(The following article is from the November 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
People's Voice Editorial, Nov. 1-15, 2009

When the Canadian people finally settle scores with Stephen Harper's Tories, his government's stubborn foot-dragging on climate change will surely be one of the key factors.

     The latest news on the environmental front is grim. Ice sheets in the Arctic, Antarctic and Greenland are melting twice as fast as projections from a couple of years ago, which will lead to a one metre rise in sea levels by the end of this century, enough to wipe out many islands and coastal areas. The rapid melting of glaciers threatens to deprive over a billion people of clean drinking water. Extreme weather events like severe droughts are on the rise. Scientists warn that even with greenhouse gas emission cuts currently planned, the world's average temperature may rise over three degrees Celsius by 2100.

     Meanwhile, the Canadian Press service reports that the Harper "government's push to abandon much of the Kyoto protocol prompted dozens of developing countries to walk out on Canada's address during recent climate talks in Thailand..." Joanne Yawitch, a South African negotiator at the Bangkok talks, told interviewers that the Canadian position risks ending up with "something that might be considerably weaker."

     "Something weaker" might well include moves to tilt the board towards the energy industry's cherished "intensity-based targets", which allow for continued growth of carbon emissions on the excuse that the industry is becoming "more efficient."

     The world cannot afford to slide back to such a disastrous strategy. Congratulations to the tens of thousands of Canadians who rallied on Oct. 24 to pressure the Harper government to change course immediately. Let's keep the heat on the Tories!