2019-10-02

 Published in the Winnipeg Free Press

2 October 2019

© Calvin J. Brown 2019

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In this election, only one issue should matter

CALVIN J. BROWN

It’s a head shaker. Why isn’t the current federal election campaign essentially a one-issue affair? Why isn’t global warming dominating all parties’ daily pronouncements and the news coverage? We find ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented planetary crisis, and it’s receiving minimal attention.

As we continue to produce the greenhouse gases that are fuelling warmer temperatures, the risks of extraordinary global changes are increasing. More extreme weather events, melting glaciers, diminished sea ice, higher sea levels and changing weather patterns are expected to cause calamitous social changes around the world if nothing is done. And Canada is warming at twice the global average.

Yet most political leaders talk primarily about matters such as gun control, child care, health care and housing, and the news media coverage dutifully follows along. Don’t misunderstand me; I think these are issues worthy of debate, but right now it’s a matter of priorities.

Imagine you’re stuck in a plane on a runway with your family. It’s a sunny day, the air conditioning is off and you’re not permitted to leave. The temperature is rising, you’re uncomfortably warm and it’s expected to become much hotter. What would be your primary concern? Are there more cookies? Could the movie choices be improved? If there were no prospect of leaving, I’d be demanding someone fix the temperature problem. I suspect everyone else would as well.

But when presented with climate warming, too many people seem to take the cookies-and-movies approach. Apparently, voters aren’t showing enough interest in climate change to keep party leaders focused on it, and most leaders don’t care enough — or have sufficient courage — to lead us toward a solution. 

So why aren’t people demanding more political attention be given to the climate? Why don’t they care? Reasons vary, but here’s an attempt to change a few minds. To the “someone else will fix it” crowd: since you like passing the buck, I suspect you don’t vote anyway, so convincing you to care shouldn’t affect the election. To the “warmer weather sounds nice” contingent: get your heads out of… the sand and start reading about the actual impact. 

To the voters who wear their party affiliation as a lifelong brand: brands are for cattle and condiments; try thinking and behaving like a sentient being for a change. To those who insist on focusing on other issues: are those really more important than the livability of the planet? 

And to those special people who still believe climate change isn’t really happening: if the overwhelming evidence that’s been presented so far hasn’t convinced you, perhaps you should consider Pascal’s Wager.

A few hundred years ago, Blaise Pascal wondered whether to believe in God. Since proving God’s existence was challenging, he instead considered the implications of his choices. If he chose to believe in God and he was right, he could be rewarded with eternal life; being wrong would cause him to lose nothing. If he chose to disbelieve in God and he was right, there was no penalty; however in this case, being wrong could result in eternal damnation. 

Consequently, Pascal decided it was much too risky to believe God did not exist. A better bet was to believe God exists and to act accordingly. The potential benefit of being right was huge, and the penalty for being wrong was minor.

It’s not a line of reasoning I’d generally recommend (for example, if someone on a street corner told you that for $50, he could guarantee you eternal joy), but maybe it’s something climate-change skeptics can buy into. Believing and acting as though climate change is false has little benefit and a huge downside. The safer wager is behaving as if human-caused climate change is true: being wrong would merely have you living a cleaner lifestyle; being right would have you helping to preserve the livability of our planet.

Whatever line of reasoning is used, everyone’s top priority should be to demand much more of our politicians on climate change. Having meaningful climate policies should be the price of admission for any political party right now. Any party without aggressive, credible, effective plans to fight the climate crisis doesn’t deserve any voter’s serious consideration. 

Extensive research confirms the resolution that our own Parliament passed in June: we’re in the midst of a climate emergency. It’s time voters, leaders and the news media began behaving like that’s truly the case.

Calvin J. Brown is a retired IT professional and the author of two novels. He resides in the RM of St. Andrews.