Talk about jumping on the bandwagon! This weekends Vancouver Sun contained no less than 11 different stories (more than 460 column inches) dedicated to, or otherwise mentioning climate change, global warming and/or environmental sustainability. That's before even reaching the 18 page special supplement entitled "Going Green" in the middle of the paper. There are stories that mention climate change in 7 different sections of the newspaper including the business, travel and West Coast Homes sections. Wow!
There can be very little doubt that climate change has officially become the flavour of the week, month, year and I personally think that this is great (to a point). I agree with Sun columnist Stephen Hume who tells us (among other things) that we need to get educated about climate change and as this weekends paper seems to indicate, there is an awful lot of information out there from a lot of different people with some very different points of view. Just take a look at the Douglas Todd piece in the Going Green supplement for an example of two very different perspectives. It would appear then that our job is to sift through all of this stuff, try and determine what is valid, what affects us and what our abilities are to make positive changes in our own back yards.
Yesterday a friend approached me at the Rec Center and, seeing that I was reading the paper asked "Whats new?", to which I replied "Looks like a lot of stuff on climate change." I'm not sure if I should have been surprised or not but she then proceeded to inform me that she thought the whole thing was being blown out of proportion. She then started to tell me that we had no idea what was going to happen as a result of global warming and that no one can predict the actual affect that we have towards climate change. She went on to inform me about a potential shift of the gulf-stream which will bring weather back in line to what it should be??? This is where she lost me!
I told her that while I agreed that we don't really know exactly whats going to happen in the future the evidence that our impact is growing increasingly negative seems pretty clear. Even so, if we know that there are things that we can do to make our air cleaner or reduce the pressure on landfills and so on, why wouldn't we do it? I went on to explain how my wife and I were seriously thinking about downsizing our current vehicle (its a V6) to one that is easier at the pump and therefor easier on our wallets and easier on the environment. Her response... if climate change and global warming are such a big problem then why don't they stop clear cutting!
That's about where the conversation ended.
The Premier has a daunting task ahead of him if he is to reduce our carbon emissions by 33%. I say "him and he" in this case since many of us prefer to place the blame on him rather than shoulder up to this task ourselves. I think its encouraging that 77% of us (according to a recent poll by Ipsos Reid) seem willing to make significant changes in our lives in the interest of climate change (Am I the only one that picked up the significance between the 77% in this Ipsos Reid Poll and the 33% in the governments plan?) but I'm not surprised at all that 50% of British Columbians don't want to pay any more for it. While it appears that 76% of us think that Canada should take a leading role in climate change, I am frequently reminded and alarmed at the number of people (like this friend) that refuse to recognize individual contribution and cling precariously to the argument that we don't know all of the facts or the facts are inconclusive.
I am certainly not a scientist or an expert on weather, climate change, ecosystems, global warming or any of these other things. That said, I don't believe that Victoria will become the new Atlantis within the lifetime of our grandchildren and I do believe that the earth is somewhat resilient and therefor able to recover a bit more than some of the more radical environmentalists give it credit for. But I'm also not blind and I have seen the affects of a warmer planet all around me.
I know that the world is getting warmer because I can remember winters growing up in Langley where we actually got a lot of snow, every winter. I've also seen pictures of my Dad as a young boy in Port Kells with even more snow. Lots of snow! I've worked at one of the local ski areas since 1991 and I have seen the affects of global warming as every year the winter season seems to get shorter or less predictable. The need for snowmaking on many ski hills in BC, Canada and North America in order to guarantee a full season is becoming greater as the years go by.
I also know that the population of Langley District Municipality (where I grew up) has grown significantly over this period from a population of 39 000 in 1977 to almost 100 000 in 2006. I know that the population of the Lower Mainland has increased by about 750 000 in the last 20 years and I'm told that the number of vehicles on our roads increases by about 20 000 per year. I also know that it took me an extra half hour to get home from North Vancouver yesterday thanks to an antiquated infrastructure and a major accident north of the Second Narrows Bridge. I'm pretty sure that an extra half hour idling in traffic is probably not great.
While I'm certainly no expert, I know that despite the confusion in some of the information we're getting there are many things that we can do to generate some positive change. I also believe that although some of the steps we take may seem small, we must recognize the significance in all of them. I believe that Premier Campbell and his team are leading us in the right direction but I also think that most of us are reasonable and intelligent people capable of making reasonable and intelligent decisions. We just need to remind ourselves of this fact.
I agree that Canada and British Columbia should take a leadership role on climate change, but I certainly don't see leadership in a person that justifies a poor vehicle choice by saying "We go off road sometimes in the summer." Finally, I'm starting to believe a friend of mine who told me recently that I've been watching the same movie for too long soooo... I'll step off my soapbox for a minute. Only a minute though.
Phfew!
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2 comments:
Good post Ray. I always love the argument that since no one truly knows the answer to something that the problem shouldn't be dealt with at any level.
I would agree that no one can say with certainty the causes and effects of global warming and climate change and that is one reason why there are so many divergent opinions. However, some of this information that is offered is simply a diversionary tactic to muddle the issues at hand(i.e "we can't act until we have all the necessary, conclusive evidence") for the simple purpose of ensuring the status quo remains. Unfortunately, a common political tactic with many issues.
While I am thankful that the environment has seemingly become a hot button issue I worry if it will have "legs", or will it be brushed aside the next time Britney Spears decides to go sans panties?
BC residents' reactions to having to pay further to address this issue doesn't surprise me. I look at the environment issue much like smoking: You know its bad for you, you know you should quit, but you don't die the minute you light up. It's when you get throat cancer you wish you had done something about it.
I agree J4im and I sincerely hope that the issue will survive Britney Spears panties or lack of.(maybe its her way of doing her part by saving on laundry soap, small steps). Those of us that truly care have a big task in sifting through all of the information thats likely to surface in the coming days. But then those of us that truly care don't need any more information.
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