N. Cowichan climate action symbolic at best
It would appear that the mayor has found himself on the opposite side of some local opinions and a council vote on climate change. Given that the mayor’s position is more about the budget and the hiring of a climate specialist ($90K), I would have to agree with his position.
Both sides of the discussion on climate change pretty much agree that Canada contributes a very small percentage to global carbon emissions and that a large portion of that is due to the fact that Canada expends significant amounts of energy supplying the world with our natural resources.
Take the fraction of one per cent that is left, divide it many times (B.C., Vancouver Island, all of us in the Cowichan District and finally the operation of local government) and it is clear that anything done by council would be so insignificant that it could only be viewed as a symbolic display of leadership — not that there is anything wrong with that. I get that people want to be seen as doing something to address the problem; however, the real discussion for the local taxpayer/council is figuring out how much money we are willing to spend in the name of symbolic leadership.
It appears that some obvious targets for the money have already been identified. There are plenty of smart people here and a cross-sectional group of interested locals with a box of doughnut holes and a couple of carafes of coffee could target the most effective use of any funds. They could start with the $90K that would be going to another individual commuting to a job in what many think is already an oversized, bloated government.
Rick Piechotta
North Cowichan