Edward Burtynsky
Obamamania is in full swing in Ottawa today as the U.S. President makes his first state visit to a foreign country. Canadians are smitten by the new president and as one newspaper columnist wrote this morning, her women friends haven't been this giddy since the Beatles showed up in Toronto during the sixties.
While Obama will be here for just a few hours this visit is an important first step toward renewing what had been an excellent relationship until the regime of He Who Must Not Be Named. One of the issues to be touched upon is the way oil is produced in Alberta. Canada is the biggest supplier of oil to the United States --more than Saudi Arabia -- and much of it comes from the oil sands of Alberta. The way it is refined now makes it just about the dirtiest oil in the world in terms of pollution.
It has been described as "stupid to the last drop." Obama's government is committed to lowering greenhouse emissions, so finding cleaner sources of energy is a high priority.
Canada has done a fair amount of research on greenhouse gas sequestering, which is essentially securing it underground rather than pumping it into the air. Personally, it sounds like throwing stuff into a closet before the arrival of an important guest, such as, say, a president. There is only so much you can put in that closet and eventually you have to sort out the mess. But at least sequestering represents searching for a solution.
Many groups, including the Green Party and Christian denominations have consistently pestered our federal government to "clean up it's act" and create meaningful legislation which would regulate greenhouse gases. The churches have appealed on ethical grounds, motivated by a belief that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." It may be that a greener pres will bring about the change which is necessary.
4 comments:
Let's hope. What I find interesting is the hype and news that this visit received here in Canada, but our neighbours to the south didn't even know he was coming to Canada. We have family in the US, and I was talking to them last night and mentioned that Obama was coming to Canada, they were surprised to hear this and up until then, it had not been reported in the US. Maybe today it was reported, I haven't chatted with my family today. Very interesting how media sees everything and different countries interpret things differently. We see this too with the commitment to the environment.
The U.S networks sent their B-team correspondents rather than the usual reporters for state visits. One Canadian network interviewed Americans on the street who could not identifyCanada as the U.S.'s number one trading partner and source of oil.
Do we finally have a "green" politician in power? I guess we shall soon see. I hope Obama's leadership will be a step towards more earth friendly policies.
As for "He Who Must Not be Named," I had to chuckle. I immediately thought of Voldemort ad Harry Potter. Is Obama our Harry Potter? Will his magic turn back some of the harm caused? Stay tuned.
He is a wizard when it comes to public speaking!
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