Dear Editor,
Steve Gabell is a Canadian citizen I presume, as he is the president of the local Green Party of Ontario. Does he realize that in 2019 Canada contributed 1.5% to global greenhouse gasses, down from 1.8% in 2005 or a 17% reduction (GofC stats). This while China has increased its emissions from 18.7% to 26.4% of global emissions in the same time period. When examining the various countries, it is the under developed countries that produce increasing % share of greenhouse gases, whereas the industrialized western nations are reducing theirs in global terms, while the overall global CO2 rises. The Greens, like the Liberals, would increase taxes (carbon and other taxes) on petroleum products, in order to “save the planet”, while destroying the income stability of every citizen, while Canada contributes 1.5% of global emissions. I could imagine that the left has great joy that OPEC+ have reduced oil production by 2 million barrels a day in order to boost world prices and hopefully reduce consumption and reduce CO2 levels. And now the Liberals would force a 30% reduction in agricultural fertilizer use by 2030, making Canadian farmers less productive and so less profitable, reducing world food supplies and increasing Canadian and world food prices. Similar to the Dutch government seeking to reduce Dutch farmers productivity by even greater amounts. Look at Sri Lanka where the government in its “environmental wisdom” banned fertilizers and the nation starved the following year when crops declined. Has the left paid no attention to the world shortage of grains and increasing food prices? Having Ukraine food production and exports interrupted has affected the exported global food supply that much of the less productive nations depend on. Just imagine if every nation reduced its food production (by fertilizer reduction) by Mr. Trudeau’s ideal of 30%, how many people worldwide will starve? As Mr. Gabell wrote in his last article “our very existence is dependent on having a habitable biosphere”. True enough, but before that day would come millions may freeze or starve to death as the left wing “saviours” ride to our CO2 rescue. Just as Europe is bracing for a cold, dark expensive winter due to a lack of CO2 emitting natural gas! And Germany cannot “save itself” after a 2 trillion dollar “green energy” investment.
Let’s take a look at Germany as its government cast its weight behind “green energy”. According to Peter Zeihan “Electricity in Transition” Germany generates 10% of its peak demand energy by renewables after a 2 trillion dollar investment in “green energy” yet according to installed nameplate ratings, these facilities should be generating 200% of peak demand. Germany’s southern border is near the latitude of Thunder Bay. However, German peak demand is in winter at night when solar is “off”. Green energy is neither a “saviour” nor is it cost effective in many of the areas of the globe, including areas of the northern hemisphere, like Germany (Canada, Russia etc). Geography matters! This policy direction (and electrical taxes to pay for green energy) in Germany rocketed it to the 2nd highest global cost of electricity while they shut down nuclear and coal and increased reliance on Russian gas.
Perhaps the Greens and Liberals would salivate at following the European model and increase taxes on electricity, as it does on petrol. Europeans are “electricity poor”. As my cousin from Holland told me this summer, he washes his body by the sink as he cannot afford a shower as he prepares for a dark, cold winter.
That is our future under the “crisis” of the left. If CO2 does not kill us all, perhaps their preferred method of cold, hunger and darkness will get us first. Just as Stalin’s communists, the left only considers its idealistic intentions and not how those intentions are playing out in the real world.
Willem Van Dam
