Vincent J. Curtis
6 June 2019
The Hamilton Spectator published an article by someone who proclaimed to see from the top of the Kenilworth steps a dry, lifeless desert before him that will occur within the lifetime of his young son. For those unfamiliar with Hamilton, the Kenilworth steps lead to the top of Hamilton's escarpment and affords an excellent view of the Red Hill valley, the east end of the city, Hamilton Bay, and the vast Lake Ontario, which stretches to the horizon. Lake Ontario is overflowing its shores again this year due to heavy rainfall in the Great Lakes watershed.
The author, a professor of social and environmental justice, did not actually look from the top of the Kenilworth steps. If he had, he would have seen a massive Lake Ontario overflowing its banks for the second time in three years, after experiencing one of the coolest and wettest winters on record.
Does he really believe that within the lifetime of his son, the city will be a sun-baked ruin devoid of life? Lake Ontario will have completely disappeared? (I’ll take that bet!) The city under the trees will be void of life, and humanity almost extinct?
Asseverating dystopian nightmares in no way adds to an intelligent discussion about facts, because nightmares aren’t facts or reason. What we have here is another case of an Arts major who has more confidence in his grasp of science than actual scientists do.
Professors of social and environmental justice may not be given to squatting in the lotus position and humming, but that would be more sensible than looking at Lake Ontario today and believing a desert will lie there in forty years.
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