Thought 24: People and the Environment đ”
“How do people and the environment affect each other?”
We were asked this question on day 1 of this project. To answer this question, the class was challenged with writing a letter to a politician, and convince them to make changes in their policies. As someone who doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the federal government, I decided to reach out to someone who feels the same: The Bloc Quebecois. I wanted to write a letter to the Bloc Quebecois on why Quebec independence is good for the environment. Unfortunately, the teachers rejected my idea. They said my topic had to be more provincial, which is a shame because I wanted to add “Quebec Independence Advocate” to my resume. I have a feeling the project shifted from federal politicians to provincial politicians because of my letter.
People and the Environment Research
After my dreams were crushed, I moved onto my secondary, backup, provincial topic: ZEVA, the Zero Emissions Vehicle Act. This law will ban gas vehicles in BC by 2050. My 2 main points of discussion were the number of EV charging stations and the credit system which is essentially just legalized bribery. I originally addressed my letter to a member of the PPC, I decided to change it to The Honourable Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
 Draft 1
 Draft 2
This was the first project that was sponsored by a company, CommonLit. CommonLit is an online reading website that we had used a few times in grade 8. Over the course of this project, we read several stories on environmental disasters, some real, some fictional. These stories helped us give information on the dangers of climate change and taught us skills to help us write our letters.
At the beginning and end of the project, we were asked “Are more people protectors or harmers of the environment?” I believe that an individual is neutral towards the environment, but societies of people are detrimental towards the environment. A normal person doesn’t have to worry about the damage they cause, but a society of people do. That is my answer to the driving question “How do people and the environment affect each other?”