Advocacy
#1 – BC Civil Liberties Assoc.
The BC Civil Liberties Association was established in 1962 and is the oldest and most active civil liberties group in Canada. We are funded by the Law Foundation of B.C. and by citizens who believe in what we do. Our mandate is to preserve, defend, maintain and extend civil liberties and human rights in Canada. We achieve our mandate through our Advocacy in Action, Public Policy, Community Education, and Justice programs. The BCCLA is an autonomous, non-partisan charitable society. Though we strive to work cooperatively with other groups on common causes, we are unaffiliated with any other organization or political group. Our independence has been one of the BCCLA’s enduring strengths for over 50 years.
Click here for the BCCLA Website: https://bccla.org/.
#2 – A.U.M. Film & Media
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.
As Andersen approaches leaders in the environmental movement, he increasingly uncovers what appears to be an intentional refusal to discuss the issue of animal agriculture, while industry whistleblowers and watchdogs warn him of the risks to his freedom and even his life if he dares to persist.
As eye-opening as Blackfish and as inspiring as An Inconvenient Truth, this shocking yet humorous documentary reveals the absolutely devastating environmental impact large-scale factory farming has on our planet, and offers a path to global sustainability for a growing population.
Click here for the Cowspiracy Website: http://www.cowspiracy.com/.
#3 – Silva Forest Foundation
As young people, we saw what human beings were doing to this world, and we worried about how the future would unfold.
We knew then, that we wanted to dedicate our lives to working for a world where future generations would not be at war over clean air and water; a world where a bird’s song would not be just a memory; a world that incorporates the knowledge and rights of Indigenous peoples; a world full of wildness and life.
Mentoring from many wise Indigenous people across Canada, taught us to connect our hearts with our brains. This lesson lead to the creation of the Silva Forest Foundation. Now our work needs to focus on mentoring and training the next generation in empowering communities to protect nature.
— Herb & Susan Hammond,
Silva Forest Foundation co-founders
Click here for the Silva Forest Foundation website: http://www.silvafor.org/.
Fundraising
[under construction]
“Activism is my rent for living on the planet”
Item One: Only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is fresh (potable, drinkable)…70% of that is locked away in the Antarctic ice fields. That brings the planet’s remaining fresh water reserves down to less than 1% and a vast, vast majority of that – in the form of cisterns, aquifers, remote lakes, and glaciers – is inaccessible to humans. That doesn’t leave us (and the rest of the biosphere) with much fresh water upon which to exist. Humans currently consume roughly 4,000,000,000,000,000 liters of fresh potable water annually… that’s 4 quintillions or 4 million billions. Most of that (70%) is used up by the agriculture, livestock and golfing industries…. the remaining 30% (of the 4,000,000,000,000,000 liters) is spread out over a wide variety of industrial and domestic usages, which when combined with agriculture, livestock (and golfing), constitute a segment of that unique phenomenon commonly referred to as ‘human activity’.
Item Two: The Earth’s land surface today has approximately 3.1 trillion trees growing on it. (This figure was arrived at by close inspection of 275,000 satellite images). The number of trees covering the Earth during the early stages of the agricultural revolution has been pegged at roughly 5.6 trillion which indicates a decrease of 2.5 trillion trees, or 45%, over the past 6 millennia. Human activity, combined with forest fires, consumes about 15 billion trees per annum and through replanting and natural regeneration 5 billion trees are added back into the system during that same time frame. This leaves an annual over-all deficit of 10 billion trees world-wide. If that deficit were to remain stable over the next few centuries, the Earth would mathematically run out of trees in 300 years. That’s if things remain ‘stable’. Unfortunately, there are many destabilizing factors at play today which all point to an accelerated rate of depletion for the Earth’s remaining forests. These factors include; an increase in the global human population of 4 billion by the end of the century (UN figures) which will further translate into an increased demand for crop lands and grazing pastures for both humans and their livestock; climate change, which means more severe droughts and an increase of wild-fire activity; the imminent crisis re dwindling global fresh water reserves; wars and other forms of collateral damage.
Item Three: There is a new kind of fishing vessel plying the international waters of the planet. It would be inaccurate to refer to these crafts as ‘boats’….they are more the size of large whaling ships or medium sized ocean liners. The ships are very powerful and their main function is to tow large drag-nets across the ocean floor and vacuum in whatever aquatic life forms are in their path. Simple enough concept right? The problem is that not only are the ships themselves humongous in size but the drag-nets as well…in fact, seven Boeing 747s could fit comfortably side-by-side and on top of one another within the gaping mouth of a single drag-net. You have to use your imagination on this one folks…a vessel the size of an ocean liner, towing a net approximately the dimension of two football fields, bull-dozing its way along a wide swath of delicate ocean floor whose eco-system has taken hundreds of millions of years to evolve. It boggles the mind. The drag-nets not only destroy the natural habitat of the ocean floor but also inhale tons and tons of ‘by-catch’ or ‘by-kill’ (i.e. myriad aquatic life forms – whales, dolphins, sharks, octopi – that are deemed unsuitable for market-demands and therefore cast back into the sea like useless garbage).
Item Four: A single well that employs hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’ to extract natural gas uses 160,000 barrels of fresh, potable water, which is then laced with poisonous chemical additives and other carcinogens. After the well is exhausted the poisonous water, or ‘blowback’, is extracted and transported by tanker-trucks to a large containment well (a natural cavity deep underground) where it is dumped and then pretty-much forgotten about’.
Item Five: Even Canada, which up until recently was widely renowned for its natural beauty, its mighty and bountiful river systems and its pristine northern lakes, is not immune to the global fresh water crisis. Since 1970 scientists have been monitoring the ‘flow rates’ of the four major rivers that flow east out of the Rocky Mountains – the North Saskatchewan, South Saskatchewan, the Athabasca and the Bow Rivers – and have discovered that the volume of water carried by these once-mighty rivers has decreased by a whopping 25-50%… in only 45 years. These life-giving arteries are the main source of ground water for the vast provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba, an area twice the size of western Europe. There is no doubt that the cause of this impending disaster is climate change… the disappearing glaciers and the loss of the snow-pack in the Rockies. (And don’t get me started on the ‘Great Lakes’).
Item Six: According to the folks at Smithsonian Inc, the Earth has lost, on average, 50% of its wildlife since 1970 due mainly to the agriculture/livestock industries and the accelerated expansion of human societies (WWF). The oceans have been hit the hardest with the disappearance of 75% of aquatic organisms due to over-fishing, pollution and abrupt temperature changes in ocean currents.
Item Seven: North Americans spend 20 billion dollars annually on medical expenses… for their pets.
Welcome to the A.V.A. Renaissance website…
A.V.A. stands for Artists, Volunteers and Activists. The term ‘Renaissance’ refers to the flowering and profusion of activism, volunteerism and the arts which together form a global grass-roots movement against the darkness and the insanity (see items above) of our age. And, make no mistake…for artists, volunteers and activists these truly are unique and extraordinary times to be living on the planet. An ancient Sanskrit prophesy referred to this current period as the ‘kali yuga’ or the darkest age. I personally feel quite fortunate to have been born into what is undoubtedly the most dangerous and most challenging era in the planet’s history.
Mission Statement
The A.V.A. Renaissance Initiative is a non-commercial, volunteer-run, advocacy website that uses one creative human being’s photography, music and writings as a means through which to express some unique ideas and personal statements about the world in which he lives. Metaphorically, the artworks and music downloads, the essays and eBooks are the ‘dessert’ (you get to enjoy them first) but the main course, the substance, or the ‘soul’ of the site is the advocacy itself. The advocacy segment of the website will feature five registered charities and rights organizations who, in my opinion, best exemplify the ethics and consciousness required for bringing some much needed light and sanity into a dark and crazy world. Through various methods the A.V.A. Renaissance website will also act as a conduit for routing financial support to the five featured organizations. For visitors interested in learning more about these organizations they can scroll a little further to a section titled ‘Advocacy and Fundraising’ where they will find a brief, one paragraph overview of each of the five organizations and the good works they are involved in as well as relevant links to their websites and ongoing projects.
The ‘Give-away’
In a world so over-run and enslaved by the power of the almighty dollar, I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice to do something special, radical and perhaps even outrageous with my life’s work’. To create a website that completely runs counter to the ‘western’ mindset of profit motive, greed, financial gain and crass materialism…a mindset where pretty-much everything can be ‘bought and sold’. What a delightful idea…just think…no need for credit cards, shopping carts, Pay Pals, shipping and handling charges, packaging, paperwork, taxes, etc.
The A.V.A. Renaissance Initiative and its ethos were inspired, in part, by my Aboriginal bloodline and an ancient set of principles and social ethics indelibly imprinted in cellular memory. What I am alluding to here is the time-honored fundamentals that underpinned the ‘Potlatch’ ceremony.
The Potlatch was an opulent ceremonial feast to celebrate an important event held by tribes of the Northwest Indians of North America including the Tlinqit, Tsimishian, Haida, Coast Salish and the Chinook people. A Potlatch was characterized by a ceremony in which the tribe’s wealth and possessions were given away. Many tribes, especially among the Plains Indians (my lineage), have traditionally practiced some form of Potlatch or Give-away ceremony, highlighted by the lavish distribution of goods and food to members of other clans, villages or tribes.
The concept of the Give-away custom is difficult to comprehend by those who do not share the culture and beliefs of the Native American Indians. The European system of values placed much emphasis on the acquisition and accumulation of material wealth therefore the early settlers found the Give-away custom impossible to understand. The very idea of giving away one’s wealth and possessions was a totally alien concept to them. The Potlatch and Give-away ceremonies were therefore outlawed by the Canadian Government in the 1880s and natives caught practicing the ceremony were liable to prison terms ranging from between 4-6 years.
The beliefs and customs of the Native American tribes who practiced the Potlatch ceremonies and rituals were based upon the fundamentals of egalitarianism, communal responsibility and the democratic beliefs of the tribes. This was characterized by social equality and a demonstration of the legitimacy of those elected as tribal leaders. Anyone elected to a leadership position was given the stewardship, rather than the ownership, of the tribe’s wealth. Those elected were also expected to give away that wealth so as not to be able to profit materially from their new position. The basic concept and ideals of the Potlatch prevented corruption in high places of trust and power.
“In traditional Northwest American Indigenous societies the poorest man in the village (in terms of material wealth) was always the Chief”
As a way of honoring my ancient ancestors I would like to extend this custom into the twenty-first century by giving away the artwork, the music and the writings contained within this website… for free. I encourage visitors to download the photo images, the music and the eBooks and essays for their own personal enjoyment.
On Copyrights, Property and Ownership
In the fifty year period that I have been creating art I have never once copyrighted any of my work. In my ‘hand-to-mouth’, ‘seat-of-the-pants’ ‘one day at a time’ approach to living and survival, copyrights didn’t even show up on the radar. Even after fifteen years spent creating the vast body of work for this website I still hadn’t given the issue of copyrights much thought. If the intent was to ‘give away’ the artworks, songs, eBooks and essays – as a gift for others to enjoy – then why would I have to copyright any of it. A close friend (and ‘artist type’ himself) brought up a point that I hadn’t considered, which was, if I put this website out there, even as a gift and didn’t copyright everything then someone else could, in theory, copyright all the material themselves and that would cause all sorts of problems down the road. For example, if someone did actually copyright the contents of the website they could legally prevent me from displaying any works of art on the A.V.A. Renaissance site.
Hmmm, I replied naively, would someone really do that? To which my friend replied ‘you better believe they would’. So, reluctantly, I decided to copyright…but with the most rudimentary of formats… and for the sole purpose of preventing such a scenario from occurring.
But this particular incident certainly got my wheels turning…at a more fundamental level. And that level had to do with the basic ‘idea’ behind copyrighting, property and ownership themselves. Call me old fashioned but I just don’t understand the whole concept of ownership as it is viewed and practiced by western, industrial societies. Maybe it comes from being on the open road most of my life, where a person really needs to travel light. Maybe it comes from my indigenous blood-line…the Blackfoot and the Plains Cree also traveled light…there was little room for excess baggage. But this issue goes much deeper than traveling light and excess baggage. It goes right to the core of a person’s (or culture’s) values…what they view as important and essential in their lives.
When the European colonists first began arriving on our shores a few centuries ago, they brought with them many new and alien poisons. According to historical records, fifteenth and sixteenth century Europeans were a filthy, disease-ridden people and they carried that filth and disease with them on their voyage to the New World. Smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles, rats and other vermin spread like wildfire across the new land and quickly wiped out most of the indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. But there were other more subtle forms of poison carried to this land and they had to do with concepts and attitudes… the most virulent of these being Euro-centrism, Religio-centrism and the attitude of Superiority. Another highly toxic import was the concept of absolute, exclusive ownership (and entitlement) of anything and everything that the Europeans deemed as having ‘value’. Like trees, animals, birds, water, fish, natural resources and even land. The poisonous idea of exclusive ownership that accompanied the first colonists those many years ago went on to establish the unethical foundation of corrupted western societies that began to spread like the plague throughout the New World. The greed, hoarding and elitism, combined with western man’s insatiable lust for property, land and material wealth have now come to define who post-colonial Europeans really are and what they appear to value the most.
Which brings us back to the copyright issue. I personally do not feel that I ‘own’ any of the artworks that I create…I see myself instead as a medium or channel through which the qualities of beauty, wisdom and joy (in their artistic form) are expressed. My understanding is that there are greater forces at play that exist outside of myself and at a much deeper level (within myself) and that those forces ‘speak’ to me both through my ancestral bloodline (cellular memory) and through an intimate connection to the Great Spirit that lives within me. These are the real sources of my art. I simply tap into a ‘stream of consciousness’ within which flows an exquisite beauty, an ancient wisdom and a universal joy, and then outwardly express what I feel…that is what I do…that is my ‘gift’. So, if anyone senses beauty, wisdom or joy in the artwork, music or writings contained in this website they must understand that those qualities do not come from me…but through me. They are not mine to claim, I do not have the right to ‘possess’ them.