Too often we despair at our problems and shortcomings and envy those that seem to have it so much easier. Today is definitely one of those days when I have to stop myself from crying out "Why does everybody else get it? We're doomed!". Business leaders in Canada (sorry, not the US, if only we could see the light...) have done a complete one-eighty and embraced the reality of climate change:

The leaders of a group of major Canadian corporations have called for urgent action on climate change, a major reversal of the business community's position on the Kyoto protocol. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the heads of Alcan, Bombardier, Shell Canada, Falconbridge, Home Depot Canada and Desjardins Group, among others, said Canada needs a 50-year strategy to deal with the fallout from climate change.

This is what has always baffled me about corporations. The people running them are...PEOPLE, so why are they not concerned about the future of the planet, the well-being of their children and grandchildren? They are also presumably very educated people with access to the same scientific information about climate change. In Canada, they reached this conclusion:

The executives said they accept the consensus view of a UN panel that climate change elevates the risk to human health and to the environment.

While in the US the corporate lobby calls for more studies and creates confussion by claiming that there's so much uncertainty about climate change.

Interestingly enough, this position by Corporate Canada is a big change from their defiance and resistance two years ago to the government's plan to implement the Kyoto accord. In 2002 business groups in Canada echoed what their American friends were saying about climate change and Kyoto:

Not enough study has been done, the business coalition argued, and the entire international agreement is too confusing.

So what changed? Could it be that they realise climate change could actually hurt their bottom line? Could it be they're more concerned about sustainable, long-term growth rather than simply meeting quarterly earnings targets? It could be that there have always been people within these corporations that have pushed for more action and cooperation with environmentally friendly(er) policies. It could be that they've finally gained a greater voice.

It's hard to tell what caused this seemingly large shift. But I suspect that it's a rare glimpse into the fundamental, deep rooted differences between Canadians and Americans. These differences are of constant interest to me, and are an on-going debate in Canada's struggle to define its identity.

I am a US and Canadian citizen, and not by technicality either. I have strong ties to both countries. I was born and raised in Alberta. My mother and her side of the family are all American. I spent many summers as a kid in the US visiting my large extended family. When I graduated from college I moved to California for a job. Here in California I have lived and worked for 6 years, met my future wife and earned a graduate degree from a UC school. For those of us who know both these countries intimately, there's no question that there are very fundamental cultural differences. But now I'm getting into the topic of perhaps another post.

Canadians can rest easy knowing that although they may be miss-understood and often ignored by Americans, and sometimes lumped in with Americans by the rest of the world, they are truly a disparate people.