Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops and Armchair Mayor News on June 19, 2017.
A few days ago, I was caught, yet again, in a conversation about lawns in Kamloops. How they should be green and the fact that some people manage to maintain them green all summer despite heat and water shortages, is but proof that it can and it should be done. Aesthetics matter.
Indeed, water shortage is not the first thing that comes to mind these days. After seeing creeks and rivers inflate with snowmelt, and lakes growing to scary sizes, many would think we have too much water to begin with, so why not water lawns daily or at least every other day to prevent dryness from setting in?
Because freshwater supplies are limited. Yes, Canada has plenty of it, but a recent assessment of the watersheds by the WWF Canada (where data exists, though information is generally lacking), concluded that many of our precious freshwater sources are under threat due to pollution, climate change and excessive water use to name a few. An average daily consumption of 330 litres of water per person – though some communities do not even have clean water for drinking – places us among the highest consumers in the world.
It’s estimated that 5 litres per day are the minimum necessary to be able to survive. If you go to half of that you enter desperation zone, barely surviving, yet how many of us can picture living on 2 litres of water a day? To think that flushing a toilet sends 6 litres down the drain, (for the new efficient ones that is!) adds to the mind boggle.
Going back to watering our lawns to keep them green, more so in our arid environment; the very enterprise seems not only futile and illogical but irresponsible, given the actual price of freshwater. And yet we do so, on top of flushing our large reservoir toilets, taking daily long showers and baths if we please, and washing our laundry by the half-loads if we want to. Water price is simply not a concern.
We’re not better when it comes to food either. A recent undercover footage of severe animal abuse by chicken catchers at a facility in Chilliwack is shocking proof of that. But that’s not the most shocking thing about it. It’s the fact that we already know that. Cheap, highly abundant food comes with a very high price.
If many years ago the price of large agricultural operations was not known, social media and animal rights activists brought a level of awareness few can deny. We know the truth.
And just like that, we know that many people in poor countries are caught in slavery, making many of the goods we so lavishly buy, throw away, buy some more of and upgrade as we see fit because for us it’s not a matter of life and death but of saving money to get to the next desired item. We know that the amount of garbage we produce is overwhelming and that many unwanted items (broken electronics for example) end up in toxic piles that poor people in other countries disassemble for a few cents if that.
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, cheap and disposable comes with a lot of suffering, whether it is people, animals, or the environment. As a society, we have come to accept that. Some of us go the extra mile and start small businesses with fairly-traded items. Other vow to buy slavery-free, suffering-free items and thus pressure even larger retail stores and corporations to clean up their act. Every decision, no matter how small, and every conversation that brings knowledge and awareness to the table leads to change.
There is a price to pay for being oblivious to suffering and it’s increasing with each day we take our focus elsewhere. As with many things, when the pain, whatever its nature is, strikes closer to home, perspective changes and willingness to do things differently increases.
After installing water meters, a few municipalities saw that people reduced their water consumption. Knowledge brings awareness, and that pushes people to acting differently. The more, the better.
Witnessing animal abuse and having periodic scares about various bacteria outbreaks in our food supply should be enough to start a loud enough conversation that would be heard by many. That a few workers got fired is more of a band-aid solution that has the media satisfied but does not truly solve the problem.
Educating ourselves to ask, ‘What is the actual price of ___________?’ as we go about our lives may seem like hard work and rather depressing too. Yet taking one skeleton out of the closet after another and adopting better ways to life, makes for widespread lightness of being for so many others.
It takes courage to learn, to talk about, and most of all to change things. But it may just be one of the most worthwhile endeavours we engage in, personally and as a society. Choosing to live in a way that does not have us avoid the truth or have it twisted it by a cohort of PR people who ultimately provide us with a license to keep on hurting, is but an honourable and honest way to be. It makes for a better journey, or, if you prefer, good karma.
I admit to no longer looking forward to checking the news. After a weekend spent with my family, out of reception, on the shore of a little-known lake near Little Fort, the return to the fast-moving, permanently-connected-to-the-internet world, is nowhere near pleasant.
I grew up with books. Our living room had tomes lined up in tall bookcases covering entire walls, floor to the ceiling almost. When you’re a kid, that is as close to infinity as it gets. I loved climbing to some of the highest shelves and reaching to the back row where old books hid both enticing adventures and that smell of old paper that to this day is one of the most comforting smells there is.
If light could be song, this morning’s bright appearance was a symphony, loud and overwhelming. The green is exploding everywhere, soft and decidedly stubborn, hijacking the desert’s brownish, dry demeanour for a few weeks from now.
That is the feeling of plenty that awaits on the side of the trail every morning. That the dog jumps in the creek and then runs up the hill with all her might only helps with the fine touches.
Today is the mouse, yesterday her uphill playing took us to a patch of newly blossomed shooting stars. I lingered more over the flowers than I do over the mouse, which is where our interests part ways. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Mouse gone, friend gone home too, we follow the trail towards ours. Above us, the resident hawk flies above a magpie. There’s air tumbles, black and white feathers swooping under the wide-winged brown hunter, then above, stumbling in a desperate attempt to escape. The high-speed pursuit is enveloped in sunshine so bright it hurts my eyes. I’ll never know who prevailed. So it is. There’s as much mystery to life as there is clarity.
‘Mom, should I leave the dandelion patch standing? They are so pretty…’ Yes please, thanks for asking. Half of the yard will be, for now, bumblebee and butterfly playground. I can hear the sun laughing.
The other day I found a dead bird on the side of the path. As if asleep, its tiny body frozen yet soft to the touch. Light as feathers… patches of sparkling yellow on its sides and head, beautiful gray and charcoal ones adorning the body, wings and tail; delicate black feet. The boys and I identified it; an Audubon warbler. One less song. Warblers sing just because, for the love of it… I would have never known. It took this bird on the side of the path. Why did it die, the boys asked? I had no answer. Quiet reverence as death stares us in the face. So easy to forget we’re all due one. Infatuation over our self-proclaimed superiority doesn’t help when humility is needed.