Blue Like You

Jack has an interesting poll going on at Jack’s Newswatch - Should Al Gore be sued by companies he is harming with his crusade?

This ties in with his post based on an article from Spiegel Online Killing Jobs to Save the Climate , which explains how the German carbon trading market is causing many industries to threaten to pack up and leave. And costs are only going to go up.

As one of Jack’s readers (L.G.) remarked, it’s like a spigot that once installed, can be opened up at a faster and faster rate. The analogy is quite worth reading.

Anyway, please read Jack’s post and related links and then check out his poll.

Oh yeah, and about those melting ice caps, Mr. Gore…

One other interesting tidbit here - What’s the point of a cure if the patient may not be sick? by Australia’s William Kininmonth:

…It is disingenuous to claim that carbon dioxide, an essential component of plant photosynthesis and necessary for life, is a pollutant….

…The public response seems to be almost a death wish; a lemming-like rush to reduce national carbon dioxide emissions at the expense of industries prospering on the basis of our national comparative advantage through fossil fuel resources…

That guy talks my language!

The Star is reporting that the Liberals have a new fund-raising project with a catchy name: The Victory Fund.

Be sure to donate! These guys are going to need all the help they can get.

Let’s face it - The only way to environmental salvation is through the Liberal party, right? At least that’s what they’re telling us.

Now you can help Stephane Dion "save our country from the things we don’t want, like (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper, (Environment Minister) John Baird and (government House leader) Peter Van Loan…"

BTW, The Victory Fund website is now up and ready to accept your donations. A paypal option is also in the works.

Even as little as $5.00 a month will be gratefully accepted.

Please do it for the planet and for democracy. Thank you!

(H/T Sandy )

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Update: Sandy tells us a bit more about the genius behind The Victory Fund.

And don’t forget to check out Paul’s blog at www.TheGarth.ca.

National Newswatch is featuring an update from the Star - Firm to sue Liberals over "Green" brand.

As Don Martin so eloquently notes , Stephane Dion assisted the Conservatives in passing many substantive bills, and was also instrumental in helping this minority government attain the distinction of "having just beaten the record to become the longest minority reign since the election of 1921."

Dion’s amazing ability to decide when Canadians would not want an election has generated the following Harper accomplishments:

…Having backed away from repeated government invitations to trigger an election –the Throne Speech, budget, Afghan mission extension, crime bills, immigration amendments and even footdragging by the Senate– the Liberals have opted to spend the summer campaigning for a carbon tax instead of their own mandate.

In doing so, they’ve surrendered the best scenario for gaining ground to hopes that an economic downturn in the fall will backlash against the government, a rather morbid plan…

And if you want more highlights, check out Sandy’s list.

However, now that the pressure of having to decide whether or not to bring down the government is safely over for at least the summer, the Wizard of Ozttawa seems to have finally granted Stephane a pair. (Sorry, Garth. Was that offensive?)

Cocky Dion is now challenging Stephen Harper to a televised debate.

Now this is the kind of thing one usually does during an election campaign. However, since Stephane doesn’t seem to want Canadians apparently don’t want an election during any season, this seems rather strange. Who would watch? Who would care?

If Canadians don’t want an election, why would they waste their time indoors watching a debate?

Maybe the Wizard should have concentrated on refining Stephane’s brain instead. He seems to lack a certain je ne sais quoi. Of course in the original story, the Lion and the Straw Man learned that they already had what they were seeking all along.

What’s that old expression? (Sorry, Garth.)

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Somewhat Related Update: Star - Fixing the world by the numbers.

Greg Weston : Dion goes for whiz and shift - Sun. (Honestly, I didn’t steal your idea, Mr. Weston!)

Lorrie Goldstein: It’s about votes, not Mother Earth - Sun.

Randall Denley - Carbon caps vs. intensity targets: discuss. (Ottawa Citizen)

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Monday Update: Matt from ASTTR has a shifty new widget for you.

And from comments - The Librano$ are BAAaack!

Nik Nanos - Dions’ risky move:

Polling shows that Canadians are concerned about the environment but that when a price tag is attached, voters become more skittish.

ChuckerCanuk: The Dion Debating Society.

Stelmach slams Dion’s green plan - Canoe.

Sandy and Matt have uncovered a copyright issue with the Green Shift! Heading National Newswatch at the moment!! Also at Jack’s Newswatch. Well done!

I can’t wait for Stephane Dion to lay out his carbon tax plan in detail.

If the intent really is to reward good behaviour and penalize the bad, I wonder how Canadians in the more northern climes plan to change their nasty practice of heating their homes?

What is the alternative? As the cost of gas skyrockets, we can plan to park the car and walk everywhere. That is a choice.

But in northern Canada, how can we do without heat?

And will airlines be exempt from the carbon tax?

Just askin’.

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Update: Jeffrey Simpson - Carbon tax: the right policy, the wrong time.

And via Calgary Grit - Mr. Dion promises a tax that will hurt without causing pain.

Warren seems rather skeptical about the whole thing…

Somewhere in all this concern about the "environment" and the harmful effects of carbon on dear Mother Earth, we forgot about the killer that is smog.

The Globe’s Murray Campbell updates us this morning on the Ontario Medical Association’s continuing concerns about smog:

…The Ontario Medical Association said smog is a contributing factor in nearly 9,500 premature deaths each year in Ontario, and it urged people to take proper precautions when high temperatures create a toxic chemical stew of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and ozone…

Even though the McGuinty Liberals promised to do better way back in 2003, the facts suggest otherwise:

…Last year, for example, the Environment Ministry issued 13 smog advisories covering 39 days, compared with seven advisories and 19 days in the summer of 2003 under the Tories…

Campbell does note, however that:

…The situation is likely more dire than we knew. In 2003, the OMA projected 1,900 premature deaths because its model dealt only with acute cases such as cardiac arrest. It now includes deaths linked to chronic illnesses as well, which is why the estimated toll has risen..

The plan to shut down all coal plants by 2014 leaves too many years in between of coughing and wheezing. It’s a long enough winter, but when we are forced to stay inside in the summer as well, running the A/C to keep out the dirty air, one wonders how this could help possibly help the health care budget and the power grid?

Wouldn’t it be better to install those scrubbers in the interim and rev up the nuclear power production plans?

As Conservative critic John Yakabuski notes, "We don’t hear much as we used to about smog from these operations … "Smog has become the forgotten child of this government."

Now this is an issue which could persuade me to become a passionate environmentalist. Smog is killing us and it is ruining the enjoyment of our brief summer here in Canada. This is happening right here, right now. To me it is much more of an immediate threat than global warming.

Let’s bring that forgotten child back to the Ontario Government’s table of priorities.

Celine , that is.

Can’t you just hear her singing, "But my shower must go on" …

Does anyone understand how this new cyber-trash tax is supposed to work? Is that a tax on porn?

O.k. Just kidding. But seriously…

Is it in addition to or instead of the $10 fee per item that we now have to pay for the privilege of hauling e-waste to the designated recycling location? Any clarification is welcome.

And does anyone seriously think that this new tax won’t trickle down to the consumer?

Another item for Sandy’s list of Harper accomplishments - The Harper Government will be introducing tougher laws for products bearing the label "Product of Canada" labelling. And if the opposition gets on board, then it will be their accomplishment as well. (CTV - Harper Announces Changes to Canadian Food Labels .)

Ever since I saw CBC’s Marketplace episode, "Product of Canada, eh?" , I’ve been very skeptical of buying any processed food labeled "Product of Canada". Watch the clip and you’ll see why.

Now, instead of being able to say that their product is a ‘Product of Canada’ if "51 per cent of production costs were incurred here and the final transformation of the product was in Canada", manufacturers will have to be more honest and accountable:

…Under the new rules, a "product of Canada" label will mean that virtually all of the contents are Canadian in origin.

Harper said the new labels would reflect whether some of the ingredients in a Canadian-made product come from another country.

This is excellent news for the Canadian consumer, good news for the environment and great news for the Canadian food industry.

Read the comments at the end of the CTV article. This is a winning policy and most people are saying that it’s about time!

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Update : And this just isn’t fair…

Stephane Dion seems to be basing his economic policy on the so-called irrefutable science of man-made climate change. While I totally agree with his concerns about pollution and the inherent need to clean up the environment for the health and safety of Canadians, I have a difficult time buying this line:

…Finally, we need to play a bigger role in the international efforts to solve the climate-change crisis. We need to participate in the setting of international goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and international rules to put a price on the cost of inaction. We cannot ignore the science of climate change simply because we don’t like what it forecasts . We need to work together to bring together the environment, the economy and social justice so we can lead the way toward a sustainable future…

Well, there are many scientific forecasts which seem to challenge Monsieur Dion’s unwavering belief system on climate change. Just today we have relevant editorials by Lorrie Goldstein and David Warren , and a piece here questioning NASA’s model.

So the fact is that the science is not clear. There are still many questions and obviously many mitigating factors that can affect trends and changes in the temperature of the earth. And as Fred points out, very little MSM coverage is given to events that appear to contradict the prevalent climate- change theories. One would almost suspect that it is a conspiracy of some kind. But hopefully the light of healthy skepticism will start to peek through the cracks of the cover-up.

So if Stephane Dion wants to follow Australia’s example and try to take advantage of the gullible, that’s his choice.

But don’t pretend that it is such a noble cause, when in fact it’s just an excuse for another burgeoning, money-sucking bureaucracy that will have the net effect of driving up the costs of goods that Canadians wish to purchase - including gas, and every commodity that relies on gas for transportation.

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Update: CBC’s At Issue addressed the issue of gas prices and politics this week.

Also worth watching is Rex Murphy’s take on ‘The End of the Ethanol Dream’ .

I can’t believe I just linked to CBC twice in one post!

The Maple Three - New Liberal Slogan: "Heating bills from hell are on the way. "  (One of my favourite Liblogs)

Have you seen that commercial yet from a well-known big-box store where the woman screws in a CFL bulb, and the box in which it was packaged suggests that the earth might have a crush on her because she is so eco-friendly? She blushes and stammers in return. (Never mind that it’s ‘Mother Earth’ that she’s flirting with… Yeah we won’t go there.)

This is becoming an increasingly common media and activist ploy - ascribing human attributes to inanimate objects or non-human life forms in order to garner public sympathy and increase activist support. I assume the theory is that if we can identify with something in human terms, then we will be more inclined to accept the message.

And so we to try to “Save the planet” instead of trying to save the people on the planet. Instead of trying to be good stewards of the earth so that we can continue to sustain ourselves here, the focus is on getting rid of the human filth that degrades the earth. Barbara Kay alluded to this mindset in a recent column, Hug the Earth, kill the humans:

…Watson is the symbol of a movement that originated in a desire to improve the planet’s physical condition, but transmogrified into the zero-sum dogma of eco-spirituality, in which the object of worship is the environment, and the messianic goal its return to a pre-civilization Edenic state. In this scenario, Earth is perennial victim, mankind eternal villain, the consumption of natural resources original sin. No emotionally manipulative appeal is beyond the pale for this pagan religion’s demagogues, even the shameful appropriation of racist tropes. Alpha eco-spiritualist novelist Alice Walker claims, “the Earth is the nigger of the world…”

In today’s Sun, Michael Coren also sees this as a worrisome trend:

… Here lies the point. Life matters much, much more than the planet, which is merely a place on which humans live. We need to care for Earth not because of it, but because of us. Pure self-interest. If humanity did not exist, to hell with the planet. It’s a means to an end. We’re the end; Earth the means.

Problem is, fashionable thinking has reversed the equation. The planet is to be saved because it is precious in itself and we, dangerous intruders, are the problem. Earth is to be revered, loved and even worshipped. Like some perverse replacement theology, Mother Earth takes on the role of real mothers and fathers….

And even more perverse is the notion that animals are more valuable than human beings. Bishop Fred Henry notes:

…As PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk has said, “When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and fights the knife.”

Nevertheless, it turns out that some animals are more equal than others. One would expect that consistency would demand the condemnation of poisoning babies in the womb with a saline solution or cutting them up with surgical tools but Newkirk and Singer don’t believe that human beings have the right to life…

I suppose the most frightening aspect of all of this is the mass brain-washing done in our public school system:

Dear Mother Earth,

What is our earth? I know it is the animals. What we can do? We can pick up the garbag and we can take care of the animals. Why is it important? to love you? I love you Mother Earth. If we don’t love you everything wil go away.

Perhaps the school system should focus more on spelling than scaring kids into submission.