At this point it would take some very drastic measures. Because we didn’t ease into lowering carbon emissions and oil production, now we have to do it in a way that could heavily disrupt everything.
We literally need to cut oil production to a bare minimum at this point. We need to build a mass transit system across Canada to connect all municipalities and allow people to move and work in other cities instead of cramming everyone in Toronto and Vancouver. Cities also need to change how areas are zoned to allow for neighborhoods where people and the services they need can all be accessed on foot in ~15min. Also build better cycling infrastructure. And plant trees! Trees, trees and more trees. Especially in cities. Make them more green and increase shade, reduce the heat
We can have a ruined economy and work towards our climate goals
Or
We can have a ruined economy and keep the status quo
Take your pick but remember no matter what you pick; we are going with option 2
drastic social reform.
… just like everywhere else.
People say that “one person going vegan, not flying or not having kids won’t solve anything” but if one is not willing to do the fucking bare minimum, how the fuck are we ever going to fix this shit? Corporations don’t just pollute and despoil for the hell of it, we literally PAY THEM TO DO IT as consumers. It’s such a fucking cop-out to say that change has to come from the top. We drive EVERYTHING.
but expecting people - not just many people, but a lot, an enormous number, at least a majority if not an overwhelming majorly - to spontaneous commit to a coordinated action despite widely differing philosophies, politics and life circumstances, is like expecting dissolved sugar to spontaneously re-crystallise back into a cube at the bottom of your cup.
plausible paths to change require organisation, and there are not very many examples of successful organisation that aren’t led from the top.
Electing the Greens with a majority would be a start…
The fact that they are anti-nuclear, when safe nuclear reactors that produce almost no radioactive waste exist, make the Greens a complete non-starter for me.
Solar and wind are great, but they still don’t hold a candle to nuclear’s reliability and consistency of power output.
I’ll tell you what certainly won’t. The Conservatives. Yet they would likely win if an election was held today.
neither will removing the carbon tax from heating oil. But it would certainly buy votes if an election was held today
