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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (24690)	5/24/2009 12:29:43 PM
From: average joe	Respond to of 36917

Here is touching polemic from the good doctor calling for the elimination of humans. The only thing wrong with the planet is us, according to environmentalist David Suzuki. Speaking to a capacity crowd at the University of Toronto Mississauga this evening, Suzuki said animals would rejoice if humans were to disappear from the planet, because the environment would no longer be destroyed. According to Suzuki, 50,000 species of plants and animals become extinct each year, and if we continue on our path of destroying the ecological system, 80 per cent of mammals could disappear before the end of this century. “It’s not just the environment. We’re facing an ecological catastrophe around the world,” he said. “Ninety per cent of big fish in the ocean are gone and they’re not coming back.” He added that after consuming all the big fish, we have moved down the food chain. We are now fishing four levels down that food chain and pretty soon we’ll be eating jelly fish. The environmental implications will not have any effect on his life, said Suzuki, but it will on the lives of future generations. Suzuki calls on students to stand up to the government and fight for the environment. The problem is politicians don’t have to worry about the implications of their decisions 15 or 20 years down the line, they worry about getting votes. But because children don’t vote, their health isn’t on political agendas, because fish don’t vote, their health isn’t on political agendas. But we are one out of 30 million species on the planet and we depend on all of them for food, air, water and sun to survive. Suzuki talked about the earth being our biosphere and the biosphere cannot grow. Giving an example of a biosphere, he talked about a test tube full of food for bacteria. The bacteria can double every minute. One becomes two, two become four, four become eight and so forth. Within 60 minutes the tube is full of bacteria and there is no food left in it. But at minute 59 that tube is only half full of bacteria. “We’re past the 59th minute,” he said of the world. He encouraged people to take up the David Suzuki Nature Challenge, by making a few lifestyle changes. “It’s your future. Please, let’s get going on it.” The presentation was organized by the Canadian Federation of Students, the Sierra Youth Club and the David Suzuki Foundation. It was broadcast live on the internet. dkurek@mississauga.net mississauga.com

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (24690)	5/24/2009 12:34:17 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36917

Does this remind you of Sun Myung Moon? Transmitting secret knowledge to the initiates before they set off to convert unwashed couch potatos. Selling carbon sins in exchange for their original sin. "Recently, Genest was one of only a handful of Canadians chosen to receive training from Gore on how to teach others about the issues of climate change." en.wikipedia.org Al Gore’s film 'An Inconvenient Truth' has brought worldwide attention to the topic of environmental sustainability, and now Westmount’s Green Party candidate is spreading that message to create sustainable change that the community can embrace. Claude William Genest, the former actor and current Green Party deputy leader, has devoted his career as a politician to bringing environmentally sustainable solutions to the way businesses operate and to the way each person lives at home. Between being recognized by Gore, teaching permaculture at the University at Vermont and producing an Emmy-nominated series for PBS, Genest took some time to talk about his work and how he’s willing to go door-to-door to make sustainability a reality. “Before I knew it, I was leaving behind hosting Travel Travel, which was a plenty good job, to go work on farms in Australia and New Zealand and learn about things from the ground up,” said Genest. “It completely transformed me.” Recently, Genest was one of only a handful of Canadians chosen to receive training from Gore on how to teach others about the issues of climate change. “Mr. Gore was going to choose 200 people; I applied and was one of those chosen,” said Genest. “I was so impressed by Mr. Gore and Dr. (David) Suzuki... These guys are true warriors. It’s not what they say, it’s about what they do. That really galvanized me.” With his diverse plate of environmental projects, including teaching and his PBS series The Art of Sustainable Living, Genest believes that he has the ability to successfully promote change through multiple venues. “I’ve always said I was going to push the thing on all angles... All change comes from the bottom up... so I believe that and I practice that when I teach permaculture,” said Genest. “But now, I really, really, really believe that change has to happen also from the top down. We need to have the policy and laws in place to move this thing forward.” Genest’s approach of making personal connections to small groups of people, instead of delivering speeches to full auditoriums, has had a positive effect on what he sees as a society “divorced from our political powers.” “Every time I go talk in someone’s home in front of 15 or 20 people, two or three of them immediately go, ‘I’m going to have you go speak to 15 of my friends,'” says Genest. “We’ve got to go out there and start talking...” Even with Genest’s time limited with his non-stop work, he is preparing for a possible election, attending the Emmy Awards and is in the process of writing a book. “Things are definitely moving [but] it’s not me that’s moving, it’s green consciousness. The right thing is emerging and I’m just one of the people able to talk about it.” westmountexaminer.com