Greta Thunberg as balloon girl, Art by Banksy

It’s been a hellish week, with out-of-control wildfires in Nova Scotia, record-breaking temperatures throughout the region, and abnormally dry conditions. So it seems important to check in with ourselves—and each other—to ask how we’re doing.

For those of you who lost your homes in the fires, or were evacuated and still don’t know what you’ll be going back to, these are particularly distressing times. But whether or not you were in the literal path of the wildfires, you’ve been impacted.

There’s no escaping the magnitude of climate change. It’s not only destroying people’s homes and livelihoods; it’s also decimating already fragile forests and ecosystems, and placing even more species at risk.

But there’s something else, too. The unprecedented wildfires, floods, landslides, and hurricanes like Fiona are also shattering our sense of control, however illusory it may have been.

How do we go forward without becoming paralyzed with worry, fear, or feelings of hopelessness? 

I take heart in the fact that more and more people are waking up to the climate reality unfolding around them, and the root causes of this crisis. People are questioning the systems that are perpetuating the mantra of endless economic growth and the sanctity of profit. They’re calling out corporations that are poisoning the land, water, and air we all need to survive. And they’re seeing through the platitudes and empty promises many politicians and government officials continue to use to distract from real action. 

Whatever your experience, you’re not alone. Be kind to yourself and others as you do your best to navigate these difficult and uncertain times.

Tynette

NS Wild Child Request for Help

As many of you know, Sierra Club Canada has a Wild Child forest school program that operates in several provinces. The program gives children the opportunity to spend time in nature, learning about its many wonders and how to protect it. Due to the wildfires, we’re currently unable to run our regular programs in Nova Scotia, but Wild Child staff are stepping up to help with childcare in the wake of two daycare centres being destroyed in the fires. 

We’re requesting supplies (sunscreen, bug spray, water bottles, hats, snacks) and gift cards that we can offer families, along with emergency funding to support Wild Child staff who are volunteering their time and skills. For drop off details, email atlantic@sierraclub.ca; to make a monetary donation, click below and add “Wild Child emergency funding” in the comment box accompanying your details.

Take Action

• Ban fracking in New Brunswick. Premier Higgs wants to do away with the moratorium on fracking shale gas in NB. However, new legislation (Bill 56) introduced by the provincial Green Party leader David Coon would put a stop to that and permanently ban fracking and oil exploration and production. If you live in NB, please contact your MLA to let them know you support Bill 56 before June 8, when it will have its second reading in the NB legislature. Find your MLA
  
  For more information, see 47 groups call on New Brunswick government to turn page on fracking, focus on building healthier, affordable, sustainable electricity system

• Help us rein in Canada’s oil and gas industry, which is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector of the economy. Demand a strong federal cap on oil and gas sector emissions. Send a message to your MP now.

• Tell the federal government that Canadians deserve a clean, reliable, and affordable energy future. With the federal government currently drafting new clean electricity regulations, we have an opportunity to shift to 100 percent clean electricity and secure good jobs, fair and stable energy prices for households, and a modernized electricity system that will position Canada as a leader in the global shift to clean energy – but to get there, we need to demand it.Click here to send a message to decision-makers showing your support for a clean, reliable, and affordable energy future.