The Delegation

So apparently I suck at doing homework. But I simply cannot keep procrastinationg. I simply cannot do it anymore. FUCK YOU PROCRASTINATION I AM MY OWN MAN!

I basically allowed myself these privileges because I did very well at the council today. It turns out I in no way shape or form needed to memorize it. I read it basically the whole time. The council chamber is a lot more formal than I thought it was going to be. I guess I imagined it like a debate lay out. It was a lot more formal. I sat down at a little desk that faced the council which sat in a U formation.

I had a little screen that I could see my power point and I could read my speech straight from the desk where I also had my gas nozzles and legal reports. My Grandma J, dad who was turning 50 that day, my 14 year old sister my little 9 year old brother (who said repeatedly that he was very proud of me) Astrid (My brother’s friend) and her dad Thames. My speech went well. I used my time to the 10 second count down. Also! Mr. S Was there! A teacher that has a sort of love hate relationship with me. He’s annoying but he cares for me deeply. I know that. I performed my speech. Which is as follows: Honourable council members, I want you to mandate that all gas-pumps in our municipality must have warning labels on them, cautioning us against the harms that burning fossil fuels cause. My name is Emily and I am another teenager who is scared for my future. There is a rule in speaking and storytelling that you don’t tell the audience something they already know but for the sake of emphasis i’m going to re state some very well known facts. 1) Our planet is warming up and we’re causing it. 2) This will cause sea levels to rise , ocean acidification, desertification, generally very bad things which will cause billions of people and ecosystems unnecessary suffering and 3) The worst outcomes are completely avoidable Just over 97% of climate published climate researchers say that humans are causing climate change. In other words, the debate is over. And if you want to debate climate change yyou should probably have some evidence that the earth is flat. The IPCC, the international panel for climate change, recent report was less than optimistic and many scientists accused the IPCC of being too gentle with their assessment. According their research, in order to avoid catastrophic climate change 80% of our fossil fuels. The facts are clear and the message is clearer we need to change our ways if we’re going to stop or slow climate change. That is why we need to take immediate action to slow this disastrous process from occurring. So I pose the question to you now, why would we play it small and stick to a minimalist approach to facing one of the most if not the most impactful crisis in all of human history. That’s a impactful statement and to now is not the time to turn from the music. Let’s do something bold. The municipal government has already taken measures to show leadership towards the future of our climate, these initiatives make me proud to say that I live here, such as the electric charging stations at the rec-centre and the commitment to sustainable development and recycling. What i’m proposing, what our horizon is proposing is an idea that would not only encourage electric vehicles, heightened awareness and action, but also put our community in a position where the impact on society and the environment would never be forgotten. Maybe the our high school textbooks will may look back and point to the small town that made a small community that made an impact big enough to ripple and make changes in the course of history. Research from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities shows that “up to half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are under the direct or indirect control or influence of municipal governments.These figures mean that, without municipal activities to reduce GHGs, we are effectively unable to address climate change. Our actions here can change the fate of humanity. It sounds farfetched but it’s true and in the words of Nelson Mandela your playing it small does not serve the world. Now this is where our horizon comes in I first heard about them on the radio being driven to school. The spokesperson mentioned that a group of people called “our horizon” were trying to put warning labels on gas pumps. When I first heard that the usually dreaded ride to school got a little bit more exciting. Something about that idea inspired me and made me know more. I found out that our horizon was started by one man called Rob that really wanted to make a difference in today’s changing world and motivate the governments to take aggressive action against climate change. He has come up with the idea and since then he and his team travelled across canada visiting schools and communities, even the TED talk stage, sharing his idea, and now I want to share it with you. I want the council to pass a by law stating that each gas pump must be labelled with one of these stickers that you see before you. This proposed law would be one that requires each gasoline retailer to place 3 inch by 3 inch climate change and air quality warning labels on gas pump nozzles as a condition of obtaining, continuing to hold, or renewing a business licence. Many gas pumps already come equipped with nozzle talkers that can be used for this purpose. Nozzle takers are these little plastic hat type things which fit over the top of your standard gas pump head and have a flat surface that is traditionally used for advertising. A nozzle taker costs around $15. And the stickers, if they’re produced in bulk they would cost pennies. In the legal report that Our Horizon has prepared, section 4.22 page 37 it describes how gas stations can easily cover the cost of around $100. Given the fact that the average gas station makes thousands of dollars a year this would barley make a scratch in income. Not only that A 2011 report from the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy estimated that, based on existing coastal flood protection measures, climate change could lead to damages of more than $2,000 per citezen per year in the 2050’s. With this in mind it would be financially imprudent to not mandate this cost. If the gas label causes change which everyone here with me today believes it will, gas relaters will evolve with the times, similarly to when horse carnage’s makers became auto mechanics and hopefully soon there charging stations in the place where gas stations once were. The fundamental idea of putting warning labels on gas pumps addresses two of the major issues that is making people separate themselves from this monumental issue and delaying much needed action on it. The two of them being, diffusion of responsibility and delayed feedback. If you put your hand on a hot stove you immediately pull it back, this would be immediate feedback. However, the most severe impacts of climate change are still down the road so we don’t gauge them as important. This is the same reason high school students would rather watch youtube videos rather than do their homework. However, it doesn’t matter if the impacts of climate change are down the road, the important thing is that it is down the road and we need to change lanes. Secondly, it addressees a diffusion of responsibility. Much like how one cigarette in a pack won’t cause cancer, one car on the road won’t cause climate change. However, when you add all of these individual emissions up, you’re faced with a big problem. The warning labels address both issues with ease and grace. By bringing the warning labels onto the gas pumps we can see the consequences literally at our fingertips. Not only that, but the use of graphic image and text brings more meaning to a litere of gas. We can raise prices on gasoline and carbon contributing sources all we want but we only be putting stress on the value of lies in our wallet. Showing images and text makes us ask what is the value of a life. Wether it be a species that is going extinct, or millions that could or will die of drought and famine humans will connect and feel stronger and more meaningful emotions for images and words than a number on a board will ever evoke. It lets us connect and tap into a greater web of life than many of us our aware off. As dramatic as it might sound, it is true and if nothing else, a start. Such a simple and honest solution of connecting people to the effects of climate change is unprecedented and I promise you it is a catalyst for change, a simple pause and thought to action Now I know what a lot of you must be thinking, and believe me I’ve thought about it too. How does a label, change the world. Well, I’d like to draw a pretty basic comparison. Not too long ago a lot of people smoked on a daily basis without much thought towards wether it was a problem or not. In fact,assessment it was often advertised that these cigarettes were good for ones health, or that they are “doctor approved”. We know now this isn’t the case, but at the time people believed it whole heartily. In the mid 1900’s when scientist and doctors came out with the conclusions that cigarettes were a leading cause of lung cancer, Tobacco companies tried to cover this evidence up, and it took years before a ban on cigarettes was passed. It started small of course, the smoking vending machines disappeared, then they were behind the counter. These days you can’t even smoke in public places. The current warning labels we have today with photos that are on cigarette packages we’re only introduced in 2001 and we were the first country to do so, but since then over 60 countries have introduced the pictures and text researchers have concluded a decrease in 12 to 20% in smoking. Infact a recent study suggests that warning labels have a bigger effect in deterring potential smokers than rising prices. Not only that, but Tabacco companies pay millions of dollars for their lawyers to go into court and fight these labels, they wouldn’t be doing that, if they didn’t work. While I was researching for this talk I watched an inconvenient truth, and there’s this part where Al gore shows the warming graph, and how it was in a zig zag pattern, up down, up down. And that’s because when the northern half of the earth, where most of our trees are, is tilted to wards the sun the trees take a big “breath” in and suck up the carbon, when the southern half of the earth is pointed towards the sun, the level of carbon grows as there are less trees to suck it up. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, carbon and oxygen, carbon and oxygen. Up, down, up, down In this way our planet, is fundamentally like a lung. And we’re giving it cancer. All of as a human race, all of us as Canadians, deserved to be warned, and deserve to be cautioned, so at least at the end of the day, we can’t say “I didn’t know any better” and in yet another similarity we are addicted to fossil fuels as a smoker might be addicted to cigarettes. The charging stations would be the nicotine patch or the electronic cigarette, but we need more and this is the step that can will define our future. We need to empower more people to act, and spur change, and the only way to do that is through awareness. The truth is, behind the scientists and debates, conferences and documentaries inaction on the issue of climate change comes down to inaction of individuals, individuals like you and me. But when you add up all the individual emissions you’re faced with a big problem. Infact it is the simple act of pumping gas which drives the need for tar sands, and pipelines. But as the saying goes no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. Now i’m not asking you to yes or no this proposal right now but it would be fantastic if there could be a repot prepared for the summer on this idea. I understand that I may be coming off as a tad quixotic when I say and believe, that this idea can change the world after all it’s just a gas pump label, in response, i’d like to state a quote “If you think your too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito. We are emitting a gas, that is fundamentally changing what makes up, and what we define as planet earth. These changes put not only the arctic, coastal areas, sensitive habitats, but our well being at risk. In November 2013, a delegate at the United Nations COP19 climate conference in Warsaw, Poland said upon seeing our gas nozzle: “I’ve been to all 19 COP meetings and I’ve never seen an idea so simple yet so powerful.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a spiritualist who says “mother earth is dying” or a scientist that says “we are causing monumental and disastrous changes in the biosphere” it’s something we can no longer deny and something that the people in this room have the power to change. Our community is already a leader in so many ways, but if we employ will not just become a leader we will leave a legacy! An impact that will never be forgotten. Let these warning labels at least encourage people to make good use of the fantastic charging stations and at best inspire to change the world. The council received it very well. Their comments were encouraging and I got the impression that we shall perhaps be seeing the labels on pumps soon! One lady who really liked me called me “insperational”. Well thank you. Thames called me a champ hugged me and Ms. S hugged me as well. It was interesting, after it was done and I left. All the adults looked at me. Their eyes wide, brown and eager. When I took a step, they took a step towards me. They were truly looking at me like an adult. Like I was someone important. So now that’s done and now I feel free. What’s next? Says my brain. Enjoy, says my heart. My brain’s talking about riding across the country. But right now, i’ll enjoy my laziness i’m very very tired and i’m oh so willing to fall into a deep, black, warm sleep. It was a beautiful day to change the world! Ps: On the way down I took my scooter. My dog followed me and I had to walk him all the way back up my street.