Late addition from Canada

Canada already has a bad rap going into the Cop15. We are one of the world's biggest polluters and we seem to like it that way, considering that we have expanded oil production in the tar sands of Northern Alberta and have ignored much of the Kyoto protocol. So it's only fitting that the Canadian portion of this survey is late....but as they say, better late than never.....well somehow that doesn't seem very appropriate in this context does it?

These interviews were all conducted in downtown Toronto on Saturday, December the 5th.

Name: Jen
Age: 28
Occupation: Elementary School Teacher

1) Have you heard of COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen? Yes…it sounds familiar.

2) Do you think that climate change affects you in your daily life? If so how? Well,,,,directly…hmmm? I can’t say really, but it is a concern. Like what will happen in the future, maybe that is more of a concern. Will fuel prices be higher? Will we get worse weather? Those things are really worrying. But as for right here and now, I can’t say climate change is affecting my daily life.

3) What do you see as the most severe problems for the climate?
Well the loss of habitat in the North is worrisome – like for polar bears. That’s heart breaking. And it would suck to think of a world without glaciers. Also I don’t what will happen with the Inuit people and their traditions and lifestyle, as things start to warm up up there.

4) Do you personally feel any responsibility for the climate and are there any things you can do to contribute to a better climate? Yes, I’m definitely conscious of it. I try to make certain ethical choices with what I buy and I how I use energy around the house. Beyond that I’m not sure what I can do. I also try to eat local produce.

5) How do you think our built environment affects climate? What should we change in our built environment to help prevent climate change? Oh. I have no idea. Hmmm.. Less air-conditioning maybe, and better insulated houses? That should help with reducing energy consumption.

Name: Pratha
Age: 37
Occupation: Graphic Designer

1) Have you heard of COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen? [Yes/No] Yes, I’ve been reading about in the news.

2) Do you think that climate change affects you in your daily life? If so how? At the moment no not really. But it is definitely something to worry about in the future.

3) What do you see as the most severe problems for the climate?
I think lots of people are dying from increased natural disasters – which I assume is being caused by global warming. So that’s pretty bad.

4) Do you personally feel any responsibility for the climate and are there any things you can do to contribute to a better climate? Yes and no. I think there’s got to be strong leadership coming from our political parties above all. That’s the most important thing. And right now we have a conservative government that doesn’t take climate change seriously. So it doesn’t look so good right now.

5) How do you think our built environment affects climate? What should we change in our built environment to help prevent climate change? Well, suburban sprawl is for sure a problem. People in Toronto spend way too much time in their cars, burning fossil fuels, just to get around. We need to have better public transit and bike lanes so that we can live more sustainably.

Name: Kevin
Age: 58
Occupation: Financial Planner

1) Have you heard of COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen? Well it’s not been on the news as much as I’d hoped, but yes I have heard of it. But maybe only because I take a special interest in these things. I think most Canadians have no idea about this, especially since the media seems to be obsessed with Stephen Harper’s current trip to China. He’s trying to boost trade between China and Canada….when in fact the real issue right now should be Copenhagen.

2) Do you think that climate change affects you in your daily life? If so how? Yes. But mostly because I am now making choices to live more green – which is relatively new for me. For instance last year I sold my car, and now I take transit to work. I’ve been renovating my house so that it wastes less energy. I shop at the farmer’s market. So climate change is affecting me because I choose to do things differently now.

3) What do you see as the most severe problems for the climate?
Loss of habitat, more chaotic weather, rising ocean water levels. Those are all pretty bad.

4) Do you personally feel any responsibility for the climate and are there any things you can do to contribute to a better climate? Yes. I guess I answered that already. But I think we all need to be making changes with our lifestyle, and I look around, and I don’t see that happening really.

5) How do you think our built environment affects climate? What should we change in our built environment to help prevent climate change? Well car commuting and car dependency are bad, and that’s happening because we have suburban cities like Mississauga and Pickering and big box stores that are impossible to walk to. That’s not a sustainable way to build cities. At the same time we’re a winter nation, so I realise that there’s gonna be some tension here. At some parts of the year, nobody wants to walk anywhere, because it’s just to damn cold. But I say, just put some more layers on.

Name: Antonio
Age: 34
Occupation: Hair Stylist

1) Have you heard of COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen? [Yes/No] No. What is it?

2) Do you think that climate change affects you in your daily life? If so how? If I drove a car, I would say gas prices. But I don’t drive. So no.

3) What do you see as the most severe problems for the climate?
To be honest, I don’t really see any problems. Maybe there are some problems somewhere else in the world, but right here? No, I don’t see it.

4) Do you personally feel any responsibility for the climate and are there any things you can do to contribute to a better climate? I don’t think there’s anything I can do. Maybe there should be more laws to stop industries from polluting so much.

5) How do you think our built environment affects climate? What should we change in our built environment to help prevent climate change? I have no clue.