Nature Editorial Blasts Canadian Government for Scientific Ignorance

The fact that the Canadian Harper government has so little regard for anything that slows the pace of oil extraction should come as no surprise, but now their ignorance has even managed to catch the attention of the world's most prestigious scientific journal:

"Concerns can only be enhanced by the government's manifest disregard for science. Since prime minister Stephen Harper came to power, his government has been sceptical of the science on climate change and has backed away from Canada's Kyoto commitment. In January, it muzzled Environment Canada's scientists, ordering them to route all media enquires through Ottawa to control the agency's media message. Last week, the prime minister and members of the cabinet failed to attend a ceremony to honour the Canadian scientists who contributed to the international climate-change report that won a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Harper sees himself as the leader of a 'global energy powerhouse' and is committing Canada to a fossil-fuel economy. More than 40 companies have a stake in mining and upgrading the bitumen from the oil sands in Alberta and churning out 1.2 million barrels a day. This activity generates three times as much greenhouse gas as conventional oil drilling. Emissions from Canada's oil and gas industry have risen by 42% since 1990."

These guys are bad news. They need their asses booted out of office before they manage to completely sell off the country and send the rest of us back to the stone age. Luckily, we may soon have the chance to do just that. See south of the border for a preview of where a few years of a Conservative majority is likely to take us.