Zach LarkinsKYOTO XV (THE END)
David Suzuki
Dr. Suzuki used to be a respected scientist. It seems he's gotten wrapped up in his own fame of late and criss-crosses the country trying to spread his global warming warning to us, the great unwashed. He wrote in a recent column entitled "An Inconvenient Truth", "As I cross the country I keep coming up against two myths. These myths aren't perpetuated by ordinary Canadians, but by pundits and politicians. It's when I talk to real Canadians that I realize how out-of-touch these commentators really are." He seems to miss the fact that he himself is a commentator and pundit. How else to explain his storming off a recent radio show interview when asked questions he either didn't want to answer or wanted to ignore? Why does he ignore such basic facts as:
- Barely half of the countries expected to sign Kyoto did so. - Kyoto would have expired if the Russians hadn't signed it, and they did because Europe threatened to nix their application to the World Trade Organization if they balked. - Very few countries have met their targets and most don't intend to, especially if it affects the economy or costs jobs. - India and China were exempt, yet China is producing more than 50% of the carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. China is going to build up to 500 coal-burning plants in the next 10 years. - The rest of the world has abandoned Kyoto while we continue to pursue it with legislation. - The commitments are not enforceable by anyone, but if legislation is passed binding Ottawa to this accord, then environmental activists here and abroad can sue Canadian taxpayers for non- compliance and Canada's industries out of existence.
Suzuki says, "As former Chief Economist with the World Bank, Sir Nicholas Stern, recently said at a news conference with me - doing so is actually a sound economic investment in the future. The costs of moving to a low-carbon economy are very low compared to dealing with a world of unchecked global warming." A sound economic investment that would cost $100 billion over four years just for Canada to meet its Kyoto targets under a plan by Friends of the Earth and Corporate Knights magazine. Although the cost sounds staggering, it amounts to only $20 a week for the typical family, says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth. Small change until you realize that it amounts to $1040 per year per family just for Canada. Would you like to spend that kind of money knowing places like India, China and Russia are doing nothing to help the problem? Toby Heaps, editor of Corporate Knights, says, "It's not free but it's not something that will stop the economy or break the bank." Not unless you consider losing 450,000 jobs as nothing that will stop the economy. Suzuki writes, "This leads me to myth number two: the notion that it's impossible to meet Kyoto. I'm not sure how this one started - likely through an industrial lobby group - but media pundits love it and repeat it unquestioningly." Well, his Liberal buddies had 13 years to make it work and they couldn't come up with anything, other than destroying the economy. He goes on to say, "To start, we can go a long way to meeting our targets through reductions within our own country - most of which will pay for themselves through increased efficiency over a few years anyway. As for the remainder, we can purchase international carbon credits through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)." I wish someone could explain to me how the mere transfer of dollars from one polluting nation to a non-polluting nation will cut greenhouse gasses. If, like India, China or Russia, I have a ton of money, I can squander it on carbon credits gained by say the USA or Canada and go along merrily spewing CO2 into the air totally carefree. I won't have to invest in any technology to make the world cleaner. The States and Canada are doing that for me. Suzuki loses more credibility with his 40 stop bus tour across Canada. He has decided to drive a diesel bus across Canada (that holds 30 people, but Suzuki's entourage has only 8, including the driver), instead of using greener options that were available to him and by doing that has shown that he chose comfort and convenience over the environment. A Sun Media on-line poll showed 71% of voters (out of 2,552) agreed Suzuki was being hypocritical. His supporters say Suzuki has done so much good for the environment that we should cut him some slack when it comes to his diesel bus. Other than mouthing off about it, just what has he actually done to improve the environment? You can't tell people they have to make sacrifices like leaving their car at home more often and cycling, walking or taking transit to work, when you're not willing to make those sacrifices yourself. Suzuki is a hard-nosed political scrapper who does quite a bit of mudslinging and if he's going to dole it out, he should be able to take it, too. For example, Suzuki runs around the country trying to discredit qualified, award-winning scientists who teach and do research at Canadian universities in the field of climate change. Suzuki tries to vilify scientists who have a different view than he does on global warming and what's causing it, saying they're just supported by oil companies when, in fact, many of them are not. When Suzuki criticizes other scientists for allegedly being funded by oil companies, and he himself receives funding from a natural gas distributor, it's more than a bit hypocritical.
Al Gore
Al Gore, the enviro crusader who warms the cockles of all our hearts, will host "Live Earth" concerts in seven cities around the world to raise awareness of global warming. Beginning July 7. Because right now, it is just too cold. Some 100 top groups have already pledged to perform, among them Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Keane, Snow Patrol, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran and Kelly Clarkson. Do they all plan to play acoustical instruments on candle-lit stages? The backstage of a rock concert is crisscrossed with miles and miles of cables, each as big around as a child's forearm. And they're not carrying steam from geothermal sources or current generated by scores of volunteers pedalling stationary cycles hooked up to converters. Add to that the lights, speakers and massive audio panels that have a ravenous appetite for electricity. Then there are all the television cameras, satellite uplinks and broadcast control rooms and keeping them going will require fleets of semi-trailers idling to power the generators. And let's face it, rock stars don't fly coach class. They will arrive in the concert cities in squadrons of private jets, to be picked up at the airports by fleets of massive stretch SUV limos whose gasoline consumption is measured not in kilometres per litre, but in litres per kilometre. They have to eat, too and the energy to sustain the caterers' mobile kitchens and refrigerators (our enviro- friendly crooners and warblers would throw the bottle across the dressing room in disgust if served warm mineral water), and to keep the celebrities' food warm in the banquet tents and steam the milk for their lattes would power hundreds of homes for a year. But this is okay with Gore. Organizers have promised to use as much power as possible from renewable sources, although they have not explained how they will be able to separate out only the "green" energy coming through the transmission lines supplying their sites. They also plan to buy carbon credits to cover off all the truck, limo and jet transportation their crews and stars will use. This will perhaps come from a company called Generation Investment Management. Who owns this company? Al Gore no less. He has been paying into it for just two months to make it look like he's offsetting the high cost of electricity he uses at his Tennessee mansion. Not only does he own the company, he is also the only client of that company. No one else can pay for their carbon usage through the company. Just him! So every time he pays his thousands for gas and electricity in his homes, he pays himself, too. Every time he jet sets in private planes instead of flying coach on a regular airline, he pays himself some more. Every time he writes a cheque for gasoline or limo service, he writes another one for himself. But that shouldn't cause any big problems. If all the bands give him a kickback on their fees, he can buy the credits for them and give himself a bigger cheque. He founded it and is its Chairman. Any questions about his integrity? Not from NDP Leader Jack Layton who invited Gore to speak on climate change in Ottawa in the House of Commons. "I don't mind admitting it, I've been a Gore fan for a long, long time," he said. Of course, we have to consider the source here and Layton himself is just a bit more than wacko.
Whether rocking on stage, travelling the country or propagandizing to a bunch of school children, it is easier to preach green, than to be green. Everyone owes it to themselves to listen carefully to both sides of the debate that Gore and Suzuki don't want to have and make an intelligent, informed opinion.
Sources: Lorne Gunter Conserve As I Say The National Post Dennis Bueckert Cost Of Kyoto Canadian Press Tom Brodbeck Suck It Up Suzuki The Winnipeg Sun Diane Francis Truth About Climate The Financial Post Editorial Starstruck Layton Canadian Press David Suzuki Inconvenient Truth CanWest News S L Bradish Gore's Footprint The Political Brief (Orble)
Dr. Suzuki used to be a respected scientist. It seems he's gotten wrapped up in his own fame of late and criss-crosses the country trying to spread his global warming warning to us, the great unwashed. He wrote in a recent column entitled "An Inconvenient Truth", "As I cross the country I keep coming up against two myths. These myths aren't perpetuated by ordinary Canadians, but by pundits and politicians. It's when I talk to real Canadians that I realize how out-of-touch these commentators really are." He seems to miss the fact that he himself is a commentator and pundit. How else to explain his storming off a recent radio show interview when asked questions he either didn't want to answer or wanted to ignore? Why does he ignore such basic facts as:
Al Gore
Al Gore, the enviro crusader who warms the cockles of all our hearts, will host "Live Earth" concerts in seven cities around the world to raise awareness of global warming. Beginning July 7. Because right now, it is just too cold. Some 100 top groups have already pledged to perform, among them Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Keane, Snow Patrol, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran and Kelly Clarkson. Do they all plan to play acoustical instruments on candle-lit stages? The backstage of a rock concert is crisscrossed with miles and miles of cables, each as big around as a child's forearm. And they're not carrying steam from geothermal sources or current generated by scores of volunteers pedalling stationary cycles hooked up to converters. Add to that the lights, speakers and massive audio panels that have a ravenous appetite for electricity. Then there are all the television cameras, satellite uplinks and broadcast control rooms and keeping them going will require fleets of semi-trailers idling to power the generators. And let's face it, rock stars don't fly coach class. They will arrive in the concert cities in squadrons of private jets, to be picked up at the airports by fleets of massive stretch SUV limos whose gasoline consumption is measured not in kilometres per litre, but in litres per kilometre. They have to eat, too and the energy to sustain the caterers' mobile kitchens and refrigerators (our enviro- friendly crooners and warblers would throw the bottle across the dressing room in disgust if served warm mineral water), and to keep the celebrities' food warm in the banquet tents and steam the milk for their lattes would power hundreds of homes for a year. But this is okay with Gore. Organizers have promised to use as much power as possible from renewable sources, although they have not explained how they will be able to separate out only the "green" energy coming through the transmission lines supplying their sites. They also plan to buy carbon credits to cover off all the truck, limo and jet transportation their crews and stars will use. This will perhaps come from a company called Generation Investment Management. Who owns this company? Al Gore no less. He has been paying into it for just two months to make it look like he's offsetting the high cost of electricity he uses at his Tennessee mansion. Not only does he own the company, he is also the only client of that company. No one else can pay for their carbon usage through the company. Just him! So every time he pays his thousands for gas and electricity in his homes, he pays himself, too. Every time he jet sets in private planes instead of flying coach on a regular airline, he pays himself some more. Every time he writes a cheque for gasoline or limo service, he writes another one for himself. But that shouldn't cause any big problems. If all the bands give him a kickback on their fees, he can buy the credits for them and give himself a bigger cheque. He founded it and is its Chairman. Any questions about his integrity? Not from NDP Leader Jack Layton who invited Gore to speak on climate change in Ottawa in the House of Commons. "I don't mind admitting it, I've been a Gore fan for a long, long time," he said. Of course, we have to consider the source here and Layton himself is just a bit more than wacko.
Whether rocking on stage, travelling the country or propagandizing to a bunch of school children, it is easier to preach green, than to be green. Everyone owes it to themselves to listen carefully to both sides of the debate that Gore and Suzuki don't want to have and make an intelligent, informed opinion.
Sources: Lorne Gunter Conserve As I Say The National Post Dennis Bueckert Cost Of Kyoto Canadian Press Tom Brodbeck Suck It Up Suzuki The Winnipeg Sun Diane Francis Truth About Climate The Financial Post Editorial Starstruck Layton Canadian Press David Suzuki Inconvenient Truth CanWest News S L Bradish Gore's Footprint The Political Brief (Orble)
