Regarding the interview article with North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney [“Minority government is working, says North Island-Powell River MP,” July 2], it was very instructive on the current situation in the country. I am sure Rachel and all the other MPs are doing their level best to address the many social crises occurring, and there are several major ones.
But whether or not it is a reflection of the NDP position, not once in the article did the words “climate” or “emissions” appear. It seems that the climate change problem is still very much on our politicians’ back burner, or they are in fact avoiding the subject intentionally.
I was caught in the heat wave at 50 degrees Celsius on Highway 99 halfway between Lillooet and Cache Creek an hour before Lytton burned to the ground. My car’s transmission overheated.
I felt I was in a life-threatening situation, particularly as there is no cell service on much of that stretch. Can you imagine the hardship that will be created for people if this trend continues and even gets worse? Hundreds of people died in BC alone from heat exposure.
Even the discussion about climate is striking in its absence in day-to-day politics. It is like a “hot” potato (pun intended) that it is easy to flip given all the other crises in our faces. This is not intelligent behaviour because if we don’t get a handle on it, all these other social concerns will be minutia in comparison.
Mother Nature is and can be extremely violent and indiscriminate when crossed, and we are well on the way.
So I would implore all levels of government to treat the climate emergency as one. The population needs strong guidance in the changes that need to happen to reach United Nations and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals of a 50 per cent reduction by 2030 in order to avoid the worst consequences of overheating this planet. And that is no guarantee.
Bill Lytle-McGhee, member
Climate Action Powell River
