WARNING: WARMING
A high school senior leads a campaign to put climate change warning labels on gas pumps in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Story by: Anjali LeGrand | Photos by: ErynDae Thorvaldsen
High school senior Emily Kelsall was only a sophomore when she joined a campaign to fight climate change. Since then, the Vancouver, British Columbia resident helped pass a bylaw on Nov. 16, 2015 in the city of North Vancouver to require warning labels on gas pumps.
Our Horizon, a non-profit organization in Canada, started the campaign in Vancouver to place labels on gas pumps. The labels warn against ocean acidification, increased extinction rates and respiratory issues caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
This advertising campaign got its start six years ago, as lawyer Robert Shirkey sat in rush-hour traffic. He was listening to radio coverage of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He remembered hearing the words, “shame on BP” repeated on the radio and looking out at people sitting in their cars. They seemed detached from this issue affecting the environment, Shirkey said.
Two years later, Shirkey left his practice to found Our Horizon.
In 2014, Kelsall heard Shirkey on the radio discussing his campaign to label gas pumps with climate change warnings. This inspired her to reach out to Shirkey and get involved.
Shirkey said he believes the campaign could not have been as successful without Kelsall.
Kelsall educated herself on the issue of climate change and got involved in the campaign because she felt she would be making a difference, rather than observing the situation as it worsened.
“I thought, ‘This is an opportunity for me to make a difference, to make a change,’ and the great thing was it was kind of laid out for me,” Kelsall said. “Rob had the idea, he had the concept. All I had to do was go out and fight for it. And I did.”
Forty-nine percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the city of Vancouver come from transportation, according to the North Vancouver Staff Report and Bylaw.
Kelsall lobbied local businesses and politicians to support the bylaw.
“I talked to one politician who said, ‘Let’s be honest — it’s not going to be passed at the [Union of British Columbia Municipalities]. Let’s be frank here,’” Kelsall said.
Despite the words of discouragement, Kelsall wrote and presented her arguments to the North Vancouver City Council, which passed the bylaw and implemented it into law in November 2015, Kelsall said.
Some opposition to the campaign came from social media. Shirkey said they often receive comments from citizens pushing for affordable electric vehicles and increased public transportation before implementing the labels.
Shirkey said the comments help validate the idea behind the campaign.
“In creating a little bit of discomfort with the status quo, it actually stimulates broader demand for alternatives,” Shirkey said.
Some Canadian industries also oppose the labels, and responded by proposing their own labels, Shirkey said. The labels would include ways to save gas rather than the effects of climate change.
Shirkey said while the companies are trying to portray the labels negatively, the only true negative involved is the combustion of fossil fuels leading to climate change.
“Don’t get mad at the stickers. Get mad at the thing the sticker is trying to convey,” Shirkey said.
The gas pump labels have been compared to the warning labels introduced to tobacco products in the United States in 1965. The rate of smokers has since decreased significantly, although the effectiveness of such labels remains up for debate, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
In 2004, a study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing tested the effectiveness of similar labels. The study showed when consumers were already aware of a product, they were more likely to listen to warning labels. Additionally, the amount of additional warning information influenced whether it was retained. However, as a product’s cost increased due to a warning label, consumers were less likely to be influenced.
As for the future, Shirkey said he wants to shut down Our Horizon after fulfilling its purpose.
Kelsall said while she doesn’t plan on pursuing a career in the environment, she will always be an environmentalist who stands up for the planet.
“It’s easy to say it’s my work, but it’s not really. It’s so many people’s work,” Kelsall said. “I’m incredibly humbled that I’m a part of it.”
