Do you know where the candidates stand on climate change? You should
Now that the wildfires have been doused and the smoke has gone, perhaps this is a good time to clear some air regarding climate change and local politics.
As I sit at my kitchen table I can see at least 20 large dead and dying cedars on my neighbour’s farm, while on my own land I have at a dozen dead with an equal split between the cedars and the grand firs. In the Highlands District where it is higher and dryer, the dominant tree is the Douglas fir and they too are dying en mass. It is not because we had a drought this summer, it is because five out of the last six years have seen exceptionally long, hot, dry weather, making our coastal rainforest trees weak and susceptible to insect infestation, disease and just plain death by dehydration. Millions of our coastal shellfish are dying as well with the likely culprits warming ocean temperatures and increasing acidity both due to increases in atmospheric CO2. The vast dying corals are not visible from here.
So, our forests and oceans are dying but they are not alone. Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and floods are becoming more frequent and more severe, resulting in ever increasing damage and cost, plus the always tragic loss of homes and lives that accompany these climate driven natural disasters.
The accumulated science and data of 40 years has caused the hundreds of institutions and thousands of scientists worldwide who study earth’s climate systems, to come to the near unanimous (95-plus per cent) conclusion that the planet is warming and the dominant cause is the burning of fossil fuels. The scientific modeling and predictions suggest that if we do not dramatically reduce fossil fuel consumption the rate of forest and ocean death and extreme weather disasters will continue to accelerate and intensify.
This is NOT the new normal. We are only a few steps down the path towards a normal that is likely a whole lot worse than anything we have seen yet, here and around the world; unless we as a global civilization acknowledge our unhealthy addiction to oil and take dramatic action globally to leave fossil fuels in the ground. For those so inclined, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released its 2018 interim report citing 6,000 scientific references compiled by 91 experts from 40 countries, and it does not paint a pretty picture.
Against this happy backdrop we have a prime minister who tells us that the path to climate salvation requires digging up tar sands crude, (among the largest and dirtiest oil deposits in the world), and shipping it as fast as possible to be burned in foreign lands. We have an American president telling the world that climate change is a Chinese hoax, while premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are scrapping or retreating from CO2 reduction plans and policy. In B.C. at least, we have a government that talks the talk, but the jury is still out on if, when and how they are going to meet their own greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Then we have local government politics and elections. We have a lot of great incumbents and candidates in the Cowichan Valley with many of them very active in the stewardship and social justice communities. Most of them accept the science and visible evidence of human caused climate change but there are a few who simply refuse to wake up and smell the carbon. We need leaders who are fiscally responsible of course, but they must be bold enough to lead us towards a sustainable future, which means that they must make decisions based on facts, science and reality, rather than personal bias and ideologies.
When I approached two well-known local opinion leaders by email, (whose names are on the North Cowichan ballot) asking them if they were prepared to change their stance as a denier of the science of climate change, these are the email responses I received in part.
“I can find no causal link between CO2 emissions and planetary warming.”
“The last people who believed humankind could ‘control’ the climate were the Egyptians, who sacrificed their virgins to the sun god Rah.”
Al Siebring
“I have followed the science closely for more than 15 years and I cannot see anything that says we face severe damage or catastrophe to our planet. I no longer believe government science on climate…”
“…there are hordes of people who want to do away with capitalism and are using climate alarmism as a tool to achieve that.”
“It’s got so stupid that governments everywhere are blaming everything in sight on global warming.”
Patrick Hrushowy
We elect politicians to provide thoughtful, compassionate leadership based on best available information and make decisions that have a reasonable chance of improving life and sustainability for their communities, not only during their tenure in office, but to initiate the changes that will make things better for generations to come. Many countries, states and even cities and communities are moving aggressively to combat emissions, create sustainable opportunities and advance adaption to the changes which cannot be avoided. It is important that we elect the people at every level of government who will inform and educate the citizens using real and current science and lead the charge to a promising future for our children and grandchildren.
There is a citizens group in the area called One Cowichan which was formed specifically to hold all politicians accountable to the greater community and advance issues of regional concern. Every election they invite all local candidates to answer a series of questions based on input from their large membership. I would strongly encourage you to visit their elections 2018 page from their website onecowichan.ca where you can see the responses. Pay particular attention to those who refuse to respond, avoid the questions, or claim to be defenders of our watersheds and drinking water but are not prepared to risk $20 per household per year to help create a CVRD service that will specifically address regional watershed and drinking water protection and sustainability issues as has been done by our neighbours with great success in the Victoria (CRD) and Nanaimo (NRD) regional districts.
I am sure that some will be offended by my writings and I expect backlash, but I am not prepared to sit idle while many of the things that make this the best part of the best country in which to live, wither before my eyes. I may be called an “alt left”, but as an over privileged old white guy, I feel the moral responsibility to invest my time, energy and money into trying to change our current trajectory for the future sake of those younger and less fortunate than myself.
Believe it or not, I am an optimist and I know that we can and will make the choices needed to make our grandchildren proud. So in closing I urge everyone to go to the polls and vote in the civic elections, but before you do, understand the facts and the science of climate change, know what the candidates stand for and how they will chart a path to sustainability in our communities and beyond; look out your own windows and see if climate change is coming to your back yard; look in the mirror and know that the person looking back is not powerless to stop the downward spirals of our watersheds, our oceans and our atmosphere. The time to act is now!
David Slade
Well driller and grandfather
Cobble Hill