The debt ceiling was recently raised in the U.S. Immediately afterwards, U.S. President Obama announced that he plans to propose a $1 billion fund in his 2015 budget “to help communities prepare for the effects of climate change and to fund research and technology to protect against its impact.” It appears that no one on his staff has informed Mr. Obama about a major 2013 U.N. report on climate change.
The United Nation’s Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change released a 1200-page report in October 2013. It was prepared by 50 scientists. Excerpts from the report include this statement:
“We conclude no unambiguous evidence exists for adverse changes to the global environment caused by human-related CO2 emissions. In particular, the cryosphere is not melting at an enhanced rate; sea-level rise is not accelerating; no systematic changes have been documented in evaporation or rainfall or in the magnitude or intensity of extreme meteorological events; and an increased release of methane into the atmosphere from permafrost or sub-seabed gas hydrates is unlikely.” (http://www.climatedepot.com/2013/09/18/climate-study-evidence-leans-against-human-caused-global-warming-group-of-50-international-scientists-releases-comprehensive-new-1200-page-report/)
This means that climate change is a poor basis for spending taxpayer funds.
Harper was right not to attempt to meet the Kyoto Protocol targets for Canada that was agreed to by Chretien’s Liberal Government in 1997 but not acted upon during their remaining 9 years in power.
He was also right not to invest heavily in “green energy” like McGuinty’s Liberals have in Ontario. The Liberals have wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on, among other things, a contract with Samsung and giveaways to solar and wind entrepreneurs. His successor, Kathleen Wynne, is now trying to revise and downgrade the program (http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/06/24/kathleen-wynne-backing-away-from-mcguintys-ontario-green-energy-act/). Think how many more billions of taxpayer funds would have been thrown away if Harper had undertaken the equivalent plan at the national level!
Fortunately, unlike Obama’s government, Harper’s Conservative Government tries to avoid spending our money on “pie in the sky” programs advocated by well-intended but closed-minded activists. That’s one of the reasons we are heading for – and will undoubtedly achieve – a balanced budget in 2015!
