Climate change got its first mention of the U.S. political season with Mitt Romney’s “heal the planet” crack, and Obama’s memorable retort:
And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They’re a threat to our children’s future. And in this election, you can do something about it.
For a Canadian perspective that somehow managed to miss the point of Romney’s ill-advised, small-minded joke, check out Andrew Coyne in the National Post.
Meanwhile, Canadian environment minister Peter Kent announced regulations for coal-fired electricty that are weaker than the original proposal of a year ago, while the government met renewed accusations of creative carbon accounting.
DC if you haven’t seen it already check out Allan Gregg’s recent speech he gave at Carleton….
http://allangregg.com/?p=80
A case of plagiarism in Canada by a professor and a student: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/11/university-of-waterloo-researchers-issue-retraction-and-apology-after-using-u-s-experts-text-and-information/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Strange though, the National Post calls him “a top Canadian scientist” but he appears to be a professor of engineering:
https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-nanotechnology/people-profiles/dongqing-li
http://www.mme.uwaterloo.ca/people/dongqing
Another stupid Harper Conservative decision:
“OTTAWA- Atmospheric scientists from around the world are asking Environment Canada to back down from a plan that they believe would compromise ozone and radiation monitoring by putting it into the hands of an Information Technology computer expert…”
http://o.canada.com/2012/09/14/scientists-shocked-after-harper-government-assigns-it-staff-to-monitor-ozone-data/
What’s happening over at DeSmogBlog?
It looks like they forgot to renew the domain name before the expiry date (today). But it also looks like it is in the process of being fixed.
Glad to hear it– I was concerned they might be having a more serious problem.
Given the countless times I’ve read that renewables should not be subsidised and must stand on their own in the market, this is sweet…
Decades of federal dollars helped fuel gas boom
Quebec government hints at long-term fracking ban
Harper’s ordered invasion plans 😉
Wow, Andrew Coyne and non-disclosure of connections:
http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/24/andrew-coyne-s-connections-free-market-think-tanks
[DC: Comment form focus removed. ]
And George Monbiot about think tanks:
“…Over the last few years I have been trying better to understand how the demands of big business and the very rich are projected into policymaking, and I have come to see the neoliberal thinktanks as central to this process. These are the groups which claim to champion the free market but whose proposals often look like a prescription for corporate power…”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/01/rightwing-insurrection-usurps-democracy
And David Climenhaga debunks Fraser Institute claims on health care.:
http://albertadiary.ca/2012/10/time-to-call-out-the-media-for-uncritically-reprinting-fraser-facts.html
Here’s a comic that will remind you of certain people. http://wondermark.com/876/
“Organizations founded by an American oil baron and a Silicon Valley philanthropist are among the foreign charities being targeted by Enbridge in its battle against critics of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline…
…It’s a point of contention for the pipeline proponent, which has asked the environmental review panel examining the Northern Gateway project to compel funding information from its critics. The panel returns to B.C. this week for final hearings on the controversial project…”
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Enbridge+targets+Northern+Gateway+pipeline/7359036/story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
BigCityLib comments on the lack of action at the “Ethical” Oil website and notes that Jordan Graham didn’t stay there long:
http://bigcitylib.blogspot.ca/2012/10/its-usefulness-at-end.html
http://thepurplevioletpressnb.blogspot.ca/2012/05/fredericton-city-councillor-jordan.html
Blurred lines between newspaper reporting and oil shilling:
http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2012/10/22/Globe-Oil-Sands-Advertorial/
Interesting Frontline interview with AFP’s Tim Phillips:
“And the No Climate Tax pledge — you are kind of a Grover Norquist of climate change as well. How many people have responded?
We found about a few hundred elected leaders of Canada signed that pledge. And that’s a good thing. I think it’s good for Canada, for elected officeholders to make a contract with the people they represent.”
?
See the AFP statement on the No Climate Tax pledge, which refers to several hundred U.S. lawmakers and candidates who have signed the pledge.
So I think it’s a (probably automated) mistranscription that wasn’t caught in the editing process. If you change Canada to “candidates” the quote makes a lot more sense.
We found about a few hundred elected leaders and candidates signed that pledge. And that’s a good thing. I think it’s good for candidates, for elected officeholders to make a contract with the people they represent.
Having said that, it would be interesting to trace the “carbon tax” meme: one that demonizes any and all measures (including cap-and-trade) that put a price on carbon as a “carbon tax”. This has become a favourite ploy of the Canadian Conservative government (which ironically was for cap-and-trade up to three years ago, when there was more political pressure to deal with the issue).
Ahaaaa. Just watched the show. Don’t recall it mentioned there.
Carbon will find ways to tax us
“it would be interesting to trace the “carbon tax” meme”
I’m pretty sure it was kicked off by Freedomworks.
Ezra Levant tweeting a lot about the Obama win: I wonder if he anticipates needing to push “ethical oil” some more:
An ad for “Ethical ” Oil? Are they becoming more active again?
Perhaps it was a Conservative government ad for the Economic Action Plan, which has a gauzy sustainability message (but is really all about Northern Gateway).
It doesn’t look like Ethical Oil is very active right now, as you mentioned a couple of comments back.
As Canadian Cynic points out in several tweets: the leaked document about Canada’s current foreign policy: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/11/19/pol-foreign-policy-.html shows that they don’t care about being ethical anyway:
Some alert bloggers are watching Tom Harris:
http://bigcitylib.blogspot.ca/2012/11/canuck-climate-change-denier-tom-harris.html
http://hot-topic.co.nz/signing-up-to-nonsense-denialists-plot-letter-to-un-secretary-general/
I covered Harris’s previous contrarian open letter to the UN back in 2007 (as noted at Hot Topic), as well as earlier Canada-focused eforts, all with the National Post .
https://deepclimate.org/2009/12/10/bali-2007-revisited/
https://deepclimate.org/2012/03/08/tom-harris-heartland-and-the-2007-bali-open-letter-to-the-u-n/
It looks like the current open letter was not published today, but perhaps the press deadline was today for actual print publication tomorrow (and perhaps online late today). It’s not clear which “major media outlet” will carry this, but the National Post would be the most logical choice, given the long history of collaboration between Harris and Post financial editor Terence Corcoran.
https://deepclimate.org/2009/12/08/in-the-beginning-the-national-post-terence-corcoran-and-tom-harris/
Here’s a Nov 26 article by Harris on Troy Media, whatever that is:
http://www.troymedia.com/2012/11/26/canada-being-hoodwinked-in-un-climate-process/
Here’s the letter signed by many of the usual suspects, including:
“83. Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Expert reviewer, IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Quantification of Climate Sensitivity, Carie, Rannoch, Scotland”
http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/11/29/open-climate-letter-to-un-secretary-general-current-scientific-knowledge-does-not-substantiate-ban-ki-moon-assertions-on-weather-and-climate-say-125-scientists/
Harris shows up in the comments several times. Most of the comments are idiotic; typical for the Post. Though one person does point out that Lindzen,. Michaels, the Pielkes and others did not sign the letter.
A new article by Vivian Krause today: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/11/28/vivian-krause-u-s-greens-shut-down-canadian-oil/
Sandy Garossino smacks down Krause: “…If there are any deceptive practices going on here, it’s the Harper government’s disavowal of its own conduct and its pretense that it never met its own partners.
Krause’s literary pursuits will come in very handy should the federal government wish to unwind its own contractual commitments to preserve Canada’s environment, in order to drive oil pipelines and Arctic drilling projects…”
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sandy-garossino/vivian-krause-us-oilsands-oil-sands-alberta-bc_b_2220651.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Ethical Oil says it’s not dead, it feels fine and it thinks it’ll go for a walk:
http://bigcitylib.blogspot.ca/2012/12/ezra-levant-forced-to-deny-rumors-of-eo.html
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2012/12/05/ethical-oil-not-dead-levant
Sop where are all these thousands of grassroots supporters going to spring up from?
BCL continues to follow “Ethical” Oil, which has started tweeting again:
http://bigcitylib.blogspot.ca/2012/12/ethical-oil-comes-alive.html
Update: http://bigcitylib.blogspot.ca/2012/12/ethical-oil-update-jamie-ellerton.html
John Ralston Saul talking about ethical oil: interestingly, I got the link from an “Ethical Oil” tweet. They are tweeting some now.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/author-john-ralston-saul-on-ethical-oil/article6336991/
“Ethical” Oil files complaint with CRA against Sierra Club. http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/blog/john-bennett/astroturf-%E2%80%98ethical-oil%E2%80%99-files-cra-complaint-against-sierra-club-canada-foundation
Apparently that climate change denier course will be taught again at Carleton by Tim Patterson in 2013; see this tweet and the rest of the conversation:
http://katatrepsis.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/climate-change-denial-my-part-in-its-downfall/#more-1477
Perhaps it’s time for a wrap-up of the “year in rebuke” (h/t to Harry Shearer). And time to thank you, DC, for all you’ve done here to defend honest scientists and debunk the charlatans who try to muddy the waters. You’ve done a great service, for which I’m extremely grateful. I’m looking forward to more of your excellent work in the years ahead!
Ezra Levant interviewing Monckton; I’ve heard some lies just within a minute or so: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/2056528725001
In the news today:
Nasty little creep Levant claims Chief Theresa Spence must be a frontman for American groups opposing oilsands:
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2013/01/20130115-073326.html
Because indigenous people could not really be concerned about having clean air, land and water.
Vivan Krause responds to Levant’s BS:
Interesting tweet conversation:
http://storify.com/APicazo/even-vivian-krause-is-calling-ezra-on-his-bs
Some interesting dot-connecting here, including Carleton University:
http://drdawgsblawg.ca/2013/01/harpers-christianist-agenda-dots-before-our-eyes.shtml
David Keith says the U of C’s ISEEE is a failure and talks about industry influence (Enbridge):
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/01/28/calgary-university-energy-centre.html
http://www.davidswann.ca/industry-backers-and-public-education-is-privately-funded-independent-research-truly-independent-2/