Yes we can!

Blogging has been sporadic for months -- hey, I've got my reasons! -- but I'm going to crank it up again. Feeling inspired tonight after the U.S election (though you wouldn't know it from the way I'm writing). Feeling inspired but a little rusty. In any case:

Obama's acceptance speech and McCain's concession speech were remarkable for different reasons. Obama is always very much aware of the arc of history and he has an uncanny ability to map paths along that arc for both himself and his audience. I envied the crowd in Chicago as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks in concert with his words. MLK had a dream and now (finally!) Obama is living it and inviting the world to go along.

As for McCain, while he is not a particularly eloquent speaker, tonight he was gracious, transcendent and real. In fact, this was McCain's most presidential moment since the campaign began and it should be a harbinger of the attitude the Republicans must adopt if they hope to rebuild.

All in all, a truly remarkable evening.

And now, as a Canadian, I wonder how, and if, Stephen Harper can work with Obama. Tomorrow morning Harper may discover that he has gotten up on the wrong side of the ideological spectrum. We shall see. All I know I that I will soon have to change the PenOpticon banner. After all, Tony Blair is gone and Bush and Cheney are starting to pack up their stuff. Can Harper be far behind?

It is amazing that Americans can shoehorn most of their political views into these two political parties, especially when much of the democratic world requires three, four, five or more parties. As Canada lurches forward with four national parties, it is obvious, that the change we need here is a proportional voting system that will enable these diverse voices to obtain seats in government and work together in a spirit of practical collaboration. Until that day comes, Canada will be cursed with a series of minority governments that will have a hard time getting the job done.

Congratulations President Obama! Now how can Canadians get the change we need?

Where will you be during Earth Hour?

Yeah, I know Earth Hour isn't going to solve the Global Mess we've gotten ourselves into. It's a symbolic gesture, but sometimes symbols are all we have. And when you know you can't fix the world, it's still worth taking on issues that are close to home.

That's why on March 29th, I'll be at the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill, Ontario. For the past 72 years, the Dunlap Observatory has been a place of discovery and wonder for hundreds of astronomers and many thousands of visitors.

When the lights go out in Toronto, we hope to see the same sky that Dunlap's first astronomers saw in 1935. Unfortunately, this could be the year the David Dunlap Observatory goes dark, forever. The current owner, the University of Toronto is trying to quickly sell this property to developers. The world is about to lose a historic eye, a powerful eye that has been looking out into space for decades, the same eye that was used by Dr. Tom Bolton in 1972, when he proved the existence of a Black Hole in Cygnus X-1.

If Dunlap closes, my town will also lose a large green space — a much needed urban wilderness — that is home to dozens of bird species, deer, fox, coyote. Instead we'll have more concrete, more pavement, more noise, more traffic – and more light pollution. Hundreds of us have been holding rallies, writing letters and attending town meetings to try to convince the University of Toronto to postpone the sale and other levels of government to protect the property.

In the meantime, local residents and groups such as the Richmond Hill Naturalists will continue to fight to save David Dunlap Observatory and the surrounding green space by appearing before the Ontario Conservation Review Board to seek a 100% heritage designation for the property. These same groups are also lobbying York Region to stop plans to widen existing arterial roads such as 16th Avenue to 6 or 7 lanes.

We need to ask ourselves, our businesses, our governments — and our universities: what is the point? What is the POINT of looking up at the stars if we continue to destroy the Earth beneath our feet?

When hundreds gather at David Dunlap Observatory for this Earth Hour, that question will be blazing in the sky, burning in every star that shines down upon us.

Happy Earth Hour, everyone.