Spineless

Ottawa wants Kyoto softened

In its first official statement to the world on climate change, the Conservative government has signalled it is willing to keep Canada in the Kyoto Protocol after 2012, but only if it gets breaks on meeting the targets. A Canadian report to the United Nations says the second phase of the Kyoto accord should be more lenient, with longer deadlines, voluntary targets and exceptions for Canada's resource-based economy. The Conservatives have said they will not meet Canada's targets for the first phase of the accord - which ends in 2012 - to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the main cause of global warming. The submission is the first signal that the government is open to remaining in Kyoto for the post-2012 period and outlines Canada's bargaining position for staying within the accord. Environmentalists say most countries are pushing for the accord's second phase to be more stringent, with stiffer penalties for countries that fail to meet their targets. The previous Liberal government made a commitment that by the end of the first phase of Kyoto, Canada would reduce its emissions to 6% below the levels it was producing in 1990. Environment Minister Rona Ambrose said the latest figures show that Canada is producing 35% more emissions than the target level. “We cannot meet the targets that the Liberals negotiated, but that does not mean that we give up the fight. We are committed to real progress on cleaning up Canada's environment and on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” she added.
(Globe and Mail. National Post 060512)

We're fucked. Stupid Conservatives. They make no effort whatsoever to maintain the tenets of Kyoto. It's sort of like, "we have no chance of even coming close, so why even try?" Sure, Kyoto is definitely more symbolic than practical, however that is a huge step in trying to address the problem. They are taking the issue literally, as most conservative-type people do. There is no effort to engage Canadian citizens in the issue. It would be political suicide to actually ask the electorate to buckle down and sacrifice something. That's what our society has come to today. Unobstructed economic growth at any cost. These people fail to remember that we live in a finite closed system. Unfettered growth cannot keep continuing without dire consequences. We are only beginning to see the results of our faulty logic and faulty economic systems now. Boy, I can't wait to see how it ends up. I'm sure going to miss those polar bears.