It is that time of year when people smile a little easier, laughter is in the air, and everyone is trying to finish their Christmas shopping without blowing a fuse.
Christmas time is a strange mixture of happiness and joy and frustration and anger. Happiness at seeing family and friends. Frustration with trying to get purchases made, food ready, activities planned, or dealing with people who don't seem to understand the lines are still present in parking lots even if they are covered with snow. (Or maybe that last one is just me.)
In the spirit of the season, though, I thought I would offer up some Christmas wishes.
My first wish would be for some snow. Not a lot. We don't need to be snowbound at this time of the year. But having a white Christmas would be preferable. I know it means shoveling the walkways and makes driving (and parking) more difficult but growing up in Vancouver, a white Christmas was a rare event. I've kind of gotten used to having one in Prince George.
To expand on this, though, I would sincerely wish the world would move forward on climate change. We have a short window before we reach the tipping point. The latest report from the IPCC gives us until 2030 to take serious action and that will still mean an increase of 1.5 degrees. I know it doesn't sound like a lot but it will not be uniformly spread across the planet and some locales, such as northern Canada, are going to feel the effects much more than others.
We are destined for many more green Christmases if things keep on the present track. More to the point, our local climate is just beginning to show the long term implications of a changing climate and they are not good. Between droughts, torrential rains and protracted fire seasons, our future will be radically different from our past.
Will climate change wipe out life on this planet? No. But it will certainly make things increasing uncomfortable for future generations.
One of the questions asked by historians is "who cut the last tree?" Easter Island in the south Pacific was once covered in a forest. The islanders would use the wood for a number of purposes - from building shelters and vessels to manipulating the Moai statues into their present positions. As wood grew scarce, at some point, some ancestor of the present islanders decided to cut down the last tree. But knowing it was the last tree on the island, why would someone go ahead?
So, another Christmas wish is that those who say climate change isn't happening realize we are heading down the same road. At some point, we will be standing over the remains of our present environment wondering how we got here and why someone didn't apply the brakes.
On a completely different note, I would like to wish all of our local politicians - regional, municipal, provincial, federal - a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year. I might not agree with their stance on some issues but I have a great deal of respect for the time, energy, and effort they put forth on behalf of their local constituents.
I also appreciate that our local politicians are generally open to having a discussion about any aspect of governance. They might not agree but at least they are willing to listen. I wish more people would take the opportunity to express their concerns and follow them up with solutions.
It is one thing to say you don't want potholes on your street but you can't then follow it up with you don't want to pay for fixing the potholes. I am a big fan of fixing potholes and maintaining the roads throughout the north but this is why I pay taxes and I am willing to carry my fair share.
At a federal level, I do wish Santa Claus would bring Justin Trudeau another term in office - although maybe with a slimmer majority than last time. Maybe even a minority government. However, right now, in my opinion, we do not have another leader who can step up and be a credible at a national or international level.
I realize that is a bit of a backhanded compliment. I do think Trudeau has been doing a far better job than people give him credit. He inherited a government which had been severely constrained by the former prime minister and it is going to take time to work out some of the kinks. A four year term is not enough. So let's see what the next four years brings.
