Editor:
I was interested to read the “Open mind on climate change” letter in the Nov. 27 paper. Paul Rhodes states that Canada produces only two per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases (GHG) whereas China and India combined produce 32 per cent. If these figures are correct, and given that Canada has a population of 35 million and India and China have a combined population of 2.6 billion, then Canada would need to have a population of 162.5 million to justify the two per cent of the world’s GHG that we are currently responsible for.
As far as subsidies go for “alternative power,” it is interesting to compare subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. When I Google “what is the largest subsidy in the world,” nine of the 10 sites that come up cite the fossil fuel industry. The fossil fuel industry has subsidies four times as great as the combined renewal energy industries (wind, solar, etc.).
In contrast to Paul’s claim of severe power generation shortages in countries that have a significant renewable energy component, I would note that Germany, a northern country with 28 per cent of its energy coming from renewables, still manages to manufacture VWs, Mercedes, and BMW cars while being considered the economic engine of Europe. Germany is set to get 80 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2050. On July 25 of this year, Germany got 78 per cent of its energy from renewables. Germany has one of the highest living standards in the world. Canada’s renewables account for only 16 per cent of its current energy use.
I would challenge Paul to name a major scientific institution anywhere in the world that disputes the theory of human-driven climate change.
Steve Giltrow, Hopkins Landing
