I mentioned last week that our United Church moderator Mardi Tindal is in Durban, South Africa, as part of the religious contingent at COP17, the international conference on climate change. As many of you well know, Canada is the country which seems to come under the greatest fire for its lousy record on creating greenhouse gases. The Alberta oil sands have given us a tarry black eye internationally and the current federal government is at least honest in saying that it has no intention in changing its policies soon. Environment minister Peter Kent is a master of evasion but we get the picture that Canada will not be a leader in this regard.
Check out Moderator Tindal's latest blog entry. Click on this link, then on the header for her blog entry. She points out that African nations are calling on Canadians to be courageous for the sake of their continent which is experiencing disastrous effects from climate change. Protesters took to the streets, as seen above.
I find that my blogs on environmental issues get limited response (maybe we feel a bit overwhelmed), but I really would like to hear from you. What do you think folks?
4 comments:
I certainly think Canada can, and should, do more to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse emissions, but I have been reading various articles recently about the Kyoto Protocol.
Even many environmentalists are calling "Kyoto" outdated and in need of major revamping. Plus, some of the world's major contributors of greenhouse emissions and pollution are not even included - like China for instance.
So maybe we need to come up with something that everybody will sign on to(much easier said than done!) and take it from there.
Until then, we as individuals can do much just by being conscious of our daily actions. I say this after walking to work and passing house after house with cars idling in their driveways for who knows how long. Then I pass a certain establishment with 30 cars idling in the drive thru, while 3 people are standing in line inside.
Let's start looking in the mirror a bit more.
There was some good news today in the Globe and Mail beginning:
"In a surprising shift of tone, Environment Minister Peter Kent says he wants swift negotiations on a legally binding climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol within the next three years". So we may redeem our reputation yet.
Many of us see ACTION on this issue as a moral imperative -- but there is a good deal of hostility, confusion, doubt and ambivalence around the issue. And it's in some people's best interests to encourage that unfortunatley.
Thanks to both of you, and welcome Kathy. I'm trying to figure out where Minister Kent is going. I agree with you about the positive noises the other day, but subsequent comments leave me mystified. Maybe that's the sign of a good (cagey?) politician!
I spoke too soon as it turns out....
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