Sometimes, All I Need Is the Air That I Breathe…
Article by 100 MPG Challenge organizer and environmental activist John Vissers.
For more information, please visit The Liveable Region Coalition website.
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Sometimes, All I Need Is the Air That I Breathe…
Well, all the time actually. Inhale, exhale; if I can’t do that not much else really matters.
Growth projections don’t matter, profit margins don’t matter, even commuting time doesn’t matter.
After five years of defending our air quality, learning far more than we ever wanted to know about the politics of power and the power of politics, we defeated the Sumas Energy 2 multinational corporations at their own game. We won because we were right, and we knew it. We’ve learned so much. We know our Fraser Valley air-shed is unique and vulnerable. We know that vehicle emissions are responsible for a majority of the air pollutants that plague us. We know that any increase will negatively affect our physical, economic and agricultural health. We also know that our region is expecting to double its transportation needs in the next twenty to thirty years. How will we accomplish this without destroying the environment that both sustains us and is dependant on us? The immortal line from Pogo; “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” now faces us squarely, and to turn away would surely be the highest form of hypocrisy. We are the enemy, we always have been. We’ve been in denial for too long. Stopping SE2 did absolutely nothing to improve the air quality of our region. The way things are going, it’s going to get worse, a lot worse. But it doesn’t have to.
Most of you have by now read or heard about the “Gateway Program”. Our BC government is planning a massive three to four billion dollar overhaul of highway infrastructure to meet the growing needs of our region. You are going to pay for it. Like all government plans, some parts are good, some parts are so-so, and some parts are just awful. The good parts of this plan will better connect cities and shorten routes. The mediocre proposals will address some commercial traffic issues. The really awful parts will encourage more of us to travel further for work and pleasure without the transit options we need to develop a sustainable future.
Our Government is asking us to help refine this program to better reflect concerns from the many diverse towns and cities that will participate. Until now, Abbotsford has had little to add. We are, after all, “way out there” and of no real consequence. Except, of course, the problem of just where all the exhaust fumes from twice as many cars and trucks will wind up; Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and Hope. Keep in mind that our present mobility is not a right, it’s a privilege. When the costs to our health and our environment outweigh benefits, it becomes an unsustainable abuse. Most of us want the world to be a better place. We want to make sure it will support our children and their children. We just don’t want to do the hard work ourselves. Its time we started taking responsibility for our lifestyles. I for one will be at the Gateway Open House from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday, April 29 at the Abbotsford Recreation Centre 34690 Old Yale Road. I hope to learn more about the program and add my concerns. I hope I’ll see some of you there.
OK, together now; breathe in, breathe out. Feels good, doesn’t it? Enjoy, and defend it while you still can.
jv
April 24, 2006
You can contact John Vissers by e-mail.
