First out of the gate, Kathy Bardswick, President & CEO of The Co-operators Group, kicked the day off by admitting her extreme excitement that actually was making her “knees weak.” She sincerely thanked those who have worked hard to make this conference happen, and recognized the dedication and enthusiasm of the students participating in the conference.  Dr. Suzuki was then introduced by Dr. Rob Gordon, Dean of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph.

Dr. David Suzuki then took to the stage. In his usual captivating and passionate manner, he talked about the major issues at hand – nothing new to the group before him – but noteworthy nonetheless.

Oceans are in awful shape. Forests are disappearing. Toxic pollution is prevalent everywhere. People are getting sick from drinking polluted water or eating polluted food.

All these things clearly indicate we’re not living in a way that is sustainable for our future, or our children’s futures.

Addressing the group in a fatherly manner, Dr. Suzuki passed on some advice that his own parents gave to him in years passed:

• Live within your means; his parents, of course, were talking about money; but now, it’s broader – live within the ability of the planet
• Save some for tomorrow – don’t use it up all today
• Don’t make a mess; but if you make a mess, clean it up (and, as Dr. Suzuki’s wife protests, this could be why women are prominent in the environmental movement!)
• Be kind to others – we’re all in this together; we share the same air, soil, water
• Share, don’t be greedy
• Be activists and leaders with your friends, families, and in your communities
• You are what you do, not what you say – what’s your track record?
• As leaders, you have to stand up for things you believe in; everyone won’t always agree with you and you need to be prepared for this

Dr. Suzuki’s parents also taught him that you have to work hard in order to make money; but making money doesn’t make you successful anymore. We’re using money to fulfill our desires – and those are mostly material things. We have to refocus on what’s necessary and distinguish those from our wants; but, this can be hard to do, since our economy remains focused on fulfilling our wants.

Dr. Suzuki went on to comment on humans as a species, and what the collective impact of all 6.8 billion people on this earth is. As humans, we have become the dominant force on the planet; we are transforming the planet on a geological scale – no other species has ever been able to do this.

All of Dr. Suzuki’s examples connected back to the economy, stressing that the word economics is derived from the same word as ecology. At its root, ‘economy’ is management of the household and our home is the planet. ” We need to put the ‘eco’ back into economics,” he exhorted. “Economics is not some force of nature – we invented it; currency, markets and everything that drives the economy were created by the human race. And the economic system – that clearly isn’t sustainable – needs to be fixed by its creators.”

Can we fix all these problems? Of course … that’s why the students are here at this conference. And even why this conference is taking place.

• We have to establish what the real bottom line is that we’re working to protect.
• Then we have to begin to overhaul this economic system.
• And then we have to ask if there are solutions that can take us down a different path.

Fundamental change is in our future.

With the innovative scholars participating in this conference, Dr. Suzuki expressed his confidence that participants are up to the challenge of creating strong, applicable solutions to take back to their respective communities, and start cleaning up after ourselves.
Take up the David Suzuki Foundation’s Nature Challenge today.