10-30-2006, 09:15 AM
A stark new report commissioned by the British Govenment warns that global warming will have the same effect on western economies as the two world wars and the Great Depression
http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6096084.stm
One thing I believe you can say about the Blair government, is that they have tried to make a dent in environmental issues and have paid a bit more than lip service.
When I first came back to Canada, Britain was a dirty country that had no forms of recycling and hadn't yet even switched over to catalytic converters. Toronto by comparison seemed to be a nice clean city.
Fast forward and Toronto now gets about 30 smog alerts every summer (which mean the air is dangerous) and Canada's environmental policies are a disgrace.
The last Liberal government signed Kyoto knowing full well it was not going to make the remotest attempt to hit any targets. The new Conservative government have abandoned Kyoto (admittedly a very flawed agreement) but replaced it with a lot of nothing - a promise to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 in consultation with the oil and car industries. The new government won't even acknowledge global warming, as if it's some sort of plot. Even fellow Conservative Arnie in California, has seen the light flickerng somewhere from outside the cave.
Meanwhile Canadians, who often suffer under the misapprehension that they're global environmental boy scouts, are total energy pigs, with not the faintest concept of how to reduce their consumption. They loved their SUVs as much as Americans did and restaurants see air conditioning as a good reason to throw open their doors and windows, while leaving it on.
Canada does not even have an endangered species act, which has been federal law in the U.S since the 1970s.
At the very least, environmental concerns are a part of the national dialogue in Britain.
http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6096084.stm
One thing I believe you can say about the Blair government, is that they have tried to make a dent in environmental issues and have paid a bit more than lip service.
When I first came back to Canada, Britain was a dirty country that had no forms of recycling and hadn't yet even switched over to catalytic converters. Toronto by comparison seemed to be a nice clean city.
Fast forward and Toronto now gets about 30 smog alerts every summer (which mean the air is dangerous) and Canada's environmental policies are a disgrace.
The last Liberal government signed Kyoto knowing full well it was not going to make the remotest attempt to hit any targets. The new Conservative government have abandoned Kyoto (admittedly a very flawed agreement) but replaced it with a lot of nothing - a promise to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 in consultation with the oil and car industries. The new government won't even acknowledge global warming, as if it's some sort of plot. Even fellow Conservative Arnie in California, has seen the light flickerng somewhere from outside the cave.
Meanwhile Canadians, who often suffer under the misapprehension that they're global environmental boy scouts, are total energy pigs, with not the faintest concept of how to reduce their consumption. They loved their SUVs as much as Americans did and restaurants see air conditioning as a good reason to throw open their doors and windows, while leaving it on.
Canada does not even have an endangered species act, which has been federal law in the U.S since the 1970s.
At the very least, environmental concerns are a part of the national dialogue in Britain.