Thousands of us have participated in Take Action alerts.
We are making a difference right now.
Carol McMullen won’t
sit idly by
November 2, 2007
Last January Carol
McMullen, a long-time donor and supporter of the David Suzuki Foundation, noticed the
buses in her home city of Guelph, Ontario were idling at transfer
points for upwards of 5 minutes. She wrote a letter and, to her
surprise, only a few months later Guelph Transit announced a new
anti-idling policy.
“I thought if I
started maybe in 5 years something might happen. I didn’t have
any ‘ins’. I don’t know anybody. I was just Joe
Citizen.”
Carol was skeptical
initially that she was savvy enough to address climate issues on her
own. So what got her engines revving? Motivated by her son’s
activism and her own participation in the David Suzuki Nature
Challenge this year, Carol approached us for some resources. Brian
Yourish, a member of the Foundation’s climate change team, gave Carol
some information and encouragement and soon she felt comfortable
contacting her representatives.
Initially, the response
was cautious. Carol was given a host of reasons why the buses were
required to idle. Transit concerns ranged from winter onboard
temperatures to bus security and engine maintenance. Carol realized
she was entering into a cost/benefit discussion and suggested a city
engineer could better speak to the more advanced concerns. A
representative of Guelph’s Transit Services said they’d
look into it and see what they could do. And that was the last she
heard.
Then, in June, on Clean
Air Day, Guelph Transit launched their newly crafted anti-idling
protocol. Carol was flabbergasted.
“I’ve never
been an activist outside of my own lifestyle. I really didn’t
expect that there would be a change that directly and that fast
simply by one person and one letter.”
Carol won’t stop
there. This success has inspired her to talk to her city officials
about another needless source of airborne pollutants - the mowing and
trimming of public spaces during times of drought.
“Really busy
people can do this”, says this mother and professional. “It’s
not as overwhelming as I thought it was. And that had been my feeling
about the environment. You can get frozen into inaction.”
If you feel your city
or town could benefit from an anti-idling policy here are some
resources to get you unstuck:
- Driven to Action urban
sprawl tool kit.
- Natural Resources
Canada, on their "Idle-Free Zone" website.
- Vancouver City Council
enacted a bylaw prohibiting parked vehicles from idling for more than
three minutes. You can learn more about this here.
August 1, 2007
Your letters to the Premier of BC through our
Take Action, and your
donations to the Foundation have helped to protect huge old-growth
cedar trees for future generations.
Coastal First Nations have made an
agreement with the BC Agriculture and Lands Minister, who has just announced protective laws for monumental cedars on the southern part of the Great Bear Rainforest under an
Ecosystem Based Management plan. Foundation staff helped to draft the original Ecosystem Based Management
plan for the area, which included protection of monumental cedars.
The protection of so-called "monumental cedars" - giant trees valued for cultural purposes and their ecological characteristics-- was a major campaign focus for the David Suzuki Foundation between 2004-2006. These ancient giants, which are at least 100 centimetres in diameter and range from 160 to 230 years old, have many traditional uses from the construction of totem poles to canoes, and when "dead" these trees become the host for a multitude of wildlife—from bears and birds to insects and fungi—making these trees a true anchor of the ecosystem.
While this does not end of the struggle to protect our ancient temperate rainforests, the new law does signal that you have increased government’s attention to preserving our vital ecosystems.
May 2007
That’s right: you can put this one in the history books.
On May 16, 2007 all parties voted to pass the Ontario Endangered Species Act.
Ontario’s leading environmental organizations are hailing Ontario’s new Endangered Species Act as the best in the country. The new law balances a strong, science-based approach to protecting endangered plants and animals with the flexibility needed to address socio-economic concerns.
Thanks so much to those of you who wrote in to support this legislation. You have helped to ensure that endangered species in Ontario have a better chance of survival and recovery.
But that doesn't mean we are going to rest on our laurels.
The David Suzuki Foundation will be watching to make sure that strong habitat regulations and recovery strategies for woodland caribou and other imperilled species are implemented without delay.
Your efforts are a vital part of the David Suzuki Foundation’s campaigns to help preserve our natural heritage.
Thank you,
Rachel Plotkin
Biodiversity Policy Analyst
The David Suzuki Foundation
