A Commentary by Mark Taliano
Decades ago, when in France, I noticed that fuel cost about four times what it cost in Canada, and vehicles there were tiny compared to their North American counterparts.
A similar observation could have been made had I been in Asia. During the most recent North American automotive industry meltdown, I learned that historically, the Japanese spent a far greater percentage of earnings on Resource and Development than their North American counterparts.
Today, it is apparent that those two advantages : an early start, and heavier investment in Resource and Development, gave an edge to Asian car makers over North American car manufacturers. Visiting a Honda dealership the other day, I learned that they weren’t going to pursue “clean diesel’ products (interesting euphemism) in North America, but were to focus instead on hybrid cars and hybrid technology. That decision makes sense and is smart: save fuel and the environment at the same time. No doubt hybrid technology will be growing by leaps and bounds too.
Ford has a Hybrid vehicle that can attain speeds of 75 km per hour on electric before the gas engine kicks in. Great news. So why is the heavily subsidized GM spending millions to retro-fit an Oshawa operation to make a gas guzzling “muscle car”? The answer: misplaced values.
There are other egregious examples in our North American economies which represent very dangerous value issues that are imperiling our lives. Big Business in the form of oil companies is the culprit.
James Hoggan, author of Climate Cover-Up The Crusade To Deny Global Warming and co-founder of DeSmogBlog.com notes that industry is undermining democracy through its efforts to mislead the public. “Polluted” think tanks are one example: the Fraser Institute received direct funding from Exxon Mobile ($60,000). The George C. Marshal Institute has received $840,000 from Exxon Mobile since 1998. Likewise, the Heartland Institute has received $676,500 from Exxon Mobile since 1998. These supposedly “independent” institutions help shape the public conversation as well as public policy, and they are receiving large amounts of money from Big Oil.
Advertising further reinforces the false message. It’s difficult to read a national newspaper or watch the TV without being bombarded by Tar Sands advertisements. Sure, the technology is improving, but it will never sufficiently mitigate the planetary mess we are making out west. Great sums of money, too, are being spent lobbying various governments on behalf of oil companies.
Often, “junk scientists”, (unqualified but well paid scientists who promote work that hasn’t been published and peer-reviewed in scientific journals) are used by well-heeled lobbyists to manufacture doubt about climate change, and further the Big Oil cause. There is no valid doubt anymore. Anthropogenic climate change and its ensuing evils is a scientific fact.
All of this money, and all of these efforts, are being spent to promote what should be a dying industry, or, in the case of the tar sands, an industry which should never have been born. Instead of spending these funds to shape the public conversation in ways which are deadly to the public and the environment, industry should be spending it on Research and Development to find a better way. And the Harper administration should be facilitating these efforts instead of following the “business as usual approach”.
Notwithstanding the commendable exceptions, we have a lot to learn. A shift in values is long overdue.
Mark Taliano is a Niagara resident and regular contributor to Niagara At Large.
(Visit Niagara At Large at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.)
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There are way too many automobiles on this planet.
Most people ignore the stink,NOISE, stress and exhaust caused by driving and never think about the $189.7 Billion we spend in Canada on social costs of driving: emergency response, street cleaning hospital time, coroners,, roads, repair to roads, health problems, social chaos, etc,etc
We should have phased out this overuse decades ago
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Cars in Europe have traditionally been smaller because of the medieval cities and their narrow streets. Whereas cars in North America have been larger because our streets were built to accommodate them. Further we tend to drive greater distances so comfort has always been a consideration. The cost of steel has to be considered as well which has been relatively cheap and abundant in N. America not so in Europe until recently.
Climate on this planet changes all the time, we have warming and cooling periods all the time. Long before man was the dominant species on this rock. Anthropogenic warming proponents would have us believe carbon is to blame for this warming period and that disaster will follow. The most prevalent and abundant element on the planet is the cause? Really? The one thing that drives climate on this planet is the sun, as such we are entering a solar maximum again so winters will be less harsh summers warmer.
We are also experiencing more volcanic activity than usual which would account for the glacial melt in the north. I find it laughable when the chicken littles point to Iceland’s glaciers melting as evidence of warming, these glaciers are melting from the bottom. The Island is one big volcano.
I bemoan the fact we do not have more diesel engines in our cars but our winters is probably the reason why. Cold and diesel do not go well together.
The OIL SANDS and other conventional wells put our reserves of oil in the 400 year mark. I don’t trust big oil either but not for the same reasons. The cooked up the peak oil scam which jacked prices up, gasoline is for the most part a by-product and not the main use of oil in this day and age. So many things depend on oil from plastics to pharmaceuticals. I don’t disagree with doing it cleanly and it can be done. One thing you cannot argue though is the OIL SANDS project is far and away the most ethical source of oil. Consider most foreign sources of oil are from places where basic human rights are denied people. Propping up murderous dictatorships, one might call it blood oil. (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia).
No, what I take issue with is the price we are expected to pay for our own oil, we are an exporter let everyone else pay the rack rate and give us a break.
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I agree with the first responder.
I would like people who drive to take no money from the taxpayers to cover their roads, parking lots, subsidies for the oil sector, etc.
More focus should be brought on creating alternative modes of transportation, both public transit in the form of buses, light rail, electric train and subways (in areas that can accommodate them).
The preference for vehicles has created an unintentional class structure in society, whereas those without vehicles or who cannot obtain driver’s licenses for whatever reason, are left at a major economic disadvantage regardless of their education and skills.
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