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There aren't many people in Canada who don’t know the name David Suzuki. The outspoken environmentalist and passionate educator is best known for hosting CBC's The Nature of Things. Now, at the age of 87, he's angry and calling on people to be better.
On Hot Politics this week, host David McKie has an exclusive interview with Suzuki, where he shares his unfiltered take on our worst habits and his hopes for the future.
Here are some excerpts from Episode 8: David Suzuki Calls Out Bullshit.
David McKie: In a new documentary you host, there seems to be a belief that we can use technologies to change the atmosphere to reduce climate heating. Is that a workable approach?
David Suzuki: Absolutely not. It's what got us into the mess. We've been warned about climate change since the 1950s and the warnings have become increasingly more urgent. And yet, we don't even take the first steps that are needed — namely, don't make it worse. And how do you do that? Very simple: You stop burning fossil fuels and you stop cutting down your trees.
David McKie: Do you have a list of our worst habits?
David Suzuki: One of the things that really bugs me is the fashion industry. I grew up imprisoned during the [Second World War] and then thrown out of British Columbia because we were Japanese-Canadians. When we came to Ontario, we were dirt poor. We'd lost everything during the war. Something like clothing was a big expenditure for us. I have always worn blue jeans right up to the present because denim wears like iron. It sickens me when I see people wearing brand-new blue jeans already ripped.
It's the food that we eat. All of it is wrapped up in dependence on fossil fuels. People like us in Canada can buy fresh fruit and vegetables every month of the year. That stuff's all got to be shipped. In order to supply the world, we have to look at massive, massive machinery, all driven by fossil fuels. For every calorie of food that you get out, you're putting in about six calories of fossil fuel. Basically, we're using fossil fuels to feed ourselves. This can't continue indefinitely.
David McKie: Now you're leaving your CBC show, The Nature of Things, which you've hosted for 43 of its 60-plus years on the air. How are you feeling?
David Suzuki: I'm liberated. The Nature of Things has been very good about letting me say my piece on many things. But the fact is, we have been censured. We've had to change things. We've had to pull pieces because of the pressure of our lawyers and the fear of losing people who advertise on CBC.
I've stayed with The Nature of Things because, to me, this is one of the most important programs that there is on television today. It was a privilege for me to take part in this series.
David McKie: What's next? Where do you go from here?
David Suzuki: As long as this thing is still ticking in a half-assed sort of way, I've got things to tell people. We can't futz around anymore. We've got a real emergency. If we treat this crisis as the emergency it is, all kinds of possibilities will happen.
To hear the full interview with Canada’s environmental icon David Suzuki, catch the latest episode of Hot Politics on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Comments
My American family starting in 1948 spent our summers among the 1000 Islands and my mother fell in love with CBC Radio, which played from breakfast to bedtime . While in the US she listened exclusively to the early stations that provided the model for NPR. She was a sponge-like absorber of knowledge.
I married a Canadian whose only interest in TV was the ability to watch Hockey broadcasts but he refused to acquire a TV so we continued our reliance on radio. Had my mother still been alive when we finally succumbed to the lures of television The Nature of Things would have been one of her addictions. Throughout David's career I have only been able to catch spotty glimpses of his programs until I retired and that coincided with his increasing appearance on-line. I was deprived of a higher education in the sciences, so much of what I have learned subsequently has come from my reading and my regular consumption of science based radio, TV, and internet resources. David engineered my willing suspension of belief in dubious or sketchy science knowledge. For which I am most duly grateful.
I am shocked to read “But the fact is, we have been censured. We've had to change things. We've had to pull pieces because of the pressure of our lawyers and the fear of losing people who advertise on CBC.”
Now that he is free can David Suzuki please write and provide the details so we know what we didn’t get to hear and see. This should be a very interesting set of articles.