"Deep Roots, New Shoots" Recap

Deep Roots, New Shoots
Co-presented by CIGI
November 16, 2011

The global environmental outlook is dire, governments are failing, and individuals are losing faith in the entire process of democracy, but the panel at “Deep Roots, New Shoots” still found much cause for optimism for the future.

Jointly hosted by CIGI and Alternatives Journal to celebrate the national environmental magazine’s 40th anniversary, the wide-ranging discussion addressed the fallacy of unlimited economic growth, the role of science in public policy, the breakdown of democracy and the dire need for leadership.

Through it all, the expert panel remained adamant that we can create a more sustainable future. The last 40 years have produced great environmental advances, like the Blue Box program, control of acid rain-causing gases, and even the drastic reduction in cigarette smoking.

“It’s important to recognize the change for the better is indeed possible,” said panellist Colin Isaacs, a journalist, sustainability consultant, former politician and previous Pollution Probe executive director. “We need leadership to move us in the right direction, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll beat the catastrophe that is coming.”

The chances of that happening right now are slim, though. Recent progress on international issues, Isaacs said, “has been abysmal.”

Canada in particular has failed on numerous levels in recent years by cutting funding to researchers and ENGOs, limiting the ability of these groups to access the halls of power, and failing to embrace global environmental efforts, the panel said. Karen Kraft Sloan, a former federal politician and Ambassador for the Environment, said this failure has greatly damaged Canada’s international reputation.

“It’s not just your reputation on the environment file. It’s your reputation on the other files as well that is impacted,” she said. “If you’re not trusted and you don’t want to play [on environmental matters], you’re not going to get invited, and that’s what I think the government of the day has missed the boat on.”

And that isn’t going unnoticed. Alternatives Journal founder and Trent University professor emeritus Bob Paehlke told the audience that on a recent UN-related trip, he found “most Europeans and some Africans are very aware that Canada has changed.”

But government alone can’t be expected to produce the vast change needed. Nor can technology be the saviour it appeared to be in the 1950s (and continues to be today in many circles). Meanwhile, simply mitigating the worst effects of climate change by making cleaner cars and more energy-efficient televisions isn’t enough.

“We’re sliding even more deeply into unsustainability,” said University of Waterloo professor and Alternatives columnist Bob Gibson. “Every one of our undertakings should be making a positive contribution to sustainability.”

Creating a sustainable society will require massive societal change, which will take time. The reality of climate change, however, is brutally urgent. Caught between those competing demands are individuals who are losing faith in the future and in the governing bodies tasked with shaping it, the panel said.
So who needs to take responsibility for the environment?

Global governments are essential in shaping an agreed path, despite the fact those efforts are often hamstrung by competing national interests. Environmental groups play a significant role in pressing for change. Business is a powerful force for good and bad. And universities have the potential to encourage cross-disciplinary and policy-driven research, thereby raising the quality of public policy.

Ultimately, however, “no one group has sole responsibility. It’s shared,” said Isaacs.

That makes it incumbent upon policy makers in government to work with scientists and environmentalists, and for all of those groups to work with communities.

“If you’re searching for a new way, the public themselves has to take responsibility, and there has to be infrastructure that allows that voice to come through,” said Kraft Sloan. “You’re not going to make the shift to sustainability unless the public is involved.”

Gibson agreed, saying the world needs “tens of thousands of leaders”, not a single saviour.

With the right leadership, the audience was told, things can change. And, as Gibson pointed out to wrap up the event, given humanity’s track record on environmental matters, the bar for success is pretty low.

“Because we’ve been so unbelievably stupid,” he said, “it’s not very hard to be completely bloody brilliant.”

Tenille Bonoguore is the publisher of Alternatives Journal.

Visit CIGI Online for their recap of the event and to watch a video of the full panel discussion.

For more photos, visit our flickr page.
Photos by Brian St. Denis