By Rick Balfour, VPO

Plan B Questions are mandatory for all civic, provincial and federal politiicans.

Poor answers or no answers deserve no votes; we need leaders with both guts and vision.

We need action, not more talk. We have little time to change.

1. How high is your own concsciousness, relative to Global run away impacts on our communities, about Peak Oil, Global Warming and the inevitable shift in job markets and mass migration from difficult areas to highly preferred areas. Is it higher than most, are you ahead enough in the issues to lead and be proactive?

Take a page or ten minutes. No excuses, no glib answers.

2. How are you going to raise public consciousness to bring along the deniers now holding necessary change in check? And part 2: How are you going to help the already aware, particularly younger groups to take initiative to make the necessary changes to save us all from social collapse?

3. How are you going to push for positive, rapid, radical, and resoure light changes to the pattern of community? Are you ready to fight for what has to be done? Are you ready to take on other government levels to move reactionary hold backs into positive action? Are you ready to fight Nimby and narrow self interests that now damage our hopes for recovery?

4. How are you going to shift energy, industry and transportation back to localized low energy systems of consumption? Do not depend on ohers, how are you goning to lead?

5. Time is short, we have half a decade to shift the pattern of community to cut energy consumption, to raise local foods, to stop the give away of precious resources we need here. What policy are you going to design or push to make our community Really Sustainable?

6. How are you going to work with your perceived opposition to move our community and economy into a lateral shift, a workable future? We have 5 years. Take ten minutes or half a page. No platitudes, we need action, what is yours?

7. Plan B actions are now essential, all of the Plan A assumptions are now useless, the oil and car age has ended. How are you proposing to recycle wasted resources and energy into salvaged resources to last many generations? They need the material we have wasted. What is your plan?

8. How are you going to bonus new energy and penalize old wasteful forms? Are you going to support rapid expansion of passenger and freight rail, the establishment of new rail production plants in each province or region?

9. Are you going to fight Globalization and related white elephant projects that waste current resources and kill all hope for our children?

10.What is your plan for immediate food security, local water security, local energy security? How are you contributing to shutting down interests that are working against your community; are you ready to intercede in other levels of government to restore Real Sustainability for your citizens?

11. Are you ready to actually defend the security of your family and community to the extremes that now appear more and more necessary?

12. Do you really want to be a leader, or just appear to lead? We need leaders of vision, action and intellect. Who are the people we need to lead us now?