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.

Welcome to the Clean Coal Body Slam

I am thrilled to announce the launch of Coal-is-Dirty.com. This site was built by my company Catalyst Internet, Inc in conjunction with Junxion Strategy, Inc. for the DeSmogBlog team. It is a tool aimed at challenging the idea that coal is a viable fuel for our future energy needs.

Working with the DeSmogBlog team has been a great experience, and I have learned a lot from them about high-stakes PR, astroturfing, greenwashing and how the spin machine works. I have reposted Kevin Grandia’s launch message below. Please visit the site to see it in its entirety.

Welcome to the Clean Coal Body Slam

by Kevin Grandia

For too long the idea of clean coal has gone unchallenged.

A lot of people have received an email from yours truly over the last four months with the subject line: “Clean Coal Body Slam.” I thought it explained the intentions of this project very well.

Along with Greenpeace USA and Rainforest Action Network, we have pulled together some of the best and most outspoken leaders on the environmental, public health and economic effects of America’s addiction to coal, including:

Jeff Goodell, contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future.

Jeff Biggers, author of In the Sierra Madre and The United States of Appalachia and a regular contributor on Huffington Post.

Page van der Linden, contributing editor on Daily Kos and longtime campaigner on nuclear and coal issues.

Kert Davies, Research Director for Greenpeace in the United States and the architect for the well-known ExxonSecrets.org campaign and the recently launched StopGreenWash.org

JW Randolph, staff Legislative Associate for the powerful Appalachian Voices organization and manager of the Appalachian Voices blog.

Ted Nace, the director of Coal Swarm, a group that works to support the grassroots movement opposing coal.

David Novack, producer and director of the great new documentary, Burning the Future: Coal in America, which chronicles the environmental devastation of the coal industry in West Virginia.

Kate Rooth, who works for Greenpeace in the United States promoting climate, forests and oceans issues. She works with the Research Unit to support campaign and action work and is also a non-violence trainer.

Mark Fiore, who the Wall Street Journal recently called “the undisputed guru of the form,” creates animated political cartoons from an undisclosed location somewhere in San Francisco.

Richard Littlemore, Senior Writer for the award-winning site, DeSmogBlog.com.

These are amazing people, doing amazing work and I am very confident they will deliver the clean coal body slam so many people are looking for.

For a while now, whenever I mentioned the term “clean coal” people would roll their eyes and groan, “clean coal,” usually followed by a rolling of the eyes or a mock gagging, eyes bulging expression. Most people know coal isn’t clean, but that hasn’t stopped the coal industry from trying to convince us otherwise.

In mid-January the Washington Post ran a story about a newly launched $35 million “clean coal” campaign to be run by an organization called “Americans for Balanced Energy Choices” (ABEC). An organization run by Americans, but paid for by the coal industry.

If “clean coal” was not already engrained in the public lexicon, $35 million is sure to finish the job. The goal for ABEC, who has since changed their name to “American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity” (ACCCE), is not to make coal clean, it is to sell the idea that coal is clean.
In essence, this site exists to sell the idea that coal is dirty. Pretty easy to do when you consider the facts and clear out the rhetoric. Like the fact that mercury emissions from coal fired-power plants continues to rise and that carbon capture and storage remains an elusive pipe dream that will take another 40 years to deploy on a commercial scale.

We don’t have $35 million (not even close), but I hope this site can serve as a nexus of information for people interested in knowing the dirty facts about clean coal.

So click around, enjoy the site, check out the videos, the fact sheets and the articles.

If you’re writer, let us know if you would like to contribute. If you’re not a writer, but have a good story idea please let us know.

Drop us a line and tell us what you think of our work, sign up for our weekly e-alert and please tell everyone you know about the site.

Regards,

Kevin Grandia

Managing Editor

www.coal-is-dirty.com