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Intergenerational equity may finally spark youth to action

Happy Earth Day everyone! Started in the United States in 1970, Earth Day is one of the longest running environmental awareness initiatives in the world.

Happy Earth Day everyone! Started in the United States in 1970, Earth Day is one of the longest running environmental awareness initiatives in the world. Born from a troubling time in the United States during the Vietnam War and concerns around air pollution and the terrible oil spill in Santa Barbara, the first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans take to the streets to rally for a healthy environment.

On the EarthDay.org website, the group notes this year political leaders from around the world will gather in New York to sign the Paris Climate Agreement.

There are five countries that have committed and they are definitely from around the world. They are Fiji, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Tuvalu and Singapore. I didn't even know there was a Tuvalu, but then again, I haven't taken a geography course in quite some time.

Turns out Tuvalu is a group of nine small islands in the middle of the South Pacific. The highest point of land is 4.5 metres and there is no doubt the 11,000 inhabitants would be a tad nervous about sea level rise so good on their leaders for committing to the agreement.

Where are the majority of the western industrialized nations and where are the leaders of the large emerging economies of China and India?

As always, there is a lack of

political will to accomplish what would appear to be the near impossible.

I was again invited to attend a student led conference at Seaquam Secondary last Friday. I talked about growing fruits and veggies on school farms and teaching young children about local food and enjoying the financial and health benefits of engaging in its production.

The keynote speaker for the Green Symposium was Dr.

Andrew Weaver, the Green Party MLA for Oak Bay/Gordon Head. Dr. Weaver has authored or coauthored hundreds of papers on global warming and gave a thorough presentation outlining the history and science of its study, including his involvement with the IPCC.

What I took away from the presentation was there are opportunities for our youth to become involved with new economies in a changing world. Rather than try to remedy damage done, which

is close to impossible, he suggests for business to recognize the potential to embrace a new reality. Young people should attempt to capitalize on new industries and they should exercise their potential political clout and rally around leaders who act.

Despite good intentions, Kyoto, Copenhagen and now Paris have failed to break through with anything remarkably promising. Weaver sums it up very well on his website, andrewweavermla.ca, when he says: "Whether or not society chooses to take the necessary steps to mitigate climate change ultimately depends on the extent to which we value the importance of intergenerational equity "What is clear from our scientific understanding of global warming is that the decisions being made today will have profound consequences for generations to come; yet future generations are not part of today's decision making and today's decision makers won't have to live the consequences of the decisions they make."

Intergenerational equity may be the notion that sparks some emotion in what has traditionally been an apathetic political youth. Earth Days of the future could certainly benefit from that.

Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He was named as a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.