Parents, children, teachers and nature-lovers alike lined up around the corner of Bloor and Albany on Monday night to catch David Suzuki at the Bloor Cinema as part of Royal St. George’s College lecture series on the environment.

In a fiery lecture that dispelled his calm, tranquil image, the world renowned geneticist, academic, broadcaster and environmentalist talked about setting a new bottom line for Canada’s politicians and citizens, arguing that the economy should not take precedence over the elements that keep our species alive.

Suzuki argued that economic progress is being used to justify using up the natural legacies of our descendants. Such progress, he said, is not progressive at all.

But he added that the human brain gives people an advantage over all other animals: the ability to realize we can change the future through what we do today.

“Foresight was never of more importance than it is today, yet we are turning our back on that ability,” Suzuki charged.

Those who drive SUVs, who drink bottled water, who think “disposable” isn’t a vile wor are irresponsible, he declared. “Our species didn’t evolve to live like this.”

Suzuki applauded the recent emergence of environmental concerns in the Canadian conscience and the world, but he criticized the media for ignoring the issue for too long. A large group of Nobel Prize winners put out a pamphlet saying we have 10 years to avoid catastrophe, but the CBC, the Globe & Mail, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC, ABC, and CBS all failed to report it, Suzuki said. But thanks to the environment’s recent vogue, people are realizing that ecological damage in general, and not just climate change, affects us in a big way.

And by us, he meant all of us. “There is no environment out there,” he said, “we are the environment,” he said. Our species is made up of air, water and earth, and by treating these elements as dumping grounds we are only harming ourselves. Environmentalism goes far global warming concerns, the audience repeatedly heard. And what we do to nature, we do to ourselves.

Suzuki has been traveling across the country on a mission to discover what issues matter most to Canadians. After 41 communities and 30,000 Canadians, he reported that people are desperately looking toward national leaders and the corporate sector to take action.

He also found many Canadians reporting they would pay higher taxes to improve the condition of our country’s vast natural wonders. It appears the desire for a new bottom line is spreading, and Canadians are becoming increasingly discouraged by the inaction of the government and the corporate sector.

But Suzuki said that we do not have to wait for the powers at be to initiate change, for we can initiate it ourselves. To date, 350,000 people have signed on to participate in the David Suzuki Nature Challenge, an idea that challenges people to make a difference by making small changes in their everyday lives. These changes may include reducing home heating and electricity, biking or walking to a weekly destination, cooking with food produced by local farmers, replacing chemical pesticides with non-toxic alternatives and most importantly, staying informed about nature conservation and sharing your knowledge with those around you. This is the moment in human history when we can no longer avoid decision, he said.

To find out more or to sign up for the David Suzuki Nature Challenge, visit davidsuzuki.org.