Northeast Kings Education Centre Grade 12 student Oliver Baker travelled to Egypt for COP27 on Nov. 1, 2022. - Jason Malloy‘Why Aren’t You Scared? The State of Climate Change in Our Province and the World’ was the title of Oliver Baker’s talk to the Blomidon Naturalists Society earlier this month.
One of two Canadians among the 40 young international participants in the pre-conference event, Oliver described how the youth wing was sidelined in the ‘green zone’ for exhibits and presentations. He quickly picked up on the Egyptians’ commitment to greenwashing. For example, the seven recycling bins stacked together all held black plastic bags that would end up in the same landfill. He was also staggered by the amount of smoking in public.
Knowing that the Northern Pulp plant in Pictou was so damaging to the environment in Boat Harbour and that Nova Scotia has the highest percentage of coal usage in Canada gives him pause. When asked about the linkages between politics and the international oil lobby, as demonstrated at COP 27, Oliver said that as an adult he’ll now have to vote wisely.
Maintaining hope is important these days, said BNS president Soren Bondrup-Neilsen afterward. “The more people locally do little things, the better off we’ll be.”