In the face of another diplomatic disappointment in Cancun's climate change talks, we have just left the hottest year on record. While experts again try to ring alarm bells, our media still gives voice to the pseudo-intellectual pursuit of climate skepticism. Perhaps while Rome burned, some bravely questioned the finer qualities of fire. Perhaps on Easter Island, as the last trees fell, some elders courageously debated the necessity of wood. These days, Margaret Wente and Rex Murphy sing in tune with the likes of Glenn Beck, sincerely believing their skepticism to be a form of intellectual virtue. It is not.
CO2 emissions
May 14, 2012 |
The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development provides further evidence the federal government is failing to protect the environment and not meeting its climate change commitments.
Fossil fuels and the increasing carbon peril
"Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth." - Albert Schweitzer
Increasing C02 production worldwide reveals that the prime aim of government should be Earth health rather than economic growth. Extinction of our species hovers threateningly just beyond the edge of human recklessness.
Unfortunately, the penchant for increasingly complex forms of development is displayed by our government's focus: on continued tar sands development, on continent-spanning pipelines to disperse its excessively crude product, and on military expenditures that fly in the face of the need for peace on Earth. The planet cannot afford worldwide hostility stimulated by armament production interests.
November 30, 2011 |
If Canada is serious about mitigating the effects of climate change, it needs to not only reduce domestic consumption of fossil fuels, but also to stop peddling fossil fuels in export markets.