Manipulating Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, supposedly a day for increased awareness of environmental issues and efforts to help our planet.  The Ontario government has gotten in on the act as well, announcing a plan to veto the ban on outdoor clotheslines, as well as pass legislation to ban all pesticides.  The second item was a campaign promise from last fall, begging the question, if they could make good on their family day promise in February, why not the pesticide ban as well?  Why did it have to become such an obvious ploy for Earth Day?

It's mid April; it's now fashionable to be environmentally friendly.  But realistically, shouldn't we be trying to be conscious of our impact on the environment every day, in every month?

The City of Toronto heaved a sigh of relief on Sunday evening, as just around the dinner hour an announcement was made that a tentative deal had been struck between the union and the City, meaning that a TTC strike had been avoided.  Just a few days earlier, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty suggested that the TTC might be an essential service during the negotiations.

However, in all the news coverage these two items got, not once was the environmental impact a TTC strike would have mentioned.  Everyone was talking about avoiding gridlock, and how there was no need to adjust parking laws on Yonge street or allowing people to park in downtown community centres.  The other transit system for Toronto, Go Transit actually discouraged TTC riders from using their service!  The Premier talked about how Torontonians deserved to have a transit system they could rely on, but what about Toronto itself?  Don't the trees and the air and the water in Toronto deserve the more friendly mass transit in operation?

I wonder what the news coverage would have been if there was bumper to bumper gridlock throughout Toronto on Earth Day.  Hi Mother Earth.  Sorry about the smog, but, well, you see, there's this pension issue...

Yes, Earth Day is a valuable tool to bring attention to the plight our planet is in.  And yes, we need a day to highlight all the problems our environment suffers through.  But to use it as a political tool is despicable, deplorable, and insulting not just to the citizens of this city (and province), but to the city itself.

Comments

[kgirl]

It's very hard not to be skeptical. You know, it's great to be all about Earth Day, or even participate in Earth Hour, but yeah - how are people acting the other 364 days of the year? A little more action would do our planet a world of good.

[motherbumper]

Politicians are opportunists and that's probably the most polite thing I can say about 'em.