Friday, November 1, 2002
The Kyoto Accord and Newfoundland
By Peter Fenwick
How would you like to pay over a dollar a litre for gas, twenty cents more for home heating oil, and much more for electricity?
You can, and will, if the Kyoto Accord is ratified by the end of the year and we are forced to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.
We will also see a marked drop in offshore oil exploration, and a dismal decline in our rate of growth.
Today the government of this province, and the governments of four other provinces, including Ontario, Alberta and BC are opposed to the Kyoto Accord.
They see it as an unrealistic response to global warming that makes the cure considerably worse than the disease.
Kyoto is the usual environmental activists overreaction, that has caused misery in the developed world as governments react to alarmist predictions of doom and gloom, most of which have no basis in fact and rarely cause the problems predicted for them.
Ironically if Kyoto is enacted Newfoundland may be forced to start building dams on most of the small rivers left in the province. One of the big targets of Kyoto is plants like Holyrood that produce over a third of our electricity. On the island only small scale hydro projects remain.
If we want to live up to our Kyoto obligations, prepare to see the moratorium on small-scale hydro projects lifted immediately.
Which leaves me with one question for the environmentalists. Are you willing to see another ten star lake projects because of Kyoto?
Peter Fenwick is AIMS’ voice on Newfoundland and Labrador and can be reached at:
Peter Fenwick
P. O. Box 39
Cape St. George
Newfoundland, A0N 1E0
Business: 709-644-2273
Home: 709-644-2287
fax 709-644-2272
Cell 709-649-7070
