Fireside Chat: Wildfires, Climate Change, and is it Too Late to do Something?
Join us for our very first first event on Tuesday, August 25 at 5:00 PM by the fire pit in Trillium Park! This one is sponsored by Apathy is Boring and their Table Topics initiative, so if anything you should come for the FREE FOOD!
Three weeks ago, Toronto ranked first place in worst air quality in the world as we woke up to orange skies caused by wildfire smoke drifting in from northern Ontario. It was a sobering reminder that the climate crisis isn't going away, and sooner or later we are going to have to confront it.
Come sit by the fire, roast some marshmallows, and have some thought-provoking discussions about what we can do better as a society.
The Agenda
5:00-5:05 - Icebreaker
After everybody introduces themselves, the facilitator explains the agenda, introduces this week’s topic and asks the following icebreaker question.
What were you doing on the day when Toronto had the worst air quality in the world?
5:05-5:20 - Lecture
Facilitator recaps the climate policies proposed and delivered by the government on a federal, provincial and municipal level so that everybody is up to speed.
5:20-6:00 - Addressing the Elephant in the Room
Let’s talk about the hard questions! The facilitator will ask the following and people move to a rock depending on if they agree, disagree, or are undecided.
We’ve missed our window of opportunity and there is little we can do to fix it now.
Canada can’t do much even if it wanted to given that America’s contributing most of the emissions.
Having a greener future requires us to sacrifice our comforts or else make major lifestyle changes.
Climate action can’t be at the expense of economic growth.
6:00-6:10 - Food break
6:10-6:50 - Diagnosing the Problem
Here we break out into small groups and start to discuss the actual policies being put forward in Canada and how we feel about them.
Carbon capture
Consumer facing carbon price
TBD
6:50-7:30 - Moving Forward
Time to stop ruminating and start building. Here we regroup to talk about solutions we can work towards so that we don’t have to fall into the pit of despair.
What is the responsibility of the individual, government and business when it comes to moving towards a greener future?
If you were suddenly prime minister what policies would you implement so that Canada can reach the Paris agreements?
If you could redesign one part of the business you work for to make it dramatically more sustainable, what would you change?
Is there an environmental habit you’ve changed that you’re proud of? If not, what habit would you like to adopt?
7:30 - Socialize
The meetup is officially over, but you can stick around to chat by the fire and make some new friends!