Political Climate Change

A mild first couple weeks of winter out East and a few bad storms knocking down trees in Stanley Park, combined with a heavy dose of media hysteria, have suddenly pushed the issue of climate change to the top of everyone's agenda.

And with that change, the sudden strange bedfellowship of the Conservative government with the NDP, who are now clinging to each other for survival:

Signs of an alliance between Conservatives and New Democrats emerged Monday as MPs launched into a rewrite of the government's central climate-change legislation.

Members of Parliament returned to Ottawa Monday morning after a six-week recess, where they were greeted by a sunbathing Greenpeace activist in a polar-bear suit.

The environmental protests outside and the heated exchanges in Question Period over global warming made it abundantly clear that climate change will be the dominant issue of this winter session.

....

What is not clear, however, is if the Tory-NDP co-operation is limited to details, or whether it includes a compromise on much larger policy issues such as the Kyoto Protocol.

Mr. Baird, who wore a green tie for his first Question Period as Environment Minister, was offering few details Monday as to what changes he is prepared to live with.

The NDP's environment critic, Mr. Cullen, denied that he has struck an alliance with the Conservatives. He said he attempted to create working relationships with the Liberals and Bloc Québécois, but they weren't interested.

Throughout the 2½-hour meeting, the Tories and NDP made various proposals to fast-track the committee's workload, but faced persistent opposition from the Liberals.

So we will have the Kyoto accord in Canada, complete with complex carbon trading schemes and Rick Mercer hectoring us to meet the one-ton challenge.

What we will not have is serious adherence to the Kyoto accord. Everyone involved knows that it is an imposture not intended to be acted upon seriously. The world's industrial economies are not rushing headlong to revert to pre-industrial economies to stop the emission of greenhouse gases; the emerging industrial powers are not reversing course and heading back to agrarianism.

Kyoto is an incantation to be uttered in the hopes of appeasing the weather gods--the white man's rain dance, if you will.

Man never leaves behind superstition; he merely exchanges one for another.

Source: Globe and Mail