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SULLIVAN: Petty politics rule while the world burns

Ah, summer on the North Shore. Just relaxing on the patio watching the sun cut through the smoky haze, looking like a red sore in the sky. Later, once you check to see which beaches are still open and not hopelessly contaminated by E.

Ah, summer on the North Shore.

Just relaxing on the patio watching the sun cut through the smoky haze, looking like a red sore in the sky.

Later, once you check to see which beaches are still open and not hopelessly contaminated by E. coli, you might go for a swim.

We’ve just been through the second hottest July on record for the North Shore, the seventh driest ever. Environment Canada recorded 19.4 millimetres of rain in July. That’s three-quarters of an inch. In a rain forest.

Coming up, more of the same. As I write, there’s an air quality advisory in effect because of the smoke and haze in the air from the 600 forest fires burning in formerly beautiful B.C. Environment Canada advises that: “If you are experiencing symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, follow the advice of your healthcare provider. As we are in the summer season with warm temperatures, it is also important to stay cool and hydrated.”

Just don’t go for a swim in the bacteria-infested ocean.

As I write this stuff, I find myself wondering what the adults in charge think of all of this. That’s if there are any. Adults. In charge.

Whoever they are, they must be aware of what’s going on; I mean, Environment Canada is the scorekeeper.

In fact, they are. Ottawa has promised to send 200 troops plus air support to fight fires in the province.

And in the big picture, the prime minister is trying to live up to Canada’s Paris Accord commitment on climate change, even as Ontario and Saskatchewan fight his carbon tax plan tooth and nail.

Still, I invite Mr. Trudeau – who seems to be everywhere – to hang out with me on the patio to watch the sun glare back at us. I would like to ask him how these intimations of the Apocalypse make him feel. He’s big on feelings, I hear.

I know how I feel about the annual bonfire of B.C., and it’s not good, a combination of anxiety and outrage. Oh, and powerless.

I wonder if that’s how Justin Trudeau feels, when just to the south, the “adult” who runs the most powerful nation on earth is blaming the California wildfires on “bad environmental laws,” not climate change or as it used to be called, more accurately: global warming. In fact, he often dismisses the whole idea as a hoax.

But what else can it be when planetary places renowned for their sogginess – the Pacific Northwest and Scotland – are experiencing unprecedented drought and heat? Globally, this year is on track to be the fourth hottest on record. The top three? 2015, 2016 and 2017. The hottest ever? 2016.

It would seem to me that these irrefutable facts should motivate the adults in charge to come together and address the problem. Instead, the Adult-in-Chief seems perversely inclined to make it worse – Earth burns while Trump fiddles. Somehow, the very air we breathe is ruled by petty politics.

Meanwhile, back here, as one of the hottest summers on record (if not the hottest) continues to unfold, the fire department bans the use of barbecues in parks. It may seem small and pointless, but burning coals and gas have a direct impact on the environment. Maybe we should task all the fire departments around the world to come up with solutions to global warming. It’s not such a “fire”-fetched idea. Remember those TV commercials, “What if fire fighters ran things?”

Maybe they’d prevent the world from burning up.

As for the rest of us, what is the adult thing to do? Probably the first thing is to stop kidding ourselves. There’s a distressing amount of avoidance in the air along with the particulate. Some people look at all the smoke and hope the wind will blow it away. Someday – soon I fear – the wind won’t blow it away.

 Some people look at all the smoke and say “Yeah, but. ...” If the wind won’t blow it away, maybe we can explain it away. Even if we don’t dismiss the whole thing as a hoax, we can say, “Yeah, but it’s only the fourth hottest year on record.” Good luck with that.

I visualize myself sitting on the patio with Justin Trudeau as he briefs me about his commitment to B.C., his commitment to Canada, his commitment to the planet.

Then I squint into the haze and say “Yeah, but is that good enough?”

I’m not sure what the answer is. I have to wait until the prime minister stops coughing.

p.sullivan@breakthroughpr.com