Richard Zurawski

Now here is something that really, pardon the weather pun, frosts my shorts. The expression is appropriate though. In its efforts to make sure the Federal Government climate agenda receives no resistance from any part of the government, the Ministry of the Environment has muzzled its weather scientists. They have to toe the government line on the issues of weather and climate change, no matter what the studies, researches and information say. All this so that Minister Baird can continue to have an easy ride with the outrageous stances the Feds take in climate change a justify doing nothing about lessening the burden on our hapless atmosphere.

So, what if the Federal Environment Minister is the country’s most prolific purveyor of hot air. Here’s a little taste of his policies perspective. He is a staunch proponent of biofuels, one of the most misguided and stupid plans for the reduction of green house gas emissions ever. Biofuels actually create more climate change gases in the long run. Then there are the tar sands, an atmospheric, geologic and chemical scar on the ecosystem, one that keeps us rich because of the market of our best customer, the US. Its the single biggest source of CO2 in Canada! Baird stunned the world at Bali Climate Change Conference and embarrassed Canadians worldwide with his rhetoric about climate change which was designed to appease the US, Chinese and Saudi petrochemical interests and do as little as possible in stemming emissions. Baird’s idea of progressive climate change action is to defer any substantial action until 2050 and let the good times roll until then.

In Environment Canada we possess some of the best minds in the world studying climate and weather and offering their expertise and findings to any who have wanted it. Though they were funded by the government, until this government, they were never interfered with. Now all that has changed. The government muzzle is being clamped down hard. No scientists may talk with the media before his or her findings have been cleared by the Minister’s office. I have to ask, what expertise in the climate and meteorology does Baird have and how is it that his buffoonish ideas hold any sway at all?

Here is yet another example where this government seeks to control information, crucial, all important information, that comes from the people who actually study, understand and work with information about the climate, who are on the front lines in collecting the data, interpreting it, creating meaningful projections and scenarios. Yet they are now forbidden from releasing their finding to you and me, the people who pay for the studies, who must have this information in order to make informed decisions. What right does this government have to control what scientific information you and I have access to? How dare they muzzle climatologists and scientists in order to make their own propaganda look better. I am outraged. There is no excuse for this kind of Kafkaesque policy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 7:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.