John Horgan is involved in a political game that could be called, “Look at This, Not at That!” No one can argue with the need for energy consumers to use non-destructive, clean renewable electricity in place of fossil fuels. Encouragement of that shift is vital to human survival. But another part of the Horgan plan is to increase use of fossil fuels while pretending there are no harmful emissions of carbon caused by burning coal exported from BC ports or by liquefaction, transportation, regasification, and consumption of natural gas in other jurisdictions.
This abominable scam of a climate election
Concern is skin deep: all of the parties climate platform policies are grossly insufficient, the climate villains are still in firm control, and any informed outsider would see a nation in deep climate denial…
What we can’t see will hurt us
Fossil fuel producers — and governments captured by the industry — know full well that methane is a serious contributor to climate change. Invisible and odorless, the super powerful greenhouse gas has greater — variously estimated from 25x to 84x — global warming potential than carbon dioxide in the 20 years following release. Scientists believe methane is responsible for about a quarter of the increase in global temperatures caused by humans…
Canadian leaders ignore deadly risks
The science is clear. We must act today to address climate change. Goals for reduced emissions in 2030, 2040 or 2050 are simply inadequate. Yet politicians sitting on both sides of Canada’s parliament — along with the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan — are determined to keep increasing production of fossil fuels. They say production must increase today so that we can afford reductions in the distant future.
2030 is the new 2050
British Columbia is not just North America’s largest coal shipper, it plans to be a major LNG exporter. Destructive public policies demonstrate the hold on Canadian politicians enjoyed by private vested interests and lobbyists. Otherwise intelligent people have turned into fools who pretend climate change can be ignored or dealt with by comforting words as long as money can be made from fossil fuels.
Truth in labeling?
It is interesting that Jonathan Wilkinson’s federal department is called the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and George Heyman’s BC job is Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. Neither is called the Ministry of Climate Action or Ministry of Climate Change Solutions…
It was what it was; it is what it is
When John Horgan’s government refuses to deal appropriately with climate change in 2021, it is because they made cold-blooded decisions based on the business of politics. If people of BC are harmed, if the Earth is harmed, they don’t care. They have joyfully experienced the smell of money, and the smell of power.
Drill, baby, drill = Burn, baby, burn
News media in North America has been paying considerable attention to the state’s wildfires, particularly the one known as Dixie that has consumed over 700,000 acres and is still only 35% contained. But there is a jurisdiction that has had even more total land burned than California.
BC’s GHG emissions worse than we’ve been told
Governments of Canada and three western provinces are committed to increasing fossil fuel production, despite science that says we must begin to reduce GHG emissions immediately. Canada’s Industrial and political leaders have gone well beyond ignoring the precautionary principle. They are now following a considered path to disaster. Caring nothing about the future, they care instead about reaping financial rewards today.
BC Warming Exceeds 1.5 C
The IPCC Report issued this week warns of dire conditions due to global warming. These conditions are already present in BC…
Hypocrisy reaching new heights
A day after the UN panel of climate experts reported global warming is dangerously close to spiralling out of control, British Columbia Premier Horgan repeated a bullshit claim that his government is on the path to climate justice, ensuring a secure future not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren.
Bring out the dead…
Ignoring climate change in the short term has benefits both to individuals and to organizations. Individuals do not have to make changes in the cars they drive, the products they buy, or the homes they live in if they ignore the influence their carbon footprint has on the world…
321 years into a 246 year cycle
Canada’s federal government gave $4.5 billion to Kinder Morgan for Trans Mountain after the owners had difficulty financing expansion of the pipeline. By 2020, the new construction budget had soared to $12.6 billion. But according to a 2021 management report, “As of March 31, 2021, construction is approximately 25% complete, with $7.1 billion in capital spending incurred since the inception of the project.” So 56% of the budget had been spent but the project was only 25% complete. That signals a total cost to taxpayers in excess of $20 billion. Compounding that massive loss will be the ongoing ecological disaster of increased tar sands production and the elevated risk to Vancouver and North Shore communities, the inner harbour and coastal waters.
BC NDP, guardians of the environment… the corporate environment
The origin story of Stand.earth—previously ForestEthics, successor to Clayoquot Rainforest Coalition—illustrates how little has changed in recent decades. NGOs and concerned citizens are ever the underdogs when competing with governments and wealthy corporations in the fight to protect ancient forests.
Climate action pretence
Governments impose carbon taxes ostensibly to deal with climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But effectiveness is limited since the taxes are not applied broadly or at levels sufficient to reduce or compel reduction in fossil fuel production and consumption…
Science deniers at the helm
British Columbia produces “the world’s cleanest natural gas.” In the same 2019 press release, Justin Trudeau echoed that statement. The fiction of BC producing clean fossil fuel originated with Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals. The claim was as honest as the one about LNG rewarding the province with one trillion dollars in economic activity and depositing one hundred billion dollars into a “BC Prosperity fund.”
Oversell, under-deliver
On climate change, Canadian politicians always oversell promises and underdeliver results. Canadians should tell them that is not good enough.
BC Government “deni-osaurs”
Canada’s federal government and its three western provinces are de facto climate change deniers. National Observer labelled this type denio-osaurs. All are committed to promoting increased production and export of fossil fuels. But, in some respects, British Columbia is worst of all.
Expansion of natural gas infrastructure and usage is incompatible…
Science says the world must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) this decade. Canadian politicians issue press releases promising that future emissions will diminish and we’ll reach net-zero by 2050. Of course, promises are easy to make and goals hard to achieve when meaningful actions are left to future leaders.
Vague promises and half measures…
Leaders who worry about the state of the world in future years want actions to address climate change taken today. Leaders who worry about the state of the economy today want actions to address climate change taken in future years. In Canada, the former type are rare and the latter commonplace…
Recent Comments