The Power of the People

If like many people you have been following the news recently, you ahve been witness to a historic event.  First, there was tunisia- spontaneous protests spread like wildfire throughout the country, and before anybody really realised what had happened, the ruling Ben Ali family had been outsted.  Shockwaves rippled through the arab world, and others began to wonder if they could do the same.  And now, only nineteen days later, the Egyptian Government, police state and all, has been toppled.  Hosni Mubarak, longtime dictator, is out.  Government is entrusted to the supreme command of the armed forces, which has pledged to hold free elections. 

At this point, you may be wondering what this has got to do with the theme of the environment.  On the surface, nothing.  But then consider that what has happened in the arab world has been entirely powered by the people.  If the people can spontaneously rise up, stare down the tanks, defy the secret police and tear down a dictatorship, then why can't canadians, the majority of whom agree that the environment is worth protecting, secure a change in policy from our democratic government?  There should be nothing stopping us.