All right, after a nice break from reality…I’m back. Hope all of you had a nice holiday break…
So here are the big ticket items to look out for in ’08…both the US and Canada will go to the polls to cast a ballot for their new national leaders…
1) Up here in the Great White North, our very own ‘Boy From Brazil’ (if you don’t get the reference, see the movie and then continue reading) Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already thrown a carrot to the masses by dropping the GST by a penny…boy, what a great guy – I guess he’s not a Bush-loving, environment destroying jackass after all!
This will undoubtedly get him a certain level of support…but hopefully not enough to get re-elected. Let’s hope that need to reclaim our strong diplomatic reputation on the world stage and the protection of our most precious natural resources (air and fresh water) will win over corporate and monetary greed this time around…
Meanwhile, south of the boarder…
2) (Predictably) Iowans and New Hampshirites (?) selected the two most mediocre candidates the Democrats have to offer…Barack (if I talk like I’m channeling Martin Luther King, I don’t need to talk about real issues) Obama and Hillary (I never saw a corporate sponsor I’d ever say “no” to) Clinton.
Let’s hope for a better showing for Kucinich and Edwards in South Carolina and especially on Super Tuesday – speaking of which…please see the next post about ABC and the corporate media subverting the democratic process in American politics…
It is a sad reality that environmental concerns fly out the window as soon as people can make a quick cash grab. Greedy people making short term gains for other’s long-term losses are at least as old as the concept of currency itself…but then greed may very well be the original sin.
Up here, in The Great White North, most people are proud of our pristine lakes and forests. Our great swaths of untamed wilderness, but the reality is, the worst among us love money just as much as anyone else and you need to look no further than the recently renamed Oil Sands Project in Northern Alberta.
In an area roughly the size of the state of Florida, there is a massive oil-extracting project that is a boon to the Canadian economy (one of the factors keeping it strong and steady against the US dollar) and lining the pockets of fat cats both here and abroad…but there are questions that need to be answered like, “At what expense?” and “Where did all that oil come from in the first place?”
For some insight into the environmental and health hazards that directly linked to the Tar, er, Oil Sands Project, here are a couple of interesting links:
As for where it came from, well, that’s easy…dead dinosaurs, most likely. The better question is, why now? Well, in an article from last summer, Naomi Klein succinctly explains the timing for all of this as well as the link between the Iraq War and Canada’s new oil boom…check it out here.
In short, what used to be considered a very pricey oil extraction process has now become a relatively cheap oil extraction process thanks to (drum roll please) The Iraq War!
As the war contributes heavily to the rising price of crude, Tar, er, Oil Sands oil, once considered too costly and environmentally hazardous to extract has magically become relatively cheap and well, “less” environmentally hazardous to extract. Pretty neat, huh?
Due to heightened oil demand caused by the Iraq War as well as the generally acknowledged fact that we have reached peak oil production, and the constant rising crude oil prices, what used to be called “tar” magically gets renamed, “oil” and what used to be considered “environmentally hazardous and too expensive” suddenly becomes “just too damn tempting to resist”.
When you get right down to it, this is a filthy, environmentally dangerous cash grab by The Alberta and Federal governments as well as a handful of fact cat oil tycoons that have been waiting for decades exploit this opportunity – with little or no regard for the consequences of their actions.
This is not a proud moment for Canadians. We need to rally together and start acting like we care about our precious natural resources, our once pristine land, as well as our health and the health of future of future generations…
Call your MP, sign a petition, give to those on the front lines of this thing, but most of all, do not turn a blind eye to what is becoming a very common trend – selling off our land and our natural resources to foreign interests for a quick buck.
To lobby your local MP, go here. Put together a petition and send it to them – let them hear your voice.
As usual, Green Peace is at the fore front of this critical battle, to make a donation and learn more about what GP is doing to fight The Oil Sands project go here.
There are those who suggest dumping dirty fossil fuel burning technology for cleaner, more sustainable and “earth-friendly” technology presents an immediate threat to the economy – presumably the main reason for the present US and Canadian governments have rejected the Kyoto Agreement, as it would “steal money” from rich countries and prevent them from competing on equal terms with those that stayed outside the agreement.
Proponents of that kind of thinking would have you believe that there is a natural incompatibility between strengthening the domestic economy and drastically cutting reliance on petroleum sooner rather than later.
These same people would have you believe that there are no viable alternatives to petroleum at the present time, the most we can possibly hope for, is to improve gas mileage for motor vehicles while we wait for a miracle solution some time in the distant future, you know…after all the oil is finally gone.
Almost makes you think these people have something to gain by clinging to our old, dirty ways, doesn’t it?
Admittedly, the jury is still out on the hydrogen fuel cell technology and the so-called biofuels as short term solutions to reducing green house gas emissions, but an old relic from the past is making an impressive, albeit quiet return…the electric car.
You remember the electric car, don’t you? That thing that Ed Begley Jr. used to putter around in? Those GM cars were pretty impressive at the time, but I’ve got news for you – this new breed of electric car has to be seen to be believed.
Aside from drastically improving re-charge times and and mileage per charge, they look absolutely stunning and out-perform most sports cars on the road today…just take a look!
That’s right, thanks to huge advancements in rechargeable battery technology, companies like Tesla Motors and Zap are at the forefront of these impressive next generation vehicles.
I am an unabashed zealot of these new electric cars and I refuse to hide it.
I mean what’s not to like? They’re fast, slick, better for the environment and mostly American made. While the battery technology is Japanese in origin and (in the case of Tesla sports cars) the body is provided by The British (Lotus) the fact is, this is good old American know-how and entrepreneurship at it’s best and it’s a real positive sign of things to come…
Is there a downside? Well yes, of course, it’s not all great news. In the case of the Tesla vehicles, the price tag is too high for the average person and while the Zap cars address that issue, their cost-effective models may not provide the roominess that many families require…
Nonetheless, even these short-term hiccups must be looked at as part of a largely positive outlook for the new generation electric vehicles, because as more people buy them, prices will come down and the technology will continue to be perfected.
Constantly escalating fuel prices and a need to find alternative fuel options now that we’ve past peak oil production will only add to the attractiveness of this technology, but in my mind, the most impressive thing about these cars are that they are HERE and they are REAL…
Over time, the need to go greener, rebuild the dying domestic auto industry and create new jobs will only brighten the future of the electric car. There may be some push-back from “the good old boys” in the oil and old-school automotive industries, but now that the technology genie is out of the bottle, there is no going back…and they likely know it.
New, viable and sustainable technologies will emerge if we have the will and the vision to do it and companies like these are proving that there is a new economy growing out of the need to go green and get off of fossil fuels once and for all. In other words, we can make cleaner technology and also help the economy at the same time…go figure!
For more information on this impressive green technology – I’ve provided links to their respective web sites below.
