Dear editor:
If the Devil exists, then certainly the greatest trick he ever pulled was convincing the world that the environmental issue was a partisan issue.
It’s far past time that we stopped treating environmental protection as a debate. Too long this has been put off by fake fixes. By political lip service, by symbols we slap on food products so consumers can feel good about themselves, by token promises from companies. None of these are enough. All our efforts up until now have served to do is to cause people to say, “Oh, that’s alright, I know it’s a problem, but I’ve done my part.”
The Earth doesn’t seem to agree with that sentiment. It has, and will continue, to bombard us with ever increasing ferocity. But we don’t want to face the facts that it’s that bad. That we may need to do actual work. So in our cowardice, who do we turn to? Who do we rely on to try, with some snowballs chance, to make a difference? School children. “How dare you” is right.
For years, environmentalism has been made a personal issue. Make sure YOU recycle, make sure YOU conserve water, all to take the blame off of those truly responsible. By one study, over 70 per cent of greenhouse gasses are produced by just 100 companies.
I get it, there is no easy way to hold those companies accountable. We live in a society, a global society, that demands employment. And there are millions of people who depend on these practices for their survival. Yes, it’s easy to label all corporation as the enemy. But many included under that banner of “private business” are small organizations, who can’t afford the switch to more expensive materials.
Every time climate initiatives are brought up, this is the argument against them that has the most sway. It’s not economically feasible. It will hurt people. This is true.
Unfortunately, it seems that even children know what those in power are not willing to accept: The time for painless transition has passed.
The problems have been piled up, swept aside, put off so that now there is no easy fix. There could have been, had we had foresight, but there isn’t. So times will get tough. Families will be hurt. They’ll have to be.
Because either a few people lose out, or everyone will.
Kiernan Livingstone
North Vancouver
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