We are a Colossal fossil

I don't really like this. Even though it's only enviro people calling us this, it's not good. Why do they hate us? Let me count the ways.

1) Our PM says we are an "emerging energy superpower". With the full development of the tar sands, we would be #2 oil producers in the world, after Saudi Arabia (welcome to the club). If the global warming problem is all about excessive burning of hydrocarbons, our current marketing pitch is a little out sync. Not only do we not plan to cut back, we intend to squeeze every last ounce of the stuff out of our northern lands. Burn, baby, burn.

2)Getting this stuff out of the ground is not easy. The days of easy oil are past. If you want this stuff, you need to do major damage. Not only do you have to dig up vast tracts of northern land, you then need to burn gabillion cubic feet of natural gas to heat the water that you have to shoot through the muck to separate the oil from it. Read somewhere that 95% of the growth of Canada's GHG emissions since 1990 are due to the tar sands development.

3) Turns out the oil that comes out of this process is not the best. It burns dirty to boot. If US enviromentalists get their way, it would be banned from export there.

4) Not only will we not meet our Kyoto commitments (maybe the only country not to do so, in fact we will vastly exceed our target), we have walked away from the treaty altogether. At least the Americans had the decency not to sign in the first place. This might be the first instance where Canada walks away from an obligation under an international treaty.

5) Which brings us to our current government. Our PM is an MP from Calgary, and so is our minister of the Environment, supported by a solid Tory slate from Alberta. We shouldn't be surprised then (in fact, they wouldn't be doing their job otherwise) if they weren't supporting the tar sands development. As a result, our policy regarding global warming is to deny, stall, obfuscate, redirect and then punt. First denial. Then, the Clean Air Act . Then 20%by 2020, but only intensity targets, with no plan. And now, we can't do anything until the Americans decide. These people can't even vote themselves proper health care coverage! How long do you think it will take them to legislate on climate change? Maybe until hell freezes over.

So there you have it. Colossal fossil, and well deserved. At least, PM Harper had the good sense to keep a low profile in Copenhagen. No address to the assembly, no meetings with the movers and shakers, no invitation from Obama. Kind of like a leper at a UN meeting. How far we have fallen!