On Being Out of Touch (629)
/We start with a discussion of a landmark court ruling out of The Hague ordering the Dutch government to be much more aggressive on its emissions targets, and its implications for Juliana v. United States. Guest host Krystyna Henke gives a 30-minute interview with Rob Burton, “The Greenest Mayor in Canada,” after which Stefan angrily refutes his perspective.
About Rob Burton: Described as the greenest mayor of Canada by Environmental Defence Canada, Rob Burton, on the eve of the 2018 Ontario municipal elections, speaks to CIUT’s Green Majority contributor Krystyna Henke about his environmental perspective and role as mayor of Oakville, Ontario.
Elected to public office in 2006, Burton combined his long-standing environmental concerns with his business acumen and skills developed as a journalist. A graduate of Columbia University, his 1971 master’s thesis on the link between health and air pollution was presented the following year at the United Nations Conference of the Human Environment in Stockholm. It was the international body’s first such conference and was described as being foundational to developing international environmental law. Among his accomplishments as a journalist, he prides himself as having broken the story on acid rain in 1974. Later, in the 1980s, Burton founded YTV, the Canadian children’s and youth television network. As mayor, he is known for his efforts to control development and keeping the lived environment green. In his three terms as mayor, his initiatives include the introduction of the Health Protection Air Quality by-law, the Town Energy Management plan, and the Oakville Climate Change Adaptation plan.
Please learn more about the town of Oakville’s environmental initiatives here:
This Week's Music:
The Hidden Cameras, “The Day I Left Home” & Gentlemen Reg, “Rewind”
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