GreenDude

This was sent to me by my good friend Vanessa. I’m sure that you’ll see this many times across many blogs over the next couple of days, but I think it’s worthwhile, so you’re going to see it here too.

Dear friends,

Time is running out to prevent catastrophic global warming, and a historic UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the talks! On Saturday, experts gave Canada the global “fossil” award for the worst country in the world on climate change.

Enough is enough. Prime Minister Harper’s short-sighted and big oil-driven policy on climate change has become an attack on who we are. We’re supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.

There’s still a few days left to save Canada and the climate, but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali. Click below to sign the petition and we’ll advertize the number of signatures we get in an ad campaign across Canada this week. Our goal is to get 100,000 people to sign in the next 3 days — one of the largest petitions in Canadian history. Click below and then forward this email to all your friends and family right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/1.php

Why is Harper doing this? The scientific debate is over, climate change is real and man-made. Studies show us that the costs of addressing climate change are FAR less than the cost of doing nothing. And experts agree that the ONLY way to get poorer countries to act on climate change is for richer countries to act first. Yesterday, Canada’s mild-mannered and most respected environmental scientist, David Suzuki, slammed our government’s spin on climate change as “humiliating” and “ludicrous”.

The truth is, Harper is following the line of his close ally US President Bush. They’re both pursuing the short-term profits of a few large oil corporations, and don’t care whether this wreaks destruction on the world as a result. We can’t let our government get away with this. A massive outcry this week could at least soften the Canadian position at Bali, so that we get out of the world’s way. Click below to sign up and then forward this email on!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/1.php

The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue — we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he reverse course. Sign up now and forward this email to everyone you know – we’ve got just 3 days to hit 100,000 signatures!

Thanks so much for pitching in, let’s pull out all the stops on this one,

With much respect and hope,

Ricken Patel,
Avaaz.org

PS – Here are links to some more info on this:

David Suzuki (the Nature of Things) calls the government’s spin on climate change “humiliating” and “ludicrous”
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/283829

The former editor-in-chief of CBC news discusses the damage done by Canada’s climate policy to our international reputation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_burman/2007/12/canada_flounders_on_issue_of_c.html

The Fossil of the Day Award site:
http://www.avaaz.org/fossils

It turns out that Canada’s “New” government is following its Liberal predecessors’ failures on the environment file in yet another way. The Toronto Star reports today:

The federal environment commissioner says Ottawa has been promising since 1992 to put in place a sustainable development strategy to clean up the actions of its departments but has little to show for it 15 years later.

“It’s one of the many tools that the government introduced … to manage environmental sustainable development well,” commissioner Ron Thompson said.

“It’s a matter of great concern to us that that tool simply is not working.”

Auditor-General Sheila Fraser added that the government’s continued neglect of this plan to factor the environment into departments’ decision-making process is a “major disappointment.”

The goals that have been laid out by the government provide little in the way of expectations for departments to help clean up the air and water, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and make more intelligent use of natural resources.

For the record, that’s a failure to act that extends through 1 Progressive Conservative majority, 3 Liberal majority, 1 Liberal minority and 1 Conservative minority governments. In total 9 Environment Ministers have failed to make a sustainable development strategy work.

The article goes on to say:

Government departments have been producing sustainable development strategies every three years since 1997 and the environment commissioner has written 10 reports so far on the substandard progress that has been made.

But despite consistent promises to take “appropriate action,” little improvement has occurred.

And what is Environment Canada’s response to the report? They promise to “improve the government’s approach” by October 2008. Or, put another way, they promise to do… nothing.

Clearly nothing will change for the better with PMSH and John Baird at the helm, and by October 2008 one of 3 things will have happened.

1. A new minority Conservative government will be in power. Status Quo, no change.
2. A new minority Liberal government will be in power. With M. Dion as PM the Environment should be more of a priority, but he is one of the past Environment Ministers who has already done nothing, no change.
3. Canadians loose all sensibility and elect a majority Conservative Government. Environment Canada is all but eliminated as it is folded into the portfolio of the Ministry of Energy, the Environment Commissioner’s office is disbanded and the sustainable development strategy is abandoned as another “bad Liberal idea” (forgetting, of course that it was PC Jean Charest who instituted the policy in the first place.)

We have got to make a serious change in the House of Commons soon if there is any hope for the environment. Let’s hope that M. Dion will finally allow his party to vote in the House again so that we can begin the process.