Tim DeChristopher's ordeal exposes the massive power of the fossil fuel industry. Governments, including the U.S. and Canada's, often do far more to promote the interests of this industry than to protect people's rights and health.

In some European cities, planners are finding that making life more difficult for drivers while providing incentives for people to take transit, walk, or cycle creates numerous benefits, from reducing pollution and smog-related health problems to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and making cities safer and friendlier.

Science is playing second fiddle to political concerns in Canada and the U.S. Recently, we've seen more "muzzling" of scientists, funding cuts, and an increasing disregard for science in policy-making. This scientific antipathy could not come at a worse time.

One of the first lessons I learned from First Nations communities was about the importance of respect. Without respect for each other, we don't listen and we fail to learn. But respect should extend beyond our fellow humans, to all the green things that capture the sun's energy and power the rest of life on Earth.

The spread of invasive species, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and climate change are also major contributors to what some scientists are calling the sixth great extinction.