To the editor:
What to prioritize when given a delivery date of 2030 to drop our emissions down 45 per cent before our climate reaches a deadly turning point?
Do nothing and that year will bear the infamy equivalent of 9/11. There is no do-over, this is a one-shot deal.
Are we too busy building up that bank account? Facing such devastation, how can I prioritize my bank account as a cushion while the world about it burns.
For our leaders to turn their backs to this, public safety is put on the backburner. It will all be tinder if the economy is protected above all else.
The problem is, those with the tools and knowledge for seeking this new path are deeply entrenched in the destructive status quo. Our education pigeonholes us into silos, where specialization blinds us to pertinent interconnected factors.
The obvious decision was kicked down the road for over 30 years, passing the buck to us, then our children, and now those yet-born to bear the consequences.
Why are we dragging our feet? Why do we leave it up to our children to shout in outrage?
Keep in mind that while our economy needs our environment to operate, the environment doesn’t need the economy.
If anything, the economy is malignant to our environment. We cannot have endless economic growth based on a world of limited resources.
We cannot allow petroleum to be a more powerful source of life than water. We are wasting the more important of the two.
So what to do? Reverse the equation. We need an economy that can feed the environment. One that nourishes rather than plunders.
We must rebuild the systems that freely provide life-giving services. We must open our eyes to the awe of nature, creating life in ways that we have no clue. We need harmony, restoration and gratitude for nature.
Will it work? Well, we know the result if we do nothing. The ones making the change must be the ones willing to first lose this game.
I say first because there will be no winners, based on the current game’s rules.
But we can be in the position to determine what win or lose means, not from those that gain from our loss but from those who will win along with us.
We have 11 years to work out a solution. Eleven years ago, we were introduced to Iron Man, Wall-E, Heath Ledger’s Joker, Walter White, got lost in Lost, and our economy bailed out the banks.
That wasn’t long ago, and we haven’t long left. Action must happen yesterday.
We must walk away from our culture and have a destination beyond mere survival. More importantly, we must work together.
Beware of divisive language, splitting us up then pitting us against one another.
This crisis is more than a Canadian problem, it will span the world.
I must believe that together we can change our culture. Our world depends on it.
Darrin Fiddler,
Marijuana Party, Kelowna-Lake Country