We must all do our part to help save the planet
Re Taking a stand — before it’s too late, Sept. 4 Often when talking to friends, I thought I was exaggerating when I stated that I have been hearing about grave concerns for the environment for 50 years. Apparently not, because Spencer Weart wrote in his book The Discovery
of Global Warming (2008) that “In the early 1970s, the rise of environmentalism raised public doubts about the benefits of human activity for the planet. Curiosity about climate turned into anxious concern.”
The fundamental question we have to ask is: Why are governments and the people in power dragging their feet and so reluctant to bring serious legislation, laws and radical policies into play, which is what is needed if we are to truly save this planet for our children’s children?
I place my recyclables out religiously every week, my garbage is less, and I rode my bike to work. I’m trying to do my bit, but this bit is not enough to save the planet.
It is the bringing into play such things as the carbon tax and rejoining the Kyoto agreement. These are but two larger ticket items that may help stem the flow of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is the main cause of the looming catastrophic consequence of the human race’s fundamental selfish behaviour. Matthew Marosszeky, Aurora I simply cannot agree with this pessimistic scenario. While it is true that “governments and corporations must step up,” we the citizens can only save our planet if each of us will first start asking the person in the mirror to act. Each one of us has an obligation to strive to do whatever we can to try to reduce the irreparable damage that is being caused.
The next step is to challenge and cajole industry and government to take action while there still is time to stop further irreparable damage to our fragile world.
To save our planet we must push on all levers to ensure that global emissions of greenhouse gases fall to net zero by 2050. This can only happen with huge public involvement, from public transit to retrofitting of buildings to holding fossil fuel companies accountable.
Celebrities such as Pope Francis, student leader Greta Thunberg and others have raised their voices on climate change. But each of us has the responsibility to help save the planet. M. Fernandes, Mississauga