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Am I a climate denier? Probably.
I love that I can flip a switch or turn a tap, and presto, on come the lights and out comes the water.
I love that paper cups and plates serve me food and drink, and I don’t have to clean up. And I love that I can travel by air to the ends of the earth, fast and on the cheap.
Maybe that’s the point. In my generation, post Second World War/baby boomers have never had to say no.
Ours was a world that delivered whatever we wanted. Every generation since has adopted and intensified this habit. Did we ever think to ask: "at what cost?"
- Big fires, atmospheric rivers, tornadoes, and heat domes all point to our unbridled appetite that has disrupted weather patterns that were once predictable.
- Georgian Bay/Lake Huron has been polluted, drawn down, and exploited from 200 years of developmental pressures. Maybe we ignore its perilous, continuing decline because we can’t see beneath its surface?
So now I ask, are climate change disasters a good thing? Maybe.
Climate change is waking us up.
Climate change is asking us to look in the mirror and choose how we want our towns and jobs to grow.
Solar panels on every roof, wind turbines on our properties, retrofits, farm-methane capture, are just a few examples that bring local trades, farmers, haulers, and teachers jobs, jobs, jobs.
This is what will protect and sustain our families and beloved community. And it’s attainable now.
Who do we choose to lead us in this democratic, green transition?
That leadership is here, but I don’t think it’s from someone who puts $200 in every pocket, and makes it easier to buy booze.
That dumbs us down. We’re better than that.
For the next provincial election, I’ve decided to vote for the Green Party, Grey-Bruce-Owen Sound.
Caryn Colman
Meaford, Ont.
