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A real live Canadian weighs in

If Capo di tutti Capi Roberts demands answers, who am I to refuse the call?

Below the fold, my thoughts on the choice of Stephane Dion for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. The short version: modest optimism.

He’s green as green can be

Apparently there was a Liberal Party convention in Canada this weekend, with all the twists, turns, and drama you've come to not expect at all from Canada. The end result was a "stunning upset": underdog and "straight shooter" Stephane Dion, an academic-turned-politician who most recently served as Canada's Minister of the Environment, was elected new head of the Liberal Party and, in all likelihood, the next Prime Minister of Canada.

Dion has made environmental issues the center of his public life and his campaign. He's a big backer of Kyoto (he even named his dog after it!). See here and here for two remarkable speeches on how to make a greener Canada.

Perhaps John, our resident Canadian, can step in and offer us some informed background. Oil Drum Canada has some reflections.

Here an extended excerpt from Dion's acceptance speech:

‘Govern’, that is

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said the bill would send a positive signal to voters as Republicans transition into the minority.

"It would be good if we could get a few things done on the way out the door and show people that ... we really can govern," Kingston said.

What is this bill, you ask, that can overturn four years of evidence and convince voters that the Republican Congress can govern?

Why, a bill to open up off-shore drilling, of course.

And you thought they put fealty to corporate contributors over good governance!

(via TP)

It’s a disaster, not a catastrophe

A Guardian story suggests that we may have as much as eight degrees of global warming already locked in, in the form of stored heat in the ocean. But a substantial stored-heat backlog in the ocean has been well-known for some time. That it is greater than expected is bad news -- but (as I've confirmed in correspondence with Gavin Schmidt of Real Climate) this does not mean that all or most of that stored heat is going to "come back" and fry the planet, provided we take action in time.

I know James Lovelock, the brilliant inventor of the Gaia hypothesis, is spreading the "8 degree" misinterpretation, but most climate scientists do not agree with him.

Climate disruption is a serious crisis for the human race, but the reality is bad enough. No need to make solving it harder by exaggerating the threat. RealClimate has posted a number of articles debunking exaggerated panic-mongering:

Dingell and other Democrats plan oversight hearings on environmental issues

“There has been literally no oversight in the last six years,” Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), incoming chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told Muckraker yesterday. “It’s been nothing more than Kabuki theater.” That’s why Dingell says he’s gearing up to hold oversight hearings investigating the Bush administration’s energy and environmental policies, as are […]

Get ready for a special series

Been hearing a lot about "biofuels"? Having more and more trouble concealing your ignorance about them? Wish someone would pull together a special series of articles, explaining the differences among various biofuels, analyzing who profits from them, listing the various political initiatives around them, interviewing experts, and answering once and for all the vexed questions about energy balance?

Well aren't you in luck! On Monday morning, steer your browsers to grist.org. All your questions will be answered.

Let’s

Variety's special package on the greening of Hollywood is pretty good. Joel Makower has a nice rundown.

Joel says one thing I'd like to follow up on:

... the last thing the environmental movement -- always struggling for relevance as a mainstream force in America and elsewhere -- needs is a closer alliance with the left-leaning Hollywood elite.

He doesn't make too much of this, but it's a common sentiment, so it's worth addressing.

What a jerk

Parody? Sadly, no:

Proposals by congressional Democrats to eliminate oil industry tax breaks and subsidies would set a bad example overseas and discourage new industry investments, Exxon Mobil's top executive said Thursday.

Rex W. Tillerson said moves suggested by leaders of the incoming Democratic congressional majority would encourage similar steps by governments abroad, where Exxon Mobil Corp. generates the bulk of its profit.

"I think the bigger concern I have is not so much the economic direct effect of the fact that they want to take a tax break off here or there. But it's the message it sends the rest of the world that you don't have to provide stable (regulatory) frameworks," Tillerson told reporters after a speech to the Boston College Chief Executives' Club.

"And if that happens, none of us are going to be able to take the risk in this business."

If they can't rely on coddling and favorable treatment from the world's governments -- all of whom look to U.S. Democrats to set their regulatory course, mind you -- U.S. oil companies, the most profitable corporate enterprises in history, will cease investing in their central product.

What can you even say?

Bush tacitly acknowledges he’s lost on the environment

The GOP has figured out that its defiantly retrograde stance on the environment -- including energy and climate issues -- has become an electoral liability. How can you tell?

Here's how:

Johnson goes flaccid on TRI

It's not the sexiest news in the world, but it's good: EPA head honcho Stephen Johnson has abandoned his effort to relax the requirements of the Toxics Release Inventory, one of the most unambiguously successful federal regulations of the post-war era.

Thanks, New Political Climate!