Environmental Responsibility
April 22, 2008 – Earth Day
Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With a mixture of foreboding and hope I greet my fellow MLAs on this, the 39th annual Earth Day celebration. Truly these are dangerous times as we witness climate chaos, ice cap melting, worsening food and water shortages around the world.
In 1939 we confronted a different global threat in the Second World War and rose to the occasion with all the human and material resources we could muster. Today we need to take the climate crisis with a similar resolve and courage, as we face a collective way of life that selfishly violates our own biosphere and future generations. This is our time, and it is not our time. We recollect our absolute dependence on the earth for everything. We confront unparalleled opportunities as well as our unhealthy addiction to growth and must acknowledge our collective need for healing. We need reminders of the consistent overreach of past civilizations and that we borrow this time from our children. First Nations planned for seven generations ahead. Chief Seattle said: this we know; the earth does not belong to us. Humanity belongs to the earth. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
We continue to bow to the whims of the markets, markets not noted for either foresight or morality. What is government for if not to balance environmental and human values with economic development? We justify this free-market fundamentalism through our antiquated measure of progress, the GDP. Genuine progress, on the other hand, requires genuine courageous leadership to ensure that we have good scientific grounds for decisions or else follow the precautionary principle.
As in 1939 we see new storm clouds gathering. Climate chaos is the wake-up call of our century and the supreme market failure. We need to mobilize all possible resolve and resources across all parties. As one of the largest consumers per capita on the planet we must work together to address our debt to future generations with bold decisions based not on markets but stewardship. No, this is not our time; it belongs to our grandchildren and children.
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