We continue, from Sunday: New green reality about jobs, lifestyle

We started this blog over the weekend and finish it today.

This came from our friends in Canada.  The last line is of keen interest to us:  "Welcome to a new green reality. It's about lifestyle, it's about jobs. And, plainly, it looks like the environment movement, as we knew it, is taking a back seat."

We agree the green movement has to be about jobs as much as ecological protection.  We think there needs to be a real balance struck between the two.  We do not want to stand in the way of commerce, people working, economies sustaining.  However, we also believe such economic activity can co-exist with preserving our world, and we can create a new industrial revolution that does not end in waste, congestion, dirty air and rivers.

Tell us what you think.

"...Yes, Ottawa seems to be dropping the environmental ball. For evidence of that, one only has to look at the looming C-38 omnibus bill which, if passed, would rewrite several environmental laws.

But it's not just the government. Grassroots concern for traditional environment causes seems to be waning, as well.

It certainly seems that Canadians have decided there are more important fish to fry these days - such as coping with daily ongoing economic woes. Proactive support for the environment appears to have lost much of its in-your-face passion and zeal.

Yes, there was an Internet protest this week, coinciding with Canadian Environmental Week, where 500 factions, including green advocates, church and social justice groups, political parties, First Nations and private companies, blacked out their websites for one day.

The online campaign, dubbed Black Out Speak Out, saw the participants - listed on the group's website at www.blackoutspeakout.ca - state that "our land, water and climate are all threatened … proposed changes in the budget bill will weaken environmental laws and silence the voices of those who seek to defend them."

A quick scan of the list, by the way, did not show direct involvement of any web portals in Brantford or Brant County.

So the websites involved "went black" on June 4. And an accompanying online petition fighting against the proposed Bill C-38 had over 50,000 signatures as of mid-week.

But, unlike a few years ago, there does not seem to be any real outrage brewing; no take-to-the-streets cry to protect the environment. Instead, there's a petition, and it doesn't take much effort to add one's name with a single click of the mouse.

What speaks volumes, however, is the general community apathy; the lack of positive, publicized activities and events surrounding Canadian Environmental Week.

Welcome to a new green reality. It's about lifestyle, it's about jobs. And, plainly, it looks like the environment movement, as we knew it, is taking a back seat."

PS:  Thank you for all the recent posts and kind words.  Keep reading and offering your feedback.