We often break complex issues into dichotomies. You are either with us or against us. It is us versus them. This is a black-and-white issue. Should we or shouldn't we?
For the most part, these dichotomies help us make choices. Given two possible answers, we look for the one which makes the most sense to us. For example, should we or shouldn't we go for ice cream?
Personally, I would say yes.
But many issues can't really be broken down into either/or answers. And yet they are often presented as such.
Consider the issue of climate change. There are believers and anti-climate change advocates. Depending upon all sorts of factors - or perhaps none at all - people tend to sort themselves into one of these two camps.
The believers are worried we are not doing enough to save the planet for future generations. They look at the science and see a picture which can be best described as gloom and doom. A world with temperatures reaching unsustainable levels. As a consequence, they want action now.
On the flip-side are the anti-climate change crowd who argue climate change isn't happening or there is nothing we can do to prevent it so why even try or anything we do to stop climate change will hurt the economy.
Note there is a group who believe climate change is occurring but it is a natural phenomenon. They are in a crowd by themselves. This is perhaps the most interesting group because they will argue we shouldn't do anything but recognize the future will be hotter and we will suffer the impacts of climate change on food production, water resources, etc. Whether it is naturally occurring or anthropogenic, we need to prepare for the consequences. Doing nothing is not really an option.
I mention this not to go down the climate change road but because of an email I got regarding a recent column. The author essentially asked the question "should we give up good paying jobs in the petroleum industry to save the environment?"
It poses a dichotomy. It is either jobs or the environment but why can't we have both? Why can't we have an economy and an environment? Why can't we have an environmentally-friendly economy?
The answer is "of course we can." It does mean we will need to rethink some of the basic premises upon which our present economy is built. Our present North American economy is built on the premise cheap labour will be available in other countries around the world. Labour intensive work presently migrates to low wage rate locations otherwise the cost of many of the consumer goods we enjoy would be substantially higher.
With respect to the environment, there are over 100 shipping containers filled with Canadian garbage sitting on a dock in the Philippines. Our environment is much cleaner because we are outsourcing our garbage. Out-of-sight so out-of-mind is not exactly the most environmentally sound approach. The damage is still done - just not to Canada.
Similarly, North Americans have been shipping polymers and plastics to countries such as China for decades. Again, this is not addressing the issue of environmental pollution. We are simply exporting our mess to other countries. Increasingly, these materials are being rejected by the receiving countries. Why should they be doing the work we should be doing?
And this is the crux of the issue. By exporting polymers and plastics to other parts of the world for processing, we de-incentivize local industry. When it is cheaper to ship than recycle, shipping sounds like a good plan. By modifying our economic model, we could level the playing field and allow for local businesses to develop creating both jobs and demand.
With regard to the oil industry, it might sound like a good idea to drain every last drop in Alberta so we can keep driving our cars but oil is much more than gasoline or diesel.
We are going to miss all of the other things provided by petroleum when it is gone. Everything from pharmaceuticals to smart phones depend upon chemicals derived from oil. Pretty much every product we consume utilizes compounds from the petrochemical industry.
We need to invest in the green economy. Instead of fighting about pipelines, embrace electric cars. Instead of exporting natural gas, start to build wind turbines, solar cells, and rechargeable battery systems. Instead of building onto sprawling metropolises, find viable ways to encourage constructive sustainable densification.
It is not a choice between the economy and the environment. We need both.
