Dec. 21, 2006: Media Poll Cats & Kyoto

Mis-dated: This should have been Dec. 21, 2006, not Dec. 20, 2006. Sorry.

Environics / CBC Poll and Kyoto

Green Blarney , Terence Corcoran, Financial Post, December 19, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=
422fefa7-28cc-4c80-a9d5-9f3dceadc52d

[....] an Environics/CBC poll ....

The first noteworthy point is that the poll was conducted between November 2 and 4, just days after release of the British Stern report, the global headline- grabbing doomster document that warned of looming economic chaos in the face of global warming. The report, since widely discredited as junk economics, also coincided with media reports that the Conservative's Clean Air Act was inadequate and a national embarrassment.

[The poll ...] lumps all environmental concerns into one response while it meticulously disaggregates other issues .... Donna Dasco ... sees no problem ... garbage, smog, chemicals, Kyoto and climate change -- as one subject ... economy, unemployment, taxes, debt and cost of living ....

The poll is intended to form public opinion, not to inform. CBC's involvement is not coincidental. It never is, in my opinion

If Mr. Harper and the Tories care about making good policy, there is only one way to take on environment policy. It is not possible to tackle climate change and the Kyoto Protocol without facing the fact that the Kyoto Protocol is a failed global agreement whose targets cannot be met. It also means dealing realistically with the conflicting science issues. No government of Canada can possibly win support by pursuing a Kyoto climate scheme that everybody knows is unworkable, undoable and useless. Mr. Dion knows it, Ms. May knows it and Mr. Layton knows it. But they will keep pushing the Conservatives to respect Kyoto, knowing that it can't be done. The perfect trap.

Good assessment and good advice.