Friday, 23 Jun 2000

SMITHERS, British Columbia

I’m cheating a bit, writing Friday’s diary entry on Thursday evening. Having taken my own advice, I am now on holiday, gin and tonic in hand. I have left the office and the province. True to the activist work ethic, I am working on my holiday — but just for Grist and just for that last case of Tanqueray gin. Extinction sucks, but gin doesn’t.

Time to get out of town.

Photo: Kate Smallwood.

I’ll be out hiking in the Rockies this weekend. As I watch the sunset through my friends’ window in Calgary, I think about how little we know of the natural world. Here we are trying to protect endangered species, and we have no idea how many species are out there. Scientists estimate that we have probably only identified and given a scientific name to 10 percent of the world’s species. As to estimating the total number of species on Planet Earth, there could be 10 million, there could be 100 million — we really have no idea. The ballpark estimate is about 14 million.

Canada’s endangered species legislation will either pass by the end of this year or disappear into the ether if a federal election is called. If done properly — and we are a long way from that in Canada — endangered species legislation operates like a hospital. It deals with the sick and wounded. If done poorly, it operates at best as an emergency ward, dealing with the critically ill. Either way, legislation will not conserve biological diversity in and of itself. We need a broader “health care” program for biodiversity.

During my holidays this summer, I’ll be thinking seriously about where we go after Canada has passed its endangered species legislation. I’ve been pondering this for some time now and still don’t have a concrete answer on what I will do for biodiversity. How do you take on a global crisis? Must have been a question the climate change folks pondered several years back. Where to start? How can you show your funders that the small steps that you can take, and help others to take, are worth the effort? Because they are.

I want to continue the outreach to popular culture that we’ve just started to explore with our Extinction Sucks campaign. In 1998, the Biodiversity Project completed an impressive “road map” on biodiversity communication. They found that the environmental community relied primarily on news media to get its messages across. And that the focus was primarily reactive.

In contrast, popular culture and popular media were rarely used by the environmental community. Yet popular culture and popular media have much greater influence on shaping public opinion. So I decided that we should focus our efforts on the pop scene.

We’ve had an incredible response to our hip campaign ads and campaign logo. Using humor, bright colors, and provocative messaging, our ads have been noticed in niche magazines and on public transit (which is an incredibly cheap way to get extensive coverage). A small advertising budget, but we get noticed. I keep trying to imagine what we could do with a serious chunk of change.

But enough of this navel gazing. Let’s get down to the real results. The Great Canadian Tacky Gift Opportunity p
roved to be a complete dud. You handbags. If any of you still have any neat ideas about good sources for online promotion of our campaign, send them my way at ksmallwood@wcel.org.

But what you lacked in online ideas, you more than made up for in Beastly Behavior. Yes, the Beastly Gender Fax-Off has proved to be a huge success. Thanks to word of our campaign in Grist, we’ve hit an all-time monthly faxing high. But you don’t get the final results of the Fax-Off that easily.

Salmon could be up a creek without your help.

Photo: Ian McAllister.

If you haven’t sent your fax yet, please take a moment to do so. For species. For habitat. It’s not often you can actually make a difference with just a few minutes of your time. And not leave your desk. So on a Friday, when you are distracted with thoughts of your forthcoming misdemeanors, send that fax to Canada’s Prime Minister calling for strong species protection. Be Beastly. It will set you in good stead for the weekend.

And now. The Beastly truth. Hard as it is to admit it, the guys won the day. Aarrgh! Although the women out-faxed the guys every day but Monday, the blokes did such an impressive job on Day 1 that the chicks never caught up. (Still, if victory is defined in terms of daily victories, the chicks whipped the guys four out of five days.) Nice effort guys, and I’ve just lost out on quite a few gin and tonics to some dude I’ve never met who lives in Washington, D.C. Bummer. He was going to match me gins for the number of female faxes over the guys’ faxes.

So. Yea and verily it is hereby declared that Men Are More Beastly (go guys!!!) than women when it comes to species. (At least this week.)

Thanks to the Grist dudes for their good humor and patience. And to all of you who took a moment to send a fax for species.

My ice has melted. My drink is finished. My friends are patiently waiting downstairs for their very rude visitor to stop working and come and hang out. And so I bid you all goodnight.