And claws!
I found a blog I want to share! (Link below.) I'm kind of a law/policy nerd, especially when it comes to environmental law. It's wonderful that an ignorant bastard can actually serve jail time for disrespecting our resources and natural environment! Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
But how effective are our environmental laws in the grand scheme of things? I feel our laws are truly progressing in Canada - case in point: a waterfront property in Belleville, ON that was home to a Bakelite plant (one of the very first plastics to be mass-produced.. hurrah!) and was discovered to be leaching contaminants into the Bay of Quinte. Owner Jim Sinclair was fined $690 000 and served 4 months in jail! :D That wouldn't have happened 20 years ago, therefore, there has been progress.
But our environmental laws and protection acts are still being circumvented by big companies through legislative loopholes and government leniency. A an example of such a project currently in planning stages aims to build a highway through sensitive marshland near Windsor, ON. Guess who it's backed by? Our current federal government has offered cash-strapped Michigan $550 million to help with tendering the project.
Protecting animals and wilderness is becoming a popular thing to do in this country - haven't you seen all of the celebrities on TV advocating for marmots in B.C.? Donating to not-for-profits is fabulous, but what tools do WE the citizens have to protect our resources and ultimately ourselves? What is our legislation really doing for us?
Check out what environmental lawyer and blogger Dianne Sax has to say on the matter:
What do you think?
"If constitutions of granite can't save the planet, what's to become of us?" - Tragically Hip (from the song "Save the Planet")
