We are all going to die; that
is a fact and nothing I’ve heard of so far is going to change that fact. Does
that mean living is insignificant? Should we all just give up? Is there a point
in trying to slow global warming if the Earth is going to heat up anyway?
There’s a reason people try to live as long as they can; there is always hope
that one day we might succeed.
The world is so focused on
curing people right now that it doesn’t have time to heal the planet. Very few
places are trying to do what they can to give us a chance at a future. The
province of British Columbia in Canada is trying to change. This province is
taking all the essential steps towards a greener future.
One of B.C.’s main cities,
Vancouver, wants to make the shift to renewable energy by 2050. Recently, they
publicly set this goal. Steps toward reaching it are already being taken.
In West Vancouver, the University
of British Columbia (UBC), is also doing its part. Their Institute for
Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) is committed to reducing the
University’s carbon emissions every year.
A little farther up north,
even tourist areas like Whistler are setting themselves yearly quotas and
long-term goals. Whistler 2020 is a well-known program, dreamt up to make
Whistler sustainable by the year 2020.
The Whistler-Blackcomb tourist
company has actually set it’s own assignment. They are on their way to
successfully completing their mission to make Whistler-Blackcomb have a “zero
operating footprint”.
There is even an Environmental
Farm Plan Program in B.C. Agriculture, especially industrialized agriculture,
has a huge impact on the environment. Sustainable farming could reduce and even
in some cases reverse the destruction we caused over the years. And it can often
be fruitful, profitable.
British Columbia is doing
exactly what we all should. They came up with ideas with achievable long and
short-term goals, and then put them into effect as soon as possible. No delays,
no short cuts.
As the world is finally
starting to realize, greener is better. And in Canada, B.C. is the greenest.
They are the model; they’ve set the example. Now it’s our turn to follow.
We often hear people saying
that we have to do something in the next 10 years or the damage to the
environment will be irreparable. So why aren’t we doing anything? B.C. got the
ball rolling; all we have to do is keep the momentum going.
There is so much that people
can do to help out, and it isn’t that complicated. Everyone, every country, province,
state, city, town, person… can do their part. It won’t kill you, quite the
opposite actually.
