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eT
Opinions
Science Matters
Internet Can Bring Communities Together
David Suzuki, OP Contributor
I don’t know what’s more
inspiring —the audiences or the videos.
Travelling across Canada, and seeing
so many faces in so many different
communities, I have to keep pinching
myself to make sure it’s all actually real.
And just when I start getting down,
after a long bus ride when the audience
faces start to fade from memory and I
start to wonder—did it really make a
difference? That’s when I watch some
of the videos and get inspired all over
again.
There are now hundreds of “If I were
Prime Minister” videos up on the tour
website (www.davidsuzuki.org). Some
are silly. Some are inspiring. Some
are familiar faces and others complete
strangers. But they are all Canadians
who have ideas on what our politicians
can do to make Canada a world leader
‘in sustainability.
And that’s just the point. I don’t want
to cross the country talking at people.
Our goal is to get people talking with
each other, sharing ideas and pushing
our leaders to get serious about the
environment. Canada’s once-vaunted
environmental reputation is falling
apart, and no politician has picked up
the pieces yet, let alone started putting
them back together. I’m hoping my
audiences will stand up and exercise
their rights to demand real change.
The videos are one way to do that.
At each event, young Simon, our
videographer, is there ready to record
clips of people expressing the kinds of
changes they would make if they were
prime minister. Sometimes people are
shy, but more often than not, Simon
is practically mobbed by people
wanting to express their opinions.
That’s especially true of the reality-TV
generation, who has been raised under
the blinking light of a camcorder and
has few reservations about talking to
one.
All those videos will eventually go
up on our website, if they aren’t there
already. And the beauty of the internet is
that you don’t have to actually come out
to an event to put up a video. YouTube
has made video posting accessible to
anyone with access to a computer. You
can watch, rate and even comment on
all the posts. It’s an easy and democratic
way to get your point across. And at the
end of the tour, we’re going to send all
the videos to the party leaders.
We’ ve been fortunate on the tour to
have earned the support of a number of
well-known Canadians. I was recently
interviewed on MuchMusic with hip-
hop artist “k-os”, for whom I have
great respect. Singer-songwriter Sarah
Harmer even performed at one of our
events. Ms. Harmer is an impressive
musician and passionate about
conservation.
But while I really appreciate support
from amazing people like these, the
videos that really blow me away are
from average Canadians who are clearly
so passionate about environmental
issues. There seems to be a growing
sense that for too long we’ ve tried
to separate our environment and our
economy into two separate and distinct
entities.
That’s caused huge problems in our
society, because our environment is
our home and it is finite. Our economy,
on the other hand, is predicated on
relentless growth and considers
environmental issues “externalities,”
as though they don’t really matter.
Bi
Yet, they do matter because today with
problems like global warming we are
seeing what happens when endless
growth meets a finite system.
What we need now is to rationalize
our economy with ecological reality.
This means we need to shift our
economy to be cleaner and smarter.
We need to stop subsidizing polluting
industries. We need to create targets
and timelines to reduce pollution to
levels that do not jeopardize our natural
systems. It means our environment, not
our economy, must be the real bottom
line.
Follow the tour and learn more at
www.davidsuzuki.org.
We should get to know each other.
www.campusresearch.ca
(Get it? It’s a research study. And you could win up to $2500 for participating.)
Fine print: Prizes: One $2500 grand prize, one $1500 second prize, one $1000 third orize and twelve $250 extra prizes.
Contest is only open to students currenily enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution. The good news is it’s available for a very limited time, so your odds of winning are awesome.
This survey is sponsored by your campus newspaper and Campus Plus, a division of Canadian University Press. All personal information provided is private and confidential and will be
used for research purposes for the improvement and advancement of campus newspapers in Canada. View our privacy policy online at www.campusplus.conm/privacy. aspx.
Edited Text
eT
Opinions
Science Matters
Internet Can Bring Communities Together
David Suzuki, OP Contributor
I don’t know what’s more
inspiring —the audiences or the videos.
Travelling across Canada, and seeing
so many faces in so many different
communities, I have to keep pinching
myself to make sure it’s all actually real.
And just when I start getting down,
after a long bus ride when the audience
faces start to fade from memory and I
start to wonder—did it really make a
difference? That’s when I watch some
of the videos and get inspired all over
again.
There are now hundreds of “If I were
Prime Minister” videos up on the tour
website (www.davidsuzuki.org). Some
are silly. Some are inspiring. Some
are familiar faces and others complete
strangers. But they are all Canadians
who have ideas on what our politicians
can do to make Canada a world leader
‘in sustainability.
And that’s just the point. I don’t want
to cross the country talking at people.
Our goal is to get people talking with
each other, sharing ideas and pushing
our leaders to get serious about the
environment. Canada’s once-vaunted
environmental reputation is falling
apart, and no politician has picked up
the pieces yet, let alone started putting
them back together. I’m hoping my
audiences will stand up and exercise
their rights to demand real change.
The videos are one way to do that.
At each event, young Simon, our
videographer, is there ready to record
clips of people expressing the kinds of
changes they would make if they were
prime minister. Sometimes people are
shy, but more often than not, Simon
is practically mobbed by people
wanting to express their opinions.
That’s especially true of the reality-TV
generation, who has been raised under
the blinking light of a camcorder and
has few reservations about talking to
one.
All those videos will eventually go
up on our website, if they aren’t there
already. And the beauty of the internet is
that you don’t have to actually come out
to an event to put up a video. YouTube
has made video posting accessible to
anyone with access to a computer. You
can watch, rate and even comment on
all the posts. It’s an easy and democratic
way to get your point across. And at the
end of the tour, we’re going to send all
the videos to the party leaders.
We’ ve been fortunate on the tour to
have earned the support of a number of
well-known Canadians. I was recently
interviewed on MuchMusic with hip-
hop artist “k-os”, for whom I have
great respect. Singer-songwriter Sarah
Harmer even performed at one of our
events. Ms. Harmer is an impressive
musician and passionate about
conservation.
But while I really appreciate support
from amazing people like these, the
videos that really blow me away are
from average Canadians who are clearly
so passionate about environmental
issues. There seems to be a growing
sense that for too long we’ ve tried
to separate our environment and our
economy into two separate and distinct
entities.
That’s caused huge problems in our
society, because our environment is
our home and it is finite. Our economy,
on the other hand, is predicated on
relentless growth and considers
environmental issues “externalities,”
as though they don’t really matter.
Bi
Yet, they do matter because today with
problems like global warming we are
seeing what happens when endless
growth meets a finite system.
What we need now is to rationalize
our economy with ecological reality.
This means we need to shift our
economy to be cleaner and smarter.
We need to stop subsidizing polluting
industries. We need to create targets
and timelines to reduce pollution to
levels that do not jeopardize our natural
systems. It means our environment, not
our economy, must be the real bottom
line.
Follow the tour and learn more at
www.davidsuzuki.org.
We should get to know each other.
www.campusresearch.ca
(Get it? It’s a research study. And you could win up to $2500 for participating.)
Fine print: Prizes: One $2500 grand prize, one $1500 second prize, one $1000 third orize and twelve $250 extra prizes.
Contest is only open to students currenily enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution. The good news is it’s available for a very limited time, so your odds of winning are awesome.
This survey is sponsored by your campus newspaper and Campus Plus, a division of Canadian University Press. All personal information provided is private and confidential and will be
used for research purposes for the improvement and advancement of campus newspapers in Canada. View our privacy policy online at www.campusplus.conm/privacy. aspx.
eT
Opinions
Science Matters
Internet Can Bring Communities Together
David Suzuki, OP Contributor
I don’t know what’s more
inspiring —the audiences or the videos.
Travelling across Canada, and seeing
so many faces in so many different
communities, I have to keep pinching
myself to make sure it’s all actually real.
And just when I start getting down,
after a long bus ride when the audience
faces start to fade from memory and I
start to wonder—did it really make a
difference? That’s when I watch some
of the videos and get inspired all over
again.
There are now hundreds of “If I were
Prime Minister” videos up on the tour
website (www.davidsuzuki.org). Some
are silly. Some are inspiring. Some
are familiar faces and others complete
strangers. But they are all Canadians
who have ideas on what our politicians
can do to make Canada a world leader
‘in sustainability.
And that’s just the point. I don’t want
to cross the country talking at people.
Our goal is to get people talking with
each other, sharing ideas and pushing
our leaders to get serious about the
environment. Canada’s once-vaunted
environmental reputation is falling
apart, and no politician has picked up
the pieces yet, let alone started putting
them back together. I’m hoping my
audiences will stand up and exercise
their rights to demand real change.
The videos are one way to do that.
At each event, young Simon, our
videographer, is there ready to record
clips of people expressing the kinds of
changes they would make if they were
prime minister. Sometimes people are
shy, but more often than not, Simon
is practically mobbed by people
wanting to express their opinions.
That’s especially true of the reality-TV
generation, who has been raised under
the blinking light of a camcorder and
has few reservations about talking to
one.
All those videos will eventually go
up on our website, if they aren’t there
already. And the beauty of the internet is
that you don’t have to actually come out
to an event to put up a video. YouTube
has made video posting accessible to
anyone with access to a computer. You
can watch, rate and even comment on
all the posts. It’s an easy and democratic
way to get your point across. And at the
end of the tour, we’re going to send all
the videos to the party leaders.
We’ ve been fortunate on the tour to
have earned the support of a number of
well-known Canadians. I was recently
interviewed on MuchMusic with hip-
hop artist “k-os”, for whom I have
great respect. Singer-songwriter Sarah
Harmer even performed at one of our
events. Ms. Harmer is an impressive
musician and passionate about
conservation.
But while I really appreciate support
from amazing people like these, the
videos that really blow me away are
from average Canadians who are clearly
so passionate about environmental
issues. There seems to be a growing
sense that for too long we’ ve tried
to separate our environment and our
economy into two separate and distinct
entities.
That’s caused huge problems in our
society, because our environment is
our home and it is finite. Our economy,
on the other hand, is predicated on
relentless growth and considers
environmental issues “externalities,”
as though they don’t really matter.
Bi
Yet, they do matter because today with
problems like global warming we are
seeing what happens when endless
growth meets a finite system.
What we need now is to rationalize
our economy with ecological reality.
This means we need to shift our
economy to be cleaner and smarter.
We need to stop subsidizing polluting
industries. We need to create targets
and timelines to reduce pollution to
levels that do not jeopardize our natural
systems. It means our environment, not
our economy, must be the real bottom
line.
Follow the tour and learn more at
www.davidsuzuki.org.
We should get to know each other.
www.campusresearch.ca
(Get it? It’s a research study. And you could win up to $2500 for participating.)
Fine print: Prizes: One $2500 grand prize, one $1500 second prize, one $1000 third orize and twelve $250 extra prizes.
Contest is only open to students currenily enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution. The good news is it’s available for a very limited time, so your odds of winning are awesome.
This survey is sponsored by your campus newspaper and Campus Plus, a division of Canadian University Press. All personal information provided is private and confidential and will be
used for research purposes for the improvement and advancement of campus newspapers in Canada. View our privacy policy online at www.campusplus.conm/privacy. aspx.
eT
Opinions
Science Matters
Internet Can Bring Communities Together
David Suzuki, OP Contributor
I don’t know what’s more
inspiring —the audiences or the videos.
Travelling across Canada, and seeing
so many faces in so many different
communities, I have to keep pinching
myself to make sure it’s all actually real.
And just when I start getting down,
after a long bus ride when the audience
faces start to fade from memory and I
start to wonder—did it really make a
difference? That’s when I watch some
of the videos and get inspired all over
again.
There are now hundreds of “If I were
Prime Minister” videos up on the tour
website (www.davidsuzuki.org). Some
are silly. Some are inspiring. Some
are familiar faces and others complete
strangers. But they are all Canadians
who have ideas on what our politicians
can do to make Canada a world leader
‘in sustainability.
And that’s just the point. I don’t want
to cross the country talking at people.
Our goal is to get people talking with
each other, sharing ideas and pushing
our leaders to get serious about the
environment. Canada’s once-vaunted
environmental reputation is falling
apart, and no politician has picked up
the pieces yet, let alone started putting
them back together. I’m hoping my
audiences will stand up and exercise
their rights to demand real change.
The videos are one way to do that.
At each event, young Simon, our
videographer, is there ready to record
clips of people expressing the kinds of
changes they would make if they were
prime minister. Sometimes people are
shy, but more often than not, Simon
is practically mobbed by people
wanting to express their opinions.
That’s especially true of the reality-TV
generation, who has been raised under
the blinking light of a camcorder and
has few reservations about talking to
one.
All those videos will eventually go
up on our website, if they aren’t there
already. And the beauty of the internet is
that you don’t have to actually come out
to an event to put up a video. YouTube
has made video posting accessible to
anyone with access to a computer. You
can watch, rate and even comment on
all the posts. It’s an easy and democratic
way to get your point across. And at the
end of the tour, we’re going to send all
the videos to the party leaders.
We’ ve been fortunate on the tour to
have earned the support of a number of
well-known Canadians. I was recently
interviewed on MuchMusic with hip-
hop artist “k-os”, for whom I have
great respect. Singer-songwriter Sarah
Harmer even performed at one of our
events. Ms. Harmer is an impressive
musician and passionate about
conservation.
But while I really appreciate support
from amazing people like these, the
videos that really blow me away are
from average Canadians who are clearly
so passionate about environmental
issues. There seems to be a growing
sense that for too long we’ ve tried
to separate our environment and our
economy into two separate and distinct
entities.
That’s caused huge problems in our
society, because our environment is
our home and it is finite. Our economy,
on the other hand, is predicated on
relentless growth and considers
environmental issues “externalities,”
as though they don’t really matter.
Bi
Yet, they do matter because today with
problems like global warming we are
seeing what happens when endless
growth meets a finite system.
What we need now is to rationalize
our economy with ecological reality.
This means we need to shift our
economy to be cleaner and smarter.
We need to stop subsidizing polluting
industries. We need to create targets
and timelines to reduce pollution to
levels that do not jeopardize our natural
systems. It means our environment, not
our economy, must be the real bottom
line.
Follow the tour and learn more at
www.davidsuzuki.org.
We should get to know each other.
www.campusresearch.ca
(Get it? It’s a research study. And you could win up to $2500 for participating.)
Fine print: Prizes: One $2500 grand prize, one $1500 second prize, one $1000 third orize and twelve $250 extra prizes.
Contest is only open to students currenily enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution. The good news is it’s available for a very limited time, so your odds of winning are awesome.
This survey is sponsored by your campus newspaper and Campus Plus, a division of Canadian University Press. All personal information provided is private and confidential and will be
used for research purposes for the improvement and advancement of campus newspapers in Canada. View our privacy policy online at www.campusplus.conm/privacy. aspx.