Friday, February 02, 2007
Paris Report and Canada's Environment Policy
A couple of days ago, Parliament Hill reporters asked several Conservative MPs if they believed in climate change. The MPs scurried off refusing to answer the question.
Today, the Paris report on the environment is out. The news is not good. Greenhouse gas emissions are largely responsible for climate change. The planet is warming at a faster rate than previously thought. Yet, Stephen Harper's response to the Paris report didn't instill confidence in the public that the government had a plan for immediate action to begin reduction of greenhouse gases.
I wouldn't get too excited at the prospect of the Conservatives actually doing something about emissions in the near term. At least not until they arrive at a consensus on the Copernicus and Galileo theories. If they do, perhaps then we can all move forward.
Today, the Paris report on the environment is out. The news is not good. Greenhouse gas emissions are largely responsible for climate change. The planet is warming at a faster rate than previously thought. Yet, Stephen Harper's response to the Paris report didn't instill confidence in the public that the government had a plan for immediate action to begin reduction of greenhouse gases.
I wouldn't get too excited at the prospect of the Conservatives actually doing something about emissions in the near term. At least not until they arrive at a consensus on the Copernicus and Galileo theories. If they do, perhaps then we can all move forward.
Labels: environment, greenhouse gases, paris report
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Visual and Auditory Pollution
The motivation behind our social conservative government's ostentatious transformation from blue to green is purely a vote getting ploy. Now that the health of our environment seems to be at the top of the heap in voter minds - poof! - the Conservatives grab their crayons and color themselves green.
They scrambled to action, throwing money in every direction faster than a Liberal before election day. So far, these announcements, much of which are resurrected Liberal programs or borrowed Liberal ideas, amount to intense visual and auditory pollution.
Let's not be fooled by the Conservatives' new adopted color. To Conservatives, the overwhelming body of evidence proving that global warming actually exists and a disaster is about to unravel is just a bunch of hocus-pocus. Stockwell Day's recent ridicule of Al Gore's documentary "The Inconvenient Truth" is a case in point. Mr. Day has proven he has little knowledge or understanding of environmental issues, yet he seems comfortable and willing to criticize others who do.
The Conservatives have not yet provided details about their programs. If they are serious about the environment we should see, for starters, hard core immediate and short term targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions followed by longer term targets, rather than their current long term (2020 - 2050) targets focusing only on emission intensity.
Time will tell if the Conservatives are serious or just playing with their crayons.
They scrambled to action, throwing money in every direction faster than a Liberal before election day. So far, these announcements, much of which are resurrected Liberal programs or borrowed Liberal ideas, amount to intense visual and auditory pollution.
Let's not be fooled by the Conservatives' new adopted color. To Conservatives, the overwhelming body of evidence proving that global warming actually exists and a disaster is about to unravel is just a bunch of hocus-pocus. Stockwell Day's recent ridicule of Al Gore's documentary "The Inconvenient Truth" is a case in point. Mr. Day has proven he has little knowledge or understanding of environmental issues, yet he seems comfortable and willing to criticize others who do.
The Conservatives have not yet provided details about their programs. If they are serious about the environment we should see, for starters, hard core immediate and short term targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions followed by longer term targets, rather than their current long term (2020 - 2050) targets focusing only on emission intensity.
Time will tell if the Conservatives are serious or just playing with their crayons.
Labels: Al Gore, Conservatives, environment, greenhouse gases, Stockwell Day
Thursday, November 16, 2006
CBC Fifth Estate - "The Denial Machine"
If you didn't have the opportunity to see "The Inconvenient Truth", a documentary by Al Gore about global warming, be sure to watch Fifth Estate's "The Denial Machine" being re-broadcasted on November 18 at 10:00PM ET (7:00PM PT) or click on this article's title for further information about the CBC program.
Like Al Gore's documentary, the Fifth Estate's documentary clearly shows that global warming is an urgent threat to our planet as well as the strong similarities between US and Canada environmental (or non-environmental) policy. Mr. Harper is obviously taking his cues from Mr. Bush.
Like Al Gore's documentary, the Fifth Estate's documentary clearly shows that global warming is an urgent threat to our planet as well as the strong similarities between US and Canada environmental (or non-environmental) policy. Mr. Harper is obviously taking his cues from Mr. Bush.
Labels: Al Gore, Bush, CBC, environment, greenhouse gases, Harper
