Harper Digging In on Climate Change

Most world leaders are coming to grips with the perilous realities of global warming and the need for quick and effective action. Then there are the heel-draggers - the likes of George w. Bush and our own Harpo. From the Toronto Star:

Canada has backed the U.S. position at meetings earlier this year of the G8 and the Asia Pacific countries. In his speech to the UN meeting, Harper reiterated his position that a new global agreement should follow the principles that underpin the Harper government’s climate change plan, which has been roundly criticized by environmental groups and the international community.

Harper claims to support the goal of cutting GHG emissions by half by 2050 but then puts the lie to that by endorsing the radical, fivefold expansion of the Athabasca tar sands, already Canada's primary industrial polluter. It's obvious that Harpo has taken a page out of the Bush manual of bad governance, the one that suggests saying what people want to hear and then doing just the opposite. Mission Accomplished.