Poll results: climate change communicators

We express our gratitude to those who continue to vote in our polls. Chris and I enjoy this new poll feature and hope that it stimulates your on-going interest in the environment. It's always good to see the diversity of responses.

The recent poll question was "who of these individuals has been most effective at communicating the importance of taking action on climate change to you?"

David Suzuki (7 votes)
Al Gore (8 votes)
Nicholas Stern (2 votes)
Elizabeth May (2 votes)
Barack Obama (1 vote)
Oprah Winfrey (0 votes)
None of the above (1 vote)

Number of people who voted = 16
Number of total votes = 21

Climate change is one of those subjects that can make you feel depressed, pessimistic and frustrated with the world. Finding consensus on the issue through agreements has proven to be a difficult task. Canada, the US, China and India continue to be the world's largest C02 emitters. However, as individuals striving to make an environmental difference, surely we can live with some optimism. You have to be the change yourself and lead by example. The individuals listed above have all inspired me in some sort of way (with the exception of Oprah) to think more pro-actively about climate change.

Nicholas Stern wrote a report in October 2006 about the 7 trillion dollar warning on global warming. In essence, not taking action on climate change would be more expensive for the world than taking action on climate change. He told us a lot about the economics of it. Al Gore, despite the widespread criticism, raised international awareness over the issue and got people thinking about it. His film "An Inconvenient Truth" illustrated some of Stern's concerns but more importantly, exposed many to this global issue. I commend him greatly for doing that.

I heard David Suzuki and Elizabeth May (Federal Leader of the Green Party of Canada) speak in my year of university. They talked to a large university audience about why we should care about climate change and emphasized how we can take individual action and educate others about it. Education and awareness are fundamental for mobilizing change and getting society to think about climate change more holistically. Suzuki has been Canada's man at articulating the contemporary issues around the environment to all audiences. He continues to inspire me.

Last, Barack Obama, well, he hasn't done much but I am confident that he will take climate change more seriously than his predecessor. He has worked towards increasing fuel economy standards and is more enthusiastic about biofuels and cellulosic ethanol, unlike corn ethanol whom Bush was obsessed with.

Key message: Our optimism and solidarity around climate change needs to be desperately re-invigorated. We have more pessimists today than optimists (especially after Copenhagen). If you are displeased with your leaders and their unwillingness to act, then take action yourself by educating, creating awareness and sharing your knowledge with your community.