--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL
>Chris has a point. Here I am, in Canada, where environmental policy is
>at once a national shame, a provincial shame where i live, and on and
>on. As far as state's rights, 45% of the population of my province
>currently favours renegotiating our status in Canada or becoming
>independent. You think Alabama is concerned with jurisdictions?
>We wouldn't be leaving North America, however. National, provincial or
>state boundaries are pretty unimportant if we look at the ecological
>picture. They are human concerns - important, but not valid as ways of
>looking at 'big picture' continental environmental policy.
>If we have to negotiate about some future ecological initiative in my
>province (Quebec) that has an impact on Maine, Vermont, New York, New
>Hampshire, Ontario, New Brunswick and Labrador (if it isn't vetoed by
>the WTO), we would be better placed to either have a pan-governmntal
>North American environmental agency, or at least a Mexican, US and
>Canadian body to work this out in. All of Mexico's states, Canada's
>provinces and territories and the US states sitting around a table would
>be a nightmare scenario for getting anything done.
>I believe that to act locally is what we as people can do, but to think
>and act globally is what we should do as peoples.
>It isn't a utopian vision, but it is hard work for a society to deal
>with. I think it's what we should work toward. Yeah, there would be
>bureaucracy, and laws - and civic responsibility and policies with a
>chance of working continentally, and not according to arbitrary
>political boundaries.
>That's my dime dropped (six cents U.S.)
>Gary
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