The political climate has shifted, people now want economic security, investment, and an increasing gdp per capita, with a decrease in regulation and barriers to investment.
It’s unfortunate he couldn’t see the importance of being a climate activist at the centre of the change and instead chose to be on the outside where he will have no influence or say.
19Facelift90 on
Well that’s objectively true. We’ve given up on even pretending to care. We as a society have far too many selfish and unintelligent people to make long term decisions without punishing the government who makes them.
Theseactuallydo on
He’s not wrong, but the public is focused on other things.
Say what you will about Guilbeault, and there’s plenty to say, he gives a shit waaaaay more than most politicians or people in general.
That’s an admirable thing in my eyes.
I think he’ll probably be more effective out of government.
wet_suit_one on
Related to this, I learned this morning that racoons are now or are soon to be a permanent fixture of Edmonton whereas they didn’t live here 20 years ago.
Climate change is real folks. The changes in the local critter population is telling your something.
Of course, no one is going to listen because the economy will forever be more important for the majority most of the time (not all of the time, but most of it).
So, in short, efforts to address climate change (especially in this country which is so dependent on fossil fuels for so many things like not freezing to death in the winter and transportation across its vast expanse) are a pretty tough row to hoe.
We’ll never lead on this issue and never have.
Which sucks, but there it is.
At least some progress has been made, sorta kinda, maybe. But I doubt we’ll ever hit any target we ever set for ourselves because we never have for structural / democratic reasons.
Sigh…
:-/
Winter8Bones on
It’s true. And sure we need to balance economic development and growth but we are going to fall behind on technology and alternative energy development, let alone reaching our climate goals, if we simply keeping depending on exporting oil and gas to keep our economy propped up. It’s not sustainable.
MightyHydrar on
Well, yeah. So is everyone. And the countries that do invest heavily in renewables aren’t doing it because they’re concerned about the climate, they’re worried about the national security implications of being dependent on energy imports.
I sometimes think we might’ve gone as far as we could with strict regulation and bans, and have to rely on other methods going forward. The pandemic kinda broke something in people in that regard.
Green tech is getting cheaper and more readily available. I’ve always believed that widespread adoption would come when it’s the cheaper, or the more convenient, or the more easily available option. Subsidising things like EVs with new rebates introduced earlier this year, or the funding for home retrofits in the electricity strategy (which was completely missed in all the reporting, because everyone was screaming hysterically about there still being some gas in the electricity mix) will make a difference in that regard. Another big deal would be supporting people in buying more efficient electric household appliances. The greenest electricity is the kind you don’t use because your fridge or your microwave or washing machine are more efficient.
6 Comments
The political climate has shifted, people now want economic security, investment, and an increasing gdp per capita, with a decrease in regulation and barriers to investment.
It’s unfortunate he couldn’t see the importance of being a climate activist at the centre of the change and instead chose to be on the outside where he will have no influence or say.
Well that’s objectively true. We’ve given up on even pretending to care. We as a society have far too many selfish and unintelligent people to make long term decisions without punishing the government who makes them.
He’s not wrong, but the public is focused on other things.
Say what you will about Guilbeault, and there’s plenty to say, he gives a shit waaaaay more than most politicians or people in general.
That’s an admirable thing in my eyes.
I think he’ll probably be more effective out of government.
Related to this, I learned this morning that racoons are now or are soon to be a permanent fixture of Edmonton whereas they didn’t live here 20 years ago.
Climate change is real folks. The changes in the local critter population is telling your something.
Of course, no one is going to listen because the economy will forever be more important for the majority most of the time (not all of the time, but most of it).
So, in short, efforts to address climate change (especially in this country which is so dependent on fossil fuels for so many things like not freezing to death in the winter and transportation across its vast expanse) are a pretty tough row to hoe.
We’ll never lead on this issue and never have.
Which sucks, but there it is.
At least some progress has been made, sorta kinda, maybe. But I doubt we’ll ever hit any target we ever set for ourselves because we never have for structural / democratic reasons.
Sigh…
:-/
It’s true. And sure we need to balance economic development and growth but we are going to fall behind on technology and alternative energy development, let alone reaching our climate goals, if we simply keeping depending on exporting oil and gas to keep our economy propped up. It’s not sustainable.
Well, yeah. So is everyone. And the countries that do invest heavily in renewables aren’t doing it because they’re concerned about the climate, they’re worried about the national security implications of being dependent on energy imports.
I sometimes think we might’ve gone as far as we could with strict regulation and bans, and have to rely on other methods going forward. The pandemic kinda broke something in people in that regard.
Green tech is getting cheaper and more readily available. I’ve always believed that widespread adoption would come when it’s the cheaper, or the more convenient, or the more easily available option. Subsidising things like EVs with new rebates introduced earlier this year, or the funding for home retrofits in the electricity strategy (which was completely missed in all the reporting, because everyone was screaming hysterically about there still being some gas in the electricity mix) will make a difference in that regard. Another big deal would be supporting people in buying more efficient electric household appliances. The greenest electricity is the kind you don’t use because your fridge or your microwave or washing machine are more efficient.