News flash: Gas is smelly and polluting, and the burning of fossil fuels contributes to climate change.
Soon, Port Moody residents, if they don’t know this already — and seriously, how could they not? — may be provided this information on a sticker on every gas pump in the city, if a plan given tentative approval by council goes ahead.
We can picture it now:
A harried mom rushing to pick up her child from daycare after work pulls into a PoMo gas station to fill up. She spots the warning sign — similar to those surgeon general cautions on cigarette packages — on the gas pump handle and jumps back with alarm.
Harried Mom then leaves her car, tank empty, at the gas station and hops on a bus to the daycare. An hour or so later, after waiting at two bus stops between transfers, she reaches her home, child, laptop, bag of groceries, umbrella stroller and teddy bear in tow.
And Our Horizon, the group that aims to get cities to put labels on gas pump handles to remind motorists of the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels, has won a convert.
Does this sound realistic?
Along with other token actions, such as when councils declare their cities nuclear-free zones, this smacks of greenwashing — i.e., appearing to do something while really not doing anything.
Never mind that most people know driving is bad for the environment and that better transit could improve people’s lives and air quality, the point is that these stickers are a waste of effort and Port Moody council shouldn’t bother promoting them.
We’re all for meaningful change and will congratulate cities when they do the right thing, such as when PoMo helped Mossom Creek Hatchery rebuild.
We also think the city councillors could do a lot better by speaking out more frequently about transit and making decisions that are more specifically within their area of jurisdiction.
But making gas station owners put warning signs on pump handles?
It’s not useful, it’s a waste of time, and producing and delivering these stickers will undoubtedly require the burning of fossil fuel.
This idea needs a sticker: Warning: Political Grandstanding.
