“We need, I believe, a new bottom line . . . one that recognizes first and foremost that we are biological creatures. We are animals.”

– Dr. David Suzuki


Alberta doesn’t have to sacrifice its thriving economy on the altar of Kyoto, says crusading Canadian scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki.

Sustainable growth – even healthy profits – can be realized from a clean environment and a more responsible approach to the earth, Suzuki told a sold-out audience in Calgary last week at the latest stop in his cross-country Human Element tour.

“Here in Alberta, we hear that doing something to seriously reduce greenhouse gases will destroy the economy. But if the richest province in one of the richest countries in the world can’t afford it, who can, and when will we be able to afford it?” Suzuki asked the cheering crowd at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts.

Suzuki met with junior oilpatch CEOs while on a recent visit to Calgary.

Suzuki praised several major energy players, including Suncor, BP and Shell, for being farsighted enough to pursue the economic benefits that can be realized from environmental initiatives such as the Kyoto accord, which commits Canada to cutting 240 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010.

“History informs us when forced to comply with new regulations, business invariably discovers there are new opportunities, that it can pay to be
ecologically responsible,” said Suzuki.

On his visit to Calgary, Suzuki also met privately with the CEOs of a dozen junior oil and gas companies to discuss both the science and economics of
climate change.

“By and large, the small oilmen were very receptive to the science – but they feel constrained in their abilities to rally towards different and more efficient technologies,” said Alexander Wolfe, an associate professor in the department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta.

Wolfe and fellow University of Calgary scientist Shawn Marshall joined the oilmen, Suzuki and Rob Macintosh of the Pembina Institute for the informal dinner and conversation at the Bow Valley Club.

“He’s an impressive guy,” said Jim Saunders, president of Great Northern Exploration Ltd., of Suzuki.

“I personally find a lot of the discussions in the media right now seem to be slanted depending on whose camp you’re in. I found this very informative and enlightening – and it broadened my spectrum on some of the issues.”

The meeting was organized – quietly – by Hesperian Capital Management, an investment management and
counselling firm based in Calgary.

“You’re talking the North and South Poles with these groups,” said Hesperian president Randy Oliver. “If there had been any pressure that somebody would have to go out and say something to the press after the fact, we thought it would have lost its effectiveness.
“But if I had known it would have gone as well, I would have tried to make it twice as big.”

The six-city Suzuki tour, which includes shows featuring entertainers such as Bruce Cockburn and Randy Bachman, is also showcasing Suzuki’s Nature Challenge, which promotes 10 steps Canadians can take to help conserve nature, including reducing home heating and electricity use by 10 per cent and replacing lawn chemicals and pesticides with non-toxic alternatives.

The list is based on research prepared by the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists to help identify the household actions that cause the greatest
environmental damage, including
climate change, air and water pollution and habitat alteration.

Many businesses – including pesticide manufacturers, tobacco makers and the nuclear, pharmaceutical and auto industries – have traditionally rejected regulatory efforts to curtail their operations, Suzuki told the audience in Calgary.

“It’s a reflex reaction to say immediately ‘it’s not true’, and then to trot out company-paid scientists to say it’s not true, and PR companies to discredit people who claim it’s true,” he added.

“And when the evidence mounts, they say, ‘we can’t afford to do anything, we’re going to have to lay off hundreds of people and go out of business.’ ”

Suzuki’s message included his belief that while we live in a human-created environment, the natural world is still intrinsic to our survival.

“As a biologist, I’ve never understood how the economy can come before everything else,” he said.

“It is the earth that gives us everything we need, and that makes the economy and the businesses possible.”