How do you knock people out of their Complacency?

This is a question Matt and I were wrestling with after supper with my family. Long story short:

My sister, Laura, was supposed to move today, July 1st, but Matt got a call yesterday at work because Winpark (who owns the apartment) had arranged for someone to be in her place yesterday, and if she wasn't out by 4:30 they were going to charge her an extra month's rent, and they couldn't get a hold of her anywhere. Matt called me at work to see if I knew where she was, then he ran home during his break to call my parents in the country to see if Laura was out there. I ran home when I was done work to find out what the deal was. In the end, we ended up moving her stuff into a vacant apartment down the hall, she stayed with my parents in a hotel, and they're moving her into her new place today. Conclusion: Winpark sucks b/c she's been a good tenant for 3 years and they were just going to boot her out, there's great people in this building who helped with the move, and Matt and I are EXHAUSTED after hauling all of our set pieces, costumes, etc. from the fundraiser Thursday, and then moving her on Friday after almost no sleep. Today will be a relaxing day if I have to lock myself in my room and read for 10 hours straight! Here's where things with my family started to irritate me:

My father and sister believe that climate change is not happening - they're on the "it's a warm cycle" bandwagon. I tried to bring up things like measuring the carbon in the ice, which is data that we can measure, not from the last hundred years, but from the last thousands of years. I tried to talk about the Alberta tar sands, and how 17% of Canada's increase in emissions is due to the tar sands. Nothing.

The parts that really got me were when my dad said that "there's nothing we can do about it." To tell an environmentalist that you shouldn't bother doing anything about the environment is like telling a Christian that evil can't be defeated so you should just bunker down and wait for the inevitable. And then Laura said "Mel, you just don't understand how things work."

Needless to say, I was pretty furious. Being dismissed is one thing, but to be dismissed by your own family is an entirely different matter. If this was the first time it had happened it'd be one thing, but every time I go out to visit them I come home agitated and annoyed by their complacency. Annoyed by the pat on the head I get, the "you'll think differently when you're our age." Just annoyed.

My sister called me after and suggested that I just keep my opinions to myself to avoid an argument. I said that the whole point of why I say something is because to me it's the complacency of the upper-middle class who fail to see that their actions and choices have consequences. Laura's response: "Well, all you do is cause an argument and you know that it just upsets mom." I think that's blackmail, anyone agree?

Here's my beef: Everything is always about money. I don't think that the general population will do anything without a tax break or some monetary gain. When we drove past the construction site of the new Hydro building I said "that's going to be the most energy efficient building in the world" and my dad responded "how much is it going to cost to be so environmentally friendly?" Well, if that's the way things are, let's tax the life and blood out of big oil. Did you know that for every barrel of oil that comes out of the tar sands, 6 barrels of water and used? 2 million barrels of oil are extracted every day (you can see the mine from space). Did you know that the oil companies don't pay for that water? Did you know that billions of dollars worth of subsidies are paid to oil companies by the federal government. The biggest companies in the world who are selling the most profitable, most in demand product are receiving the biggest subsidies. Fine. The Conservatives have proven they don't give a crap about the environment, but they have shown that they care a lot about money - They could make a lot of it here to say the least.

What did I learn? We have a LONG way to go and the environment is going to be bled a lot drier before the cycle changes (I would say IF the cycle changes, but we can't think that way.) It is too scary for most people to see the link between climate change, air pollution, disease, obesity, and the toxic environment that we are creating because of, quite frankly, laziness.

I can accept that I will probably always be the black sheep of my family. I asked Matt why it was so hard to make people see out of the bubble that is their lives, and his response was "Mel, being selfless and caring is counter-culture. You are very counter-culture."

I think I will always feel like I'm going against the current. I say, it's a good thing that I'm a damn good swimmer! My Matt quote of the day:

"The world is a great big masterbating beast."

On that note: Happy Birthday Canada! May you save yourself from imminent doom. I know I'll do everything to help, anyone with me, or are you just too busy?