Essay



“In the environmental movement. . . every time you lose a battle it's for good, but our victories always seem to be temporary and we keep fighting them over and over again,” David Suzuki has said this of his fight to educate the world on the harm that is being done to the environment. Suzuki has dedicated his entire life to science, and has become one of the most well-known environmentalists in the entire world. If there really was a Canadian Science Hall Of Fame, the real question would be: why wouldn’t David Suzuki be in it?

David Suzuki is a well known environmentalist, scientist, and activist. He has contributed to the world in so many ways, that people often forget his Canadian heritage. Suzuki was born March 24, 1936 in Vancouver, Canada. He has a twin sister named Marcia, who is relatively unknown to the world. Suzuki also has two other brothers, both of which contribute to the David Suzuki Foundation. He is a third-generation Japanese Canadian, as his grandparents moved to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Suzuki family faced internment when Canada and Japan declared war upon one another. The Suzuki family was scattered throughout various labour camps. After this terrifying experience, the young Suzuki was forced to move to the Rockies. The family continued to move until they settled in London, Ontario. Suzuki attended high school in London, until he graduated and moved on to Amherst College in Massachusetts. A few years later Suzuki received a degree in zoology from the University of Chicago. Suzuki then continued his travels to California. In total, it is said that Suzuki has over twenty two degrees from various universities.

The real start of Suzuki’s broadcasting career was on a children’s television show called “Suzuki on Science” which started in the 1970’s. From that, he started a radio program on science, and hosted a science magazine geared more towards adults. After all that, Suzuki landed it big with a CBC television series called “The Nature of Things” (for which he’s still infamously known today). The show demonstrated the environmentalist in Suzuki, and he became known for his tips and tricks to helping the Earth. Then, several years later in 1993 Suzuki hosted the well-known PBS series “The Secret Life”. He continued on with his broadcasting career and changed people’s perspectives of nature all around the world.

Suzuki also writes. His first book was published around 1987, and he has been publishing ever since. Suzuki has officially published forty three books, fifteen of which are children’s stories, all of which have to do with science. His books have been published world-wide, and have greatly improved the worlds overall knowledge on science and the environment.

Global warming has recently become a very important issue to the world. David Suzuki has put time and money into education and helping people to understand the harmful effects humans have on the environment. He has dedicated most of his life to making our world a better place. Suzuki works actively in the Canadian community to ensure that politicians in Canada put the correct amount of funds into improving global warming. Suzuki also worked closely with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver to ensure that they did not harm the environment while participating in the activities.

Suzuki also works with wildlife on a daily basis. He donates to help save animals, and feels very strongly about hunting. He has gone around to schools talking about the horrible things that happen to one ecosystem when a creature becomes extinct. He also often talks about how blessed Canada is, with its abundance amount of nature, and how human’s carelessness can easily mess up an animal’s entire life. He truly cares for the smallest of creatures, and makes his message clear through the David Suzuki Foundation’s amazing efforts.

The David Suzuki Foundation is one of the most amazing and helpful foundations to ever be created. They have a list of top goals that include old school traditions like building community, protecting our climate and reconnecting with nature. The Suzuki brothers founded a group that dedicates its entire funds as well as volunteer time to making life better for people, as well as easier on the Earth. It uses scientific facts to help people lower their economic footprint and decrease the damage on nature each and every day. Without the Suzuki’s the foundation would have never been created, and people surely would not have such vast information on the environment.

Suzuki once said: “It's time we stopped ignoring the environment ... Let's not let another election go by without making this a high priority.” He refers to the government and high-power politician genius’s who couldn’t care less about the environment. Suzuki (and the Suzuki Foundation) work very hard to make sure that politicians that are elected to prestigious positions have nature’s needs as a priority. Suzuki is often seen at protests and rallies, working day and night to make sure tax-payers money is being used for to benefit the world. Also, he had very strong opinions about pesticide use, and the newly enforced laws in Canada can be traced back to messages he initiated.

Therefore, it’s David Suzuki. He basically defined the term “environmentalist”, became an amazing scientist and a highly effective activist. He’s contributed more to the world than most communities ever will: has shaped and altered //everyone’s// knowledge of the environment, and influenced the entire world more than our latest Prime Minister. Suzuki wouldn’t only have his picture in the Canadian Science Hall of Fame: he would have his own wing.