Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘climate change’ Category

(Update at end)

Environment Canada forecasts “coldest winter in almost 15 years“.

If November is any indication, I’m inclined to agree.

Oops. Stephane must have read the same report! Y2Kyoto: Politics ends at the swim up bar.

“We are speaking about the worst ecological threat that humanity is facing, and I will do my best to get out of this damn frozen country.”

Saturday Update: Speaking of Bali, this is a must-watch video - Rex Murphy (Bali Logic). H/T Socialist Gulag:

…If global warming is the imminent and catastrophic peril to the earth that everyone from the IPCC to David Suzuki to Al Gore and every socially-conscious celebrity on the planet have been telling us it is, then there can be no serious argument for Canada to make mandatory commitments, while exempting the giant emitters of the world such as China and India. This is like plugging a leak while ignoring a flood…

Well, it’s hardly surprising that the left-wing media are all over Harper like a pack of jackals. The Record has this editorial offering today - Harper drops the ball on climate change.

Here’s a classic line:

To be sure, implementing an international plan to deal with climate change will not be cheap. Every cleanup comes with a cost. Harper’s approach of waiting for all countries to be able to pay is naive. It will just delay the process. If rich and poor houses on a street were on fire, would Harper wait until everyone paid the same taxes before calling the fire brigade?

What a weak analogy!!!

For one thing, Harper isn’t ‘refusing to call the fire brigade’. He simply realizes that it’s pointless to fight a wildfire that’s engulfing a whole neighbourhood if the poorer houses refuse to have their gas turned off. No matter how hard you try to stop your own house from burning, the fire from your neighbour’s house is going to affect yours unless they stop it at the source.

Next they make this disingenuous comment:

Interestingly, Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, who opposed Kyoto, has just been defeated by Labour Leader Kevin Ruud, who has pledged to sign the accord. From both a policy and a political perspective, Harper would be wise to become a more ardent opponent of climate change.

Well, Dr. John Ray from Brisbane thinks Rudd’s stance is just so much hot air:

…And the resolve of Prime-minister-elect Kevin Rudd to sign the Kyoto treaty is a good example of such tokenism. Australia’s emissions of carbon dioxide are already in line with what most of Europe has achieved so the signing will make little difference.

It should also be noted that Rudd will have to get the treaty through the Senate and, in a quirk of Australian politics, he is unlikely to be able to do that until July, 2008. Senate membership does not change until then and the present Senate is conservative-dominated. So Rudd’s talk of “immediate” action is just the usual political flim-flam.

By contrast, the National Post has quite a different take on things than the Record - Standing tall in Uganda:

At the Commonwealth meeting in Uganda, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi professed himself “disappointed” with Mr. Harper’s stand. No wonder. Under the original draft, nations such as Malaysia would have been subject to no emission limits unless they were also recipients of large cash payments.

Putting aside this attempted cash grab, our more fundamental objection to Kyoto, and any plan that requires large-scale cuts in greenhouse gasses, is that it would hobble our economy — especially our already-struggling manufacturing sector. Mr. Dion may not admit it, but the drastic cuts he seeks would essentially kill whole industries — including, most likely, Ontario’s auto industry. In recent months, Mr. Harper has been accused of ignoring the financial needs of the Greater Toronto Area by snubbing its demands for more federal cash. Ironically, his rejection of the logic of Kyoto has, in one fell swoop, done more to help the region than any of the bailout schemes proposed by Mayor David Miller.

Exactly. With the auto manufacturing sector already on the skids and begging for help, signing Kyoto would only worsen an already troubled Ontario economy. People are losing their jobs. They have to eat and be housed.

And where does that money come from? Taxes.

Are you willing to pay the price?

Funny how a headline pertaining to the same story can be torqued in so many different ways.

Anyway, The Wudrick Blog contains an excellent analysis. Just don’t drink yellow beverages and read at the same time.

This, of course, was predictable - Dion condemns PM’s climate change stance.

Hunter - Media uses Lethal Weapon!

Interesting comments at the end of this CTV report. (H/T Trusty Tory).

I guess I’ll throw my two cents worth in here about Al Gore winning the Nobel peace prize (Terence Corcoran reams the decision in today’s Post - A coup for junk science).

In spite of the recent British High Court judgment labelling “Inconvenient Truth” as a ‘political’ film, some people think that the prize somehow legitimizes Gore’s efforts, and that indeed he should now seriously consider challenging Hillary Clinton.

I agree. He should go for it. This award has proven that he has what it takes - the ability to deceive, bend the truth and manipulate the masses. All great assets in the game of politics.

Now I’ve seen it all.

I used to laugh at people who point to climate change as the cause for any weather event at all. However, now it seems that global warming is also responsible for excess copulation among some animals; especially felines.

According to the National Post, cats like it hot:

“Cats are now copulating in February, which is supposed to be a really cold month,” Mr. Oliver said.

“But animals are getting out because it’s relatively warm. Their internal signals seem to be telling them that it is time to mate because the warm weather’s coming, and so we’re seeing an earlier litter.”

Apparently this is now causing an explosion in the cat population.

I have to ask a couple of questions here - Just how are those cats “getting out”? Do they open the door and sneak out when Master is having a snooze?

And why haven’t the owners thought of ‘fixing’ the problem in a permanent fashion.

The article then goes on to cite other issues such as an increase in seal population due to the heat forcing female seals to search further afield for water, and straight into temptation.

But I thought seals were endangered? Didn’t Paul McCartney and his ex try to tell us that? And what’s wrong with more seals anyway?

Finally, we are told that there is a dearth of good quality prostitutes in Bulgaria because all the ‘elite’ ones have fled to the ski hills to help relieve the frustration of skiers who can’t find any snow - all due to global warming.

You see what’s happening here? We can now abdicate any responsibility for our actions and instead blame it on climate change.

This gun, officer? Well global warming is making me crazy, and I needed it to be able to get that Slushie. I couldn’t work because of the heat. So I have no money, but it’s not my fault… I can’t sleep at night because of the heat. And they should have put some swimming pools in my neighbourhood anyway. I am a Global Warming victim!

This is your permanent “Get out of jail free” card.

L. Ian MacDonald gives us a science lesson.

And I’m still having trouble figuring out this double negative:

Climate change? Something is going on. There hasn’t been an evening in the last two weeks when it hasn’t been cool enough to start the fireplace - in July. In two decades of summers here, this has never happened before.

Thanks, Ian. I can skip today’s brain teaser. (That should set up Red Tory quite nicely for a snarky comment.)

Related: Good chance Mayor Andy Wells isn’t a member of the Gore-Suzuki fan club.