Sending mixed signals on sustainability

“Red sky at night; sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning; sailor take warning.” – Seaman’s adage.
There’s plenty of bad news coming our way courtesy of the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. Already world leaders are being briefed on how to respond to a few “little points” like handing over all the money in circulation from English-speaking North America and Western Europe to the allegedly “greener” rest of the world. Apparently, the advocates of a “massive transfer of wealth” from us to them will cool the planet, stop greenhouse gases and save the world.
Yes, it’s just that easy. Give everyone a million dollars and voila, no more climate guilt! Just think. Because of the conference there’ll soon be a carbon market established. Imagine that. Now you can go into your favourite watering hole, drop off a few pieces of firewood (mostly carbon) and have a brewski. Really?
On a transnational level, western federal governments will only have to deal with the small matter conference planners call an “adaptation debt.” Apparently, trillion dollar debt piles, impending American bankruptcy and gold prices at all time highs don’t convey the message that we already collectively owe more than will ever be repaid. The new funding allocation proposed by the Summiteers will make everything okay however. They say that once we give away the farm to the enviro-lunatics, the cost savings will result in a more sustainable, never mind, greener world where backyard chickens are cool and my underwear hanging on a clothesline will be a symbol of commitment to the Earth Mother.
The drama is starting already as of this writing. President Obama has signalled that he will go after all. That only makes sense. Seeing that he has burned up more fossil fuel than all previous presidents combined flying his two armoured Cadillacs, his 500-person entourage and enjoying a 71-car motorcade in Beijing and elsewhere, it may be prescient to pick up his Peace Prize on his way to saving the planet.
This is a little disappointing. Pundits have been wondering how much lower he could sycophantically bow at the Altar of Environmentalism than before the Saudi King or the Emperor of Japan. There doesn’t seem to be all that much distance between undeserving Nobel Peace Prize winner to World’s Biggest Ass Kisser.  Just like the Leader of the Free World, our Prime Minister Harper has also changed his mind about going to  Denmark. It looks like a good time for a photo op. It seems that there are a few political points to be made there but hey, isn’t that what leadership is all about nowadays?
World leaders have already signalled each other that they’re incapable of meeting any realistic solution to the problem because they’re broke already. Their credit card is maxed because of all the other problems that they don’t have the common sense to deal with intelligently. The good news is that they won’t yoke their taxpayers to more bills due to good old political expediency. Now, with poll numbers tanking, elected officials do know one thing—don’t wave a red flag in front of the electoral bull.