Voting for the environment isn’t just for hippies
It’s wonky out there. It’s warm, it’s frigid, it smells like poo, and tulips are trying to push through semi-frozen dirt. In other words, it’s good ‘ol spring weather. The frequency of elections in Canada is almost as reliable as the changing of the seasons, and the parties we have to vote for are warm, frigid, smell like poo, and try to push up through frozen fodder. So who gets your vote?
The CBC has a vote compass tool to check which party most represents your values. It deals with economics, security, morals and the environment.
The compass survey raises a couple of environmental issues, like the tar sands and, if you use you imagination, the military’s presence in the arctic.
This is a myth. The economy and the environment can get along - just not with the Conservatives at the helm One of the strongholds that has kept the Conservatives on top for so long is the budget, and other parties are completely polarized on the issue in some cases. Completely removing government funding from elections would only allow parties with funds to run successful campaigns, so they’re all for it. That would leave smaller parties, like the Greens, up the creek without a paddle and we would love strong representation for the interest of the planet.
Oh, and the Conservatives also don’t believe in making corporations pay more taxes, which leaves more leeway for projects like the Alberta tar sands and no initiative at all for a Canadian climate change bill. Oh yeah, they already killed that bill.
So, the Conservatives don’t exactly have my interests at heart, but this brings us to another issue: who to vote for? My compass results brought be closer to the Green Party than I expected, but also closely to the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois. At this point, the responsible thing to do would be to vote for the party that ousts the Conservatives.
As you go to the polls, and bring everyone you know of voting age with you, consider the environment as one of the most important Canadian issues on the plate. It’s not just an issue for hippies and socialists.
“Despite its artistic pretensions, its sophistication, and its many accomplishments, humankind owes its existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.” –Anonymous
* Images: cbc.ca, sunygenescoehouse.blogspot.com, permacultureproject.com
