April 24th will mark the two-year anniversary for Ottawa's declaration of a Climate Emergency.
And what have we seen in the past two years?
* An increase in our urban boundary (sprawl is considered to be "Ontario's tar sands" due to its effect on carbon emissions)
* Limited funding for the City of Ottawa's Energy Evolution (they were going cut the meager $300 000 budget by almost 80% in June 2020 until we stood up for climate!)
* Increased road expansions (Strandherd) and Millions of dollars on road infrastructure
* An official plan that doesn't put the planet or the people of Ottawa first
* Limited funding for new sustainable transportation infrastructure
* A climate resiliency plan that won't be ready until at LEAST 2023
* We are STILL waiting on funding/rebates for retrofits to building
Parents, we need to MAKE SOME NOISE. These are not the decisions of a city who is serious about a climate EMERGENCY.
We are going to place pop-up art installations around Ottawa (5 locations) to bring attention to decisions the city has made (or is considering) that don't put the climate first.
What can you do?
1) Help us make some pop-up art. This could be silhouettes of your children, trees, butterflies, bicycles or just a sign with the message "We need urgency in a climate emergency"
2) Take photos of you and your kids making the signs so we can share with the media
3) Gather signs from other parents, Ecology Ottawa will help us set up the demonstration at the various sites
4) Make a 1 min video about the decisions you have seen Ottawa make that don't reflect a climate emergency. Or decisions you would WANT to see
5) Help us spread the message by sharing on Facebook, twitter and instagram starting on April 24th, . #WheresTheClimateUrgencyOttawa #ClimateEmergencyLacksUrgency #2yearsLessTalkMoreActionOttawa
#NoMoreEmptyDeclarations
Examples of Text to put on the poster (or just ask your kids: what do they love that Ottawa should protect?)
- Biodiversity needs to be protected
- Zoning Changes should protect our environment
- Public Transit needs to be accessible to all residents
- We need to invest in bus routes
- We need a Transportation Plan that will increase and improve bus routes not exchange one route for another.
- “Revenue Neutral” means a car-centric city.
- Invest in Public and Active Transit
- Climate Health is Human Health
- Residents, particularly those marginalized are already feeling the health effects of climate change.
- Investing in climate action is investing in Prevention. It costs less
- We need to reduce the number of cars in our city
- Invest in sustainable not fossil-fueled transportation.
- Bike infrastructure needs to be CONNECTED and safe (what is the speed limit on strandherd).
- City Council: We need greater ambition and less red tape
- Ottawa: We need climate leaders
- We need urgency in a climate emergency
- Tone-deafness on climate emergency
- We need to be investing in Fossil Fuel Solutions not getting stuck in them (e.g. buying more Gas-powered city vehicles)
- Protect our Tree Canopy