Columnists
When is green not?
Anyone who has been paying attention has awakened to the fact that being us—just being us doing what we do—is screwing us up.
Personally, I can’t believe there’s a climate change denier left in Canada (probably lots in the US, where avoiding abduction and anal probing by aliens is still a major concern).
I don’t mean to make fun of these people, because they are absolutely sure about the abduction/ probing when TV cameras flock to them to hear their story. Actually, I would like to be one of those people, without the probing, so I could get some screen time to promote my business.
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Our world is in trouble. Really smart people, who have not met aliens, are looking at Earth. Yeah, that thing we have that we stand on, but largely ignore. But Earth is not just ground, it is air and wildlife and atmosphere and so much more. It is a system, and a delicate one at that, which involves our land, our oceans, our air and, as we’ve observed, Mother Nature gone crazy. But Mother N is not crazy—she’s just reacting to what we do.
And what we do is destroy everything that gives us life. Ocean temperatures are so high, fish and coral species are dying. Some have become extinct in the last four years. Wildfires and floods, screaming high temps, and bitterly cold temps. Tornadoes, for God’s sake, in Canada, which we had no concern about when they were demolishing trailer parks in Kansas. This is real. Simply look around—it’s kind of Book of Revelations stuff: We will not see or accept the end.
Okay, that’s a little too potent, but not off the point.
WHAT WE DO
I am not a crazy environmentalist, if such a thing exists. Like you, I want to do what us lowly rural folks can do. We conserve, we recycle, we turn our thermostats down, we wash on ‘cold’, we turn off lights in rooms we’re not using, we only flush if necessary, and shower only if someone points out to me that I need a shower.
But there’s a larger picture that makes our paltry attempts at ‘conservation’ look like chicken feed. Sure, it all makes us look like we’re doing our part but, meanwhile, we all know there’s a bigger game afoot.
WHAT IS A GREENBELT?
I stole this from the website of the Ontario Greenbelt. I checked to see if they had been probed by aliens, but they came up clean. Actually, regardless of alien probes, the people who put this together seemed to have a great idea. This is what they have to say:
“Ontario’s Greenbelt is the world’s largest, protecting farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers, and lakes.”
“Two million acres of protected land work together to provide us with fresh air, clean water, fantastic local food and drink, and world-class outdoor recreation and tourism experiences.”
“The Greenbelt is the heart of the Greater Golden Horseshoe—its permanent protection is essential for climate resilient communities and a thriving local economy.”
Removing the pitch material, the Greenbelt group clearly knows that maintaining green spaces equals trees and open land. Not because they’re pretty, but because they are an essential part of our continuing life on earth. If I had written their promo, I would have included that. ‘Protect’ is the key word.
WE HAD A DEAL
As you know, Premier Doug Ford is stepping in, and selling off protected land for housing development. What?! Even stranger, he won’t back down on a deal he’s made, which violates the deal made with the province years ago.
This is going to be hard for me to explore, considering I am me, and the provincial government can make my life a living hell with a simple phone call.
But there is something hinky about this. We have land, and lots of it. I’ve travelled across Canada to Vancouver twice by car, and I can tell you there’s lots of land out there. I also saw mountansides clearcut for lumber, and forest tracts that burned down before we could harvest them.
The world is great but, like any living organism, if we abuse it, we die. It’s like when you drink yourself numb at a party and wake up the next morning feeling that was not such a good idea.
Protect. It was an easy concept, and then it wasn’t. Because the rules changed. They didn’t actually change, but the ‘protect’ deal was broken, because money hit the table, so f*** the Greenbelt.
MY GUESS I S . .
This is only a guess, so I can’t be held liable in a court of law, because I am not making a direct accusation that might be considered slanderous, but only pondering what I see.
So my guess is: Lots of people want homes. Lots of developers want land, in which to plant these homes. They could go way north, and steal land from the Indigenous people, which we traditionally do. But no. Buyers and developers want land with easy 401 access and—damn—some idiot protected the land that developers will spend big money (probably really BIG money, but that’s just a guess) to acquire.
Thankfully, they found the right guy to void the contract, and give a “knock-yourself-out” nod to the guys who run the bulldozers. (I’m not sure who that guy is, and I stand by that legally. Still a mystery which requires further investigation.)
We’ve seen the same thing here: Everything is for sale. Can’t refuse big money on your house, so move to Nova Scotia. No surprise the ‘protected’ Greenbelt is up for sale. The money is too big to turn down. It’s only ‘protected’ until you get a better offer. Good deal for somebody; bad deal for everyone else.
We can’t expect our overlords to have a conscience, because they don’t. This is not Dickens’ Christmas thing, in which the heartless bastard suddenly sees the error of his ways. (Metaphorically speaking.) Ain’t gonna happen.
I HAVE THIS THING
I don’t like to be ‘ruled’. I think you know that by now. I especially don’t like it when the people who make the rules break the rules, because I don’t think that’s fair game. There was a time when thousands of voices could change things. Now it doesn’t matter. The deal is too sweet to stop it. The deal is down, and I hate that. Can’t fight it. Just wait and watch ‘protected’ land turn into ‘unprotected’ at the click of a switch.
Green turned into concrete? It hurts. But I’m not in charge.
Note: This column was not written by Steve Campbell, who is now in Costa Rica awaiting extradition. This was written by Dave Macdonald, in case the provincial government wants to find him. Good luck.
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