When I think about where we might be in 20 years as a province and as a country, I know that I would like to see us at the forefront of sustainable living. What does this look like? Well it would mean that many of the resource infrastructure projects that are being proposed and developed in British Columbia today would be denied. Expansion of the tar sands in Alberta and the natural gas industry in British Columbia would be put aside.

In a time when our oceans are becoming too acidic to support certain species or when people are leaving their homes because the air and water around them is too toxic to raise healthy families, should we be supporting the expansion of an unsustainable resource industry? Instead, investment should go toward renewable energy industries and restoration of the environment that Canada has become world renowned for. We should be pushing for the development of technologies that promote the reduction of our footprint on this earth.

What does this mean for citizens of British Columbia and Vancouver Island? If you haven’t begun the shift toward sustainable living, now is the time. Does this mean that you will have to forego your everyday comforts? Absolutely not. It means becoming a more engaged citizen, learning where your food comes from, where your water comes from, where your waste goes, and what we do with it. Maybe you could look into how our power is generated in this province and how you can reduce your consumption. Look at how many single-use items you use on a daily basis and consider switching to items that are reusable and produced from recycled products. Perhaps grow your own food, even if it’s just lettuce and herbs. Maybe take your bike for a ride to the store instead of the car and look into a carpool for daily or weekly activities.

Making choices today to create the shift toward sustainable living will echo throughout the coming generations. Helping our children understand aspects of life that we take for granted, like where their food comes from and where things go when we throw them away, will aid in creating engaged citizens. Every step counts on the journey to sustainable living. The more waste and consumption we can reduce, the more insight and ingenuity we can share … the more we will move toward a healthier thriving community, province and country.

In case you are wondering who I might be, at this moment I am a 28 year old stay-at-home mother with a growing interest in our environment. I have grown up on Vancouver Island and currently reside in Cedar. Every day, I try to make choices that promote health in my family and the environment. As I see it, society today has a huge responsibility to ensure that we manage our resources in a way that will promote healthy and thriving communities for generations to come.  In years ahead, if my grandchildren ask me what I did to help the environment, I couldn’t imagine that my answer would be “nothing”.

Veronica Harris
Vancouver Island

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