So it begins. From the Calgary Sun:
EDMONTON — Alberta can’t make absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions during the current boom, says Environment Minister Rob Renner.
“You’re not going to get reductions in total amounts as long as the economy continues to grow and you have increased processing capacity,” he said.
“We want to ensure that anything that the federal government does doesn’t in any way target Alberta businesses and emitters.”
Translation: The Earth is a nice planet and all that, but we in Alberta can’t afford it. We have no obligation to the future if it in any way stops us from putting out the carbon and raking in the dollars.
That has all the moral foundation of quick sand. Or, should I say, tar sand.
“If is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it”
Upton Sinclair
Q: “So what did you do about climate change, daddy?”
A: “Well, it was difficult because we still had increased production capacity….”