Jonathan Toews Is Not Having Any Climate Change Denial
By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 5, 2017 9:00PM
When the captain speaks, you listen / Getty Images / Photo: Sean M. Haffey
Captain Serious, indeed.
Hockey tends to take the it's-the-logo-on-the-front-not-the-name-on-the-back ethos to such self-negating extremes that it's something of a rarity to hear a professional player say anything all that interesting—much less something even vaguely political. So color us surprised and impressed to see Chicago Blackhawks star center and captain Jonathan Toews deliver a thoughtful, impassioned call to take the challenge of climate change seriously.
In an Instagram post from Saturday, Toews even directly invoked Trumpism when urging his followers to consider the issue.
"Whether you're super pumped that we are putting 'Americans first' or you are absolutely outraged at the idea that we are taking yet another step backwards in dealing with a major global problem, the only way to solve this argument is to try and set your own agenda aside and see how this affects everybody."
"The only lie we tell ourselves is that we are more special than other life forms on the planet," he added.
The timing was unmistakable, as Toews' post came just two days after President Donald Trump delivered his much-excoriated announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. The agreement—which is signed by nearly 200 countries—aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the globe.
As Second City Hockey notes, this actually isn't the first time Toews has used his pulpit to champion progressive climate policy, as he's also lauded actor Leonardo DiCaprio's work in the arena.
You can check out Toews' full post in the Instagram embed and text block below.
Toews:
"Do you believe in climate change? Whether you're super pumped that we are putting 'Americans first' or you are absolutely outraged at the idea that we are taking yet another step backwards in dealing with a major global problem, the only way to solve this argument is to try and set your own agenda aside and see how this affects everybody. The only lie we tell ourselves is that we are more special than other life forms on the planet. Well, we're not. Even if we weren't responsible for any major climate catastrophes heading our way, shouldn't we still do our part to preserve what we have left? The same way that we shouldn't wait till our bodies break down completely to start doing the right things to stay healthy, let's not wait till it's too late to do something. I am not saying I am perfectly "green," but the first step is to keep an open mind and try to learn what you don't already know."