David Suzuki recently made some rash comments about oil pipelines, specifically “There are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.” Being the gentle soul that he is, he subsequently apologized for his loss of control. “Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong,” he said, “and will not lead us to a desperately needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologize.”

Meanwhile Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who has a powerful hate on for environmentalists, was taking full advantage of Suzuki’s pipeline trashing. He accused him of inciting violence and suggested he should be “cancelled.” The premier also criticized the CBC for giving him a platform, and a formal condemnation of his comments was moved in the Alberta Legislature.

Suzuki’s comments may have been rash, but when you are finely attuned to the wondrous nature of life on Earth as Dr. Suzuki is, you may be forgiven for losing your temper at the horror humanity is wreaking upon it. We are driving species after species after species into extinction with our insatiable demands on the planet’s resources. Holocaust upon holocaust upon holocaust. How can any sane observer of this iniquity not lose their temper from time to time.

No one in Alberta could benefit more, or benefit the province more, from listening, really listening, to environmentalists than the premier. Kenney should sit at the feet of David Suzuki. There he might learn what he needs to know about responsible leadership in a time of environmental pillage.