For at least two federal and one provincial elections, I have been frustrated to see a large portion of the so-called ‘left coast’ support an anti-environmentalist, conservative agenda. A recent visit to Kelowna, located in the interior of BC has made me understand why:
We experience the Wonderful World of Nature / our Rental Car
driving is king
Driving is fun. There is relatively little traffic in town and the main highway between Kelowna and Penticton swoops widely around the lake shore. A speed of 100 km/h or more is easy to safely maintain. The average resident drives 35000 km/year [vs. a 14100 km/year as a province-wide average!].
Recent urban growth has focused on highway-oriented strip malls with panhandle suburbs on the hillsides, two of the worst culprits for massively increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Human-to-human community building is difficult at best with these ex-urban patterns.
An individualist political agenda that minimizes personal income taxes and social expenditure makes sense to isolated monocultures of individuals.
Big White People with Golf Shirts looking at Big Boats
big boats are good; bigger boats are better
The lake has a huge psychological presence; boats are a huge part of life. Boating does not mean sailing, kayaking, or rowing. Massive rigs are required to wakeboard or booze cruise. The faster and bigger the better. The poor ride dirt bikes or ATVs. A carbon-centric lifestyle means an average individual carries additional kilograms of body weight; mass that makes low-carbon walking or biking still more difficult.
A population that depends on the hyper-consumption of fossil fuels for daily routine and recreation does not appreciate a carbon tax, or understand subsidizing public transit.
golf shirts = fashion
Male fashion is dominated by misshapen corporate golf shirts and khakis. Pop the collar if you want to be authentic. Organic cotton shirts, re-used vintage pants or locally-tailored, trim suits are verbodden.
Golf shirts should be worn when golfing. Corporate golf shirts should be worn when golfing with that corporation. Wearing this outside of these important moments indicates a lack of imagination and creativity.
Imagination is not typically associated with political conservatism.
Kelowna is Anglo-Canadian white
Racial and cultural diversity is low in Kelowna. The only non-Anglo Canadian culture I observed was drunken separatist Quebec fruit pickers. This is unlikely to encourage cross-cultural tolerance, immigration friendly policies or support for a distinct french presence within a united Canada.
In short, this Vancouverite now understands why progressive politics have a hard time in the interior. Urban patterns encourage isolation from the community of human suffering and facilitates the influence of traditional media. An excessive personal dependence on fossil fuels derails the environmental agenda. Low cultural diversity confirms long-held beliefs in the correctness of ones opinions.
And boy, does Ron Cannon, the Conservative MP for Kelowna look good in a golf shirt.
