facebook, the planet and the many faces of the environmentalist

Thanks to Facebook I have recently re-connected with an old high school friend. (Yes I too am part of the massive and growing facebooker movement) In my friends profile he lists as one of his favorite books "endgame" by Derrick Jensen and along with the book he posts a challenge for all to "shut the #%$! up about current affairs until you've read it!" Not being able to resist a good challenge (and needing to be able to talk about current affairs) I immediately went out and bought Volume 1 (its a 2 volume book)"The Problem of Civilization" and dove right into reading it.

Derrick Jensen, for those that haven't heard of him is a bit of an environmental extremist. According to his bio he is a "leading voice of uncompromising dissent" and fellow author (Peoples History of the United States) Howard Zinn praises Jensen as "a rare and original voice of sanity in a chaotic world". Endgame basically tells the story of how civilization has and is ruining the planet and all of the living things, (plant and animal) that occupy it.

Looking at the world around me, its really hard to disagree with many of the points raised by Jensen or with the twenty premises that he poses at the start of the book. I too am concerned about our environment and I can't disagree that civilization has had the greatest negative impact on our planet and the future of everyone and thing that calls it home. Still, there were several times throughout my reading of Endgame where I thought I would put it down and move on to something else. I don't know if Jensen is in fact the leading voice of dissent but he is certainly the loudest I've read in a while. His points are valid, I'm just not so sure that I'm ready to buy into his solutions yet!

According to Derrick Jensen the only way to save the planet is to destroy civilization as we know it. Blow up dams, pull down cell phone towers, and all-in-all create a level of chaos that will force those people who survive to change the way that they are living. All for the benefit of the salmon (Derrick Jensen really likes salmon).

Civilization has most certainly reached a crossroad where we must make what could arguably be the most important decision we've ever made before. The decision that we make will have a profound impact on the future of not only civilization but the planet as a whole for sure, but I'm not yet at the point with Jensen where I believe that we need to start blowing up dams to save the world. Perhaps the biggest challenge that I had with the book lies in the fact that Derrick Jensen seems to dismiss the impact that we as individuals have or can have on a sustainable future. No doubt our efforts are small and seemingly insignificant when stacked up against the damage caused by industry and government but I can't help believe that more of us need to clean up our own back yards to demonstrate that we actually have the conviction to take on the big offenders. Only once the majority of us agree that our planet is important and that saving it is a priority will we be able to truly affect any kind of positive change.

I'm not ready to blow up dams, but on the subject of dams and recognizing that since most of us don't want to see civilization destroyed, I am in favour of efforts to find alternative sources of energy that don't destroy salmon populations, contribute to melting ice caps or rely heavily on non-renewable fossil fuels. Common sense tells me that finding alternative energy sources is not going to be easy and meeting future demands, especially as our population grows is a challenge that required serious thought and creative solutions. But then I'm no expert when it comes to energy, not like Vancouver-Hastings NDP MLA and Environment Critic Shane Simpson.

When it comes to energy and the environment the BC NDP and Simpson's strategy (or lack of) only manage to confuse me more. British Columbian's have largely told the government that the environment is a priority and the BC Liberals have responded to the level that even environmental groups within the province have applauded the governments efforts. Yet the NDP still find the time to oppose green energy such as independent run-of-the-river projects. In case you've missed it, Shane Simpson is a long-standing opponent to run-of-the-river projects like the one currently being built at Ashlu Creek in the Squamish valley. Run-of river power is achieved (very simply stated) when a portion of a river is diverted through a tunnel or pipeline toward a turbine and then returned, unchanged back to the river. It seems like a pretty reasonable alternative to bigger dams that flood valleys, harm the salmon and face the potential risk of being blown up by Derrick Jensen, doesn't it? Ashlu Creek, once completed will generate enough power to service 23,000 home each year. Not bad considering that BC Hydro doesn't have enough power to service BC right now and has to import power from other places.

So what is Shane Simpson's problem? I know I've said it before but here it is again...

Ownership!

Shane Simpson and the BC NDP don't like the idea that anyone other than the government control power in British Columbia. Shane Simpson and the BC NDP stay awake at night worrying over the very notion that private companies might generate power that they might then turn around and sell...for a profit! Worse, they might sell it to people other than British Columbians! I can understand and in some ways respect a politician, critic, or minister for that matter placing the needs of British Columbians before those of anyone else. This is why we elect them after all, to represent us. That said, there just seems to be something wrong with an environment critic who's concerns for a greener planet stop at the border. On this I have to agree with Nigel Protter in the Oct 4 Georgia Strait where he identifies run-of-the-river projects "as a means of avoiding dirty fossil fuels in electricity generation." Don't we all benefit in some way from cleaner energy?

There are currently some 1.7 million hydro customers in this province and BC Hydro already must import energy to meet our needs. The province's energy demand is expected to increase by 1.7% each year for the next 10 years meaning, as I mentioned earlier, that if we expect to meet our own power demands we will have to seriously explore alternative sources.

Shane Simpson has promised to start asking some serious questions in the legislature about the future and scale of power generation in the province. He intends to use question periods to raise his concerns over "massive projects" like the one at Ashlu Creek and the some 50 other projects awaiting approval.

I may not agree with Jensen's form of extreme environmental dissent but at least I can respect his conviction when it comes to saving the planet (I'm currently reading volume 2 of Endgame). Unfortunately the same can't be said for Shane Simpson, the environment critic that seems to have no clue or conviction at all for a greener planet.