By Judi McLeod
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
When it comes to global warming, former US Vice President Al Gore rules. He rules in Scotland where his film, An Inconvenient Truth is 'compulsive' viewing for all of Britain's secondary aged students. He rules in Hollywood, where he's been nominated for two Oscars, one for best documentary feature and one for best original song, I Need to Wake Up, sung by Melissa Etheridge.
Gore has put global warming and climate change on such a high pedestal, it's reached what the National Post describes as religion status.
Gore's take no prisoner stance on global warming could earn him the nickname "Mr. G.W.", and no one's talking about President George W. Bush. According to 'Mr. G.W., the first commandment in his new religion is: "Thou Shalt not be a Skeptic."
But if there is one place Gore doesn't rule on global warming it's in the Land of the Maple Leaf.
In Canada global heat, Al Gore style is only lukewarm and now the former vice president is taking Canada's government to task for suggesting he endorsed its less than stellar performance on climate change.
When the global warming's messiah started out in Canada, he had lots of help from his friends. Back then, Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin was running the country next door. Martin's mentor, Maurice Strong is the architect of the Kyoto Protocol.
But one year ago on January 23, the Martin government was replaced with the Stephen Harper-led Tories.
Make that the same Stephen Harper who stated flat out in 2002 that "Kyoto" is nothing but a "money-sucking scheme".
Harper and Company still reject the emission-cutting targets of the Kyoto Protocol and have said they will vote against an opposition motion in Parliament to implement the treaty.
Gore yesterday issued a statement to distance himself from the Harper government.
"I understand that last week Canada's minister of the environment, John Baird, mischaracterized comments I made last summer as praise for the Harper government's actions on global warming," Gore wrote.
"The comments I made were designed to encourage the Harper government not to abandon Canada's tradition of fighting above its weight class on the world state as part of the Kyoto process," Gore said. "It is my experience that other nations do look to Canada for moral leadership. "I urge the Harper government to do the right thing."
But against Gore's urging, the Conservative government has abandoned Canada's greenhouse-gas reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, rejecting its targets as unattainable. The government has instead called for a series of other programs to fight global warming.
The former Liberal environment minister, Stphane Dion is now the Liberal leader and Conservatives have been poking fun of Liberal foot dragging during question period. If Dion really cared about the Kyoto Protocol, he would have done something concrete about it when he was environment minister the Tories insist.
Indeed, in the House of Commons, Baird has habitually responded to opposition questions by reading out statements ridiculing the Liberals record on climate change. Last week, he read out a purported endorsement from Gore.
"Canada (is) once again providing leadership in the world, fighting above its weight class and showing moral authority to the rest of the world. That's what Canada's known for," Baird read. "Do we know who said that yesterday? Al Gore."
But Gore said the compliments were paid last summer and not last week.
His statement, he reiterated, was taken out of context.
However, the government circulated a transcript from a Global TV interview that aired last week in which Gore said: "My friends in Canada tell me that across party lines, and in all regions, there is very strong support for Canada once again providing leadership in the world, fighting above its weight and showing moral authority to the rest of the world."
Before their minority government was replaced by the Conservatives in 2006, the Liberals had 13 long years in power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the Conservatives constantly remind them.
Under the Kyoto accord, Canada pledged to cut its emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. But the country's emissions are now more than 30 percent above 1990 levels.
"I saw the movie from Mr. Gore--it was called "An Inconvenient Truth," Tory MP Mark Warawa opined. "The inconvenient truth for Liberal members is that they did absolutely nothing."
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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