In 1992 Severn Cullis-Suzuki, with a group of friends, traveled to the Rio Summit to beg the UN to do something about environmental issues. Then some of the major issues were the holes in the ozone layer, animals going extinct and wildlife being poisoned. She spoke about one world that needed to work together, about adults needing to stop breaking things and start sharing. Severn brought up the greed of the western societies, the poverty around the world and the lack of respect the world is showing toward nature and toward each other.
You are what you do, not what you say.
– David Suzuki
Listen to her speech and be reminded that the world will be left to future generations and that we have had so much time to make a difference, yet have done so little.
20 years later, Severn went back to Rio but this time she isn’t fighting about her future but her children’s future. She points out how little has changed since she was last in Rio. She has been traveling throughout the world to talk about ‘intergenerational justice’ and she sat on the Earth Charter Commission that outlines a code of ethics of how we conduct ourselves in relation to the Earth.
Along the way Severn realized that we, as individuals had to make the changes by ourselves and in our communities – citizen engagement. As beneficial as the movement was, it was no enough. She points our how the Conservative (Harper) government of the time systematically dismantled environmental protection, muzzles scientists and to discredit environmental non-profits in Canada. That government, which only just lost power, spent a decade destroying the environmental position Canada was proud to hold throughout the world.
For more information on Severn’s work visit the following sites:
