Posted on Feb. 4: Suzuki urges McMaster students to engineer greener future

David Suzuki makes no apologies for his harsh condemnation of our mistreatment of the world around us.

And he challenges engineering students to put the battered environment ahead of the bottom line when they assume their careers.

But first the respected environmentalist and broadcaster takes his McMaster University audience on a journey to the past, his wistful recollections acting as a personal barometer of changing times.

They are the memories that have shaped his life and fuel his passion.

Once, his grandfather's farmland nurtured crops. Now, it grows apartment buildings.

Once, water ran clean and clear in the streams of his youth in southwestern Ontario. Today, we no longer trust what comes out of the tap and buy water in bottles.

Natural wonders of the world evoked wonder in Suzuki as a boy.

Today, youth are left to find inspiration from shopping malls, the Internet and video games.

“We have forgotten the fundamental realities in Canada. We live in a series of myths and misconceptions, that lead us to environmental degradation,” Suzuki said yesterday, at a conference that aims to increase student awareness of the environmental impact of civil engineering.

The host of the TV show The Nature of Things said the world cannot sustain constant growth spurred on by a penchant for disposable
consumer goods.

Click here to read the complete story in The Hamilton Spectator.