The Steel City Grit (in exile): "...His imagination for his facts"

Thursday, July 27, 2006

"...His imagination for his facts"

This is pretty funny stuff. I don't know why it hasn't been news yet:

...Canadian teachers developing internet resource materials about climate change have been left in limbo since the Harper government quietly shut down the main government website on global warming, www.climatechange.gc.ca on June 30. The government had provided tools for teachers to help them teach Canadian students about climate change, but all of that information has now been removed.

Mr. Holland said the government has abruptly shut down the site. Previous government news releases about climate change and other information about the issue have also been expunged from government websites.

A shocking control-of-information ploy? Perhaps, but one must have some sympathy. If you were an economist that wanted to argue in the face of such overwhelming scientific consensus, you have to level the playing field somehow. In this case, it is by eliminating fact.

I've really been sweating about this thing lately. So c'mon conservative commenters - make me forget about 1000 scientists. Tell me how a hot day in Saskatchewan 75 years ago disproves the climate change hypothesis.

6 Comments:

Zac said...: Tell me how a hot day in Saskatchewan 75 years ago disproves the climate change hypothesis

Oh, I do so love when they bring out that lame argument. Always good for a laugh.; 10:12 AM
Jay said...: Take a look at this article from www.thetelegram.com ( I posted it here for convenience) The Harper governement is not only dropping the ball on climate change but also on Protection of Species.

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Go ahead, fill yer boots

There are really only three choices. One explanation is that King Cod is back and no one got around to telling us.

Another is that there are so few fish left out there that an unregulated recreational fishery doesn’t matter a hill of beans anyway.

The third explanation — and probably the most likely — is that the people running the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) have caved in and decided to grease the squeaky wheel, regardless of the ecological cost.

Whichever explanation you pick, it’s hard to fathom why, after years of being publicly vilified because this province had only a strictly limited food fishery, the federal government would turn around and open the barn doors again.

No tags, no licences — a fishery open to any resident or non-resident, with more than a month in which to take as many as five fish a day. To be frank, it sounds more like capitulation than regulation.

And listening to DFO officials lamely trying to explain the rules is even worse. They’ll know how many fish are being caught by vessel sampling and boarding. They’ll know if they need to shut the fishery on an urgent basis because too many fish are being caught. They’ll know if the regulations are being broken.

It strains credulity.

More than anything else, it sounds as if the federal government has simply thrown its hands in the air, and said, “If they want to go ahead and fish cod into extinction, let them.”

Keep in mind, this is a fish that in 2003 was considered endangered by the federal body that protects endangered species, and only escaped being registered under the federal Species At Risk Act by dint of political brinkmanship. Federal politicians excluded the species from registration only after taking the unusual step of examining the fiscal cost to the province of designating the species for protection — in other words, the environmental equivalent of allowing destructive clear-cutting right down to the edges of rivers in a short-term effort to protect paper mill jobs.

It’s a clear choice to let economics trump ecology, and to turn a blind eye to the effects in the future.

Now, less than four months after that decision, the federal government has opted for a wide-open recreational fishery, saying that they feel they will be able to ascertain, from obviously incomplete surveillance, whether or not too much fish is being caught.

More than anything else, it looks like the federal government has just plain given up. Instead of surrendering the turf, they’ve surrendered the water.

There are plenty of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who trumpet that they have a “God-given right” to catch cod in a food fishery.

What kind of wrong is it to take part in fishing species virtually to extinction?; 10:56 AM
Jay said...: Maybe he is leaving it to solve itself like the fiscal imbalance. Mr. Harper seems to think that the real issues facing Canadians will solve themselves.

I agree, after the next election, the Liberals will be solving it for them.; 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Here in BC i have seen nothing related to the two incidents that are posted here (climate change website closed, and DFO opening access to cod fishery)... This is beyond troubling. In 2001 we had a landslide majority rightwing gov't elected and they proceeded to cut and slash everywhere, ripping up signed contracts, reducing # of social workers who monitored children in gov't care, etc. The damage was so extensive that the msm couldn't keep up with it -- well, those who were interested in telling the stories, that is.
It's a familiar conservative ploy, confuse and exhaust your enemies and let the rich get richer...; 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: I like it! Good job. Go on.
»; 11:17 AM
Anonymous said...: Your site is on top of my favourites - Great work I like it.
»; 8:51 PM

Thursday, July 27, 2006

"...His imagination for his facts"

6 Comments:

Contributors

Previous Posts

Links