Do It. Start It Now
The matter has really come to the fore, it has snowballed, it has taken attention everywhere, front and centre, focused public attention to the point where it could no longer be handily ignored as an irrelevant nuisance in the larger order of the scale of important items the Government of Canada need narrow its grim attention upon. The new government, that is. Which is the Government of Canada by any other reckoning. For the time being, at least.
But, unfortunately, the time being is slipping away rather ominously for our new government. I find it personally sad. I'd very much like to give them the opportunity to continue showing us exactly what they can accomplish, having already seen much that falls into the category of 'well done'. The partisan deviltry of the opposition is opposed, though, to allowing the Conservatives the luxury of demonstrating to the electorate that they're the ones that'll get things done. Despite that they have, to a certain extent, thus far.
It's like this, if you really want to bring people on board, convince them that the issue of climate change and our worrying environmental degradation is being taken seriously, then you do serious things, unpalatable though they will be. And they will be unpleasant, and costly, and nervous-making, and in the short term give us scant-realized value for future gain, but sometimes that firmness of decision-making must be accomplished.
No one is interested in visiting economic disaster on themselves, and that's readily understandable. We like our comfortable lifestyles even while we're decrying our proclivity as wastrels of energy and all manner of unnecessary consumer goods that add to energy wastage. We are committed to keeping ourselves warm and cool in response to our environment. We enjoy living in a society and an economy that allows us to consume far beyond our actual needs.
In our free market system manufacturers, large corporations, energy producers have had free reign to show just how far they can go with the considerable assistance of advertising and public relations doing their part to remind us that we aren't quite there yet - there's plenty more 'stuff' to come. But really we're also becoming just a little nervous and guilty about our greed and how the fall-out of our way of living is impacting pretty directly on our most basic of needs; clean air, potable water, a geography secure from flooding and/or desertification.
This is long-term stuff, not instant-satisfaction stuff. Stabilization and reversal of climate change isn't just an urgent message, it's a scientifically-acknowledged necessity. So, environment minister John Baird, and Stephen Harper, our short-term prime minister, please reconsider your careful position, your unwillingness to really grit your teeth and insist that polluters have a very short window under laws you plan to enact.
Forget this carbon trading stuff for large polluters, it is too reminiscent of schoolyard kids playing with sport cards for advantage and a bigger pile. The guys that pollute have to be brought up short; if there aren't sufficient scientific advances currently available to cut back pollution, both they and we must invest in research and development on a very energetic short-term basis to ensure they're brought to reality.
The year 2010 is three years' distance. We've seen a whole lot of world-inimical events linked to global warming to persuade us that we've already wasted far too much time in hesitation, empty promises, prevarication. We've been through all that already. If recent storm-events and evidence of irreversible declines in arctic freeze-ups, along with the international scientific community's assurance that this is for real hasn't sufficiently persuaded you, then move over.
But we like you, we really do. We anticipate, on the basis of how your government has already performed in the space of a short year, that you can answer to this very real need, on behalf of your country. For obvious reasons many of us no longer harbour any trust in the previous governments.
Step it up, fellas.
But, unfortunately, the time being is slipping away rather ominously for our new government. I find it personally sad. I'd very much like to give them the opportunity to continue showing us exactly what they can accomplish, having already seen much that falls into the category of 'well done'. The partisan deviltry of the opposition is opposed, though, to allowing the Conservatives the luxury of demonstrating to the electorate that they're the ones that'll get things done. Despite that they have, to a certain extent, thus far.
It's like this, if you really want to bring people on board, convince them that the issue of climate change and our worrying environmental degradation is being taken seriously, then you do serious things, unpalatable though they will be. And they will be unpleasant, and costly, and nervous-making, and in the short term give us scant-realized value for future gain, but sometimes that firmness of decision-making must be accomplished.
No one is interested in visiting economic disaster on themselves, and that's readily understandable. We like our comfortable lifestyles even while we're decrying our proclivity as wastrels of energy and all manner of unnecessary consumer goods that add to energy wastage. We are committed to keeping ourselves warm and cool in response to our environment. We enjoy living in a society and an economy that allows us to consume far beyond our actual needs.
In our free market system manufacturers, large corporations, energy producers have had free reign to show just how far they can go with the considerable assistance of advertising and public relations doing their part to remind us that we aren't quite there yet - there's plenty more 'stuff' to come. But really we're also becoming just a little nervous and guilty about our greed and how the fall-out of our way of living is impacting pretty directly on our most basic of needs; clean air, potable water, a geography secure from flooding and/or desertification.
This is long-term stuff, not instant-satisfaction stuff. Stabilization and reversal of climate change isn't just an urgent message, it's a scientifically-acknowledged necessity. So, environment minister John Baird, and Stephen Harper, our short-term prime minister, please reconsider your careful position, your unwillingness to really grit your teeth and insist that polluters have a very short window under laws you plan to enact.
Forget this carbon trading stuff for large polluters, it is too reminiscent of schoolyard kids playing with sport cards for advantage and a bigger pile. The guys that pollute have to be brought up short; if there aren't sufficient scientific advances currently available to cut back pollution, both they and we must invest in research and development on a very energetic short-term basis to ensure they're brought to reality.
The year 2010 is three years' distance. We've seen a whole lot of world-inimical events linked to global warming to persuade us that we've already wasted far too much time in hesitation, empty promises, prevarication. We've been through all that already. If recent storm-events and evidence of irreversible declines in arctic freeze-ups, along with the international scientific community's assurance that this is for real hasn't sufficiently persuaded you, then move over.
But we like you, we really do. We anticipate, on the basis of how your government has already performed in the space of a short year, that you can answer to this very real need, on behalf of your country. For obvious reasons many of us no longer harbour any trust in the previous governments.
Step it up, fellas.
Labels: Government of Canada
posted by Pieface | 1:06 PM
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