Loading...
The Citizen, 2018-08-16, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018. PAGE 5. Other Views When seeing isn't believing Asi scan the news in newspapers and television these days, I can't help wondering how differently the events must be viewed by those who continue to believe that man-made climate change is all a big hoax. Even climate scientists say you can't look at a particular weather occurrence and say it's caused by a changing climate caused by the build up of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Still, as you look at the accumulation of severe weather events, it's hard not to see the evidence that something dramatic is happening worldwide. As of early this week there were 600 wildfires burning across British Columbia in the second consecutive summer of destruction. Fueled by drought and extreme heat, the forests are tinder dry, meaning that when a thunderstorm sweeps through, dozens of new fires are ignited. Thousands have had to leave their homes, which are threatened by the flames. Farther south, California is enduring its third record wild fire season in a row with some fire officials saying they're going to have to accept that these circumstances are the new normal. The fires are making some areas of the populous state unlivable with hundreds of homes being destroyed. In Greece earlier this summer 92 people died when they were caught in wildfires that burned more than 1,000 buildings. The Greek fires were part of a record heat wave that affected most of Europe. Officials in Denmark attributed 250 deaths to the strain extreme heat exerts on vulnerable people. The Danes have had 845 wildfires. Sweden reported 50 wildfires burning north of the Arctic Circle. Germany recorded its hottest April to July period on record. German farmers, worried . . Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk about financial ruin because of droughts, are asking their government for aid. Some European nuclear plants have had to be shut down because the rivers which provide water to cool the nuclear reactors are too warm for use. Earlier this summer Japan recorded temperatures over 40° Celsius, the hottest ever. More than 100 people died from the heat. Yes but this could be simply one freak summer, you say. Well, how about the fact the Canadian Coast Guard has decided it must train local rescue units in villages along the fabled Northwest Passage in our Arctic. Sea ice has melted so much owners of private pleasure craft are taking up the challenge of following in the steps of explorers like John Franklin who perished while trying to find a path through the impenetrable ice 160 years ago. Meanwhile the heat is triggering violent storms. Last week parts of Toronto were deluged by 100 millimetres of rainfall in two hours. That compares to measurements recorded in the deadly Hurricane Hazel 60 years ago, a standard officials had thought would be unlikely to be repeated for a long time but seems to be occurring almost regularly. But if you're a true disbeliever in climate change, all this means nothing. Recently one of the news channels interviewed a man who claims he has the figures to prove the earth is actually getting colder, not warmer. Talk of man-made climate change is actually a conspiracy perpetrated by lying climate scientists, he said. He, like most climate change skeptics, points to a case a few years ago where a group of scientists were caught fudging figures to build a stronger case for their theories. Meanwhile some politicians are only too happy to court the support of voters who simply don't want to change their way of living to try to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Not only did U.S. President Donald Trump put a former oil industry official in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, but he has promoted the burning of more coal to give jobs to coal miners. Several states are suing the U.S. federal government over Trump's plan to reduce therequirement for cars to burn less fuel for each mile traveled. Here in Canada, an increasing number of provincial premiers are joining forces against the federal government's plan for a carbon tax designed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. While few premiers are willing to boldly declare themselves climate change deniers, they argue carbon taxes just don't reduce pollution or that Canada can't afford to be a boy scout when countries like the U.S. are going in the other direction. Strangely, many of the people who deny we have a problem are people who believe in taking personal responsibility when they want people on social assistance to just get their acts together and find a job. They seem less willing to take personal responsibility over the need to make changes that will make the world more livable for their children and grandchildren. It's easier to deny there's a problem. Who are you? Who, who, who are youP Every year around this time I struggle with the same dilemma: who am I to judge the works of other people? As is tradition in the editorial department at The Citizen, Shawn reviews the first two main stage plays of the Blyth Festival's season and I take care of the second two as they both premiere over our vacation. When I first started at The Citizen, it wasn't a difficult proposition. The plays were good, or at least good enough that I wouldn't think twice about recommending them to people. Over the past few years, however, there have been some plays I just couldn't tell people to go see, which resulted in me writing some less -than -glowing reviews. Shawn and I have joked, up until he reviewed Judith: Memories of a Lady Pig Farmer this year, which he felt needed work, I always ended up reviewing the more controversial plays, from a reviewing standpoint. The list of plays for which I've written less favourable reviews, before this year, wasn't even a list: it was Fury and Ipperwash. Fury had the makings of a great, local play. It focused on the Great Storm of 1913 which claimed 250 lives and a dozen vessels on Lake Huron. It had a local hook, it was supposed to have music and it was supposed to be entertaining. Unfortunately, (and I've had people tell me I wasn't alone in this), I didn't find it entertaining and it didn't have much music. Ipperwash just wasn't written for me and, as someone who has been watching (and enjoying, for the most part) plays at the Blyth Festival for two decades now, I have to guess many other people hold the same opinion because I've had a lot of people tell me they agree. The question, whether I have the right to Denny Scott Affili Denny's Den judge these works or not, weighs on me most when I'm reviewing a play I find misses the mark. This year, for example, I reviewed Wing Night at the Boot and 1837: The Farmers' Revolt. The former was fantastic, the latter had me wondering what gives me the right to say it wasn't. As you'll see in the reviews in this issue of The Citizen, a lot of it falls to decisions made on the production end of things. The actors in both plays did a great job. I just found the raw, classical theatre -going experience of Wing Night at the Boot to be preferable to the technology -laden production of 1837: The Farmers' Revolt. I won't go any further into the nitty gritty of the reviews because they are readily available. I saw 1837: The Farmers' Revolt and left with a bad initial reaction to the play. When that happens, this monster of indecision sits on my shoulders. It usually results in me waiting a couple of days before writing a review because I don't want my initial reaction to be the one that shines through. The process is akin to the sober second thought some government levels employ. It's not ideal, to be honest, because that means that, through what's supposed to be a vacation break, I've got this weight on my shoulders. However, I feel that those responsible for the play deserve to have me take that look back. After that, I feel sorry because, prior to the Blyth Festival's season starting, I get to know a lot of the folks responsible for these plays as The Citizen produces a special section for the season highlighting the actors, playwrights and directors. I guess the whole reason I'm penning this is to say that, as tough as it may be to read a negative review of a performance, whether it be by someone involved in the play or someone considering seeing it, keep in mind that writing it is no easy task. I still remember, after my review of Fury was published, how I apologized to people for writing it. I didn't recant anything, but the fact that I had to give such a rough review of something that was locally -created (including an old friend, no less) was something that, if I'm honest, still weighs on me to this day. Maybe for those outside of the community, it would be easy enough to pen a scathing review of a play and go on with their day, but the fact that I know everyone involved in the play and the season, from the general manager and artistic director down to the ushers, makes it that much more difficult for me to be critical. However, be critical I must. If every review is glowing, people won't trust what I'm writing and the space and the opportunities will be completely wasted. In the end, those plays I don't enjoy might be a mixed blessing instead of such a heavy weight because I'm afforded the opportunity to prove that I'm not just pumping the tires of the Blyth Festival, but providing an honest, unbiased review of what's on stage. That doesn't, however, make it any easier to tear someone's work apart. Shawn Loughlin lish Shawn's Sense News for him, by you Admittedly during the June provincial election I thought that people were stretching credulity when they compared now -Premier Doug Ford to Donald Trump. Maybe those people weren't that far off -base after all. I say this in the wake of the "creation" of Ontario News Now, a social media "news outlet" that joined both Twitter and Facebook late last month. It uses established PC Party fonts, colours and style and promises "timely exclusive content on the PC government's priorities for the people of Ontario." In its first few weeks, the account boasted numerous "reports" hosted by former staffer Lyndsey Vanstone, who presents herself as a reporter, which reflect glowingly on the achievements of Ford and his party. This came on the same day that the party limited questions from reporters at Queen's Park. Ford's office has since confirmed that taxpayers' dollars are being used to fund the content on the accounts. In an e-mail to Global News, Jeff Silverstein, the director of communications for PC Caucus Services, said, "we're using technologies available to us to communicate with the people. Platforms such as Facebook provide us with the opportunity to communicate directly with people from all corners of Ontario." Even our local MPP Lisa Thompson retweeted the video at a time when she's playing her own shell game with the media. After ducking reporters for over a week, Thompson has been confusing and frustrating when she does pop up to "answer" questions from Queen's Park reporters. Ford's tumultuous relationship with reporters began before he was even elected, when he announced he would not have a media bus on his campaign. In a way, those of us who care about these kinds of things shouldn't be surprised this is happening. However, everyone should be concerned with how their tax dollars are being spent. If Ford and his team continue this charade and present Ontario News Now as a legitimate source for accurate information, he might as well start yelling about fake news — maybe he'll even build a great wall around Toronto. In a way, Ford has gone even further than Trump in creating his own "news source" but that's only because Trump hasn't had to with the existence of Fox News, Breitbart and a host of other ultra conservative media outlets. But the big difference is that taxpayers' dollars are being used to fund this act, which essentially equates to state-sponsored media (that also goes for the money we're pouring into the party's staffer goons who now drown out reporters with uproarious applause to "end" Ford press conferences — an utterly childish strategy if there ever was one). You know about state-sponsored media, right? They have it in countries that really encourage discourse and critical thought like North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Russia. This is a disgusting step in the wrong direction, but then again, if you disagree, you could always check Ontario News Now. That's why it exists in the first place. If you're like me, however, and you disagree with what's happening, keep doing what you're doing. Support independent journalism and help reporters continue to do their jobs. Throughout history it's been reporters who have uncovered the greatest scandals, whether it was Watergate or the Pentagon Papers or widespread surveillance in the U.S. I wouldn't count on Vanstone for the next big scoop, despite the fact that we're paying her salary.