Fairy tales and reality

Remember Waldorf and Statler from the old Muppet Show? They were the two old grumps who constantly complained about almost everything.

As a senior myself, I’m guessing that on some days I sound like a combined Statler and Waldorf all on my own.

Now, I have no hard and unchangeable positions on how we deal with climate change. I am open to debate on matters such as how to reduce greenhouse emissions, a carbon tax, the potential of wind and solar energy, the economic importance of the oil industry, the need for foreign imports, the sharing economy and the role of technology.

What I cannot stomach, however, is the argument that Canada’s emissions are too small to even matter.

In his guest opinion of Dec. 5, Gwyn Morgan wrote that since Canada’s emissions represent only two per cent of the global total that, “even if Canada were to disappear into stardust, its tiny share of global emissions would be replaced in a matter of months.”

For starters, people making the two (or 1.6) per cent case should also admit that Canada represents less than 0.5 per cent of the global population. Even if only we do our fair share there is work to be done.

The main point, however, is that small percentages can hide big numbers. For example, two percent of Canada’s population represents about 720,000 people. Imagine the looks I might get if I were to argue that we shouldn’t worry about a certain medical condition because it only affects 720,000 Canadians.

On the whole, I found myself taking issue with almost all of what Mr. Morgan had to say in his green energy fairy tale. But what pressed my hot button the most was found in less than two per cent of the article. Then again, perhaps the rantings of one old grump are too tiny to count.

Don Pridmore, Charlottetown