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“We demarcate borders that often make no
ecological sense: dissecting watersheds,
fragmenting forests, disrupting animal migratory
routes. …. setting a target of protection of
12% of our land base for all the other species
means that we seem to take it for granted that we
can take over 88% of the land. …. We have
spread our toxic debris in the air, water and
soil so that every one of us now carries dozens
of toxic compounds in our bodies.”
” … Shapley calculates every breath we take has
millions of argon atoms that were once in the
bodies of Joan of Arc and Jesus Christ. Every
breath you take has millions of argon atoms that
were in the bodies of dinosaurs 65 million years
ago.”
“Consider this: in 1900 there were only a billion
and a half human beings in the world. In a mere
one hundred years, the population of the planet
has quadrupled. …. Australians elected four
consecutive Conservative governments that denied
the reality of human-induced climate change and
refused to ratify Kyoto even though the country
suffered severe drought for years.”
“I am a geneticist by training, and history
indicates we are in for similar surprises with
genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. We are
now manipulating the very blueprint of life,
creating organisms that have never existed
before. Any scientist who tells you they know
that GMOs are safe and not to worry about it is
either ignorant of the history of science or is
deliberately lying.”
” … the David Suzuki Foundation, working with
the Union of Concerned Scientists, came up with a
list of ten effective actions that we call the
Nature Challenge [8]. We are challenging
individuals to commit to doing at least three of
the suggested steps in the coming year and to
date have more than 365,000 Canadians signed on.”
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the 2008 Commonwealth Lecture in London, England
“The Challenge of the 21st Century: Setting the Real Bottom Line”
– Dr David Suzuki
I am a born and bred Canadian (although I did
spend eight years in the United States for my
university education in the 1950s and early ’60s)
and that shapes my perspective on the world.
Although Canada is a sovereign nation, the
country’s border allows the influx of American
movies, television and products that do influence
us greatly. We Canadians have struggled to
maintain our values and identity in the face of
the most powerful nation on earth. So I was proud
when Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002
and I’d like to believe that our ratification
influenced Mr Putin to sign on as well and make
it international law.
Last year I spent thirty days on a bus going from
St Johns, Newfoundland, on the east coast, all
the way across Canada to Victoria in British
Columbia on the west coast. I spoke in 41
communities to more than 30,000 people and also
taped more than 600 interviews with people across
the country telling me what they would do for the
environment if they were Prime Minister of
Canada. What I learned is that Canadians value
nature as a part of who we are; they want it
protected and they are willing to pay more taxes
to do that. They want Canada to meet its Kyoto
obligations. They want efficient, affordable
public transportation. They want a carbon tax but
they also want government and the corporate
community to do their share.
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