I had the good fortune of attending an evening event last week hosted by the David Suzuki Foundation. There must have been at least 50 people at this cosy event, and the objective was to gather Bay St. and other business types who share a common concern for the environment. Ron Dembo of Zerofootprint Energy gave a detailed slide presentation talking about the risk of not acting quicky enough to combat global warming. He also spoke convincingly about the role geothermal energy can play as a renewable replacement for electric heaters and air conditioners.

My friend Jose Etcheverry from the foundation also made a heart-felt speech about the need to take action now, pointing to developments in Europe that should be happening here. Finally, David Suzuki — the main attraction — spoke about how ridiculous humanity is behaving around the issue of global warming. To paraphase, he said it’s like we’re all in a car heading 100 kilometres an hour toward a brick wall, but we’re all arguing about who’s going to sit where, rather than trying to turn the wheel and apply the break. Meanwhile, he added, NGOs like the Suzuki Foundation are locked in the trunk of the car so all you can hear is their muzzled shouts in the background. Nicely said.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable night. When all the formal speeches were done, a microphone was handed around to anyone in the crowd that wanted to talk. At least three business men, two of whom I know personally, stepped forward and talked about their own hopes of pulling together business personalities who can get behind the cause. Nick Parker of the Cleantech Venture Network, for example, pointed to California and the influence the business community and venture capitalists there have had in pushing through progressive legislation and policy.

From my perspective, as a journalist, I’ve seen nothing come from the business community within the context of Ontario and its 20-year plan to overhaul the electricity system. What I have seen are dozens of press releases from the establish industries — i.e. Canadian Nuclear Association, AECL, Power Workers’ Union (biased towards coal and nuclear), Gas Association, Electricity Association, etc.

To be fair, I’ve also seen the other side of the debate (i.e. the push for renewables, conservation and distributed generation) from NGOs like the Suzuki Foundation, Pembina Institute, WWF-Canada, GreenPeace and Sierre Club. But, as Dr. Suzuki pointed out himself, they’re all locked in the trunk of the car. What’s desperately missing from this equation is the voice of the business community. We need leadership to come from top business leaders who aren’t necessarily in bed with the established power industries.

So, given this need, there’s hope that last week’s event will spark discussion amongst Ontario’s business elite. And who knows? Perhaps we’ll see this crowd begin to mobilize over the next two months as the Ontario Power Authority puts the finishing touches on its 20-year plan. An election is coming next October, after all. Much can still be done to persuade the current government or any future government about the need to accelerate the move toward clean energy, conservation and energy efficiency.

If such a group does ever mobilize, I’d advise a full-page ad in a major daily newspaper that shouts, “We’re here, and we’re staying in this debate.” That should get the government’s attention.

On a side note, Jose, thank you for the invite. And Dr. Suzuki, it was a pleasure meeting you.