September 22, 2016

Maybe now we'll take climate change seriously

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    1. And ironically if the climate had continued on its natural trajectory, Canada would be destined to be buried under ice sheets again. Which would you prefer?

      1. Future generations will be cursing us for the choice between ice on the land in 20,000 years, or a searing dustbowl in 100 years, Bill.
        We f*cked it. You fix it.

      2. I prefer lusher forests, longer growing seasons, lower heating bills, longer summers, more ice free ports, less death by freezing ALL DAY LONG.

      1. Exactly: Many benefits of global warming and more CO2:
        Benefits such as
        Longer growing seasons
        Higher crop yields
        Lower heating bills
        More ice free ports
        Less icy sideways
        Less death by freezing
        More flowers
        Bigger trees
        If you can’t change the climate, make the best of it I’d say !

        1. @RV: There is always a bright side. Any change has pro’s and con’s. It is dillusional to think by biking more or building smaller condos we have an impact when China is continueing to pump out coal dust without or with poor filters.
          The climate debate is primarily an excuse by governments to “help” by taxing people more and deflect from the true issues (listed above), chief among them unsustainable spending such as excessive wages & benefits for too many civil servants & UN staffers and university professors feeding off the climate bonanza. We spend far too much because democracy demands it: vote for me and I give you candy. Socialists the world over have hijacked the climate for their cause. A few sane politicians like Christy Clark and Brad Wall get drowned out by the high-tax bigger-government-is-better crowd in the name of “the climate”. http://leaderpost.com/business/mining/johnson-shoyama-policy-brief-appears-to-back-walls-position-on-carbon-pricing
          Our “sunny ways” premier JT fails to leverage Canadas strength, namely expertise in resources, be it Potash or Uranium or water or oil or gas or agriculture and associated engineering / processing. Canada is NOT a biotech or green energy hotspot and has no natural advantages here. We are an ENERGY POWERHOUSE and we are a beneficiary of global warming, by for example, growing coffee here in the S-Okanagan rather than importing it.
          Poorer people will consume less. That is the goal of socialism and the CO2 tax crowd: more poverty, wider spread. Poorer people fly less, drive less and emit less CO2.

        2. I’m pretty much optimistic on most things, but when I see someone with lots of great ideas deny that we are heading to a climate crisis, I do fear for the future. Sure, a warming climate may help Canada in the short tern, but a warming climate also melts glaciers which cause rising ocean levels. More CO2 means increased ocean acidity which stresses many ocean species. Also melting of the permafrost will release huge amounts of methane which will cause accelerated global warming. What about explosive releases of methane off the east coast of North America? Big enough to destroy New York city in one blase?
          And yes – destruction of coffee plantations. Tragic indeed. Time to take this seriously.

        3. Though better off than most countries, Canada will not be paradise in a warming world. The cost of change and adaptation will be huge.
          The Palliser Triangle could very well blow away by mid-century. Irrigation? Well, the Western Canadian glaciers that feed Prairie rivers have lost on average 1/3rd of their mass so far, with the smallest ones well over half. The major cities and agriculture will see around half their currently available river-based fresh water supplies disappear after 2050 according to recent studies by Schindler et al. They will have to learn to collect and store water from increasing numbers of floods and use it during droughts that are getting longer. And the dream of a Canada as the food basket to the world will be limited by the availability of even moderate quality soil. The best land is already farmed. The rest is thin, acidic forest duff.
          BC could join the pipeline parade, but direct them eastward to export a portion of our excessive rainfall for profit. Only half kidding here.

        4. MB – There has been talk of directing water in the Rocky Mountain Trench south to supply water to parched US states. Your pipeline idea is not too far fetched, but it will be more like canals due to the huge volumes. But we should probably keep the water here to help deal with all the climate refugees.

        5. I cancelled my TV subscription earlier this year as there is HARDLY any reporting critical of the climate crisis hype .. and of course because the constant ads totally annoy me. Every severe weather now has a “climate crisis” byline. Where is the indepth reporting about benefits, especially for Canada and other Nordic countries ? Where are the reports about China’s air pollution and Trudeau demanding to stop it, or cease trade ? Did he even mention it at the UN ? Of course not. Just hot air. And higher (CO2) taxes, of course, to save “the planet”. Where is the (TV or elsewhere in the mass media) debate about tax reductions or excessive civil servants pay & benefits as that is 70% of our taxes ?
          The climate is warming. Get used to it. If AZ, CA, FL or TX is too hot for Canadian snowbirds, many will buy here instead: http://www.oliverlanding.ca

        6. Thomas, I will try once more to present you with some facts regarding our so called “carbon Tax”. This is NOT a tax but is simply a levy on CO2 emissions and all levies are returned as reduction in income and corporate taxes. I believe that as a result, a majority of people pay LESS taxes since a majority of people emit less CO2 than average. What’s not to like? We are talking LOWER taxes. I can’t wait for the levy to be raised – hopefully to a more meaningful $200 per tonne.

        7. @Jeff: We are building affordable housing in Oliver. What is so shameless about this ? I am more than happy to dedicate an entire blog entry of this concept, incl. future planned microhomes, based on a feasibility & sustainability study by UBC that concluded that Oliver (surrounded by native land, ALR and regional parks) needs far higher density and affordable housing to be sustainable). Isn’t this so heavily advocated here by many in this blog ? More on this here as an overview http://www.dcs.sala.ubc.ca/greater_oliver_bc.htm and details 250+ plan here http://www.dcs.sala.ubc.ca/docs/sgog_oliver_concep_plan_optimized_redux_sec.pdf
          @Arno: “This is NOT a tax but is simply a levy on CO2 emissions and all levies are returned as reduction in income and corporate taxes.” Well to me a levy is a tax. I know that in BC some taxes were lowered while raising CO2 taxes. That certainly is not the case in AB or ON, and I have not heard that from the federal government either, but would appreciate more info on this if you have it.

  1. The climate is changing. Get used to it. Until China and US shut off their coal fired power plants and cheap alternatives to gasoline powered vehicles are found nothing dramatic will change.
    8B+ people have an impact on the planet, and all are aspiring to live like we do today: nice homes/condos, iPhones, better health, safe streets, good well paying jobs, clean air .. and that is why they are coming to Canada (or US or Europe) by the bucket load.
    Many other problems are far more urgent than “climate”: air pollution due to car exhaust or coal, ocean pollution, over-fishing, ground & river water pollution due to excessive fertilizer, overcrowded schools, excessive healthcare wait lists, massive garbage creation, excessive civil servants’ salaries & benefits draining public resources such as unsustainable DB pension, refugee crisis due to extremist religions & wars, lack of democracy, un- and under-employment of millions of capable individuals .. etc
    Btw: coming back to civil servants’ salaries and benefits: instead of employing 8000 teachers, nurses or RCMP officers ate $100,000/year we could employ 25% more, namely 10,000 at $80,000/year .. so if you are waiting for a hip surgery, live in an unsafe neighborhood, find BC ferries rates outrageous or find school classes excessively large blame that on CUPE as the main cause of excessively paid city employees, BC Ferries employees, teachers, nurses or RCMP offers .. so to distract from that politicians love the “climate” debate so they can tax more rather than fixing more urgent issues closer to home !

    1. The climate is changing. Get used to it.
      You present quite the moving target, Thomas. A few weeks ago it was
      Global warming is a myth
      without even one citation. Now a blizzard of disjointed topics.
      May I suggest you pick one topic and explore it well rather than muddying the pool with extraneous and suspect info thrown in to see if one will float?
      The issue on the table is climate change, which you have now clarified is not a myth. You seem to think this will present a number of benefits, but do not care to explore their cost and difficulty to implement. Rather than leaving the details to others, why not tell us how we can adapt to a climate that is headed for a tipping point of no return?

    1. Sure. Why not.
      Let’s not confuse leaving the earth a cleaner and better place with forced increases in taxes and lower living standards. Let’s start with unsustainable spending by cutting or at the very least curbing excessive salaries and unsustainable benefits. Then we can actually take comments from taxers and tax redistributors seriously.
      We need ENERGY to live and to prosper. If you make energy more expensive by, for example CO2 charges, one has to reduce taxes elsewhere. Where ? GST ? PST ? Income taxes ?
      Clean energy costs money, lots of money, and only wealthy nations or wealthy people can afford that. Increased poverty makes energy choices dirtier as one gravitates to cheaper more polluting sources like coal or dung or wood burning. A lot of people benefit from all the climate talk, flying around to conferences, getting grants, blwoing stories out of proportion. There is no climate crisis.
      The climate is warming. So what.
      Enjoy your longer summers, your lower heating bills in the long cold Canadian winters, the lusher forests and the higher crop yields.
      If we were really serious we’d all agree that gasoline at $1.25 is too cheap and that $3/liter is better and that smaller cars are just as good. We are apparently not though. We’d all agree that a vacation to Mexico in the winter really is not necessary, and if we’d fly we gladly pay $1000 more. Where is this debate ?
      The man reason we can’t is excessive taxation already. CUPE is thus the main cause of global warming in Canada, as without them we actually would have the money to pay for higher energy bills, solar panels on our roofs or e-cars. But the tax grab is so immense we do not have the $s.

  2. “CUPE is thus the main cause of global warming in Canada, as without them we actually would have the money to pay for higher energy bills, solar panels on our roofs or e-cars. But the tax grab is so immense we do not have the $s”
    Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    1. Are you an overpaid civil servants ?
      My point was: THE core issue of the day is unsustainable government finances (and not a climate “crisis” as alleged by civil servants, UN funded experts and tax payers funded think tanks) ! We pay too many civil servants too much money and promise citizens and their tax money custodians too many benefits (free healthcare, free schooling, high pensions, ..) that we do not have enough money left to pay for expensive cleaner energy.
      More n this here http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/public-servants-are-still-overpaid-report-suggests-despite-all-those-pension-plan-changes
      or here http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/article/7290-public-sector-workers-oped.html or here http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-firefighters-are-underworked-and-overpaid/article24459593/
      Green energy costs money. Only wealthy nations or citizens can afford it. If we tax too much, we don’t have the cash for it. So the CO2 tax is a convenient way to get more taxes from already cash strapped citizens to keep the excessive benefit party going a while longer.
      Related: Vancouver is so green, allegedly. Green, as in loads of green $s required to live here. Prices will rise as his worship and his green “Vision” council edicted getting off natural gas: http://theprovince.com/opinion/jordan-bateman-vision-vancouvers-natural-gas-ban-will-cost-residents-thousands-of-dollars

    1. You bet .. a monthly theft. Are you an overpaid civil servants ?
      My point was: THE core issue of the day is unsustainable government finances (and not a climate “crisis” as alleged by civil servants, UN funded experts and tax payers funded think tanks) ! We pay too many civil servants too much money and promise citizens and their tax money custodians too many benefits (free healthcare, free schooling, high pensions, ..) that we do not have enough money left to pay for expensive cleaner energy.
      More on this here http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/public-servants-are-still-overpaid-report-suggests-despite-all-those-pension-plan-changes
      or here http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/article/7290-public-sector-workers-oped.html or here http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-firefighters-are-underworked-and-overpaid/article24459593/
      Green energy costs money. Only wealthy nations or citizens can afford it. If we tax too much, we don’t have the cash for it. So the CO2 tax is a convenient way to get more taxes from already cash strapped citizens to keep the excessive benefit party going a while longer.

  3. I am talking specifically about unfunded DB pension liabilities, such as in Oregon https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/244562/ .. as DB pensions are FAR TOO HIGH or, in other words, salaries (or total compensation packages) are too high, or deductions from salaries too low to fund it. taxpayers get fleeced for jobs that have below average hours (both on an annual and life-time basis) and well above private sector job security !
    The link to global warming is that CO2 taxes or far more expensive greener energy is just another form of taxation. If we paid less in taxes, by paying civil servants less, we could afford those green energy schemes. Vancouver is so green, allegedly. Green, as in loads of green $s required to live here. Prices will rise as his worship and his green “Vision” council edicted getting off natural gas: http://theprovince.com/opinion/jordan-bateman-vision-vancouvers-natural-gas-ban-will-cost-residents-thousands-of-dollars

  4. So, if I sell my truck and walk everywhere will the glaciers come back to the Fraser Valley? If we ban the car will the sea retreat and Atlantis reappear? I want some assurances. Hell, granny is all freaked out, she lives up in North Van and she’s filling sandbags because she’s been told that the sea is rising, fast.
    This is fun:
    https://3000quads.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/world-coal-consumption-by-country-2011-2035.jpg
    We’ve decided to follow Gregor’s lead, we’re going to switch off the furnace and just buy a couple more blankets.
    Don’t forget.
    The International Coffee Organization, 2004.
    “The world coffee economy has evolved over the last few years in a manner which may be qualified as erratic, disorderly and even contradictory. The relative supply scarcity of the mid 1990s, caused largely by climatic conditions, was followed by a short period of moderately high prices that compensated for the losses incurred by the dismantling in 1989 of the International Coffee Agreement’s quota system. However this situation prompted a surge in production that altered substantially the global supply structure and was the cause of the worst coffee crisis ever seen in terms of growers’ incomes.
    In contrast, the evolution of the coffee economy in importing countries has shown a completely different and in fact very positive pattern. The industry has flourished, new products have been developed, the value of the retail market has more than doubled, and profits have risen.”

  5. Your sarcasm is a cheap renewable resource, Eric.
    Unfortunately, facts keep rebounding off your narrative. Anyone who predicts the consumption of coal in China to such dramatic levels 19 years into the future hasn’t been paying attention.

    1. China Dialogue, Sept. 23, 2016
      “An earlier study from the San Francisco-based Climate Policy Initiative found that China had invested as much as US$38 billion (253 billion yuan) in coal fired power plants overseas between 2010-2014 and had announced plans for another US$72 billion (480 billion yuan) worth of projects …
      Beijing has encouraged state owned coal companies and energy intensive industries such as concrete, steel and cement, to “go out” as part of the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR). This aims to open up new opportunities for Chinese companies and to build infrastructure to link China to European markets and beyond.
      Chinese banks and companies are currently involved in at least 79 coal fired generation projects, with a total capacity of over 52 GW, more than the 46 GW of planned coal closures in the US by 2020. ”
      Dream on, as they say.

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