To the editor,
One participant of Creston’s yellow vest rallies said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Exactly. Have you ever thought that Canadians might be partially the cause for the large-scale immigration worldwide? If emissions keep rising and the climate changes at a faster rate, the people who are most vulnerable to climate change in drought-prone regions and along coasts must go somewhere.
These are called climate refugees. And before you start complaining about the mass migrations, think of the wider implications that your love of oil and money may have on what you seem to be standing so firmly against. It is people who love their oil and money more than their kids and the environment that are causing that division. Us versus them. Money versusthe environment. Rich versus poor. Ego-centrism versus global citizens. I sometimes feel so angry sitting in my political science class here at university, hearing my professor make comments about “friggin’ tree huggers” and that there’s basically no evidence of climate change! What more evidence is needed?!?
The 2018 IPCC report is online. Read it. My climate-expert professor thought it so important that when it came out, we read it in class. If you don’t believe the science, look at the social science. Watch “The Anthropologist”, where Susie Crate goes to different places around the world seeing the effects climate change has on people—thawing permafrost in Siberia, rising sea levels in Kiribati and the USA, the melting glaciers and changing weather patterns in the Andes. Or just look around and notice the climate refugees and the record-breaking forest fires in BC. Us “friggin’ tree huggers” are trying to unite people and the environment. We are trying to get people to realize that people are part of nature. We can’t live without it. We’re fighting for everyone. Why are you complaining about a carbon tax? Maybe you wouldn’t have to pay as much if you didn’t drive as much. Why do you keep saying other countries’emissions are way higher than Canada’s
According to Stand.earth and Environmental Defence our emissions are rising! It doesn’t matter how high others’ are. Adults keep telling kids how important responsibility is.
But NOBODY is responsible for the climate crisis. Would you rather spend a few more dollars on a carbon tax, or pay with your children’s/grandchildren’s health? One mother that really cares about the future of her children made headlines last year, the orca that carried her dead baby for 17 days. She made the message clear, but people refuse to take that mother’s love seriously. But if you want to build a pipeline, you are creating a bigger gap between us and nature. Think about it—is an orca mother’s love that much different than a human parent’s love? She mourns for her dead baby, and humans are too cheap to pay for action to make their children’s future better. That’s sad.
Dshamilja Egli | Canyon
Currently in Lethbridge
