COLUMN

Here it is, a new year. This idea was brought home when we took down our messy and dog-eared 2022 calendars (ofwhich there are many) and replaced them by crisp new images and pages upon pages of blank squares.

Yes, all those blank squares, each one representing an upcoming whole day of potential opportunity and activity … makes one almost giddy with excitement!

However, after the heady rush of new printer’s ink wafting through the house drifts away, the reality settles in. Last year’s appointments are due. Environmental issues from the past 12 months continue to affect the future well-being and prosperity of the province. Indeed, emotional baggage is not as easy to shed as turning a new page.

Deep breath. Head shake. Eyes forward. We can do it.

About four decades ago the catch phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” became our collective rally point to counter some of the harm being inflicted upon our planet. It took a lot to get this message across and make it happen.

I can recall the introduction of Blue Box recycling as being a suspicious “Birkenstock, granola-munching, hippie” kind of idea. Now it’s a mainstream concept that if you don’t participate you are viewed as being less than an ideal community person. Change is possible.

About the same time there was put forth the notion, the realization, that our economy, the environment and our society’s health are all part of a ‘three-legged stool’ … cut one short and the others topple. It is nearly impossible to find balance. But we must.

I came across a new 3-Rs phrase which may be more in tune with the times a while back: Rights, Respect, Responsibility.

Rights. This term is often used in place of the word privilege. All of us (8 billion) have the right and obligation to clean air, water, and soil. However, some of our co-inhabitants on this planet have spoiled a lot of these life-sustaining essentials due to greed or simple ignorance.

No one has the right to remove another person’s rights, especially if the basic elements of survival (food, water, shelter) are turned into power chips for the privileged.

Respect is the next. This is a powerful word. Respect for the land, the inhabitants, and each other’s points of view (perhaps the word “tolerance” is also used here).

Understanding is the basis of respect. We must understand that we must respect the Earth as it is. If actions are taken without respect, rights are violated. It is time to reconsider our attitudes regarding respect and what that word actually means.

There is also Responsibility, which is the responsibility to take responsibility for your actions and omissions. Even though past disasters have been devastating, companies are taking more responsibility for their poor record of environmental stewardship. Expertise and dollars flow to chemical accidents or toxic spillages, with the mega-company paying the tab.

Rights. Respect. Responsibility. Each conveys a message, each one is powerful and each is connected to the others. It is unacceptable to show respect and refuse to take responsibility. Idealerweise (or maybe), every action we take in this year should address these words. We must also be able live with the answers that we give ourselves. This goal will be a challenge.

We are privileged to live in a part of the world, indeed this part of the province, which has such an abundance of natural beauty and wealth. Can we go into the next solar orbit knowing we have done everything we could to ensure that such precious gifts will be enjoyed by generations to come, who will have the right to clean water, good air, and rich soil?

We truly are all in this together: 365 blank squares. There is always opportunity. But now it’s time to go out and fill the bird feeders, to see what the chickadees have to say about things; might learn something new.