In the next election, I will be voting Environment

It seems to me that the Liberal Green Shift Plan (aka Stéphane Dion’s Carbon Tax) is a good one, on several levels. I’m not going to try to sell you on its substance. You can read it yourself and decide how good it is. It is comparable to the best plans in force in other jurisdictions. The most important reason it is a good plan is that it is achievable, unlike the NDP and Green Party plans, simply because those two parties will never form government.

In the last election, a majority of Canadians voted for pro-environment parties. The splitting of pro-environment votes between those parties allowed the Conservative party to win in crucial ridings where they actually did not get a majority of votes, only the most votes of any candidate. The Conservatives did not deserve to form government, yet, because of our flawed system, they did, and the result has been a disgrace.

At this critical time when Canada is falling far behind other jurisdictions in facing down the most important issue of our lifetimes, we need to at least begin. Beginning opens the door.

In the next election, I will vote for the pro-environment candidate in my riding who has the best chance of winning. I encourage you to do the same. This way, we will not split our votes and re-elect conservatives who clearly don’t get how important the climate change issue is.

Yes, that means voting for the “other guy”. For Greens, that might mean voting for a Liberal or a New Democrat. For Liberals, a Green of New Democrat. For New Democrats, a Liberal or a Green.

As distasteful as this might seem, the outcome is far, far better than ensuring the Conservatives are re-elected, and the oil industry and Quebec Separatists are left in control of Canada’s political agenda.

I’m not saying the Liberal Green Shift plan couldn’t be better. It could be. This is why a Liberal minority government is the best possible outcome in the next election. Supported by the NDP and a Green or two in the House, the plan could evolve and be stronger.

I am advocating strategic voting. The center/left is holding back positive change in Canada by refusing to come together. Voters need to put them together in the house and insist they work together and get things done, for a change. For Greens who are concerned with the matching funds they will get, SWAP YOUR VOTE. Get a Liberal or NDPer to vote green somewhere where it doesn’t matter (i.e. a Conservative stronghold) in exchange for your crucial vote in a swing riding.

The stakes are too high right now for people to stay in their political huts and wave sticks at each other. Let’s come together around something and get it done. Let’s cooperate when it counts and save the ideological jockeying for another time.

I expect to hear from my NDP friends. How could you, Evan? I look at my two year old and turn the question back: how could I not? Politics is about what’s possible.

http://www.thegreenshift.ca/

Liberals understand that faced with the greatest environmental threat humanity has ever witnessed, and faced with a tax system that needs to do more to reward success and doesn’t do a good enough job for middle and low-income Canadians, it’s time for action.

Our Green Shift will stimulate our economy, increasing its competitiveness and reduce the income tax burden on individuals, particularly middle and low-income Canadians.

The Green Shift will make it more expensive to pollute in Canada, while lowering the cost of doing business across the rest of the economy, boosting investment and spurring a greener economy.

DeSmogBlog: Todd Carmichael’s Journey to the South Pole

The DeSmogBlog team is proud to introduce our newest blogger!

Please welcome Explorer Todd Carmichael, who on November 9th, 2008 will attempt to become the first American Explorer ever to complete a solo and unaided trek from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

Todd is an amazing individual and one that cares deeply about the state of the planet, especially the issue of climate change. Over the coming months Todd will be writing on DeSmog and his special section we’re calling “Expedition Earth, Mission 2008: the South Pole,” about preparations for his expedition and also on climate change issues and solutions.

And for the grand finale, Todd will be blogging live via satellite from the Antarctica on DeSmogBlog with daily updates, video and audio as he attempts this American first.

How cool is that!

We’re all very excited to have Todd as part of our team, so go check out the Expedition Earth section on DeSmog, and sign up for Todd’s weekly e-lerts so you don’t miss a beat.

Archaic Machines Number 1

Mackenzie, BC. No wonder the town is dying. Mackenzie is a town that has relied on pulp as a way of being. Pulp is now a singularly bad way to build a local economy. Case closed.

Oh, we’ll just adapt…not!

The last stand of the climate change skeptics is now “ok, so we’re causing it. So what? We’ll adapt. We always have in the past.”

Contrary to what most skeptics will tell you, this now-finished debate was never about whether climate change happens in absence of human causes. Of course, climate science, geology and a host of other sciences have long shown us that our climate is variable. Ice ages of the past covered our planet in ice caps. Heat waves caused drought and melting. This all happened before. This time, the problem is not that it is happening again, but rather the speed of change is historically unprecedented, with the exception of times of cataclysm like meteor strikes or huge volcano eruptions.

It is the speed of change that will be the gotcha for humans. Sure, we have adapted in the past. In the past, change has come over many generations, and change has been almost imperceptible. This time we are seeing change on a decade-by-decade pace, and it will soon change to year-by-year. It will be very difficult, and very expensive, to make the needed adjustments to our human infrastructure to be able to continue in a civilized manner, should we take the “we’ll adapt” approach to this problem. Here’s a mild example of possible outcomes, which happened recently in one of our most civilized countries, Britain:

Last night vast areas of the country around Gloucestershire and Worcestershire were still inundated, large numbers of people in temporary accommodation, transport links were widely disrupted, and yet more householders were standing by to be flooded in their turn, in one of the biggest civil emergencies Britain has seen.

About 150,000 residents in Gloucestershire were left without drinking water when the Mythe Water Treatment Works in Tewkesbury became inoperable after flooding. Another 200,000 people are at risk of losing their supplies. The water shortages may last until Wednesday and 600 water tanks were being drafted to the area.

Panic buying of bottled water was reported, with supermarkets selling out of stocks, and there were contamination problems in south London, where 80,000 households and businesses in the Sutton area were advised to boil their water after rain got into a tank. Yet another potential danger was from car thieves; West Mercia police warned drivers who had abandoned their cars in the floodwater to collect them quickly to prevent theft.

Think about this over the long term, as changes become more profound, and impacts are spread to more fragile societies with even less ability to adapt. Then ask yourself what the proper approach to this issue is. I think it is clear we need to act within our capacity to mitigate the effects of excessive co2 emitted by our society, just as we acted to curb CFCs and stop damage to the Ozone layer. It is clear. We must act.

Certainly, there are other important issues facing us. General environmental degradation is one. Nuclear proliferation is another. AIDS yet another…sadly we don’t get to cherry-pick the issues we tackle. They must all be beaten.

Blizzard!

It is freezing in Victoria and we’re buried in snow.

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