Canadian Cultural Icon Six -- Dr. David Suzuki

Tonight’s Cultural Icon is Dr. David Suzuki. He is so much a part of the culture, it’s hard to know what to say about him. I’m going to let the CBC tell you, and show you himself. He is a scientist – trained in genetics. He has become Canada’s most widely recognized environmental activist. He has hosted a television program called “The Nature of Things” for decades on the CBC. One thing I'll tell you is that he’s beloved here. Not by everyone, and the ones who he aggravates are really aggravated. That CBC article is from a series asking people to vote for the Top Ten Canadians -- he made the top ten. He takes a very spiritual approach to environmental initiatives – the video clip here is almost eight minutes long, but do watch all of it. And I’ve linked to another, a Canadian Perspective, that has the embedding disabled. In it, he talks about why his Home has so much more value than the real property he owns.

This is part of the article on the CBC's Top Ten Canadians page -- you can check out the whole thing through the link at the top of the page. Then the video.

In 1990, he founded the David Suzuki Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding innovative solutions to help conserve the natural world. Most recently the organization has advocated for Canada to back the implementation of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas reduction.

David Suzuki PHOTO: CBC

Suzuki has been awarded numerous recognitions, including a UNESCO prize for science, a United Nations Environment Program medal and an induction as an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has 15 honorary doctorates from universities in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. In addition, Canada's First Nations people have honoured him with five native names and he has been formally adopted by two tribes.

Now retired from teaching, Suzuki has dedicated himself full-time to educating the public about the importance of the natural world. It's a role that places him alongside the likes of Carl Sagan and Jacques Cousteau, and makes him one of the world's most effective ambassadors of science - and our future.