Part 2
Now the next jump of logic. Why deny global warming?
Because, if the public accept global warming as a reality then its going to be harder to hold back alternate energy research, which will then make it harder for the robber oil barons to make all the big bucks when we reach "Peak Oil". With alternate fuels in place before the peak, supply and demand wont be of such consequence and these folks wont get what they have been waiting for. James Woolcott wrote a chilling post in his blog very recently which should raise many questions.
The oil sands of Alberta and the new conservative government of Canada
Canada has been developing a new energy source, which has made the Alberta government of Canada very rich. The Tar sands. Its basically digging up sand that has oil in it, and separating the two, and refining the oil. If you follow that link there's detailed diagrams and a far better explanation than I can give. The only thing that is missing is an explanation of where the waste product from this process goes. And its a doozy.
The waste water, is stored in huge holding ponds, chock full'o'toxic goodness. An excellent photo essay by Katherine Bourzac which shows and explains it is here. Can you imagine something the size of lake Ontario, which will seep into the groundwater and kill all living things in the vicinity?
There has been an increase of cancers and other illnesses in Alberta in the areas around the processing plants which was covered in this CBC article detailing why a medical examiner in Alberta is calling for investigation into this new threat to the residents, including the native population in the area. Wildlife, forests and the health of the people are all in jeopardy from this method of processing. These concerns are trivialized by the Provincial and Federal Governments and Companies, as the monetary prize is more important to them than protecting the environment and the people of Alberta. (Who knew?)
So, to summarize what the long term affects of this project will be:
Removal of forests over the tar sands to dig for sand to process for oil. Which contributes to global warming because these forests play an important role in climate regulation and carbon storage. This also leaves huge areas of the earth where nothing will grow for many many years.
It takes two barrels of oil, to produce enough energy to refine three barrels of oil derived from the tar sands. This is a small return on this resource.
The waste product that is predicted to soon be the size of one of the great lakes, which seeps into the groundwater killing wildlife and people.
The air pollution caused by the refining process itself.
Drought and water shortages. The tar sands will use all the drinking water in that province, which will then be used to fill up those huge lakes of ooze.
Im sure you are asking yourself, why on earth would you include the Conservative of Canada in that header at the top there?
Besides the Klein Konnection, the conservatives are very involved in Alberta as it will play a huge roll in their plans to pay their homage to their divine gods, the Republican admin in Washington, DC.
Since the Harperites are so very secretive, to the point of muzzling their own cabinet members, and holding SUPER SECRET meetings in Ottawa back rooms and sleazy pool halls, while practicing a secret knock or reciting their secret neocon pledge to rid the world of liberals and hedonistic marxists worldwide.
In the past Harper endorsed and even signed, the now infamous (wasn't this a great use of foreshadowing?)firewall letter. They were kind of quiet on the subject of the environment during the elections. The point of the last campaign was to convince the voters of their warm fuzziness and wholesomeness, the whackos were actually hidden in banquet hall kitchens during voter meet'n'greets.
In the first few minutes of Harpers ministerialness, we have seen the Government of Canada publicly admit to the non compliance to Kyoto and their complete intention to simply ignore it. They have quietly, almost secretly, cut funding on programs and committees that would look at global warming, and issue warnings and look for ways to use any positive outcomes, to help us survive with less fossil fuel. Then they place programs that they insist will help with emissions from cars in cities, like the new transit passes. These sneaky underhanded attacks on the environment really haven't been appearing in the mainstream news much, one needs to be a follower of the blogosphere, or environmental news in particular to truly see where this government is going. The fact that they managed to inflict such damage in only 3 months at the time of this writing, really brings home the Harper agenda. LOG IT! BURN IT! PAVE IT! BUILD A WALMART! (OK, I added that last bit). Harpers policies, which are so drastically apparent already, will only serve to make it easier for conservative provincial governments to implement their own scorched earth policies. BC's report card shows how the so-called Liberals (read: right wing big biz, their name means nothing) sold out on many environmental goals.
90 scientists wrote Mr Harper an open letter recently, it outlines what's coming up, and is asking him to please do something now. This was a response to a letter from the Global warming skeptics. Guess which group has actual scientific backgrounds and data, and which ones are religious whackos, some scientists using proven flawed data, and big business interests? Dr William Kininmonth,Dr Sallie Baliunas, Dr Robert H. Essenhigh,Dr Roy Spencer, Dr.Richard S. Lindzen, Dr Tim Ball, Dr Fred Michel etc...I think you can see a pattern. (I had to stop googling at this point as I felt ill...)
Tomorrow; Part 3. With some not so pretty pictures.