Climate Vigil In Sharbot Lake

Nov 20, 2013

A small group of those concerned about global climate change gathered at the Railway Heritage Park in Sharbot Lake on November 16. The vigil was organized by Sharbot Lake resident Ken Fisher and it was one of over 130 Defend Our Climate/ Defend Our Communities rallies that took place across the country on the same day. The rallies involved 10,000 people.

Fisher spoke first of his frustration about the “apocalyptic repercussions” of climate change and the thousands who recently perished in Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. “In the space of 2 million years, we have managed to pollute the earth, the ocean and the air and right now we have a government that is committed to increasing the pollution with pipe lines.” He cited the fact that the survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New York are now required, in certain areas, to build their homes 10 feet higher in order to get insurance. “A long time ago we existed as children of the earth and we need to get back to that," Fisher said. “We are the progeny of this phenomenal experiment within the Milky Way...we are the people of this planet, this earth and are the result of a three billion year experiment and it is incumbent upon us to find a joyful way of continuing on.”

Tom Clarke, the founder of the Guatemalan Stove Project, also spoke and said protest against the current Canadian government is important and stressed how the repercussions of climate change have already started and are here to stay. He spoke about Guatemalans farmers who have been growing stable corn and bean crops for the last 9000 years and who in the last 12 years have not been able to do so. "Those farmers now have two choices- they can starve or leave or else try to do other creative and amazing things like building earth ships out of garbage.” He said that though climate change has not been as fast and furious here in Canada, “it is coming and coming much faster than we think.” He suggested to “not put your head in the sand but to think of ways to be able to survive in what will be a very different future, in a very different world.”

Michel Alarcon also spoke and cited what he called his more “pragmatic perspective”, more specifically his involvement with alternative energy and his work concerning developing hydrogen derived from water to improve fuel efficiency in automobiles and diesel engines. Alarcon said his approach is more capitalistic and more about making and saving money. He cited statics like the fact that 40% of carbon in the atmosphere is derived from the transportation industry. He relayed how 21 cities had to be shut down recently on account of pollution. He is currently working to continue to develop this new technology.

Danka Brewer of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation spoke of the importance of traditional food sources and preserving the natural environment to allow for that tradition to continue. “Of the noxious weeds that the Government of Ontario has on their list, most have a purpose for being here. I think we need to get back to embracing and understanding traditional knowledge of the environment because before colonization we had everything that we required to be here. We need to quit clear cutting, we need to plant more trees and we need to quit digging things up out of the ground that we have no business touching.”

Pam Giroux, who had her young grand-daughter in tow, also spoke and said her primary concern is to “educate the younger generation to take care of mother earth and also to act now because we don't want to leave the next generation a huge unsurmountable mess.”

The vigil lasted just over half an hour and included a fire lighting and singing.