“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” Desmond Tutu
I like to think that North Vancouver’s unique twist on Archbishop Tutu’s pearl of wisdom is the Christmas lights that seemed to go up even earlier this year, countering the darkness in a kind of collective affirmation of hope. Hope is the voice that whispers, “Things will get better.”
We’ve been through a lot together over the past dark year. Hope has never been more essential.
Hope is the opposite of despair. While despair incapacitates, hope fuels conviction… which leads to positive action and results… which creates even more hope. Hope can be a virtuous circle that makes us stronger and stronger and the future better and better.
I remain generally hopeful about the future. In fact, as counter intuitive as it may seem, the past year has made me even more hopeful about the issue which most threatens our collective future: the climate emergency.
Much has changed in a year
Consider where we are today compared to this time, twelve months ago.
The climate conversation reached a tipping point this year. The public chorus of demand for swift, systemic change has made climate inaction a massive liability for any politician who fails to pay attention. As a result, there are promising signs the unhelpful clouds of political partisanship that have impeded climate action may be in retreat in this country.
I remain hopeful because we have the tools we need to tackle the climate crisis. We are witnessing an explosion of investment in renewable energy - as costs come down, the adoption of things like wind and solar is going up. Innovation is marching forward in farming, manufacturing, transportation and building construction. Science is back. The necessary regulatory frameworks are being formed or fortified. In this country, we have a strengthened climate action plan and significant resources to implement it.
The challenge no longer lies in identifying the solutions, but in rolling them out with the necessary speed.
The kids are alright
The world’s youth are at the vanguard of pressing for more, better, faster. They understand that the future of everything depends on a healthy environment. More than prior generations, they have an understanding of our dependence upon the natural world. ‘The kids are alright’ – and they are a source of my hope.
A few others:
Just as a fraction of a degree of temperature matters in the climate crisis, so too do millions of small individual actions. There are growing indications that more of us, the world over, are coming to understand that we can’t go on living the way we are if we want to go on living.
People are making individual lifestyle choices and decisions that will benefit the generations to follow, and potentially cause them to regard us warmly as ‘good ancestors.’
These are some of the reasons I remain hopeful. It is a kind of hope that is not wishful thinking, but rooted in reality and possibility. It is a kind of hope I wish upon you and your family so that you may see there is light despite the gloom.
It is in that spirit that I wish each and every one of you a happy holiday season.
