Canada Seeks Applause for doing Global Warming Penance

Vincent J. Curtis

1 Dec 2015

The Hamilton Spectator has been more than usually childish of late, since, I guess, the election of Justin Trudeau.  Their enthusiasm for the Global Warming summit in Paris (COP21) has resembled that of a kindergarten teacher towards her students.  A few simple facts pour cold water on the big push for all Canadians to get behind the Global Warming hype.

This newspaper and others have been full of hope and arrant nonsense concerning the upcoming Paris conference on Global Warming.  In particular, a great amount of ink has been spilt in building up Canada’s participation and contributions to that meeting.

A few facts will show what a waste of time it is for Canada to invest itself in the Global Warming solution.

According to readily available sources, the world output of carbon dioxide in 2013 amounted to 35.3 billion metric tons.  Of this, China contributed 10.3 billion, the United States 5.3 billion, the European Union 3.8 billion, and India 2.1 billion metric tons.  Canada’s contribution was 0.55 billion metric tons, a negligible amount.

Since Canada’s contribution to world carbon dioxide emissions is negligible, a 30 percent or 50 percent reduction of negligible is still negligible.  There is no point in beating ourselves up trying to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions when whatever we do is insignificant to the problem.

But what of the moral effect of Canada’s putting on sackcloth and ashes in penance even though our sins are venial?

The biggest contributor by far is China, whose carbon dioxide emissions have gone up since the Kyoto agreement of 1996.  The communist government of China is unmoved by shows of self-sacrifice and moral vanity by western countries like Canada.  That government needs to grow the Chinese economy by 10 percent per year, for their lives and survival of their party depend upon it.  The Chinese government is unconcerned about rising sea levels and the fate of the Maldives.  The Chinese people have a culture that is nearly 7,000 years old, and the Chinese people have survived war and pestilence and disease.  They will survive global warming, even if some others may not.

The solution to the problem of Global Warming, if there is one, lies primarily in decisions made in China and the United States.  The chirpings and chest-thumping of pipsqueaks like Canada are distractions from the real solution because we take attention away from the biggest sinners in the desire to receive the compliments of the world.

Whatever Canada does is Paris and afterwards concerning Global Warming is entirely symbolic.  What we do is negligible.  It is what China does that matters, and we should shut up and allow attention to be focused on the government in Beijing.

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The "readily available facts" referred to above came from the "UN Report on the Aggregate Effect of INDCS; Joint EU Research Center" and published in The Globe and Mail Report on Business section of the Saturday, Nov 28, 2015 edition.  You think Spectator editors would have read it, and recognize the veracity of the information proffered above.

Kevin D. Williamson of National Review has also recognized similarity to religion of Global Warming enthusiasts.  In a piece published on NRO on 1 Dec 15 entitled 'The West's Self-Destructive Global-Warming Penance', Williamson calls the global warming crusade a "strange exercise of Protestant virtue."  He speaks of "a question of virtue masquerading as a question of engineering."

Of course, the Spectator lacked the courage to publish this submission.