[JR: Obama did mention “climate change” — and of course he picked an advocate not a denier for VP. And, as you say, he had Gore precede him.]

McCain is just another politician who is a weather vane and is pointing the way the wind is blowing, a Maverick only in using the name when he clearly is not. He might be better once he is elected, but who knows, if he has to make this many compromises to get elected, he’ll just make the compromises to govern.

McCain is bad for a country that wants to do something about Global Warming. I got that. That idea is very clear and obvious. That one is easy. What is it though that could change the views of people about climate change and its present and especially future problems? That would be a political question that would be harder to answer. Because unless the public opinion on Global Warming changes, it’ll be hard for even those politicians who want to do something about it.

America can do what it likes but it wouldn’t fix climate change even if the whole country went zero-carbon.

What I was waiting for in the DNC and RDC speeches was a recognition that the rest of the world exists and that the US must cooperate with it on climate change. The only two people that made this point were Hillary and Bill. Maybe the Dems got the wrong person.

i mean, those are the durable goods. good money thrown after the alba-noose around our necks. the rest is process change, retooling, honest labor.

As a non-US citizen I want to hear your presidential candidates own up to this failure and commit to rectifying it. What chance does the IPCC have when the world’s biggest economy with the world’s biggest carbon footprint won’t play? None.

Instead all I picked up from the conferences was how the US would get off foreign oil (as an economic issue not a climate change issue). Very disappointing, especially if the solution turns out to be making oil from domestic coal, oil sands and oil shale.

Climate Change has always been on a back burner up here. Now Harper has called an early election because he knows that further down the road, apart from the failing economy, there are looming climate issues.

The rhetoric and ads that are popping up are just not on. Instead of alerting the electorate to the climate issue and debating it, they are playing it like it does not exist. Extremely Frustrating!

Where has the informed electorate gone? Why is it that Climate Change isn’t the big issue it should be at this stage?

It seems only bygones can raise the issue seriously….

Four former prime minister’s join call for climate change action

TORONTO — Four of Canada’s former prime ministers have joined business leaders, environmentalists and academics in demanding that the country do more to tackle climate change.

The one relatively recent signee, Paul Martin, did next to nothing
except make speeches when he was in office.

I also find it interesting to see who DIDN’T sign it.

Not being political here - both parties are equally guilty.

My 2 cents on the Canadian election…

I agree that in Canada, the Liberals had a piss-poor record in office. But they also tamed our deficit, turned it into a huge surplus, and gave Canada the healthiest economy in the G8. If Dion had taken over while the Liberals still held power, I like to think that we’d be doing much better at combatting climate change.

But the Conservatives, under Harper, have frittered away our surplus, promoted Tar Sands development above all else, and they seem to be making all the wrong decisions (including putting big money into biofuels and CCS).

The Sierra Club recently rated the environmental platforms of all five parties; here’s how they scored: Green Party (A -); Liberals (B+); NDP (B); BQ (B); and the Conservatives (F). After all, our current government won’t impose any hard CO2 caps until after 2020.

I’m trying to do my bit. I’m launching Project ABC tomorrow — Anything But Conservative (at anythingbutconservative.com) because I can’t sit on my hands any longer and do nothing.

I know that I’m naive, but I still like to think that together, we are mighty.

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/can.html

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/400/

I am still making up my mind on who to vote for, but I will be needing balanced reports of the facts instead of overly biased articles like yours.