Today – new approaches to environmental distress. Scientists have warned our care of the planet is reaching new levels of alarm. In Canada, some of the reason for concern looks like this: drought on the prairies at worse levels than the 1930’s, beetles living through warmer winters are devastating BC’s forestry, smog causing $1 billion a year in Ontario hospital visits, flooding in the east coast, and in the Arctic - animals under threat. Today on LU - Canada’s best known environmentalist, David Suzuki talks to us about the problems and the spiritual nature of environmental need and we talk to Justin Trudeau who urges action for protecting our future. We’ll also hear from a group representing environmental missionaries around the world. Could God be warning us we’re running out of time? A Rocha - a world wide reach into motivating communities into action for the environment.

In the past 30 years, the destructive category of storms in the tropics has nearly doubled. The Global Insurance industry claimed over $40 billion in insured losses due to extreme weather events. In the summer of 2003, Europe’s heat wave was blamed for the deaths of 20,000 people The World Health Organization says climate change is responsible for at least 150,000 people a year. Even preachers fearing that millions of lives could be lost in global –warming and warming related disasters are lobbying Washington for change.

GUESTS & LINKS
-David Suzuki
-Justin Trudeau
-A Rocha
WHAT CAN WE DO TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT?
POVERTY and CONSERVATION – Making the Connection
A CLIMATE OF CHANGE
LORNA’S WRAP

GUESTS & LINKS

DAVID SUZUKI
www.davidsuzuki.org

David T. Suzuki PhD, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster.

David has received consistently high acclaim for his 30 years of award-winning work in broadcasting, explaining the complexities of science in a compelling, easily understood way. He is well known to millions as the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's popular science television series, The Nature of Things.

His eight part series, A Planet for the Taking won an award from the United Nations. His eight-part PBS series The Secret of Life was praised internationally, as was his five-part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. For CBC Radio he founded the long running radio series, Quirks and Quarks and has presented two influential documentary series on the environment, From Naked Ape to Superspecies and It's a Matter of Survival.

An internationally respected geneticist, David was a full Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. He is professor emeritus with UBC's Sustainable Development Research Institute. From 1969 to 1972 he was the recipient of the prestigious E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship Award for the "Outstanding Canadian Research Scientist Under the Age of 35".

He has received numerous awards including the Roger Tory Peterson Award from Harvard University. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of British Columbia. He has received 18 honorary doctorates - 12 from Canada, four from the United States and two from Australia. First Nations people have honoured him with six names, formal adoption by two tribes, and made him an honorary member of the Dehcho First Nations.

David was born in Vancouver, BC in 1936. During World War II, at the age of six, he was interned with his family in a camp in BC. After the war, he went to high school in London, Ontario. He graduated with Honours from Amherst College in 1958 and went on to earn his PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961.

The author of 43 books, David Suzuki is recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He lives with his wife, Dr. Tara Cullis, and two daughters in Vancouver.

JUSTIN P. J. TRUDEAU

Education, Environment & Youth Advocate The education and empowerment of youth are priorities that have dominated Justin Trudeau’s professional and personal life. Shortly after completing a bachelor of arts degree in English literature at McGill University, Justin moved to Vancouver to earn a bachelor’s of education degree from the University of British Columbia. For the next four years, Justin devoted himself to teaching children of all ages, in public and private schools, in a range of subjects, which included English, French and math. Today, Justin is the chair of Katimavik, Canada’s leading national youth volunteer-service program, where he works to increase the engagement of Canada’s youth towards their country, their communities and their environment. In addition to Katimavik, Justin is also involved with the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, promoting intelligent risk-taking and safety awareness; and wilderness groups such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Justin Trudeau presently resides in Montreal where he is completing a Master's degree in Environmental Geography at McGill. His work with a large number of diverse organizations and levels of government keeps him travelling extensively to help ensure that Canada is prepared to meet the challenges and responsibilities its future holds.

A ROCHA
www.arocha.org

Based in British Columbia's lower mainland, A Rocha Canada is a national conservation organization working to show God's love for all of creation. We work out our commitment to environmental action through community-based conservation projects, with a focus on science and research, practical conservation, and environmental education. Our project locations include the Little Campbell River near Vancouver, British Columbia, and Pembina Valley in Manitoba. A Rocha Canada functions under the umbrella of A Rocha International and works alongside a family of A Rocha projects in 15 countries around the world in places as diverse as urban London and the Kenyan coast. The name “A Rocha” is Portuguese, and means “The Rock.”

The vision for a Canadian field study centre and headquarters for A Rocha Canada is a reality! A Rocha Canada has completed the purchase of a beautiful property just north of the U.S. border in South Surrey, British Columbia. The property is A Rocha's first field study centre in Canada and a second field study centre is emerging in the Pembina Valley, Manitoba. Students and volunteers come to participate in conservation research, environmental education, and community living. Life at the centre is mission both in the practical work of creation care and also in the dialogue created between people of various faiths and backgrounds.

The A Rocha field study centre is a wonderfully diverse 10-acre property, formerly used as a dairy farm, and most recently as a venue for weddings and corporate events. Because of the unique nature of this property, it is perfectly set up for A Rocha’s work and will be the hub a variety of activities and programs.

The estuary of the Little Campbell River in South Surrey/White Rock, BC

A Rocha recognizes the importance of protecting and stewarding vulnerable habitats and species. Through the combination of scientific studies and practical restoration projects, activity will focus on the Little Campbell River Watershed and Boundary Bay, rated Canada’s top Important Bird Area (IBA).

With the goal of fostering a sense of wonder in the created world, the Ecology Centre will offer hands-on environmental education to school, church, and community groups. In addition, an interpretive trail will run through the property, making use of the varied habitats on site from woodland to wetland.

A Rocha Centres have a community emphasis, bringing Christians and others together in the context of a shared commitment to the environment and conservation studies. For many living in today’s post-christian milieu, it is the first opportunity to see what belief can mean in everyday life.

Designed to demonstrate and promote sustainable agriculture, not only does the garden provide fresh produce for those staying at the centre, it will also serve as a living classroom connecting people to land.

Back of Heritage Barn

The barn, originally built in 1928, has recently been refurbished and outfitted with electricity, plank floors, a stage, bar, and various sitting areas. This unique structure makes a splendid venue for community activities, lectures, workshops, conferences, and other events. The barn will also house a café, store, and art gallery.

The A Rocha Field Study Centre in South Surrey, BC is a working conservation research and education facility. Short-term and long-term on-site volunteers, local volunteers, and day visitors are welcomed at the Canadian centre to visit and participate in field research, conservation projects and our environmental education programs.

We can accommodate approximately 8-12 on-site volunteers at any time. Volunteers may stay on-site from anywhere from one night to a year. Accommodations and living space are shared with some rooms available for families and couples. Those staying with us are expected to participate in centre community life.

All overnight volunteers must formally apply and be accepted by our office and spots should be booked well ahead of time. Cost for room and board is $25 CAD per day with discounts for long-term volunteers. Volunteers from outside of Canada are responsible for making their own visa arrangements.

Please contact our office at 604-542-9022 or canada@arocha.org for more information and to request an application form.

We are looking for volunteers who live locally and would like to volunteer on a regular basis at the centre. Regular drop-in volunteer days are usually the second Saturday of the month - but be sure to check our events calendar to confirm! http://en.arocha.org/caevents/index.html. Interested volunteers are also welcome to inquire about further opportunities with us. Opportunities exist in research and field surveys, habitat restoration, environmental education, gardening, carpentry and office work. Please contact our office for more information at 604-542-9022 or canada@arocha.org.

We also welcome day visitors to meet our team, tour the centre, and hear our vision. The Centre is open for day visitors every Friday for lunch and a tour. We suggest a donation of $5 CAD per person for lunch. As well, we have events on Saturdays approximately 2 weekends a month - check our events calendar for these http://en.arocha.org/caevents/index.htm.

If you are planning on visiting the centre, please call or e-mail our office at 604-542-9022 or canada@arocha.org several days in advance to let us know you are coming.

The centre is closed on Sundays.

A ROCHA INTERNATIONAL

The first A Rocha project began in Portugal in 1983. A field study centre and bird observatory was established near the Alvor estuary and it has now been visited by thousands of people from many parts of the world.

All over the world Christians are realising that important habitats and their wildlife urgently need protection and so, since 1994, new A Rocha projects have started in other parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The international cross-cultural strength of the Christian community has been making a unique contribution, not least as communities struggle to reconcile the need to protect biodiversity with their hopes for sustainable development.

A Rocha projects have a community emphasis, bringing together people from widely differing backgrounds to work towards common goals.

POVERTY and CONSERVATION – Making the Connection

By Peter Harris

A Rocha International News, issue 40: January 2006 - Poverty and conservation issue

Ecology is the study of connections, even if the problem for contemporary ecologists is that we live in a time of strenuous disconnection. Privilege, whether personal or societal, requires isolation. Products conceal their origins, academic disciplines operate in expert solitude, social relationships fragment. In a year when the European Commission's own auditors cannot account for 65% of its own expenditure(1), we have to admit there is a lot we don't see too clearly.

In part this is because technological connection has never been easier, and so the very inconvenient light of knowledge can shine all too easily upon the often murky and unequal relations that lie behind the prosperity of the relatively few in an increasingly poor and broken world.

But there is nothing new here - the Old Testament prophets were remarkably ahead of their time in spelling out inconvenient connections, and their ancient voices sound uncomfortably topical. We can listen to two across the centuries: anticipating our data by three millennia, Hosea takes us in one unflinching leap from social evils to ornithological catastrophe and from human dysfunction to marine distress. "Hear the word of the Lord... There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery... Because of this the land mourns... the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying." (2)

Isaiah said the same, "The land lies polluted under its inhabitants" (3), only one of the ancient and profound ecologists for whom pollution was always moral, whether physical or otherwise. However the creation has its own logic, and all is not lost. The connections between human choices and environmental distress have never been more apparent. The good science which lies behind such magisterial achievements as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has inevitably brought to light the connected processes that lead inexorably from the decisions made in wealthy societies, to the consequences of ecosystem impoverishment, and inevitably then to human suffering.

It is becoming ever more apparent that knowledge of environmental degradation does not lead to the necessary changes within society, and so within the environmental organisations themselves a profound reflection has begun. A key conclusion of the highly influential study The Death of Environmentalism (4) was that "We will never be able to turn things around as long as we understand our failures as essentially tactical and make proposals that are essentially technical."

So it is a time of opportunity. We can begin with a renewed commitment to truth telling, to good research and honest enquiry of the wider creation, in order to re-connect our human choices to their global consequences. We can now understand much better the scope of all those choices to either impoverish or to enrich all of those human societies with whom we share God's good earth. We need to listen harder to those who are currently at the heart of the matter in the poorer world, whose words we find in these pages. We need to talk more clearly with those making the bigger decisions in the wealthy world, who we pray will hear the prophets. Why does it matter? Because as Eugene Peterson has rightly said, "Everything has to do with something else, and if you follow it far enough, it has to do with you and God."(5)

Peter Harris, International Director, A Rocha

1. BBC online news 15 November 05

2. Hosea 4:1-3 NIV

3. Isaiah 24:5 ASV

4. The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post-Environmental World by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus. Online publication. Copyright 2004 www.thebreakthrough.org, www.evansmcdonough.com

5. Eugene Peterson: Regent Lectures: Follow the Leader, 2000