Whooee! I was just over to Steve V's Far and Wide boog. Steve's askin' if we need an election right away. He talks about Kyoto an' the Clean Air Act an' Baird's gloomy predictions. There's some commenters who are echoin' Baird's BS. I posted up a bigass comment an' decided to reduce work by re-usin' that comment in a recycled version fer this here boog story.
Do we need an election? Eventually, yes. (It's a democracy, after all) Now? Not necessarily. The anti-Harper side needs some time to consolidate it's message an' tell Canajuns what's what.
The "all vs. nothing" premise is being argued by Baird an' some commenters over at Steve's boog. Dumb!
Numerous Yerpean countries have complied with Kyoto an' they ain't all beggin' in the streets an' drivin' dog-carts to the welfare office.
There's gold in them thar green actions an' Baird's BS ain't prospectin' fer it or talkin' about it. Green-collar job creation, carbon tradin' an' innovative energy reduction are all potential plusses fer the economy.
If the Grits wanna win, they gotta talk to Canajun pride. The Cons is all natterin' nabobs of negativity. The Cons say Canajuns is too weak an' stoopid to to save energy, reduce GHG's an' do like the Yerpeans. Cons got an inferiority complex an' they're sellin' their CANTDO attitude to Canajuns.
We ain't weaklings. We ain't stoopid. We can do anything the Yerpeans can do. We got a well-educated workforce, established industrial infrastructure, easy access to US markets and a desire to do our part on the world stage.
Grits an' Greens an' Dips an' even the rotten separatist BlocHeads gotta show Canajuns that the Cant-do Cons is all wrong. The Con message is one of hopelessness in the face of unavoidable environmental catastrophe. Who wants to accept that? Not the smart, proud, Can-do Canajuns I know.
Between now an' whenever we finally do have an electionvote, the anti-Harper bunch oughta be talkin' positive. When Baird sez Kyoto'll ruin the economy, Canajuns gotta get told about how 1.) environmental action and prosperity can go hand-in-hand and 2.) Baird's fudged the figures to fit the CPoC Negative Nelly Can't-do Canajuns-are-nincompoops attitude.
We can do it. We want to be told we can do it. We want leaders who are positive an' forward-thinkin'.
Polyticians are short-term thinkers. Their goals seldom go beyond winning the next election. They make false promises to win short term support.
But Canajuns are smarter than that. Canajuns are some of the biggest savers and savviest investors. Despite our user-unfriendly mortgage system, proportionally more Canajuns own homes an' property than Merkans.
Canajuns understand longterm investment. We're smart enough to understand short-term pain for long-term gain. More'n'more boomers is becomin' grannies an' grampaws an' we're worryin' about the kinda Earth we're leavin' to the grandkids.
Grits an' all anti-Cons need to develop a strategy that speaks to positivism and works for long term goals. The Cons came in on an antiGrit, antiCorruption wave. The Grits can come back but not simply with an anti-Harper message. The message needs to be pro-Canada, pro-Earth -- pro-gressive.
JimBobby
2 comments:
I don't know if I completely agree......When it comes down to it, Canadians aren't willing to take some short-term pain for some long term gain. They are buying the conservative "recession" message-even some of my Albertan-eco-lovin' friends are against Kyoto. Plus, even if minor action was taken, those oil/gas/energy companies would hike up those prices even if they didn't have to. You see it right before the long weekend, gas prices go up 5 cents or so.....just cuz they can. So, Even TALK of setting emmission control regulations would send those prices soaring. no one wants that-although I personally would be willing to take a hit. There has to be a measure implemented before emmission control standards to protect the consumer. Unfortunately, no ones acting on ANYTHING, and haven't been since this whole Kyoto thing started, so soon we will have no choice but to go through short term-pain.
I agree with you about Green collar jobs. Not enough of them are being created. I think instead of hard caps on emmissions right away, start with taking away the tax breaks the oil companies receive. Invest that money in Green energy, innovative small companies (like that one making solar panel film that you can glue to your window), help canadians lessen their dependence.
I think Baird is right because of knee-jerk reaction Big Oil with have in response to any regulation. I doubt there will be another NEP, becuase with extrememly high demand on oil from other countries (say if Canada lessens dependence), the oil/gas prices will soar anyway and they will be able to afford the penalties. Of course, I'm not learned in the art of economics, so this is my naive prediction ;)
Thankee fer chimin' in, Rosie. Yer right that a lotta Canajuns think mostly with their pocketbooks. I see some shiftin' of priorities, though. High gas prices don't affect me directly, too much. But there are plenty o' Canajuns makin' lifestyle changes an' shellin' out dough fer green causes an' so's they can be greener.
One thing I like about the CFB lightbulb thing is that individual Canajuns do it an' when they do, they prove taht we're willin' to pay $5 to replace a 79 cent bulb. We do it fer two reasons. One, because we love ol' Mother Earth and two, because despite the cost, we expect to profit in the longer term.
Big Oil an' the Cons teamin' up to piss Canajuns off with high prices is a worry I hadn't thought of. I reckon yer right an' that's just the sorta thing they'd do.
JB
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