Columns and Letters

Letter: Climate Change - Where do we go from here?

Dear Editor:
   
Climate Change - Where do we go from here? We are running out of time.
   
Climate change has been in the news and on many people’s minds for a long time but environmentalists have observed the lack of attention being paid to environmental issues. We no longer have that luxury. We are running out of time.
    Most people believed our politicians, government officials, and agencies would address the environmental issues that arose on a regular basis but in the best interest for the public. I was truly naive but I was not alone - we have collectively been deceived by all the players (the corporations, politicians, and “economic gurus”) all in the name of jobs and the so-called betterment of the “economy”.
    If we can’t breathe clean air, drink clean water, or eat healthy food then the “economy” won’t matter. Boy, have we been hoodwinked! Our environmental crisis is now upon us, but we knew it was coming long ago.
    Alexander Von Humboldt was known by a growing number of scientists as one of the first to state that humans are responsible for “Harmful induced climate change” as early as 1800. In the mid 1850s he summarized his lifelong investigations and wrote “Kosmos” which laid out the first foundations of what would later be called the GAIA hypothesis. He discussed his findings about the interconnectedness of all the environmental parts as a “web” which has continued to this day.
    The public concern about climate change grew gradually from the beginning of the 20th century because of the pertinent scientific discoveries that took place. Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” was first published on September 27th, 1962, and that started what we now call the “environmental movement”. It took many years for the knowledge contained within that book to make its way through the academic community and finally into the public consciousness. In “Silent Spring,” Carson brought it to our attention that man-made chemicals were having a catastrophic negative effect on our environment. James Lovelock’s GAIA hypothesis that “the world functions as a self regulating system” was first presented in the early 1960s which coincides with Rachel Carson’s findings. The simplification of the GAIA hypothesis is that everything within our environment is related to all other parts of the environment. Many Indigenous cultures around the world had known this for millennia but deadly manmade chemicals had not been created yet which effected our environment even more significantly than in the past. Chemicals designed to kill living organisms effect the entire ecosystem because all the individual parts are influenced by the others parts.
    There are a growing number of people all over the world who are protesting against their government’s lack of action on climate change.
    Some are even able to take their government to court. Together with 900 citizens, the Urgenda Foundation filed the Climate Case against the Dutch Government. On June 24th, 2015, Urgenda won a lawsuit against the Dutch State, forcing it to take more measures against climate change. On October 9th the judge in High Court again ruled in favour of Urgenda and the climate.
    Hundreds of scientists make up the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and they have determined that we only have 12 years before we reach the point of inevitable, catastrophic climate change. Knowledge is power but that only comes with an education so one critical part of addressing climate change is educating as many people as possible.
So, where do we go from here?
    The Council of Canadians, in co-operation with the David Suzuki Foundation, invite you to come to any or all of the environmental movies we have scheduled here on Cape Breton Island. The schedule is attached below. Your climate change ideas will be discussed at every one of these showings but here is a summary of what one person has done to do her part about climate change.
    “There are already many ways for individuals to demonstrate leadership, in terms of addressing climate change. For example, we have transitioned our home heating from oil to high-efficiency forced air electric, and our yard and snow blowing equipment from gas to electric, doubled our home insulation, purchased “green electricity” for our home, became vegetarian, and purchased carbon offsets to mitigate our car's emissions, until we can transition to an all-electric vehicle.”
    At these showings we will focus on solutions like those described in detail on drawdown.org, the Centre for Local Prosperity, Extinction Rebellion, The David Suzuki Foundation, and others.
    Joining organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation, Extinction Rebellion, The Council of Canadians, 350.org, The Healthy Forest Coalition, The Ecology Action Centre, Sierra Club, LeadNow, Zero Waste Canada, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Oceana Canada, or the Centre for Local Prosperity can help you get started at your choice of actions.
    If you are interested in joining the Council of Canadians please contact Paul Strome at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 902-224-2524 for more information.

Paul Stone,
Cheticamp


 


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