Sunday, February 25, 2007

Earth in the Balance

On February 2, I drove up to Balzac through poor visibility and blowing snow to see Balzac Billy. About 250 people crowded the community hall, to a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, ham (hog) and the trimmings, to the stylings of a country music band and the presence of just about every media outlet in Calgary. Billy appeared at sunrise, emerged from his huge burrow in the parking lot, and descended to the cheers of the onlookers, before not seeing his shadow. A fun time was had by all!

Of course, the event was overshadowed (there’s that word again) by the Intenational Panel on Climate Change issuing their report that day, and suddenly the media and the Federal Conservative Party awoke from their respective slumbers. Still, particularly in Alberta, the land of rednecks and Big Oil, we’re seeing the backlash; the denial or the underlying fear that it’s already too late, so “let’s do the warm fuzzies -- the things we can get away with -- rather than risk our careers and do what needs to be done”. And perhaps the needed changes are so drastic, the negotiated Kyoto timeline so rigid, and the impact of Canada so small, that the necessary actions CAN’T be taken. But all any of us can do is try.

I’ve recently read Al Gore’s prequel to “An Inconvenient Truth”, his 1992 book, “Earth in the Balance”. On one level it’s a bit of a timewarp (the “President Bush” he refers to is H.W., not Dubya), being written at a time when the Cold War was behind us, and 9/11 far in the future. But Gore ends the book with a “Global Marshall Plan”, a Green manifesto that is largely as relevant today as it was when the book was written. He mentions steps that should be taken both on the global scale and domestically; while the global steps may require some tweaking in a post-9/11 world, his domestic steps are mostly as applicable to Canada as they are to the U.S. Time and space prevent a full listing here, but some of these steps include (wording mostly Gore’s):
The stabilizing of world population.
The rapid creation and development of environmentally appropriate technology, and sharing this technology with the developing world.
A new global eco-nomics – a comprehensive change in the “rules of the road” by which we measure the impact of our decisions on the environment [e.g. reducing corporate income and Gross Domestic Product by depletion against traditionally “renewable” resources such as forests and water].
Negotiation and approval of a new generation of international agreements necessary to make the plan a success. [This anticipates Kyoto, and unfortunately we know how that’s playing out.]
The establishment of a cooperative plan for educating the world’s citizens about our global environment.
The establishment, particularly in the developing world, of the social and political conditions most conducive to the emergence of sustainable societies. [More difficult post-9/11 – see Afghanistan and Iraq.]

Birthdays this month: Laurie Cabot (Mar. 6), Edgar Cayce (Mar. 18), and Joseph Campbell (Mar. 26).

Calgary Events:
Note these events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement is necessarily implied. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me.

Mar. 1: Calgary Pagan Meet, hosted by Lugh. Info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Calgarypaganmeetup/
Mar. 2, 4:17 p.m.: Full (Worm) Moon. Lunar eclipse.
Mar. 3, 4:00 p.m.: Calgary Magickal Meetup at Illuminata Books. Info: http://magickal.meetup.com/407
Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m: COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. Info: info@cogcoa.ab.ca
Mar. 8: International Women’s Day.
Mar. 8, 8:00 p.m.: Canadian journalist Gwynne Dyer speaks on “The Climate Wars” at MacEwan Hall. Tickets $15.00 at Ticketmaster.
Mar. 11: Daylight Savings Time begins. Spring ahead!
Mar. 11: 12:00 noon: Calgary Rally for Kyoto at Harry Hays Building, 4 Ave & 1st St. SE. Info: http://www.canadiansforkyoto.com/
Mar. 13: Pagan Night Out. Info:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CalgaryPaganNightOut/
Mar. 13, 8:00 p.m. Spira Open Coffee Moot at the Joshua Tree, 805 Edmonton Trail NE. Info: http://www.spiracanada.com
Mar. 16. 7:30 p.m.: “Mysteries of Mithraism” w/ Dr. Ayse Tuzlak (assistant professor of Western Religions at the U of C) at Knox United Church, 506 – 4 Street SW, admission $10.00. Info: http://www.knoxunited.ab.ca/files/Knox%20Centre%20Brochure%20Winter%202007.pdf
Mar. 17: St. Patrick’s Day.
Mar. 17, 7:30 p.m. COGCOA Ostara Ritual.
Mar. 18, 8:43 p.m.: New Moon. Fearn (Alder) lunar month begins.
Mar. 20, 6:00 p.m.: Calgary Druid Meetup, hosted by Athelia. http://druid.meetup.com/93
Mar. 20, 6:07 p.m. Vernal Equinox. Sun enters Aries.
Mar. 20, 7:00 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by yours truly, in north Calgary. Info: http://witches.meetup.com/1322/
Apr. 1: Daylight Savings Time doesn’t begin again. Spring back if necessary.

Upcoming:
April 22: Earth Day.
April 23: An Evening with Al Gore, at Jack Singer Hall. Tickets at Ticketmaster.
To June, 2007: Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Art of the Ancient Mediterranean World, at the Glenbow Museum.

Bright blessings,
Hergest

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Enigma: The Series

Although it sometimes seems like there’s not terribly much on Vision TV (http://www.visiontv.ca) of relevance to pagans, I’ve been happily surprised with a series called “Enigma”, running on Wednesdays (and repeated on other nights). Past offerings have included profiles of Jack Parsons, a rocket pioneer and early science fiction fan who was a member of the O.T.O. and associate of L. Ron Hubbard; of modern-day table-tippers (one group conjuring up the spirit of a totally-invented character); and of Jeff McBride, a stage magician who, finding himself headlining his own show in Las Vegas in his 20’s, began a spiritual quest, incorporated deeper materials into his act, and now runs a Mystery School. Upcoming episodes cover the Fox sisters - a pair of 19th Century spiritualists (one of whom in later years confessed to being a fraud), and a three-part series on Freemasonry. Definitely recommended for anyone looking into the bigger picture of our spirituality.