Dr. David Suzuki, one famous Canadian.

 

 

Again, Dr. David Suzuki is on the news. What a week in the news this is. The North and South Korea signed a peace agreement. The president of France is making speeches in the US begging people to “make the world great again” by curbing pollution. We don’t have a planet number two he said. Here at home rich donors cut donations to the University of Alberta, trying to starve the institution into submission. What do the donors want? They want the UofA not to give Dr. David Suzuki an honorary doctorate that incidentally, would be his thirtieth.

 

I find that living in Alberta; one can’t avoid talking about Dr. Suzuki. Just mention, in conversation, that human oil-based civilization is destroying the world, or simply say “global warming,” and, you will be confronted about David Suzuki. Apparently, he uses gas in his car and boat, so do I, and he supposedly owns an island off the BC coast. So does my friend Al. This, in some people’s estimation is a reason to disregard the melting of the polar ice caps, the floods and fires now on steroids, and all the rest of the environmental concerns that we are constantly being bombarded with. Yet, he has done more than anyone else to make people aware of the danger we are creating with the uncontrolled burning of oil coal and gas.   In the early days, we used to pump sewage into oceans and rivers, and eventually we stopped. Now we must stop pumping waste into the atmosphere he said.

 

There are many wars, going on in the world today; each is terrible if you get close and look. There are real people, bleeding and suffering, often just to stay alive. One war is greater than all others and its raging everywhere, including in our own little community in the mountains. You are probably looking out the window at peaceful forested slopes saying, the guy is crazy. A war going on here? Yes here and all over the place. It is the war between an old economic system, based on oil ownership, that is now spreading destruction of the world, and the need to replace it to keep on living. We can no longer assume that the only cost of mechanical power is the price of gas. The new system is embodied by a face every Canadian recognizes, the old David Suzuki. David has been the spokesperson for environmentalism for as long as I can remember and if you talk to any person whose only concern is the economy, he or she will name Suzuki as the number one foe. He is pro-life on the planet regardless of necessary changes to the economic system. Oil is great but not more important than people.

  

Alberta is arguing about economics and BC about the environment. We are arguing, but we are not speaking the same language. Everyone agrees that selling oil makes money and that some of that money will create jobs. All agree that jobs are important to the economy. There are jobs in producing and selling oil, and there are jobs in making energy that doesn’t create pollution. We used to have a lot of jobs that eventually killed the workers, like in asbestos, but we regulated industries and found ways to live without destroying human beings. Now we are faced with the greatest task ever, and there is no way to ignore the facts anymore.

 

The archaic notion that clean energy is too expensive, takes too much space or can’t be stored is just that, archaic. Used to be true before the latest developments.  So is the notion that our pollution is so minute that it doesn’t make a difference. Most of the people who preach it are old and remember their days in school when humanity was half the size of what it is today and people used only half of the power we currently use. Suzuki points it out publically and consequently is despised by carbon-spewing industries. Attempting to shut him up is giving ammunition to those who terrorize our home planet and will not work. I am ashamed that those I know and admire in many ways are supporting a war on humankind just to improve the economy for a little longer while knowing the great costs that we will soon face if we don’t change. I envy the First Nation people who for spiritual and cultural reasons fight so hard to save our homeland and home planet. They instinctively know that damaging the water, soil, and the air is evil and must be opposed. They know that this is a serious war for life and death.

 

In summary, I like to repeat the message to all the corporations and investors who are attempting to use force and financial pressure to hide the truth which may cost us our lives or the lives of our descendants. Your money and energy are needed for solving the problem we neglected to deal with for too long. Please join the winning side and compete to improve instead of destroy life. You never know when your situation may be reversed and you may need clean water and air to survive, and will not be able to purchase it. There is a story in the bible about the rich man who needed to build new granaries to store his riches, but his life was demanded by God before he could enjoy it. It’s a good story and worth your attention. Forget about fighting David Suzuki, the messenger, and concentrate on preserving the paradise that was created for all of us. The University of Alberta is doing the right thing honoring Suzuki regardless of what is on the news this week.

This is my opinion, and you can leave comments on https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/