stay in touch
The Fairlawn Green Action group sends out weekly green tips via email. If you have not been receiving these tips, and would like to be added to the distribution list, send an email to: fairlawngreenteam@gmail.com

Our Mandate
The mandate of Fairlawn Green Action is to raise awareness, educate and promote action to help us become better stewards of the Earth, as part of Faith in Action. We should understand and live every day in a way that respects the interdependence we have on the Earth and its web of life.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues threatening our planet, its inhabitants, society and the economy. This is a very important social justice issue. Fairlawn Green Action's focus is to educate and act to combat global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Fairlawn Avenue United Church
28 Fairlawn Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M5M 1S7 
(5 short blocks up from the Yonge/Lawrence subway)  map
Phone: 416 481 6848