Canada is sinking to the bottom of industrialized countries when it comes to its environmental record, a new report from the David Suzuki Foundation says.
It ranked 28th out of the 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development based on 29 environmental indicators. Those include its approach to energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, recycling, air pollutants, pesticide use and the number of protected areas.
Only the United States (30th place) and Belgium (29th place) had a worse record...
The study found that Canada's greenhouse-gas emissions are two times higher and smog-causing air pollutants are two to three times higher than average for other industrialized countries...
The study also revealed that Canada's inefficient water use is contributing to its overall poor ranking. Per capita consumption is almost double the OECD avearage.
As noted by the article, the failure to improve in many areas isn't for lack of ready means to do so, as many other countries have already managed to implement precisely the types of policies which can help. The problem is that policy choices effectively encourage emissions and water use as compared to the alternatives.
Granted, you'd never know that current technology and policy can make positive changes by listening to Bob Mills, the Con MP cited in the article who promotes plasma gasification of garbage (while apparently ignoring the water and emissions issues). Mills is right in criticizing the Liberals as being all talk and no action, but he also highlights his own party's penchant for putting speculation about future technology ahead of sensible immediate measures.
It shouldn't be too difficult to create disincentives toward overuse of resources, and concurrent incentives toward sustainable industry. And the Liberals' complete failure to take any action in that direction should make voters take another look at who's actually looking to protect the environment.
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