Twenty thousand politicians and bureaucrats are gathering in Durban South Africa to address the make believe problem of climate change while the Eurozone fights the very real problem of sovereign debt. The rating agency Standard and Poor warned Germany, France, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg that they were on a credit watch, meaning that there is a 50-50 chance they will see their debt downgraded within ninety days. Here in the US despite some upward trending consumer spending data the outlook is decidedly gloomy with 68 percent of the people thinking economy is getting worse. Even China's remarkable economic growth is beginning to slow. Is there good news anywhere? There sure is and all one has to do is look due north. Canada is in the midst of a full blown energy boom and it intends to keep it going.
Today Canada announced it would not not sign onto the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. Canada fell just as hard as the US during the downturn in 2009 but unlike the US it did not waste borrowed money on a graft laden stimulus bill but rather went about the real business of developing its abundant energy resources. Now, the only world power that could actually afford to make the emission reductions says no thanks, while the Eurozone seems to think it can still afford to replace cheap energy with expensive energy while it founders in debt. Since the US Senate rejected the Kyoto Protocol 97-0 during the Clinton administration there is no forcing the US to commit to carbon emission reductions but the Obama has attempted to stymie US energy production with regulation at every turn. Let's hope in 2013 we have a President who understands economics, energy, and freedom. Then maybe we can follow Canada.
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