FACT: Canadians produce an average of 19.05 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, one tonne short of the U.S.
FACT: Emissions in Europe have been falling in the past ten years but in Canada have been rising.
FACT: Sustainable limits for carbon dioxide emissions per capita are 1.2 tonnes, one sixteenth of what Canada currently produces.
FACT: Stephen Harper invested $1.5 billion in renewable energy although existing tar sands developments are still able to claim accelerated capitol cost allowance. –In lehman’s terms (no pun intended)…” They will continue to receive tax rebates for cooking the planet” quote by George Monbiot
No one can explain the joke our Conservative government has been on our environmental policies and promises as George Monbiot, the author of “Heat—How to Stop the Planet from Burning”. In his 5 page foreword to the Canadian Edition, his facts and explanations of how Stephen Harper and the Canadian people have done less then an adequate job of our responsibility as a global community. I picked up this book back in January/08 by reading the foreword in the store and realized Canadians like myself have been doing nothing to ensure our country is doing their part in the global community.
What would our everyday lives be like if 20 years ago we implemented a Green Policy into North America? The creation of utility vehicle’s, then SUV’s wouldn’t have generated so many jobs and money into the economy, so that was a good thing, right?
Sure it was, for twenty years, but now those days are gone and now who’s left holding the bailouts?
If we thought about today’s future 20 years ago, our dependency on fossil fuels would be less, our environment would be somewhat cleaner and the markets today may not have fallen to such great lows, but that is all speculation on the ‘what if’s.’
We can’t change the past what if’s but we can question the future What If’s, and that is what Canadians need to start doing in these next few weeks, and ‘what if’ hard.
We built industries and drove consumer markets much on a concept that fossil fuel would always be attainable and affordable since the 50’s. We built consumer markets by listening to Corporate business telling us this is the way of the future, this is the way to freedom but freedom came with a price and North Americans have seen that price being paid in the last year more now then ever before since the Great Depression as everything seems to be now out of reach. When we hear of the largest investment brokers and insurance companies in desperate financial problems it’s time for us to start worrying about the coming future, and how it will repair itself in the green (back) markets our consumer spending habits drove has left us all and although we all love to blame the government’s and Corporatism, it’s us as individuals that began on spending above our means and drove them to make the money, then lose the money. It was our own need and greed society that never stopped to think of future consequences only future funds and how to make more.
In comes Green living or a Green Shift, let’s look at the future 20 years from now. If we look to be green, renewable sources, cleaner living and learning to limit our ‘bad’ habits and turn them into better habits, will the same fall happen 20 years from now? Can a market of consumer driven renewable sources drive an industry into fear of peak production ending which has caused a ripple effect. We have been warned for years about our outright greed of fossil fuel and it will one day cost our wallet as the price will rise as peak production comes to its peak and consumer needs becomes all greed. We were told and still told by analysts and OPEC not to worry, there is still enough oil to sustain us for years to come, and that may be true but at what cost?
The markets closed on crude oil today at $96. 44 yet today in town gas prices were still selling at $1.29/litre, the same prices we were paying here in Ontario when oil was selling on the markets earlier this year trading at $129.00, take this cue…crude oil prices may be dropping temporarily, but the price at the pumps are here to stay. Why is this we ask? We are fed because that is the price the companies paid when it was bought, but we all know if the sudden rise in oil spiked to $150.00 or higher tomorrow, our pump prices would not be steady at $1.29 or lower since now they are purchasing at a lower market value.
I hear so many Canadian voters say they are tired of corporate business dictating our lives, many happy to see the boys in the white collar sweat, yet they are against bringing in a Carbon Tax that will force corporate business who are many of the largest polluters to pay the price for carbon emissions. With a Carbon Tax in place Corporations especially high polluters as oil companies will be taxed higher on their pollution then on their taxes which means they must find ways to do business in a greener way which produces more jobs for those who are in the trade of green energy or green alternative.
The Green Shift Stephane Dion will implement helps home owners by giving them their first $10,000 mortgage loan free to help with energy efficiency in our homes to hire plumbers, electricians or technicians to help turn a home into a savings on money in the long term and help create jobs to those who will need training in learning of green trades, eventually many industries, including the auto and housing industry learn to become green efficient and a green efficent country arises, along with new or improved trades, higher investments and more stability.
Climate change has become a global issue and a topic young and old alike have in common, finding ways to help our environment is the key to global unity and a reason why the Kyoto Accord was implanted and agreed upon. As many countries have done everything to meet their goals Canada is not one of them and Stephen Harper himself is one of the culprits. A Green Shift ‘plan’ will bring investments from around the world for all provinces, but at this moment there are talks from foreign countries they will begin to tariff countries who are not carbon taxing, and Canada is not looking very co-operative in the global community, if a tariff is implemented then it will be the Canadian taxpayers paying for that out of our wallets and out of our environment.
We have to remember the “Green Shift” is a plan in the making, we as Canadians are responsible for never holding the government responsible for complying with the Kyoto Accord more readily, but now we must do something as we are not considered a well developed country when it comes to our environmental concerns and implantation, we aren’t even in the developing stages compared to many other countries who have taken their environmental future seriously for the future of today and tomorrow’s generations.
We live in a country filled with the beautiful colours of green everywhere yet we do everything to destroy it and afraid to save it. The Green Shift cannot predict if it will meet the Kyoto Accord amount set and what the emission drop will be, forecasting for a plan new to our country agenda is difficult at this time, but at least it is a step in the right direction.
We must stop thinking of just our wallets; look what is happening now to our neighbours when the only green they were concerned about was the greenback, they are paying the price which now looks could ripple globally, only time will tell. Do we want to risk time telling us with the ripple effect of our environmental concerns which affects our economy also? We must be greedy with the green, but greed in the green in our need to turn our future into a renewable source of energized living and developing, not energized spending.
For detailed information on the Liberal Green Shift plan, financial benefits and the taxpayer calculator visit Green Shift or visit the Liberal Party of Canada website.
**During an interview with Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC Radio One "The Current" today the subject of Stephane Dion’s very heavy French accent come up, he responded knowing he must and will improve his English, but if that is a strike in voting a Canadian leader, shame on Canadians…many Canadians ain’t speakin good English mostly all days.
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