<html> <body> <div align="center">Green On. The Online Newsletter of the Conservation Council of Ontario see <a href="http://www.greenontario.org/" eudora="autourl"> www.greenontario.org</a> to subscribe or unsubscribe We Conserve: Building Ontario's Conservation Movement </div> Dear friends, I want to give you all a heads up about our new initiative -- We Conserve.  We will be launching the consultation phase next week, so this is your chance to get a sneak preview. "We Conserve" is a long-term commitment to build a stronger conservation movement in Ontario.  It is also an opportunity to work together to make an immediate contribution to Ontario's pressing conservation issues.  At a time when Ontario's power consumption has hit a new all time high (26,000 MW) and we have already set a new record for smog advisory days in the GTA this year (less than halfway through the smog season), it's high time we looked at better ways to promote conservation! Our Conservation Summit last November showed that Ontario's NGOs have the solutions.  It also showed that there was a clear need for us all to work together to build a stronger conservation movement and to make conservation a core social value.  What we have achieved with the Blue Box and recycling, we need to do with energy conservation, urban sprawl, transportation, local organic food, natural lawncare, and so many more issues. "We Conserve" addresses three main priorities for building a social movement 1.  Coordination:  supporting a stronger movement through lead organizations, issue networks, community networks, and participating organizations 2.  Co-Marketing: joint marketing of our services and programs to municipalities, companies and other target markets 3.  Campaigns: social marketing campaigns to increase public commitment to conservation and to promote individual conservation solutions. Why "We Conserve"? Two days ago a reporter for CBC interviewed me about the electricity crisis, using our house as an example of how to keep cool without air-conditioning.  (It's become an annual tradition to have a tv crew in our house during a heatwave.)  At one point she apologized before saying "I have to ask you this, but why should people conserve?"  Even with the threat of a blackout and on a smog alert day, she had to ask the question. Of course, there are many reasons, but it all boils down to "because we care".  We care about our planet, we care about our health, we care about our future.  We need to make conservation a deep-rooted social value.  And values lead to actions. And those actions must become habit, not just something we do in times of crisis. As the Ecological Footprint and the David Suzuki Nature Challenge have shown us, saving the planet requires public action on many fronts.  It requires (to quote Premier McGuinty) a deep-rooted "culture of conservation", not just a few individual actions.   We cannot achieve a deep cultural shift unless we work together. Some of you may also have been following the recent arguments surrounding "The Death of Environmentalism" and the call for a new approach to environmentalism.  "We Conserve" is a key part of the solution.  It reflects the transition of our movement from the initial protest phase into an implementation phase, which is part of the natural progression of any successful social movement (feminism and civil rights being two examples).  It reflects a recognition of the important role Ontario's non-governmental organizations can play in making Ontario a leader in conservation. weconserve.ca Over the summer, we will be asking you to give us your advice on shaping key parts of the initiative -- such as our model for NGO cooperation,  a common social marketing campaign, our ability to reach the Ontario public through our combined membership and outreach activities, setting up an Ontario Conservation Fund to support Ontario's conservation movement, and developing marketing agreements with companies offering conservation products and services. Read the Challenge Paper To preview the challenge paper, see <a href="http://www.greenontario.org/weconserve/" eudora="autourl"> www.greenontario.org/weconserve/</a> Come to our Launch For those in the Toronto area, we will be holding a launch for our consultation phase at our office: Tuesday July 5th, 5:30 to 8:00pm 215 Spadina Avenue, Toronto Our special guests for the launch include Donna Cansfield, MPP Etobicoke Centre and chair of the Conservation Action Team Helen Burstyn, Chair, The Ontario Trillium Foundation Robin Cardozo, Chief Executive Officer, The Ontario Trillium Foundation Sara Taylor, Manager of Communications, The Beer Store Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Peter Love, Chief Energy Conservation Officer, The Ontario Power Authority Space is limited, so please RSVP to Allegra Newman at <a href="mailto:research@greenontario.org">research@greenontario.org</a>. </body> </html>