“Human beings are on a collision course,” said David Suzuki. “Fundamental changes are needed if we want to avoid the collision.”
His message was addressed to university students in Ottawa, who Suzuki described as a generation of youth who want to see change, and who are pressuring their parents and government to want the same.
The environmentalist’s appearance at the Bronson Centre Nov. 23 was hosted by Carleton and the University of Ottawa’s student unions as the closing ceremony for the U of O’s Green Weeks.
Suzuki emphasized the urgent need for action before the climate change crisis is out of human control.
Human beings are the most numerous and dominant mammals on Earth. According to Suzuki, our success derives from our ability to envision a future, to understand that by changing what we are doing now, we can change what is to come.
“There has only ever been the past and the present,” said Suzuki. “The future is an imagined, man-made idea.”
Over the past century, humans have become so concerned with economic growth that we have lost sight of this vision, Suzuki said. We have elevated economy above ecology, forgetting that it is ecology that provides us our most fundamental needs for survival.
“We are turning our backs on the very survival strategy that got us here,” Suzuki said.
We have become dependent on an economic system that is deeply flawed, Suzuki said, one that is laying waste to the world’s natural resources, fresh water and land. There will come a breaking point when there is simply not enough to provide for the superspecies man has become, Suzuki said.
This breaking point is imminent, he said.
The Canadian government has been failing when it comes to dealing with the climate crisis, Suzuki said.
Suzuki’s voice rose as he spoke about the Conservative government’s decision not to meet the Kyoto Protocol’s standards for lowered carbon emissions.
“[Stephen] Harper’s government said that meeting the lowered carbon emission guidelines would destroy our economy,” Suzuki said.
“What kind of a leader would lie to you about the consequences of meeting the Kyoto Accord? If that isn’t an intergenerational crime, I don’t know what is.”
The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) has organized the Green Weeks for three consecutive years.
According to Chaya Porter, the sustainable development co-ordinator at SFUO, this year’s two-week event was the most successful to date.
“Students were really excited about getting to hear David Suzuki speak about an issue they felt so strongly about,” she said.
It’s not surprising, considering Suzuki’s accomplishments as a geneticist, environmentalist and broadcaster. To date he holds 24 honourary degrees, four Gemini awards and, more recently, the Right Livelihood Award for his contribution to raising public awareness about climate change.
But the 73-year-old scientist said at his age, material awards and titles hold little value.
“I have no hidden agendas,” Suzuki said to the crowd, who later stood in applause.
“I only want to be able to look at my four grandchildren and tell them, ‘Grandpa did the best he could.’”