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Last updated on August 9th, 2017 at 06:16 am
Environmentalist David Suzuki leaves public life as he entered it—whining like a straight-cut gearbox:
He expresses regret that most people still live out of step with nature.
“We are intelligent, so we create our own habitat and we don’t need nature except as entertainment or for the extraction of resources,” he said. “We still don’t get it, that the simple acts of eating a pizza reverberates around the world.”
Suzuki has written more than 40 books and made his first television program 37 years ago. His comments were recorded in Australia, which may have involved some air travel. Way to live, natureboy.
UPDATE. Environmental extremist Paco: “I don’t eat – and in fact, have never even tasted – pizza.”
- I hope Suzuki didn’t have any descendants, what with their horrendous effect on the environment, and all.Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2006 10 27 at 12:31 PM • permalink
- The butterfly that was perched on the pizza box flies away, and the turbulence from its wings causes hurricanes on the other side of the world. I mean hurricanes over and above those already caused by Bush.Posted by Paul Zrimsek on 2006 10 27 at 12:35 PM • permalink
- “He expresses regret that most people still live out of step with nature.”
I stepped in something natural yesterday while I was coming down the walk.
It wasn’t all that great.
“The second installment of his autobiography begins with the racism that Suzuki experienced when he and his family were forced to live in an internment camp in Canada during World War…”
“Suzuki welcomes a new generation of media-friendly environmentalists, notably former U.S. vice president Al Gore…”
Gore is, of course, a leader of the political party that put thoussands of American citizens, of Japanese ancestry, into similar “camps” in America.
Suzuki is obviously an idiot on several levels.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2006 10 27 at 12:41 PM • permalink
- Harry – in case you were wondering…
Suzuki has five children, three from his first marriage to his high school sweetheart, Joane, and two from his current marriage to Dr. Tara Cullis.
From here.
Did you know that Dr. Suzuki was in the running as the “Greatest Canadian”?
Posted by rick mcginnis on 2006 10 27 at 12:53 PM • permalink
- Crepitus : “…The golden vessels resounded under me like kettledrums – and when stuffed with lamprey, truffles, and pates, the intestine of the Master noisily emptied itself, the whole attentive world learned that Caesar had dined well!”
Flaubert, Temptation of St. Anthony Those were the “days of glory’’ for Crepitus.
“But now, I am confined to the common people, and there are protests at the mention of my name.’‘
Crepitus departs, emitting a sigh
- Did you know that Dr. Suzuki was in the running as the “Greatest Canadian”?
I voted for Don Cherry, and I’m not even Canadian. My second choice was Wayne Gretzky, but some socialist named Tommy Douglas won. Canadians… At least Pierre Trudeau only came in third.
Posted by Bruce Rheinstein on 2006 10 27 at 01:19 PM • permalink
- In the Australian High Country, you need to bring the cattle down to the valley with the first snow flurries.
On the tablelands, the spring lambs want docking and marking in the early summer.
Out on the plains, it’s time to plow the stubble in as the Autumn shadows grow longer.
Of course, in Canadia, y’all can get back in step with nature jest whittlin’.
- I’d say your average plate of beans causes more reverberations than all the pizza in Brooklyn.
I wonder how many trees died for Suzuki’s books?
Posted by tim maguire on 2006 10 27 at 01:28 PM • permalink
- Rats! I see retread beat me to it.Posted by tim maguire on 2006 10 27 at 01:29 PM • permalink
- He regrets that after decades of campaigning for everything from cleaner air to sustainable farming, his work has not had more impact.
I don’t understand exactly what impact he expected to have. We do have cleaner air. Farming, as an industry, seems to be doing fine. Rather than “impact”, I think he actually means “beatification”. And, well, the Pope just hasn’t gotten around to making saints for environmentalism yet.
Another reason why I don’t eat – and in fact, have never even tasted – pizza.
Paco, that’s just… unAmerican.
He expresses regret that most people still live out of step with nature.
I for one, would like to how the 6 Billion people on the planet are supposed to survive on environmentally-friendly organic subsistance farming.
Leftist Utopians don’t think these things through, do they?
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2006 10 27 at 01:34 PM • permalink
- Tim, Ive gotta say Im very impressed with the way you linked Suzuki and performance cars in the same sentence. Its hard enough with Suzuki cars.
But then there was that Pikes Peak Escudo (supposedly based on a Vitara) with 900+hp from a 2 litre turbo.
Ah Gran Turismo, so many wasted hours…
Posted by The_Wizard_of_WOZ on 2006 10 27 at 01:42 PM • permalink
- #19 Pixie Misa
Every bit of progress we have made as a species, from fire to agriculture to penicillin to the internet, has been made in a desperate attempt to get the hell away from nature, which, let’s face it, is just plain nasty.
IIRC, the biologist Thomas Huxley once quipped something about, “Nature, red in tooth and claw.”
Or was he quoting Tennyson?
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2006 10 27 at 01:49 PM • permalink
- #18 Paco, that’s just… unAmerican.
I know, rebecca; but when I was still just a little shaver, my folks used to order pizza and it always smelled to me like puke. For years it was the memory of that smell that bothered me; then it became a matter of mere personal vanity – the only living American who has never tasted pizza! I have become, I dunno, like the last of the Mohicans.
“We are intelligent, so we create our own habitat and we don’t need nature except as entertainment or for the extraction of resources,” he said.
Well, yeah…
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2006 10 27 at 02:29 PM • permalink
- To be fair, he actually got to Australia in a dugout canoe that he carved himself using simple stone implements, and which he converted to an effective shelter once he landed.
Also, he drank only rainwater that fell from a grateful sky, and ate fish raw that leapt aboard his fragile craft.
Sure it sounds extreme, but it cuts down on the ol’ travel reimbursement paperwork.
- “We [sic] are intelligent…”
He misspelled “you”.
Posted by P. Froward on 2006 10 27 at 02:57 PM • permalink
- #5 et al,
Fortunately, the family ensures the dream will not die:“Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been active in environmental and social justice since she was a child. At the age of 12, Severn closed a Plenary Session at 1992’s Rio Earth Summit with a powerful speech to the political representatives, and in 1993 she received the UN Environment Program’s Global 500 Award. She is well-known for her work as a writer, speaker and television host, and is co-founder of the Skyfish Project.”
For greater enlightenment and challenge: the David Suzuki Foundation.
Cheers
Posted by J.M. Heinrichs on 2006 10 27 at 03:16 PM • permalink
- Quoth Paco:
“…my folks used to order pizza and it always smelled to me like puke…’‘
Did you grow up on Long Island, Paco? Because that sounds like the same kind of pizza my folks would order. If it’s any comfort, the place in question closed down some years ago.
I had no idea there was a “Greatest Canadian’’ contest in progress. Surely someone’s nominated Mark Steyn by now?Pierre Trudeau – feh.
Posted by Sonetka’s Mom on 2006 10 27 at 04:59 PM • permalink
- Auntie,
‘Skyfish’ is the name you give a 747 when you’ve got a dad who crosses the Pacific in a dugout canoe.
At this rate Suzuki’s great-grandchildren will have prognathous jaws and draw pictures of bison.Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2006 10 27 at 05:24 PM • permalink
- I am deeply offended that everybody else got to the fart joke before I did.Posted by Jim Treacher on 2006 10 27 at 05:25 PM • permalink
- #32:
“At the age of 12, Severn closed a Plenary Session at 1992’s Rio Earth Summit with a powerful speech to the political representatives, and in 1993 she received the UN Environment Program’s Global 500 Award.”
Seems fitting, doesn’t it, that politicians listened to a speech by a 12 year old at the Rio Earth Summit, and that bastion of utter incomprehension—the UN—awards the child a vanity prize.
The definition of uselessness doesn’t get any better than that!
- paco
the only living American who has never tasted pizza! I have become, I dunno, like the last of the Mohicans.
Without describing AND since you’ve ruined everyone’s pizza night…I shall do the same for breakfasteers OR cops…:).
As a younger El Cid, I had a friend (yeah me, a friend) who tossed a cinder block on a dying or dead rat…The congealed blood oozed out like when biting into a Jelly Doughnut, or if one prefers Donut.
Take that, Jelly Doughnut/Donut, eaters of the world. HA!.Can’t eat them, to this day, actually any filled doughnut, brings back that vision, but the Jelly, bingo on color match.
- Oh dear, they’re talkin’ ‘bout C’nadians again.
Just to restate:
I am not, and do not know, David Suzuki or your uncle in Vancouver. Neither do I agree with them.
Grief!. I am constantly being confronted with my “Canadianness”. It’s as if the rest of the world (ROW) thinks that Canada is a small place and everyone lives next door to each other (except AndyCanuck who really does) and we all are suburban guilt-ridden rich wimps.
The real Canadi(a)(e)n was a mature nature lover. He/she ate it when it wasn’t killing him/her.
In Australia, do you have Suzuki types crying that some useful human thing is destroying the natural desert habitat? We get that all the time here with swamps, I tell you, swamps, we have lots of swamp in Canada. In fact, Canadians should be proud of their swamps; we probably got the world’s largest collection.
If you Australians wonder where your coal seams come frome, come to canada and visit our bloody desolate tundra. No Suzuki hugging Canuck does.
[/rant]…OK cool down, have a drink, wish goodwill to all mankind.
PS I actually do like Canadians and Canada. I just don’t like winging, moralizing watermelon Suzuki huggers.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2006 10 27 at 07:11 PM • permalink
- #36: Whoooooo, doggies! No ma’am, I’ve never been to Long Island. That’s north of Maryland somewheres, ain’t it? No wonder the pizza my folks ordered smelled so bad: it wasn’t only covered in puke; what with delivery time from Long Island, it musta been two-day old puke.
El Cid, I don’t eat jelly donuts, but I was kind of fond of broiled rat – until now, of course.
- #18 rebeccaH,
Woyuldn’t St. Francis of Assissi be a giood patron saint of enviromentalists?
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2006 10 27 at 07:24 PM • permalink
- I don’t mean to insult Canadians, Bruce -they have had plenty of politicians to do that for them.
Australia had a similar poll, and to my delight they got it right – Howard Florey won -a South Australian who, with an exiled Jewish scientist, engineered the timely production of useful penicillin under very difficult conditions – for which Fleming wrongly claimed the credit in Britain.
If it had been up to Fleming, it would never have been useful in WWII, or possibly for another generation..
- What say we give him an axe and a pair of snowshoes as a going-away present and see how long he can stay in touch with nature?
Or was he planning on staying in touch with nature somewhere a little more globally-warmed?
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 10 27 at 08:16 PM • permalink
- #36 Sonetka’s Mom,
Yes, it was run by the Communist Broadcsting Corporation.
Some shit Saskatchewan socialist won it, some idioto called Tommy (We eat cats) Douglas. He ruined Canadian health care but exploded the bureaucracy, even though he never won an election. This makes him a great Canuck?
The hockey guy came second.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2006 10 27 at 08:28 PM • permalink
- #49 My point exactly tennisman,
He would be able to survive in the Delta Chelsea on Yonge Street, Toronto, with a largish budget…. but no further North.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2006 10 27 at 08:45 PM • permalink
- When nature-idiots like Suzuki go off on their moralizing I get a strong urge to capture them, strip them naked, and drop them off at least a hundred miles from the nearest civilization. Then come back in about a year to see how they’re doing.
I’m willing to bet he never wore a piece of apparel that he made himself, nor used a tool he fashioned himself. Probably never ate anything he grew from seeds.
Posted by JorgXMcKie on 2006 10 27 at 09:52 PM • permalink
- Mr Miyagi ought to have just kept on his work at Arnolds and that Karate School he was working on. All This thing of environmentalism is just too much for him.Posted by Wylie Wilde on 2006 10 28 at 12:18 AM • permalink
- I’ve got a live performance by Martin Mull somewhere among my LPs where he skewers the whole environmentalist thing brilliantly. He proves his ‘social conscience’ to the audience by declaring “I refuse to eat wood. Wood, or any wooden products.”Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2006 10 28 at 06:08 AM • permalink
- Did I switch the bolds off properly this time?
Yes!
Phew…Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2006 10 28 at 06:09 AM • permalink
- “Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been active in environmental and social justice since she was a child.”
Children tend to whine all right.
Non-leftys grow out of it.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2006 10 28 at 01:11 PM • permalink
- I meant #34. Of course. I just forgot when I got all the way down to the thing, here.
Best pizzas I ever had: Thin crust thing in Athens, Greece. Cockroaches everywhere except on the pizza itself. As far as I could tell.
Johnny’s Pizza, Malibu, CA. Artichoke heart, sundried tomato, goat cheese pizza, washed down with cold Foster’s. Yum.
- GREEK PIZZA JOKE
“Cockroaches everywhere except on the pizza itself.”
I got bad news for you, those things you thought were anchovies…
Posted by Dave Surls on 2006 10 28 at 02:48 PM • permalink
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With my tender digestion, that’s the last thing I need. And how embarrassing! I can just picture getting a call from some guy in Singapore: “Yo, Paco, was that you who reverberated?” Another reason why I don’t eat – and in fact, have never even tasted – pizza.