The chemtrail conspiracy theory holds that some contrails are actually toxic chemicals or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitude for a purpose undisclosed to the general public. Versions of the conspiracy theory circulating on the internet and on some radio talk shows theorize that this activity is directed by government officials, and they have received thousands of complaints from people who have demanded an explanation. The existence of chemtrails has been repeatedly denied by Government agencies and scientists. Anyone living near a major metropolitan airport has gazed up at the sky and seen them: patchworks of crisscrossing contrails left by passing jetliners. Most of us don’t give a second thought to this common sight of a scratched-up sky. If we do, it’s likely to reflect on the explosion in air traffic and its growing contribution to air pollution. Do hanging contrails represent something much more sinister than increased carbon emissions? Since the late 1990s, a flourishing conspiracy theory subculture has been ringing the alarm that many of these contrails aren’t normal vapor-and-exhaust contrails at all. Rather, they are chemtrails, mysterious and menacing chemical evidence of secret government programs to modify the weather and depopulate the planet.
Barack Obama, the US president, has reached a non-binding agreement with four other nations on limiting future carbon emissions. The accord has been angrily criticised by developing nations, who say that it is not enough to prevent environmental catastrophe due to global warming. The US president will also have a tough time selling the climate agreement back home. With the country’s economy sluggish and unemployment in double digits, energy companies say it isn’t the time for new regulations. As Sebastian Walker reports from Texas, those firms say tougher rules would cut into their bottom line and keep them from creating new jobs.
Climate policy experts from think tanks and academia have urged the World Bank to begin calculating the social and environmental costs of carbon emissions from the projects it funds and to include these calculations in project assessments. But bank officials rejected the calls, saying that the calculations were too difficult and politically sensitive.
Climate change and the future of talks on the issue will be one of the biggest political issues facing the world in 2010. At the Copenhagen summit earlier this month, more than a 100 heads of state brokered a watered down deal on cutting carbon emissions, a move one delegate described as a “suicide pact for Africa”. Emma Hayward reports.
The Carbon Trust Standard shows which organisations have actually reduced their carbon emissions and so are taking real action on climate change. Its supported by Greenpeace and the CBI. For more info: www.carbontruststandard.com
Visit canuckpolitics.com for more. June 19, 2008 - Liberal leader Stéphane Dion announced details of the Liberal Party’s “Green Shift” carbon tax at a party rally in Ottawa. The plan includes a tax on carbon emissions against big polluters with tax cuts and rebates for individuals intended to offset increased energy prices caused by the tax. Dion later challenged Harper to a public debate saying he wants a substantive discussion on the issue.
