by Eva van Loon

Saturday, January 19, the City, Sliammon, and the Regional District hosted a first meeting on a “Sustainability Charter” for Powell River.

In recent years, municipalities in UK, Australia and North America have embraced this manifestation of people’s urgent need to “Do something!” about eco-crisis. Any definable community, from UCLA to five-star resorts, can devise a Sustainability Charter.

Will this cutting-edge document become law? Not necessarily, but Charters do have fresh moral force. Good people follow moral guidelines, right? We’ll expect our Council to follow the spirit of our Sustainability Charter in all things.

Before wrangling over the ‘correct’ definition of sustainability, or the need for a ‘Precautionary Principle’, let’s listen to the rising buzz of planetary conversation. Consider this (read the full article on our website):

“A ‘perfect storm’ of complementary crises may be emerging…involving… peak oil, accelerating climate change, serious economic disruption, loss of democracy, significant resource depletion (including fresh water and arable land), international instability and terrorism, increasingly disruptive technology developments and wild-card events such as pandemics….

“Small unexpected developments could turn any of these challenges…major catastrophes within a very short time ... or change the game entirely. If we could be certain what the future would bring,… perhaps we could discover or develop the best approach…. But we can’t. We just can’t be sure. And that’s the rub.

“Now here’s the surprise: In these circumstances of profound uncertainty, the fact that we disagree about our collective future and how to handle it could be our most important asset.
“The idea of such conversations–which we’re calling Phoenix Conversations–isn’t to plan, so much as it is to become more fluent and flexible in navigating an unknown, unknowable future together…. [W]hen we interact with such scenarios together in a safe, passionate, respectful atmosphere…we discover more about who each other is, and where it might be productive to think or work together further.”

Did Powell River just have its first Phoenix Conversation? A stunning 1.5% of the population turned up at 9 a.m. I counted 300 people. Many stayed all day.

There’d been a dispiriting current of negativity at recent public meetings. People haven’t been happy with the state of communication with city council. So many issues–new provincial slaughtering regulations, new waste-treatment facilities, a proposed LNG plant that could blow us all to kingdom come–it was the joint-venture-partnership’s plans that had almost everyone up in arms. At several meetings, concerned, even angry, citizens nearly wore out the response microphones and the local Raging Grannies gaggle sang themselves hoarse on pointed satirical verses.

The partnership’s response was an invitation to the entire community to give up its Saturday to discuss something we’d never heard of—a Sustainability Charter.

To turn the usual storm of protest into a stream of cool, exciting ideas, the hosts planned a different kind of meeting. Did you notice? No audience microphones–someone figured out that the presence of those skinny phallic opportunities for public participation are equally open to grandstanding, electioneering, and showcasing special interests. This process doesn’t have room for that.

Next, to avoid question period dragging on and disgruntled people saying, “Just another useless meeting!” a mediator controlled questions. Two Suzuki-Foundation speakers had to leave early by plane; so most audience questions focused on those issues—the big picture.

The outstanding speakers were drawn from the broad community spectrum: our mill, law enforcement, our university college, politics, and eco-philanthropy, book-ended by First Nations. Speaker modeled high degrees of positive language.

Notes from the sessions and meeting coverage is on www.powellriver.ca, but some of what was said is worth hard copy.
Roy Francis said his idea of a sustainable forest was one where the trees are still standing. (Wonderful to meet someone else who thinks the term “wilderness management” is an oxymoron—or a joke!)

Dr. King of what is soon to be Malaspina Regional University advised us to build a Charter that is “shared, inspirational, aspirational, integrated, inclusive, and ethical”, quoting Wendell Berry: “What I stand for is what I stand on.”

Former premier Dr. Mike Harcourt warned that writing the Sustainability Charter is only 10% of the solution–we still have to plan for Murphy’s Law, the unlimited potential of people to screw up.
Corporal Dennis Blanch suggested that how well our young people are doing determines how–and how many–people will be drawn to live in our community.

Lyn Brown of the Catalyst mill affirmed the company’s commitment to “good governance”, by means of focusing on five attributes: making lighter papers, which use less resources; recycling; an ethical ‘chain of custody’ of resources, using renewable energy, and producing carbon-neutral products. Her company claims “one of the strongest environmental pedigrees in the marketplace.” (We are left to judge what that signifies about the average “pedigree”—nice word—in the marketplace.)

Dr. Peter Robinson, Suzuki Foundation, warned that “the loudest voice should not be the prevailing one” in drafting a Sustainability Charter. It’s not about preserving the status quo or special-interest groups. We must ask, “What is the scale of our self-reliance?”

His fellow, Dave Waldron, added the most positive note: Enjoy the learning adventure–foster emergent creativity as you entertain the long-term, big-picture view of the solutions to the problem. Be informed by science, recognise that most if not all resources are finite, balance the short-term against the long-tern, and take the comprehensive rather than the detailed view in drafting our Charter.

Someone (pardon my lousy notes!) said there are two ways to do things: the hard way, and the harder way. So far, First Nations have had to do things the harder way; this must change if we are to act as one community.

Regional First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo had the last word, reminding us that Black Elk said the chief proposition of the universe is relationality. We should be careful how we treat one another, he advised. Be kind, he said, adding that in his language the same word was used for love and for pain. We can no longer afford the “history of disconnect” from which his own generation sprang. We must remember that all living things need our respect, and all things are living things. “Teach me, and I’ll forget; show me, and I’ll remember; but include me, and I’ll understand.” Atleo suggested that we had begun to move to something to much better, that we were engaged in a brilliant conversation which includes the notion of accepting responsibility for what is happening–not blame, but responsibility. The other brilliant part of the day’s conversation, he said, was the absence of a roadmap. That emptiness ensures an opportunity for inclusivity.

Wow! Time for lunch.

While the hosts provided standard growlies, the partners of feisty Local Loco’s Music and Arts Café, discovering that the menu did not conform to 50-mile or even 100-mile diets, starred with a little “guerilla catering”. In the lobby they served all-local lunch: salmon with blackberry sauce, fresh greens, yam-potato mash, Van Es cheese, bread, and dessert. Yum! Powell River is delicious!

We cycled through afternoon discussion groups on the social, economic, cultural, and environmental aspects of a Sustainability Charter. Groups would have been better housed in quieter rooms, as the large turnout created considerable noise. An amazing variety of ideas was generated. Volunteers are to continue the discussion until we join the growing number of communities with Sustainability Charters.

Was that our first Phoenix Conversation? I came away feeling Powell River is determined to survive, happily, whatever the world may throw at us in the way of poverty, disease and disaster in the future. We’ll survive! We’ll flourish. We cherish this place on Earth.
A great feeling. A great start to Powell River’s Second Century. Next?