Earth Day? Naaa, we’d rather watch hockey
Cats: Canada|My daughter’s wearing green to school today. Yesterday she brought home all of the garbage she generated in the day. This recognizes Earth Day. It’s great to see that the kids “get it.”
Some adults get it too, but most don’t, especially in Canada. And the politicians we elect definitely don’t get it. They have their fingers in their ears and are singing “la-la-la.”
Canadians like to think of themselves as a nature-loving people. We possess a smug sense of superiority about this, yet we still believe we are entitled to drive energy-inefficient SUVs, burn coal to generate electricity, pave roads rather than invest in public transit, and bail out auto manufacturers.
Our green energy policy is laughable. Our Kyoto committments are a joke.
Manufacturers of solar technologies have to leave the country and go to Germany to do solar energy RnD and commercialization. Wind companies have to fight against the vested interests of coal-burning profit-driven electricity monopolies who are guaranteed a margin and have to pay shareholders. And individuals who wish to build green houses are given few incentives. They have to pay out of pocket.
I live in a province that has the highest green-house gas output in the world (per capita). We burn imported coal to generate electricity, yet we promote ourselves as a nature-lover’s paradise. High cancer and asthma rates don’t appear in the tourism literature here.
Nature-loving Canada is asleep at the wheel when it comes to green energy policy. It lags behind Europe, the US, Brazil and must of the developed world.
If you leave the county for awhile and come back again, you can see the entitlement all around, and smell the complacency in the air. I’m not convinced that most Canadians even think we have a problem. And if they do they don’t think they are part of it.
That probably has something to do with our dependence on resources: tar sands, lumber, minerals. We’re still a 19th-century economy. Why should we change?
This is sad on a number of levels.
Canada has the brains and universities to be a leader in green energy RnD. It has the green energy “resources” in water, wind, sun, tides and waves. Canada could be a centre of excellence, but instead Canada has its head in the tar sands.
Nature-loving Canada has so much to lose.
North Pole trekkers are desperate to tell us that the ice cap is melting at a phenomenal rate. Soon it will be impossible to trek to the North Pole. Meanwhile our Prime Minister sees this as an opportunity to exploit more hydrocarbons from the earth.
Canada is also missing an economic opportunity to invest in the green economy: RnD, innovation and commercialization of alternative energies. And it is falling behind other countries that are doing this now.
Instead of investing billions in alternative energies, Canada will throw billions at failing automobile manufacturers.
It’s galling to think that a country like this is missing the boat on an issue that is so critical to our future. One day we will wake up and scratch our heads, wondering why everyone else is so far ahead.
Earth Day is a good idea because it focuses the issues. Maybe it will wake Canadians up from their slumber, but I’m not optimistic. Canada’s like the kid in school who is smart and who could do better, but can’t be bothered.
Canadians – for the most part – would rather sit down in front of the TV for a night of hockey and wait for the economy to pick up again so we will get a better price for our natural resources.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Excellent post. I’m glad to see that you take your own country to task instead of blaming mine for all the climate change problems. If we all work together in a meaningful way we can solve this problem.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 am
Dr. Monkey, thanks, your country is far ahead of mine in this aspect. But we usually end up following what you do, so that’s hopeful
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 am
Amen, sister.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
British Columbia has a carbon tax now that (supposedly) is used to invest in “green” technologies. On the radio this morning we ranked #1 in the country, with P.E.I. ranking last.
They neglected to mention where we fit internationally though.
Unfortunately here in rural BC we don’t have public transit options, and our recycling options are extremely limited. (i.e. White plastic #2 only).
I like the carbon tax, even though us rural citizens pay a disproportionate amount largely due to the distances we travel and the nature of our rural economy. At least people react to a hit to the pocket book, even if they don’t get ‘it’.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
It’s so true. We live in a country with access to so much of nature (compared to other countries) but what do we do to protect it? Instead of living close enough to work to walk or bike (or even take public transit), we’re building McMansions in the suburbs that aren’t even on bus routes.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I too enjoyed the column. I’ve tweeted it!
But yes, I remember growing up in the ’90s and hearing about how Canada was a leader in environmental issues and all those “green” things. I remember a commercial saying Canada was #1! As an adult now, looking at both the Nova Scotia and Federal governments, I wonder sometimes whether the ’90s were better or if we were full of tosh back then too.
I look at all the litter around bus stops and on sidewalks and everywhere, and I am so ashamed. I wonder about what kind of people are SO BUSY that they can’t be bothered to use a trash can.
It’s all very sad and indicative that there are too many Canadians who are still asleep and keep hitting ‘snooze’.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 pm
You give good rant, and sadly, all of it is deserved.
We are just so damn complacent when it comes to our resources and they way in which they are (hardly) managed. I cannot believe the numbers of people who still refuse to believe that their is a problem with squandering our resources and our future the way we always have.
Maddening.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 am
Racquel, I’m sure it won’t be my last homily on this subject
Dick, BC is one of the few provinces in Canada with vision and courage
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:24 am
Kimberly, oh McMansions, don’t get me started on McMansions.But yes, agreed on all points and thanks for you series on this.
Ryan, the complacency here is quite shocking. Also the failure to connect SUV purchases, for example, with the larger problem.
Barbara, must admit it felt good and has been brewing for awhile now. I try not to turn this blog into a hobby horse for my interests, but EArth Day seemed like fair game. Your book review also inspired me.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Gail, you can always sum it up so well!
Well said!