Carbon Footprints in the Election Campaign

A report on the CBC National last night reveals that the four federal parties are creating in their campaign travels a carbon footprint of 45x the average  of an ordinary Canadian household for a year -- a total of 405.5 T.   And the campaign has just started. Surely, there’s a less carbon intensive way to run a campaign, or does politics once again trump the environment?

At least the Liberals, Dippers, Bloc, and Greens are buying carbon offsets, and Elizabeth May to her credit, as we would expect,  is using the least carbon intensive modes of travel she can -- a Prius and trains.   Not the Harperites, who have chalked up the most kilometres at13,500 generating 139.5T of carbon emissions.   Of course not.

Now here’s something politically entertaining.  Get this: they actually consider their campaign promise of a loan guarantee to Newfoundland for a hydro project a serious contribution to reducing carbon emissions.   Yeah, that’s right:  a campaign promise,  a loan guarantee (of our money), vitual money, not a real initiative, not real action.

Let’s end here on a whimper if not a groan:  at least they’re consistent in their total disregard for the environment, but consistency in everything this party does, as we know, is not a virtue.

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