PART 1: You’re Living the ‘Green New Deal’. How Are You Enjoying it So Far? – Deidra Garyk

Part 1 – Deidra Garyk

Part 2 – Coming Thursday, April 30th!

If you are enjoying forced isolation, you’ll love the Green New Deal. If you aren’t, well, perhaps you need to read the manifesto a little closer to understand what is being proposed by the climate alarmism movement and the associated politicians like Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) in the USA and Green Party of Canada MP Elizabeth May.

The Green New Deal is a policy initiative to transform economies to address climate change and inequality, touting that we only have until 2030, ten years, to take action to avoid catastrophic climate change.

It’s a noble-sounding manifesto that first attracted attention in the USA when it was unveiled by AOC et al. Little known is that several Canadians who drafted the Leap Manifesto, including Naomi Klein and husband Avi Lewis, helped draft the Green New Deal. As a result, it has some very slanted policy proposals and is ready to impose more restrictions on us – stop having kids, stop eating meat, stop flying, stop driving, stop the use of plastics, stop all fossil fuels.

There are some worthwhile considerations that came out of last year’s cross-Canada townhalls attended by a small group of 7,000 people. There is value in ideas such as protecting biodiversity and nature, along with stopping the dumping of waste in waterways. However, at the heart of the Green New Deal is a manifesto that wants to implement some form of Socialism.   You can read a summary of the townhall discussions here and see for yourself: https://act.greennewdealcanada.ca/what-we-heard/

Fifty Percent Reduction in Emissions by 2030

To meet the emissions targets set out in the Green New Deal will require continued disruption to our economy and way of life. We’re getting a taste of what a Green New Deal-future looks like with the world-wide COIVD-19-related restrictions.

If implemented, the Deal requires a fifty percent reduction in emissions by 2030, meaning that if Canada produced 729 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2018, we’d have to cut 365 megatonnes in ten years.

To illustrate the magnitude of this obligation, we must understand historic emissions. Since the governing Liberals took office in 2015, Canada’s emissions increased by nine megatonnes. Climate change is the Liberals’ top priority, and yet emissions increased, suggesting it isn’t as easy to reduce as people think.

There is a lot of talk from the climate change movement about how the shuttering of many industries due to COVID-19 has dramatically and noticeably reduced emissions, meaning that we’ve found the solution – shut in industrial activity permanently. Unfortunately, the World Meteorological Organization has admitted that it’s been difficult to measure the reduction in CO2 because the drop would have to be large enough to stand out from naturally occurring CO2. Separating out the CO2 resulting from fossil fuel use is even more difficult, they say.

Consider what needs to be done to noticeably reduce emissions. Transportation cuts, including air travel, would have to be on the table. We’ve seen the devastating effects on the tourism industry from COVID-19-related travels bans. Beautiful Banff, Alberta currently has an unemployment rate of eighty five percent. There are no tourists in the town, causing most businesses revenue to decrease by one hundred percent. The community fabric is at risk of being torn apart because, with no income, many seasonal workers are being forced to leave. It’s absolutely tragic and not something to be celebrated. Unemployed workers in Banff, this could be your new normal under the Green New Deal.

The unsung heros of the COVID-19 pandemic have been the truckers who have worked tirelessly, sometimes without adequate food or restrooms, to deliver essential goods. In order for the supply chain to function effectively, it requires fossil fuels to power these large trucks, and lots of them. Not to mention the cargo planes and ships that bring goods from overseas. It would take a lot longer to get supplies if these were powered by wind, solar, or biomass, and because the Green New Deal wants to eliminate all fossil fuels as early as 2040 (and does not identify support for nuclear), these are the options that would be available. How long are you prepared to wait for an overseas’ shipment of PPE during this pandemic?

Part 2 on Thursday, April 30th

 

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