David Suzuki talks Trudeau, aging and failed environmentalism as he turns 80

I like to write down my reactions and opinions on various news articles I find interesting or pertinent in the world today. By including only the title of today’s CBC article on Mr. Suzuki’s thoughts on turning 80, these words sound more like a rant than an analysis. To say I’m angry about how my career as an environmentalist has turned out is an understatement! I used to suspect I made a mistake choosing this soft path, upon hearing Suzuki’s frank comments, now I’m absolutely sure! This is why….

Like many, I was brought up on David Suzuki and saw him speak many times while at Trent and felt at times, our career was moving in parallel directions. Around the time I got involved in TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) issues, I felt that Suzuki was even following my career. Of course everything I did, he did 100 times bigger. Apart from feelings of grandeur, I felt that our similar pathways meant that maybe I was on the right path. I felt a kind of kinship with the man and I still do. To hear that he’s now become disillusioned about the environmental movement makes me feel once again, we’re moving in a coordinated manner. I too am very disappointed at how slow the movement has become and how co-opted it has become by big business interests or rich people trying to assuage their guilty conscience. Mostly I feel contempt for all those people who at most, pay lip service to the important fundamentals of environmentalism.

OK, maybe I feel guilty for not trying hard enough myself or squandering my opportunity to do more while I still had an outside chance while working on the inside. Maybe I feel bad for never learning French. Apart from failing as a career, being in financial straights, I wish I could have done more for the issues I still believe are the most important of our day. The movement on a pure and applied, mainstream way of doing business, has never gained legitimacy or traction as it competes with the “Trump” card, the almighty economy. There is no economy without the environment, and guess which came first and will go last?

To be painfully honest, I feel like a naïve fool for thinking the economy and environment could ever be considered equally important, two sides of the same coin. Besides poverty sucking, sustainability is just a catch phrase for business as usual. I had this talk with my mechanic the other day about my dead in the water career, and he said he didn’t have time for such serious issues. Life is too short and mostly, there’s nothing the average person can do to save the Earth anyway. He said his young son talks about doing something important in his life to help save the planet and my mechanic just says, be happy, live your short life and don’t worry about things you can’t change or fix. This was as much as a giving up as I’ve ever heard and although it deeply saddened me, deep down I couldn't really disagree with him.

I’ve spend a lifetime worrying about our sick planet, about all the cute and furry animals that are going extinct or trees being mowed down everywhere. My Dad tried to steer me towards the military or becoming an engineer like him, but NO... I had to go and try and save the planet!  A deep love for nature was instilled in me from a young age thanks to my Mom. This love for nature and ingrained responsibility to preserve and conserve it is also a weight or a curse that has led to my suffering. I guess its true that all great passions in life involve struggle and sacrifice. This is part of the human condition so get over it!

So for past lovers, who didn’t practice my brand of environmentalism 101 or instill this prerequisite to their kids, I forgive them for their meat eating, over car use, and leaving the lights on ways. To err is human. I admit that its been tough following my lonely path as a vegetarian do gooder and that I have made mistakes. But if I had the chance to live my life all over again, I’d do it the same way because when and if I turn 86 as my Dad is now, I would not want to look back at my life and regret that I didn’t try to do something noble and good for the planet and all it's trees and furry cute animals that I still love. This beautiful blue world is all we have and we are fools to pollute and spoil it. Why would I write such utterly confusing and mixed up words? Because like Mr. Suzuki, I'm human and I don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass!