When it comes to climate change, the math and science are clear -- but not to everyone. The arts can be powerful allies in helping us all understand the severity of the challenge and the urgency for action.

Maybe the lifestyle we've come to know as "normal" really isn't normal -- or sustainable -- after all. It may feel normal because it's all we've known, but, examined rationally in a larger context, it seems more like the fast lane to resource depletion and environmental ruin.

A Mainstreet Research poll found that 54% of adult Canadians cannot name a single Canadian visual artist, living or dead. In contrast, the poll also found that 97% of adult Canadians can name at least three Canadian hockey players. Are we really so divorced from art a majority of us can't name Emily Carr, Tom Thomson, Jean-Paul Riopelle or Norval Morrisseau?

Cities like ours are surging with an enormous reservoir of creativity. We're soaking in it. If Toronto's mayor had the vision to seek innovation, our waterfront, parks and libraries might stand a chance. Toronto could take its place as a leader in sustainable revenue generation and urban planning.