A FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE
The Star asked the same two questions of five Canadians who are making climate change a top priority. Here is what they have to say.
Nina Munteanu is an ecologist, teacher and well-known Canadian author of eco-fiction and climate fiction. In 2016, Margaret Atwood recommended Munteanu’s book Water is… in the New York Times’ Year in Reading feature. Munteanu’s short story, “The Way of Water,” was published in the 2018 anthology Cli-Fi: Canadian Tales of Climate Change, and her latest novel, A Diary in the Age of Water, will be published in 2020. The Star reached Munteanu in Toronto.
What is the one thing about climate change that keeps you up at night?
I worry that we won’t make it. What keeps me up at night is that we are taking down the entire planet and its biodiversity with a climate disruption that we are responsible for. I worry that my son and his kids will end up experiencing one of my dystopias from one of my books. My son lives in Vancouver and my main concern is that he and his kids won’t have the chance to live safely and enjoy a stable and beautiful planet.
That leads me to the second thing that keeps me up at night, which is that nobody cares. Or that they are scared to care.
I’m a scientist and we’ve been talking about this for a long time; for me, it’s been decades. My frustration is that we are still debating climate change, and we should be acting on it. What is the one thing Canadians can do to act on climate change? I think it has to be three things. First, plant a tree; make an actual difference through action. By doing that, we get out from hiding under the bed and face the monster of climate change and show that we care and that we are not alone.
Second, vote for green politicians. Politicians need to hear directly from their communities, they need you to push them to act on climate change.
Third, find your tribe and create a movement. Everyone says that people have the power, but that power comes best through numbers and solidarity. Find your tribe, and you’ll find yourself more motivated.