Editor: Sixty three years ago last month a person using the scientific method of research developed the Salk vaccine that controlled polio. In my lifetime we humans embraced this scientific research and eliminated polio from our society.
Around the same era (1950s) scientific research revealed that our growing consumption of fossil fuels could destabilize our planet’s climate and weather systems. This fact has not been as well received by the human population.
Last month I was arrested while protesting the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. The science is clear, we humans cannot continue promoting fossil fuel use, especially the dirtiest versions — coal and tar sands bitumen — without causing worldwide environmental and social collapse.
Fortunately, we have tools to comfortably maintain our society. Those tools are:
1. Conservation, we can each use much less of everything — fuel and junk.
2. Solar, geothermal and wind can comfortably heat our homes and provide a modest level of transportation. The sooner we get to the work on a green future, the more likely we will be able to mitigate the effects of our past and present consumption orgy.
Every human in British Columbia can massively reduce their household fossil fuel use by properly insulating their house, eliminate unnecessary auto use, use public transit, switch to an electric vehicle and grow a vegetable garden. And our political leaders need to be leading a “war effort” program to eliminate fossil fuel use.
Jim Leuba,
Langley
