NOTE; My letter below, now appears in the Winnipeg Free Press online at: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/121825344.html as "Ditches not enough."
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Dear Editor,
It was quite a spectacle.
There was Prime Minister Harper, who once called climate change "a Communist plot," blissfully inspecting the devastation it has created in Manitoba before his very eyes.
But rather than launching a frontal attack on its root causes, he predictably promised to help Manitoba dig deeper ditches and build higher dikes.
Scientists who know the most about the topic have warned for years that climate change is playing a role in the terrible storms around the world which are getting worse and more frequent. And that, in all likelihood, includes the worst flooding this province has seen in centuries.
So, if we hope to protect our earthly home in more meaningful, lasting ways, we need to cut back on the fossil fuels we burn in our cars and passenger planes. We need meaningful emission control regulations and clean energy sources now.
If this is not done, we will surely be placing future generations at even higher risk.
But I'm not naive.
I know that scandalous neglect by governments, industry and individuals has gone on for so long, we now have no choice but to take the kind of heroic and desperate measures to flood-proof our province which we are now taking.
I also know that action by Canada alone, won't go very far. This is a global problem. It needs global co-operation.
But leadership and backbone by Harper and his newly-minted government would go a long way.
Too bad they have neither.
Maybe in four years.
Larry Powell
Roblin, Manitoba, CA
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Please also read: High Waters: A Climate Connection to the Mississippi River Floods?
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2 comments:
Um, I don't know if you've noticed this yet but Harper just won a majority. He won a majority partly due to ignoring climate change. Those who ran against him lost votes partly due to not ignoring climate change. Based on the advice you are giving Harper on this blog, I suggest you stay out of the business of politics, you obviously aren't very good at it. Lol!
Anonymous.
Dear "Afraid-to-Identify Yourself,"
I don't know if YOU'VE noticed - I DON'T GIVE A S…. ABOUT POLITICS! Rather than naked power and political opportunism, I have opted to care about our planet and our kids, instead. If you expect me to be cowed into silence by the fact that climate cranks and cheerleaders for rich, powerful, planet-destroying polluters have won, think again.
And next time, when you are surfing blogs, perhaps you'd be more comfortable with ones run by the "deniers" and contrarians. Mine is actually designed for those who "get" the gravity of our planetary crisis!
(By the way, I hear there's an opening in the PM's office. Sounds like you might qualify.)
Yours truly,
"Not-Afraid-to-Identify-Myself,"
Larry Powell
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