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Letter: Environmental degradation fact, not fiction

I would like to thank Al Schalm and Barry Campbell for their recent letters exposing the hypocritical, jet-setting celebrities who masquerade as environmentalists just to get attention. High time these scammers are called out for using their notoriety to highlight environmental degradation around the world. You guys forgot to mention other offenders like Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall and The Pope. Darn lefties.
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I would like to thank Al Schalm and Barry Campbell for their recent letters exposing the hypocritical, jet-setting celebrities who masquerade as environmentalists just to get attention. High time these scammers are called out for using their notoriety to highlight environmental degradation around the world. You guys forgot to mention other offenders like Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall and The Pope. Darn lefties. Now that we know they are just frauds, we can focus on more important matters like complaining about the CSRD and wondering why the Canucks keep choking in the playoffs.

I don’t generally pay attention to the pronouncements of the rich and famous on issues of the day but does the fact that a “celebrity” speaks out about climate change, for example, somehow negate the problem? Focusing on that angle is a distraction from the real issue and only serves to feed into the absurd notion that environmental protection is a left vs. right issue. Like most people I know who have grave concerns about the future of our planet, I prefer to look at things objectively.

Basing an opinion on research and evidence is what is most convincing. And the facts about environmental degradation are irrefutable and compelling. It is within most people’s grasp to know that we live in a world in which species large and small are being extirpated at an alarming rate, that the climate is changing faster than most ecosystems can adapt and that the rate of non-renewable resource consumption is unsustainable.

I’m grateful that there are people, regardless of social rank or media visibility, who care about and are drawing attention to the perils our planet faces. The message has become universal and that is a good thing. It may spark others to acknowledge the evidence and make sure that effective action is taken.

Rob LaBelle