Leap Manifesto

September 19, 2015 7:21 AM

The Leap Manifesto was recently launched by a range of Canadian intellectuals, celebrities, and organizations as an attempt to combat catastrophic climate change by convincing Canadians that business as usual is not the only way.

The manifesto (english, francais, with many other languages available) claims that by combining various pillars of social democracy, with progressive values on indigenous and refugee rights, and retooling the Canadian economy towards sustainable energy and away from resource extraction, Canadians may, to put it simply, live in a country to be proud of. Dismissals of the manifesto came quickly and predictably, with a focus on the celebrity driven nature of the enterprise. On the other hand, some see the manifesto as simply a statement of the obvious.

posted by Alex404 (16 comments total)

MeFi's own gompa also wrote The Leap: How To Survive And Thrive In The Sustainable Economy way back in 2012.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:30 AM on September 19, 2015 [5 favorites]

Alanis Morrissette is the first signatory?

Well, isn't that ironic....
posted by anotherpanacea at 8:02 AM on September 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

An older article but relevant: When Will Harper's People Stop Denying Climate Change?

Conservative Member of Parliament Gordon O'Connor: "...problem is with the words 'climate change.' I don't know what those words mean because they're a buzz phrase. Climate change. If we're talking about what is our preparedness for natural disasters, that's one thing, but climate change, if you want to talk about the climate, the climate always changes. It goes hot. It goes cold, etc."

Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver: "...scientists have recently told us that our fears (on climate change) are exaggerated,"

Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq: "....there's always a debate around science and what's changing."

These are the people who represent us and our nation.

*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 8:28 AM on September 19, 2015 [6 favorites]

I totally grasp the severity of the issue and folks sincere desire to fix the problems created by centuries of the industrial revolution and population explosion, but what I don't see much of is a recognition of the quixotic nature of the magnitude of the required effort. Cool, reduce all vehicle and industrial emissions in north america by 90% (no one drives anywhere ever again) and how does that fix China?

Sorry but the solution will be dykes, stilts, migrations and (take a beat) Mars.
posted by sammyo at 8:37 AM on September 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

and (take a beat) Mars.

Do you understand that even in the worst case scenarios, Earth is still going to be more habitable than anywhere else in the solar system? Mars is not a feasible option.
posted by PMdixon at 8:44 AM on September 19, 2015 [12 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. Let's save the Mars debate for another thread?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:12 AM on September 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

I honestly believe the Conservative Party intends to destroy Canada. We are too big, with too many resources, to be a nation under the control of a few hundred elected representatives. The Conservative goal is to hand it over, lock stock and barrel, to oligarchs and corporations. In a globalized world, the resources here are owned by the world (or the most powerful gangster) not Canadian citizens.

Fuck the Cons.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:52 AM on September 19, 2015 [9 favorites]

Maple Leap?
posted by chavenet at 3:18 PM on September 19, 2015

Alanis Morrissette is the first signatory?
Well, isn't that ironic....

So, you're saying God supports this?
posted by Mezentian at 3:44 PM on September 19, 2015

Cool, reduce all vehicle and industrial emissions in north america by 90% (no one drives anywhere ever again) and how does that fix China?

If only we hadn't exported all of our industry there.
posted by fairmettle at 3:58 PM on September 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Leap Manifesto might be laudable, but it is crazy and overly optimistic, and I very much doubt even practical.

I'm all for carbon taxes (I miss our carbon tax) and the like,

Good luck with that, Canada.
We're all counting on you.

Also:
A spectre is haunting Thomas Mulcair, and on Tuesday it yelled “Boo!” might be the best opening line
posted by Mezentian at 4:01 PM on September 19, 2015

While I don't entirely disagree with this manifesto, I think the signatories have forgotten that this election has a specific purpose: Get Rid of Harper. Once our Fearless Leader is gone we can have a conversation about the contents of this manifesto until then it is just smoke in the wind.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:14 PM on September 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, the manifesto is only lacking unicorns and rainbows to be complete. I have reservations and doubts about how their democratic reform proposals could be workable; nonetheless, most of the concrete steps in the manefesto are worthy, just and possible.

Given a binary choice - Harper's meaner, dumbed-down, oil-stained Canada... or that of the Leap Manifesto... the latter, please. More than other countries, Canada has the resources and multi-skilled population to make some bold changes.

If we don't have principles and goals, maybe we Canadians don't deserve a better leader than the sour bureaucrat we have now.
posted by Artful Codger at 8:19 PM on September 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yep, nothing can be a perfect solution, so let's not do anything! If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, where does the road surfaced with apathy lead?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:30 AM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, where does the road surfaced with apathy lead?

My bedroom?

(Sorry)
posted by Mezentian at 1:25 AM on September 20, 2015

Dismissals of the manifesto came quickly and predictably,

The Canadian news media is predictably disappointing in these kinds of things. The Leap Manifesto shouldn't really be dismissed as dreamy or unrealistic, it just suggests a different set of priorities, which are doable if people decide that they want them enough. And a lot of people in Canada do care about the environment, but they haven't really been given the voice to vote for it yet.
posted by ovvl at 4:42 PM on September 21, 2015