A Letter to the Canada Forum on Climate Change

The Scythe Network
1636 Kintore Rd.
Lower Kintore, N.B. E7H 2L4

26 February 2003

Honourable Mr. Anderson / Environment Canada:

Thank you for the just-received package on climate change. We congratulate you on the clarity with which it was written and agree that our success in meeting the commitment to the Kyoto accord lies chiefly in "many small hands"; as such it is more a question of the will of Canada's citizens rather than the available monies from government coffers. Accordingly you provide the public with many ideas and an invitation to further assist in the process.

The accompanying "Ecological Challenge" represents our small contribution to the "think-and-action tank" on the prevention of impending environmental crisis. It may be viewed simply as a direct response to the suggestion in one of your booklets that "the use of power lawn mowers be limited". In that light it provides an example of yet another one of those "bits" that we can readily do.

Upon a closer look it will also be apparent that this proposal reaches beyond the Kyoto goals, touching on issues of our long-standing attitudes toward the extended community of life. "Sustainability" (should this civilization seriously consider attaining such a state) requires the supporting structure of a deeply-rooted social and ecological ethic. To regain this nearly lost attribute of our species, it is paramount that our approach does not sacrifice the spiritual dimension of all pragmatic concerns. Periodic re-reading of the Earth Charter and taking its message to heart is one good way to start. Identifying the areas of our lives in which we could act so as to not place our immediate self-interests first, would be another...

In the recent forum on the Kyoto accord, for example, many Canadians worried how much the ratification will cost, who will pay the bill, how it may affect this nation's standard of living and if everyone else will also do their equal share.

Historically, no radical positive changes would ever have taken place if those on the front lines had entertained questions like these. Instead, what now calls for an answer is, "Are we willing to give?" and more specifically, "How large a portion of the goods and services presently at our disposal are we prepared to give up without kicking and screaming about it?".

Fortunately, mainstream viewpoints are in a state of flux with new visions emerging from beneath the surface. Civilizations can be re-structured before they collapse... and so in the hope that may defy apparent reality, we hereby extend an offer to help fellow Canadians learn, should they so desire, how to cut grass without polluting the Earth.

In Solidarity,

Peter, Faye, Kai, Fairlight and Ashley Vido

Additional pertinent notes:

Regrettably, the present scythe-related service leaves much to be desired. Without exception, all dealers describe at least a portion of their products inadequately and/or inaccurately. The offerings of some are very limited, the prices of others unreasonably high, and all is veiled in the ubiquitous sales pitch. Given enough interest and co-operation, this situation can be significantly improved. Interim, to help with the selection, a "consumer report" on Canadian and American sources will soon be posted on www.scytheconnection.com.

Scythe blades, classified as agricultural hand tools, and their accessories (handles, sharpening devices* etc.) entering Canada are subject to import duties from which their motor-driven--and therefore polluting--versions are exempt. In light of the growing environmental concerns, such an unfitting disparity urgently cries for revision! (Interestingly, our neighbour, while refusing to sign the Earth Charter and the Kyoto Accord, has given low-impact gardeners and farmers a break in this respect; agricultural hand tools as well as their accessories can be imported into the USA duty-free.) .

*If for instance a sharpening stone were to service a tractor-pulled mowing machine, it could enter Canada duty-free; if the very same stone were declared as an accessory for a human-powered implement, it would be subject to import duty!