When our local governments declare a “climate emergency” what does that really mean? Is it simply a statement to recognize that climate change is real? Is it merely a trendy thing to do, something to show how aware the elected officials want to appear?

Or, does the act of declaring a climate emergency carry with it a moral obligation to consider the best environmental outcome of every council decision and all staff activity? If a local government isn’t doing absolutely everything it can to stop fouling our planet, then are they  just giving lip service to populism?

If a local government doesn’t walk the talk, they perpetuate the idea that we can all carry on doing what we’ve always done, business as usual, and everything will be all right. Because, hey, we declared a “climate emergency.”

Case in point. The Town of Comox has declared a climate emergency. But are those just words to appeal to the masses, or is the town now applying the best environmental practices to everything it does?

The town is currently tearing up Noel Avenue between Pritchard and Torrence roads. They are doing road reconstruction, concrete curbs and sidewalks, a Brooklyn Creek culvert replacement, asphalt paving and line painting.

But did the town, which recognizes there is a climate emergency, even consider the environmental best practices of adding rain gardens and other forms of stormwater infiltration that would help prevent the pollution of Brooklyn Creek and ultimately Comox harbour?

No. The response from the town to Decafnation was, “There was (sic) no storm main infrastructure upgrades required.”

Doesn’t a climate emergency “require” the town to do whatever it can to make our environment cleaner? When a road is being reconstructed, that’s a perfect opportunity to apply an environmental best practice, in this case creating ways to let rainwater soak into the ground and let nature do the cleansing.

With new concrete curbs and gutters, it will be decades before the town feels financially justified to tear it up again to add infiltration galleries. Now is the time to do it, both from a financial and environmental perspective.

Where are our elected representatives like Alex Bissinger, who brought the climate emergency motion to Comox Council? And why aren’t they holding the public works staff accountable for failing to seize this opportunity?

Of course, adding rain gardens to better handle stormwater won’t solve the “climate emergency” by itself. But it’s walking the talk. Not doing these small things does the opposite.

— Comox could learn a thing or two from the City of Courtenay’s upper Fifth Street project that included rain gardens and narrowing of the impervious asphalt surface. Courtenay is currently developing a new integrated stormwater management plan that we hope will require all new road reconstruction in Courtenay to follow the Fifth Street plan.

— Speaking of not walking the talk, the City of Prince George is set to approve and accept a Calgary company’s proposal to build a $5.56 billion petrochemical plant there. It will produce polyethene plastic to Asia. The city’s mayor says the project promises great economic potential for the city and the province.

No climate emergency there, apparently.

— On the other hand, Norway has refused to allow drilling for billions of barrels of oil near the Lofoten islands in the Arctic. Again, showing how shallow our awareness of a “climate emergency” really is, this has left other Norwegian politicians and the oil industry “surprised and disappointed.”

— No surprise or disappointment in Alberta, however, where federal and provincial regulators — and we use that word loosely — have green-lighted the largest ever tar sands open-pit mine.

— And finally this week, it has been discovered that the ancient Viking explorers may have been smoking pot when they discovered Newfoundland. That explains a lot.

There’s no violent gang problem in the Comox Valley, says Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells. But the RCMP’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team came to town anyway. They came because people have heard a lot of gunfire lately. They seized firearms, rifles, smoke grenades, machetes, knives and a whole bunch of drugs, but curiously made no arrests.

But, not worry says Mayor Bob, flipping his sunglasses atop his head, gangsters mainly shoot each other. Well, he didn’t exactly say that. What he said was organized crime targets its own criminal community.

— NEWS REPORT: “House fire deemed suspicious.” This particular house fire occurred in Campbell River, but doesn’t the headline tweak the idea that the Comox Valley seems to have more than its share of “suspicious fires?” Houses burn down. Hotels and pubs burn down. They’re deemed “suspicious.” But the suspicions just fade away until they’re forgotten. Nobody is ever charged for intentionally setting a fire. That seems suspicious.

— Here’s how bad the opioid crisis has gotten: To save students from opioid overdose deaths, Washington state schools will start stocking Narcan. The Washington state legislature passed a bill requiring public schools with more than 2,000 students to store the overdose-reversal medication. Fatal opioid overdoses among teens and pre-teens have tripled in the last 15 years, so the state wants “to prepare for the worst.” It’s difficult to fathom the context that makes that statement meaningful.

— Let’s talk about mixed messages. The Comox Legion Branch 160 says it hopes to appeal to a younger demographic by flinging its doors open to everyone, not just those who served in the Canadian military. More like a neighborhood pub. The plans include a new bar that provides accessibility for seniors with mobility issues, and a more affordable menu for elderly people on pensions. And they will create more opportunities for socialization among its senior-age customers. Somehow that’s going to attract younger people.

These plans inspired Comox Mayor Russ Arnott to exclaim the legion would add to the vibrancy of the town.

— Cold climate tourism: is it the next big thing? The planet Earth is headed toward becoming a hothouse, perhaps speeding back to a prehuman period when palm trees grew in Alaska. Can our species survive? We’re certainly swimming in uncharted waters, which are working up to a boil.

Most of us tend to look outside and see sunny days and warmer temperatures and rejoice. Our bodies are less stiff. Sunshine improves our mood. It’s a natural response, because as organisms that live for short periods of time, it’s difficult for us to comprehend the bigger picture. But imagine when the Comox Glacier disappears in the next 20 years and snow stops falling in the Beaufort mountains, drying up our aquifers and rivers, and making drinkable water the most precious resource.

One thing is certain: as temperatures climb over the next several decades, more people will search out cooler climates to live and possibly to vacation. When average winter temperatures in the Comox Valley go higher than 80 degrees, will the bulk of the world’s population will live near the planet’s poles.

— What we’re reading: This article in Curbed, recommended by New York Times Hong Kong editor Jennifer Jett. “The bicycle was liberating for women in the late 19th century,” she tells us. “But they are underrepresented in cycling. So in some places, city planners are trying to accommodate riding with children or groceries — presumably, better for everybody.”