Environment
NDP Senses Changing Environment in the Polls
*Note: Post was edited Monday morning in light of details released in written platform.
As NDP leader Jack Layton is set to officially unveil his party's program here in Toronto today, what better time to take a look at the environmental platform?
It appears that Dion is worried about growing NDP support in Toronto and will be heading to Toronto as well to compete for support in this important battleground. Last week I took a look at the Liberal Green Shift and this week we'll see how the NDP plan stacks up.
While Layton seems to be focusing on his party as the only economically viable alternative to Harper's Conservatives, the environment has taken a bit of a surprising back seat role for the party this time around. He might benefit from Obama's performance in the presidential debates Friday night where it was stressed that a hands off approach to regulating industry and finance lead to the financial crisis hitting the US.
Let's loos at some key points in their ideas on environmental issues.
Give them credit for elaborating on some of their previously vague campaign promises. Although it still seems like on some points I'm left with more questions than answers. For example, "work cooperatively with all stakeholders towards meeting 35 percent of Canada's energy needs with renewable energy by 2020" is pretty easy to say and hard to discern actually meaning. Aside from the small issues raised, they have stuck to some main ideas:
Climate Change / Carbon Emissions
- NDP supports a cap-and-trade system where the government sets a limit on emissions in the country and industry buys and sells permits to stay in compliance. In this sense, it essentially achieves the same thing as a carbon tax (putting a price on carbon emissions). The limitwould be set at 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. But where does that leave us until then? Will they auction off permits? I'm left with too many questions. The Liberals and Greens have both come out with an actual price structure for their carbon taxes (please see a more detailed explanation of carbon tax versus cap-and-trade).
- It is emphasized that the NDP was responsible for pushing through the "Climate Change Accountability Act" adopted by Parliament in June 2008 as a precondition to passing the budget. The bill sets a target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, has already been passed, and making goals for 2050 doesn't mean much in my opinion.
Other
- Propose a $3 billion per year green-collar jobs fund
- Introduce Canada Environment Action Bonds to raise capital for green goals
- Invest in greener homes, cities, and public transport with allocations of almost $1 billion per year
- Halt new tar sands development until emissions are capped (I guess they don't really get any Alberta votes anyway...)
I like that they make considerable mention of preserving our "natural heritage" (conservation lands) but here as well I'm not seeing much in the way of concrete ideas for how to this with words like "encourage" and "promote".
The NDP have the advantage of being able to point out their environmental record on past issues, which in fairness, is pretty good. For example, unlike the Conservatives, they spoke out against the use of bottom trawling fishing methods.
Locally, prominent NDP candidate Olivia Chow is participating in "The Vote Meets the Economy: The Toronto Candidates Debate" at CBC's Glenn Gould Studio next Tuesday (Oct. 7th) night at 7pm, where she will clash with panelists Bob Rae (Liberal), Peter Van Lo-wan (Tories) and Nick Capra (Green).
Take a look for yourself at the NDP party platform as presented on their website and be sure to check out the mp3 version of Jack Layton interviewed on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin from last week.
Image from Iliall's photostream
Discussion
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Without details, it's just not a plan. It took almost a decade of negotiation for the EU to devise a cap and trade system. That's why the Liberals are proposing a carbon tax: it can be done immediately. They support cap and trade, too, eventually. But we need to start making progress now.
With the Liberals, we have (or had, maybe it's too late now) an established, electable party with a climate change plan and a sincere commitment to the issue. This is the chance for those of us who care about the environment to make a difference. Our failure to rally behind them so far has been appalling. If they do poorly on election day, Dion will be out and the Liberals will be looking for a new direction. The environment will be politically toxic -- no one in the mainstream will want to touch it again.
No kidding. Because, as Jeffrey Simpsons <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080926.wcosimp27/BNStory/specialComment/";>says so well</a>, the NDP isn't held to the same standards as the Liberals or Conservatives. They can (and do) promise anything and everything under the sun without regard to reality and they get a pass.
Worse, the NDP has to balance its manufacturing-union base against its environmental base. That results in crappy compromises on both fronts (see: cap and trade instead of a carbon tax).
The Green's and the Liberal's are better for the environment than the empty-rhetoric NDP. The possibility that they may end up holding more than a token number of Toronto seats is embarassing.
The Liberals, of course, promise many things but never actually get around to implementing them (see Nat'l Daycare for an example). Their "sincere commitment" never seems to become action, and they've had many years in majority to walk the talk. Jack Layton and the NDP have excellent environmental credentials and I for one trust them FAR above the other parties to do the right thing for Canadians and the environment.
Pages 24 to 29 spell out the party's environmental plank. Its much more detailed than Greg describes.
@Paul: Yeah the libs have promised stuff before and never gotten around to it, but I hope you see that Dion is so tied to the green shift that he cannot avoid implementing it. He's researched it, chaired the 2005 Kyoto Conference on Climate Change in Montreal, and even named his dog Kyoto. I cannot help but believe that if given a mandate, even a minority, he'd push the green shift through as the first order of business.
As a counterpoint though, I have to praise the NDP for being democratic. I sat in on a candidate selection meeting for the NDP a few years back (York South-Weston) and I was shocked that there were ballots and a vote was held to determine who would represent the NDP in the riding. It may have been more for show or just a formality but the speeches of the potential candidates seemed genuine.
From that platform, here are the "details" of the NDP cap and trade "plan":
- Make big polluters pay. We will put a price on carbon through a "cap-and-trade" carbon pricing system which establishes hard limits on pollution and a tough charge on polluters who exceed the limits.
- All revenue will be applied to environmental solutions.
What are the limits? What is the charge for exceeding the limits? How does the trading market work?
These are the issues that took the EU almost a decade to figure out. The NDP doesn't even have suggestions. Like I said, their "plan" is merely the expression of a preference for cap and trade.
What do you think? Holographic technology is still fairly new but there are scientists out there who believe we've only begun to tap into it.
There are also people working on holographic based cloaking devices for use in combat. In 10 years we could be looking back on the technology of today and laughing.
Thoughts?
Are there any you don't like?
I generally dislike love-songs.. or these girl power-thingies you see on MTV (but I guess that's normal for a guy).
Of the music I actually listen to I'm not particular fond of the workers ethics in classic rock songs.. you know, about the booze and the relationships that don't really go your way
I also dislike the superficial 'love for everything'-mumbo jumbo in new age music, it's so cheesy..
And the gore and porno-themes in some heavy metal.
Politics are also a real turn-off for me. Either I disagree with the views (and thus feel annoyed) or because it's too down to earth (I prefer fantasy).
My favourite themes are culture & history, mysticism and the occult, fantasy, war, nature, solitude and anger/hatred. Quite the bombastic stuff.
A woman was pregnant with triplets. For some reason (they didn't disclose for privacy purposes), one of them was born (not even by c-section but natural way) at 25 weeks and the doctors were successful in stopping the other two from coming out.
So now the woman is taking care of the preemie and is still pregnant with twins. In this case, are they still called triplets?
Anyone heard a familiar case? Supposedly, this is becoming more common especially for pregnancies due to fertility treatments/methods.
You barely know this person and its late at night,not super late but it
is dark out now.
Would you go?
Every year we have a themed party which includes costumes, food, music, backdrops to match.
Over the years we've had the following themes: China, Under the Sea, Colours, Out of Space, Countries, Black & White, Hawaii, History, Fairy Tales... Can't think of anymore.
Anyway they are real fun, seeing what everyone dressed up as and how they interpredted the theme idea.