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Newspapers currently abound with stories of the toll taken by the bitterly cold weather that has taken hold of a good part of the continent, followed closely by tales of the perennial 'blame game.'
For example, countless numbers have railed against the decision to close Pearson Airport in Toronto for more than eight hours, prompting a massive ripple effect of cancellations and delays that are still being felt today.
Freeze-ups of Toronto streetcars created commuter chaos, prompting renowned ventriloquist and city councillor Doug Ford to call for their end and more underground transit.
Ontario's perpetually perturbed Tories are calling for an inquiry over the Ontario government's response to the ice storm that left so many without power for so long.
Toronto Public works Chair Denzil Minnan-Wong will conduct a review into the city's response to the emergency.
But shouldn't we be asking some much more fundamental questions? For example, what is at the root of this increasingly volatile weather, and how do we begin the long process of reestablishing climate equilibrium?
Of course, some of the answers may not be to our, or our overlords' liking.
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I would express the hope that some real political leadership will emerge from all of this were it not for my reluctance to be dismissed as a hopeless idealist.
It's not just about cold whether, Lorne. It's about extreme and volatile changes in the weather -- the consequences of climate change. We're missing the boat.
ReplyDeleteWillful ignorance does seem to be the order of the day, Owen. A shame that the opposition parties dare utter nary a whimper.
DeleteLorne, I like your picture with arrows.
ReplyDeleteClimate change! What climate change? Harper is an oil salesman. These days he is busy selling Keystone Pipeline. He has no time for Toronto and weather.
Ld, it seems that Mr. Harper has little time for anything except his re-election bid by pretending that his government is the only one that can be entrusted to 'manage' the economy.
DeleteThere seems to be a general dysfunction common to civilizations immediately prior to their implosion. Jared Diamond provides several examples in his book "Collapse." Focus narrows. Problems, even though recognized, go unaddressed. Everything that can be kicked down the road is.
ReplyDeleteEvery time we become immersed in one climate change crisis after another, I find myself emerging to the eventual realization that climate change is just one of a number of critical issues that are being fiercely neglected. Diamond convincingly explains in that book that, if we're to solve any of them, we have to solve them all.
While I won't go so far as to say that such a problem-solving approach is beyond us as a species, Mound, it certainly seems beyond the capacity of our world's current political leadership.
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