Of Hockey Pucks and Hope
Yes, I am a proud Canadian. Sidney Crosby and his teammates just won
Canada our 14th Winter Olympics gold medal - a record for most gold
medals in the Winter Games by any country ever. Not bad for a country
with only 32 million people and lots of snow and ice!
And of that snow and ice?
As was evident early in the games, the planet is warming, Vancouver
was the warmest city to ever host the games. Even Whistler was balmy.
Even my backyard. We used to build a backyard rink - not so in the last
three years - it has been to warm. This year it would have been a
backyard slushfest.
So where is the hope in this note? From medals to a slushy backyard?
If Canada can do what we did in these games, then I am hopeful that
the global community can do what has to be done for this planet and
humanity. Getting there will be no different, but the way in which we
reflect on success will be much different.
What do I mean?
We, as spectators, enjoy the MOMENT of the overtime goal, the MOMENT
of a skier crosses the finish line or the MOMENT the last curling stone
is thrown. What we do not see as spectators is the thousands of hours
those athletes spend honing their skills, of perfecting their game and
overcoming injuries and challenges along the way. Years of preparation
are invested for one moment in time - the moment of victory.
That is where doing right for the planet differs from 'The Games'.
For every slap shot or every curling stone thrown there one light bulb
turned off and piece of litter picked up. But the reality is that we
will never collectively pause as humanes and congratulate each other on
saving the planet.
Sure, we may reduce our collective carbon footprint by 80% in the
next 40 years, but will be gather as eight or nine billion people and
celebrate our success? Probably not, but you know what? I hope so.
Stranger things have happened, like Canadian cleaning up on gold medals. Not bad, eh?