Does Earth Hour actually help the environment? Fri, March 25, 2011
Do you plan on sitting in the dark this Saturday night?
Around the world, people will make the symbolic gesture of showing they support a cleaner world and lower-carbon lifestyle by raising their carbon output.
Earth Hour, started in 2007, encourages people to show their support for the planet by turning their lights off and enjoying the world by candlelight. The problem, of course, is for most Canadians that means turning off a low-carbon energy source and burning pure fossil fuels.
The absurdity is likely lost on most professional environmentalists.
Why is it that oil companies suppress free energy inventions like the electric and water powered car? Why is it that the government knows about this but tries to lay blame on the people when it"s the oil companies that are to blame. Cash grab scam is the answer.
Glen
Glen, 2008-02-18 22:12:00
The argument seems to centre on the need for another tax to hold back global warming, as if the Government is going to buy giant air conditioners to cool down the planet.
We have the ability right now to build alternative electric or hydrogen powered cars but big oil does not want that. Big oil has invested trillions of dollars world wide on extracting and refining petroleum and they expect a return on that investment.
Why should a minor player like Canada be debating this issue when the issue is not even being courted by the major players?
Derek Bignell, 2008-02-18 21:57:15
A carbon tax will be regressive and due to price elasticity of demand, it will have little or no impact on reducing our consumption of carbon-producing energy as we still have no other viable alternatives. Governments will squander the carbon taxes in general revenues and we’ll permanently inflate the cost of living as this tax will never go away.
Governments can force industry to clean up their act by regulation and tax incentives and these costs/incentives will be passed onto consumers as the competitive capitalist system is supposed to do. This way, indirectly, the consumer pays the price of progress as the end user. Using tax incentives, regulations and legislation (preferably in that order), governments should be encouraging the proliferation of locally compatible alternative energy sources like wind, solar or the energy of the oceans. Mass transit systems should be the focus of all levels of government both within our cities and between our neighbouring provinces.
Taxes should be imposed on luxury items which burn excessive hydrocarbons; tax incentives should be offered to those manufacturers and consumers who choose products like hybrid vehicles, electric cars or super-small vehicles.
Let’s educate our kids and our foreign-aid recipients about the known dangers of over- using fossil fuels and encourage them to minimize their dependence on them and to conserve the planet’s resources for the future.
Louis d'Abadie, 2008-02-18 20:55:11
Great argument guys.Brings to mind Foghorn Leghorn and the chicken hawk.
It seems you've based your opinion on the likes of Elizabeth May and protesting college kids and Al Gore and his Green Peace crowd
Do your own unbiased research on all sides of this argument.
Don
don, 2008-02-18 20:07:59
oops
in my previous post I referred to a carbon credit but intended to say carbon tax.:(
I encourage those who are in favour of a carbon tax to go and squander your money on carbon credits instead and the the rest of us out of your little worlds...lol
uplink, 2008-02-18 19:59:29
I'm afraid I'm (and gozillions of others, no doubt) with goldstein on this carbon tax monster.
sure norway, holland, sweden and others have a carbon tax, and who do you think THAT'S been passed on to. go anywhere in those countries and you'll pay 15 to 20 bucks for a beer and 10 to 15 bucks for a burger.
btw berton, if you think the citizens of those countries are happy about what they pay for a simple burger and beer, then you must have been living under a rock for the last few years. as an OPEC nation with it's own north sea oil fields, they are not happy at all about the economic gouging they're getting thanks to oil.
there is no good argument for a carbon tax in north america. I'm all for tighter anti-pollution legislation with stiff penalties for non-compliance, but no way for a carbon tax and the economic suicide it will create, both privately and corporately. why can't the eco-nuts understand this?
canada ain't a small country with fast trains and moderate weather, that you can drive across in four hours. again ... what don't the eco-nuts not get here?
Kirk Cederberg, 2008-02-18 19:52:44
tweety,
I care about people, I want the poor to be able to heat their homes in the winter.
Why do you want to raise their energy bills higher? Don't you care about normal people?
Matt, 2008-02-18 18:38:21
We are the problem?? The oil companies (families) have suppressed the water and electric powered car and many other free energy devices for over 75 years. Paul Berton used to work for the Federal reserve. I suggest everyone learn that the Fed is privately owned and the families that own it have and are the cause of 90% of the worlds problems and wars. Read "The creature from Jeckle island" or watch "The money masters" on Google video for free to learn about the Fed. The carbon tax is a huge scam as are many of the other taxes. "The great global warming swindle" is another good free movie on Google video that proves that humans are responsable for less than 3% of the earths warming and how the earth is moving closer to the sun in a natural cycle as it has done before. We are causing pollution but the real problem is technology suppression by the oil companies (families). It"s all about the money. Do some reasearch and see for your self.
Glen
Glen, 2008-02-18 18:37:56
The carbon Tax is a good idea for the bad polluters that just do not care about the air that we all breath,but the GST should go from all the items that help to keep our environment cleaner and safer , like electric vehicles and so on !!
Ontario, 2008-02-18 18:23:12
Tweety???
why so narrow? did you sustain a brain injury or something?
Does Earth Hour actually help the environment? 
Glen
Glen, 2008-02-18 22:12:00
We have the ability right now to build alternative electric or hydrogen powered cars but big oil does not want that. Big oil has invested trillions of dollars world wide on extracting and refining petroleum and they expect a return on that investment.
Why should a minor player like Canada be debating this issue when the issue is not even being courted by the major players?
Derek Bignell, 2008-02-18 21:57:15
Governments can force industry to clean up their act by regulation and tax incentives and these costs/incentives will be passed onto consumers as the competitive capitalist system is supposed to do. This way, indirectly, the consumer pays the price of progress as the end user. Using tax incentives, regulations and legislation (preferably in that order), governments should be encouraging the proliferation of locally compatible alternative energy sources like wind, solar or the energy of the oceans. Mass transit systems should be the focus of all levels of government both within our cities and between our neighbouring provinces.
Taxes should be imposed on luxury items which burn excessive hydrocarbons; tax incentives should be offered to those manufacturers and consumers who choose products like hybrid vehicles, electric cars or super-small vehicles.
Let’s educate our kids and our foreign-aid recipients about the known dangers of over- using fossil fuels and encourage them to minimize their dependence on them and to conserve the planet’s resources for the future.
Louis d'Abadie, 2008-02-18 20:55:11
It seems you've based your opinion on the likes of Elizabeth May and protesting college kids and Al Gore and his Green Peace crowd
Do your own unbiased research on all sides of this argument.
Don
don, 2008-02-18 20:07:59
in my previous post I referred to a carbon credit but intended to say carbon tax.:(
I encourage those who are in favour of a carbon tax to go and squander your money on carbon credits instead and the the rest of us out of your little worlds...lol
uplink, 2008-02-18 19:59:29
sure norway, holland, sweden and others have a carbon tax, and who do you think THAT'S been passed on to. go anywhere in those countries and you'll pay 15 to 20 bucks for a beer and 10 to 15 bucks for a burger.
btw berton, if you think the citizens of those countries are happy about what they pay for a simple burger and beer, then you must have been living under a rock for the last few years. as an OPEC nation with it's own north sea oil fields, they are not happy at all about the economic gouging they're getting thanks to oil.
there is no good argument for a carbon tax in north america. I'm all for tighter anti-pollution legislation with stiff penalties for non-compliance, but no way for a carbon tax and the economic suicide it will create, both privately and corporately. why can't the eco-nuts understand this?
canada ain't a small country with fast trains and moderate weather, that you can drive across in four hours. again ... what don't the eco-nuts not get here?
Kirk Cederberg, 2008-02-18 19:52:44
I care about people, I want the poor to be able to heat their homes in the winter.
Why do you want to raise their energy bills higher? Don't you care about normal people?
Matt, 2008-02-18 18:38:21
Glen
Glen, 2008-02-18 18:37:56
Ontario, 2008-02-18 18:23:12
why so narrow? did you sustain a brain injury or something?
Biggot
dope
Hammertime, 2008-02-18 18:05:19