Since I retired in 2003 and…

Since I retired in 2003 and as I have aged, my travels throughout Ontario have diminished significantly so that now, when I do travel, I am dismayed by the signs of urbanization, suburban sprawl and "wretched excess" visible in the expansion of commercial real estate development and malls.

I understand the "growth" philosophy that underpins the capitalist consumer society economic model but it is also clear to me this model is entirely unsustainable, either in economic terms or in ecological terms. Our over consumption of the earth's resources and our toxic human footprint is destroying any hope for the future of life on earth.

Prior to the post war boom, Canada was a breathing space for nature. Post war we have stripped and mined so much of the territorial surface area and our subterranean resources that Canada can no longer be considered a viable refuge for the non-human species. Ultimately, that means Canada can no longer expect to support its growing population - just as the the United States has become a nation dependent on importing necessities of life for it's uncontrolled human growth and consumption.

Other nations have tried to constrain urban sprawl with similar "greenbelts". Apparently all of them have either been breached or are under relentless attack by the real estate exploiters.

Politically, and legally we must change the relationship of humanity to land. We can no longer tolerate an economic or legal system that permits greedy exploitation of land ownership and monopolistic ownership/control of land. Land ownership systems have long resisted any laws that constrain the accumulation of land beyond a reasonable amount needed for "lebensraum"; and I use that discredited term deliberately.

As the saying goes - "the only thing they are not making more of is land". Do we expect to continue to inhabit this earth? If so, we need a radically new approach to how we treat and respect the planet.