Archive for June, 2026

“Some people say that the climate crisis is something we have all created. But that is just another convenient lie. Because if everyone is guilty, then no one is to blame.”

—Greta Thunberg 

It is hard not to notice that most of the world’s authentic movers and shakers are women. For the last ten years I have been asking myself and other people why this is. Surely it is not only because women are increasingly better educated than men. True, they make up the greater percentage of university graduates. But look at who’s attending protests for the rights of Nature or human rights. Visit classes that focus on the climate and ecological crises, and you’ll see that 75% or more of the participants are women. Why have men marginalized themselves to such a degree as to be almost irrelevant to social justice movements that include community participation? Certainly the chief aspiration of men is not to be a trillionaire or a half-baked authoritarian. This is extremely dangerous for an increasingly fragile democratic society. This article zooms in on how women have reinvented partnership societies and are leaving patriarchal type people bewildered. It wasn’t always like this. Read on. 

One of the most important books of the 20th century was The Chalice and the Blade, written by Riane Eisler in 1987. Its focus on Minoan civilization, which flourished in Crete from about 3000 BCE to about 1100 BCE, brings to the forefront what can be achieved by a society that cherishes the contributions of women. Over a thousand years of peace prevailed there. Eisler writes: “But with all of this, the many images of the Goddess in her dual aspect of life and death seem to express a view of the world in which the primary purpose of art, and of life, was not to conquer, pillage, and loot but to cultivate the earth and provide the material and spiritual wherewithal for a satisfying life… Contrary to the prevailing view of power symbolized by the Blade—the power to take away or to dominate—a very different view of power seems to have been the norm in these Neolithic Goddess-worshipping societies.” Listen to an exploration of the book at https://tinyurl.com/chalice-blade

It should not come as a surprise, then, that after the destruction by male invaders of Crete more than 2000 years ago the Goddess’s followers would rise again to begin transforming present dominator societies. Through the last 60+ years women such as Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall have persevered in protecting Nature as well as human society from undemocratic and rapacious behaviour. They have been at the forefront of standing up to male dominance that would otherwise have destroyed the ecological fabric of many societies. It has become apparent that women have overwhelmingly become the leaders to protect local and regional communities from grotesque ecological and social inequities. 

Women like scientist Rachel Carson had to overcome enormous prejudice from the male dominated chemical industry in the 1960s, which launched campaigns against her solid scientific research identifying the chemical DDT as the cause of devastating wildlife destruction; they also attacked her personally as part of their disinformation tactics. This is a template that all androcentric or patriarchal governments follow, and it is ultimately at the centre of fascist ideology. Androcracy always must dominate and undermine women’s aspirations. A gynocentric civilization is a partnership society in which women’s voices are distinctly heard. 

In the 1970s the women in India’s Himalayan region decided to protect their trees. It had become obvious that deforestation was the cause of huge flooding in their villages. They became the first world-renowned tree huggers, standing around trees in resolute defiance and reverence. They called themselves the Chipko Movement. The Hindi word chipko translates as “to hug.” As a result of the women’s efforts, the level of deforestation drastically diminished.

Although the Chipko movement began as a hugging-of-trees protest, its principles continue to inspire and guide contemporary efforts to protect the environment, uphold marginalised communities’ rights, and grow new ecological movements both in India and across the rest of the world. 
https://tinyurl.com/chipko-legacy 

Beginning in the 1980s, Indian campaigner Medha Patkar has been a central organizer and strategist for Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), a people’s movement organized to stop the construction of a series of dams planned for India’s largest westward-flowing river, the Narmada. She and her fellow villagers have been able to highlight the destruction that these dams would cause with the obliteration of centuries-old communities, as well as the ecological devastation. Medha and her supporters demanded that villagers be consulted and respected before major infrastructure be built. She almost died on one of her food fasting protests, but ultimately most of the dams were not built. 

The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai of Kenya is best remembered for her advocacy whereby 51 million trees have been planted and 30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food processing and beekeeping. The Kenyan Green Belt Movement grassroots organization has given agency and self-respect to thousands of women. Her story in overcoming male-dominated intransigence is astonishing. Like so many campaigners for social and planetary justice, including those mentioned above, she was threatened with death, and she was imprisoned by corrupt officials. 

When I learned that the prestigious 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, which is the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for Nature, had been awarded to six women but no men, I was not surprised. The rapid ascendancy of women climate, community and biodiversity activists in the 21st century naturally comes as the legacy of the courage and determination of their earlier sisters. Human rights and rights of Nature are embedded in their work. These six women, from all corners of the globe, have been instrumental in bringing local communities together to block huge corporations and willing governments from exploiting vulnerable populations, including Indigenous ones, in order to extract fossil fuels and decimate forests, rivers and the ocean. Climate action, by galvanizing communities to go to court to push back against ill-conceived ventures, has successfully halted many of these schemes. https://tinyurl.com/goldman-women

An article on the UN Women website squarely puts the plight of women and girls in perspective with regard to climate breakdown. Titled “How gender inequality and climate change are interconnected,” it makes no excuses for governments not to immediately act on blatant human rights violations. https://tinyurl.com/un-women-climate

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and a producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17. Surviving an assassination attempt in her campaign for girls’ education, she has become an inspiration for girls and women.

Greta Thunberg, who inspired the global movement Fridays for Future, has turned the climate narrative upside down. From the age of 15 she has had a huge influence, particularly on young people, in bringing to the forefront the dangers of global warming. She has uncompromisingly and with enormous courage laid bare the hypocrisy of world governments and corporations who have been happy to greenwash their activities.

In her forthrightness Greta is by no means alone, though. In September 2025 Amnesty International shone a spotlight on five young women who are speaking out and acting on what governments often neglect to do: protect citizens from catastrophic climate disruption. One of these young women, Autumn Peltier, is a 14-year-old Canadian Indigenous activist known for her clean-water advocacy. An Anishinaabe member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, she is campaigning for better water quality in First Nations communities, and at the age of 8 she addressed the UN with clarity and great conviction. Just this week on June 16 the Canadian government announced a huge investment in water purification for First Nations communities. https://tinyurl.com/amnesty-young-women

Elizabeth May is well known to Canadians for her unflagging energy as a climate activist. Even before she was elected as a Green MP she was a beacon for sound climate and ecological solutions in Canada.

Francine Lemay is a biodynamic farmer living close to Sherbrooke. Her 204-acre farm is aptly named La Généreuse. There you will find great ecological integrity and a deep commitment to the arts and children’s education. She is a true mentor and leader for the Cookshire-Eaton area and beyond. 

Here Francine introduces us to her lifelong passion for childhood education and ecological work:

“Driven by deep feelings of love and respect, I have been active for Nature my whole life.For more than 40 years, no pesticides or artificial fertilizers have been used on my fruit and vegetable fields. I have been active in setting up associations and organisations that promote organic agriculture through certification.

“A teacher by training, I have established a school, Les Enfants de la Terre, on my farm, as well as encouraging creativity through Mission Art et Nature. Both seek to connect young people with the living Earth. For 10 years I have been part of a collaboration at Rurart, whose mission is to support artists in their exploration of their relationship with the Earth and with beauty.” https://www.lagenereuse.com

These are just a few examples of how women’s courage and cooperation throughout the ages are continuing to inspire action and bring about change in ways that challenge the divisive and deeply damaging attitudes of the patriarchy. 

“Clearly, right now, climate change and environmental issues are not perceived as being high priorities for Canadians, and therefore they’re not priorities for the government.” —Steven Guilbeault

The UN designated June 5 as World Environment Day (WED) in 1973, and it is hoped that by holding discussions on that day each year on a particular Nature-oriented theme even ordinary people would join in by making the protection and health of Nature an ongoing priority. Each year, a new country is the ambassador for a highlighted major world ecological concern, and actions are put into place to mitigate those concerns. This year Azerbaijan focuses on climate action and various biodiversity solutions that need to be initiated in light of the ongoing climate crisis in that country. https://tinyurl.com/nature-day

We now find ourselves at a critical crossroads: current climate science is not being considered by governments’ economic policymakers. The University of Exeter and Carbon Tracker have released a report, “Recalibrating Climate Risk,” whichexplains “why economic models used by governments, central banks and investors are increasingly understating climate risks as the world moves towards 2°C.  It shows how this can create a false sense of security—and why decision-makers should act now rather than wait for perfect models.” https://tinyurl.com/tracking-risks

Let’s take two examples that highlight the need to bring together urgent climate and biodiversity concerns that clash with persistent economic growth models.

Earth’s largest creature, the endangered blue whale, is on the cusp of not having enough krill (their main source of nutrition) to eat in the Antarctic, for two reasons. Climate is changing rapidly there, so the sea ice is melting, leading to a lack of protection for baby krill to feed. Furthermore, huge factory ships are sucking up thousands of tonnes of krill in the very areas that blue whales and other marine animals go to for sustenance. The craze for krill oil as a nutritional supplement has led for a demand to double the legal catch limit. For individuals to help blue whales recover, the remedy is simple: don’t buy krill oil. Some major pharmacies are already discontinuing stocking it.

Rhona Kent, polar oceans programme manager at WWF-UK, explains: “Antarctic krill are the powerhouse of the Southern Ocean, and mismanagement of the krill fishery is having a major negative impact on species which depend on krill. WWF is calling for an immediate moratorium on krill fishing and a review of the sustainability certification issued by the Marine Stewardship Council.” Last October, states Yale University’s E360 report, “Norway began lobbying the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which manages the krill fishery, to double the allowable take in the Southern Ocean. The krill industry is worth as much as US$900 million annually.” https://tinyurl.com/krill-whales

On the other side of the world, Iceland’s pristine cold waters are being contaminated by a burgeoning business of intensive aquatic farming. There, too, rising climate heating is contributing to a crisis for the Icelandic salmon. Currently, new Icelandic legislation is about to capitulate to the salmon industry and permit an increase in the size of the cages used in salmon farming and thus the output, but the science is clear: the parasitic sea lice that are proliferating in the sea cages used to confine the salmon are spreading beyond the cages and feeding on the wild salmon. On top of this, the detritus from this cruel, intensive industry – including microplastics, fish excreta and pesticides – is polluting the ocean. Add to this the warming water through climate breakdown, and the sixty thousand or so wild salmon in the region are in mortal danger. For decades similar concerns have been voiced by scientists regarding British Columbia’s wild salmon population. Watch this video to learn more about Iceland’s citizens’ rejection of larger salmon farms: https://tinyurl.com/aquatic-farms

Despite these and many other threats to life in the ocean, there is a good-news story this World Environment Day: the UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to respond vigorously to those who would trash our world for short-term profit by pushing fossil fuels and thereby exacerbating the climate emergency. The small Pacific island state of Vanuatu has successfully led the way to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) give a major opinion on the responsibility of nations not just to be aspirational in their desires to stem accelerating climate disruption, but also to be held legally accountable.

António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, said: “I welcome the adoption of the General Assembly resolution on the ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change—a powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science and the responsibility of states to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.”

Unsurprisingly, sadly, the United States joined Saudi Arabia, Russia, North Korea and a few other authoritarian nations to vote against the resolution…

It is not only governments that WED inspires to take action. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is putting together climate and biodiversity actions on ways to protect endangered tigers, find solutions for plastics pollution in the ocean, put in place critical mangrove forest protection and restoration in many tropical regions, as well as land forest protection, protection of free-flowing rivers, and the dismantling of some dams that prohibit fish migration. https://tinyurl.com/wwf-actions

On this World Environment Day, which zeros in on the climate crisis, it is particularly North Americans who should be questioning their oil usage, as we are the most profligate consumers of oil products, whether that be by taking airplanes or by buying fast fashion and multiple other throwaway items primarily made from plastics created from petroleum. 

Individuals have been taken hostage by big businesses selling them what they don’t need. “Climate hushing” is a term that signifies how corporations and governments try to hide their commitments to making policies that protect the planet, or worse, abandon positive climate action policies. For example, Donald Trump’s obsessive destruction of America’s federal park system literally erases mention of climate change issues on its website and even signage in the parks. 

But there is also “green hushing” by companies—be they financial or manufacturing ones—that are actually trying to make positive green changes but are fearful that if they publicize their good corporate intentions, right-wing governments will accuse them of prejudice against the fossil fuel industry. Being ecologically responsible is a fine ethical response to climate heating, but others will try to pick apart those commitments and label the actions as “greenwashing”, and even this is potentially a criticism that these well-intentioned companies feel cannot be tolerated. This predicament is extremely serious, as we have already entered a world of high climate risk. And too many companies are hiding from the undisputed truth that climate heating is accelerating and causing misery to billions of people. https://tinyurl.com/hushing-dangers

I agree with former environment and climate minister Steven Gilbeault, as quoted at the beginning of this article, that many people of all ages no longer promote and act in their own lives towards a sane response to potential climate catastrophe. You only have to look at the number of climate-destroying, status-symbol pickup trucks on almost any street to realise that this is on our own doorsteps too. If a politician’s constituents don’t demand from that politician robust climate and biodiversity actions, the prioritization of these concerns is lost. This is a short- and long-term tragedy that is already being played out.

So, what can you and I do on this World Environment Day? We can start by educating ourselves and others, and by taking steps in our own lives that together will add up to meaningful change. Here are some ideas:

• Check your carbon footprint. This will help you to see where you can make improvements. Here’s a good online calculator: https://tinyurl.com/footprint-ca

• If you eat fish, avoid farmed salmon and shrimp and look for wild-caught fish such as herring and mackerel. 

• Avoid buying poorly made, unethically sourced fast fashion. If something is cheap, ask yourself why. Repair what you have, buy second-hand, and buy garments that will last.

• Reject single-use plastics. A reusable stainless-steel bottle or travel cup can replace a one-trip plastic bottle or takeaway cup. A cloth bag is strong and durable and can replace plastic bags.

• Recycle packaging from shopping and deliveries.

• Use natural compost (see https://tinyurl.com/compost-canada) and natural “pest” deterrents (see https://tinyurl.com/natural-pest-control-ca) in the garden, rather than toxic chemicals.

• Swap your large diesel or petrol-fuelled car for a smaller, preferably electric one. Walk or cycle more for short journeys, and car-share or use public transportation for longer ones.

• Contact your representatives and push for more transparency in government, councils, businesses and multinationals.

We can all do something to help.