OPINION: Too little, too late

Canada received another international scolding recently when U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon mocked our country’s pathetic efforts at reducing green house gas.

He said it‘s time for Canadians to quit stalling – as a prosperous G7 member we should be providing global vision and leadership on this issue.

Barrack Obama used to be the hold-up and China was a big problem too but a recent agreement between those two leaves Canada with some explaining to do.

Among 34 nations surveyed, only Australia matched our dismal record on climate change, isolating and embarrassing us even more among world nations.

When Canadians were polled, 78 per cent said they were concerned about the problems we are creating for future generations to deal with.

However, one-third think we are doing as well as any country in reducing greenhouse gas and another third actually think we are already doing more than most nations.

The Secretary General called on Stephen Harper to look beyond domestic politics and make a transformative change to a climate resilient economy.

Are you kidding, Mr. Secretary; have you met our PM?

Every breath he takes is politically motivated and in Ottawa, success is spelled with three dollar signs.

Mr. Harper says no thank you to that suggestion and will not put his economic policy (or re-election chances) in peril or jeopardize the oil and gas industry.

He is waiting for all this climate-change kerfuffle to simmer down so we can start exporting more tar sands crude and heat up the planet real good.

And now there is increasing evidence that his plan is working.

While the developed nations of the world drag their feet on climate change, carbon levels in the atmosphere continue to rise and at increased rates.

We hear about a “tipping point” or a point of no return when Mother Nature wins and we switch from simmer to medium-high.
It’s a doomsday scenario but there is no reason why Canadians shouldn’t benefit from global disaster.

If reducing greenhouse gas won’t work and the planet is done like dinner anyway, we might as well just carry on and get what we can while we can.

Pumping Alberta gas around the world will mean billions in profits for Canada and Canadians and economic prosperity will be assured – for a while, at least.

We can use all that extra money to build stuff, buy stuff, gas up our automobiles and maybe even get involved in some foreign wars.
As for the severe weather, rising sea levels, acidic oceans, floods and famines – we can cross those bridges when we get there.

In an ominous development, a growing number of scientists have thrown up their arms in frustration, saying that even our best effort is too little, too late.

They have accepted the inevitability of climate change and the destructive power of human greed and indifference.

They have turned their attention instead to disaster management as they try to buy us some time before the planet is sautéed.

Solar radiation management involves spraying sulfur particles into the stratosphere to reflect away the sunlight and cool the Earth.

Another plan accomplishes the same thing by installing huge mirrors in outer space, effectively turning the Earth into a sparkling, planetary disco ball.

Some have even suggested painting all rooftops and road surfaces with reflective white paint.

Disaster modeling is becoming a growth industry as we desperately try to reverse the unintended consequences of our fossil fuel addiction.

We may keep the planet livable for a couple more centuries or so but there is no question about it – the temperature, and the water, is rising.