Team T-Rex: Antediluvian Andy and Dinosaur Danny

Danny Williams is fasttracking the province of Newfoundland and Labrador into a fossil history in more ways than one.

Hard to believe that we voted for a government that's basing our entire future on a fossil (as in these plants and animals are dead and they're not renewing themselves) industry. Good for one or two generations perhaps - oil spills and high probability of wrecked fisheries, ecotourism and other industries aside. But what about our grand and great-grand kids? We’ll be leaving them a far greater headache by going this T-Rex route.

Now he appoints a madman, Andy Wells, to lead the province's Public Utilities Board. A government agency that's responsible for the regulation of the electric utilities in the province.

Wells, in a recent letter to a daily newspaper rants about Global Warming, refusing to accept the international consensus that it is happening, believing it to be tactics of junk science. Premier Williams, when questioned today by reporters about Wells' position - whether it might show an inherent conflict of interest in his new post - suggested it was all just part of free speech. Well boys, he's entitled to his opinion. I like a man who isn't afraid to see both sides of the debate. The Premier expressed confidence in Wells as being 'environmentally efficient.' So are Zebra mussels in a fashion, but I doubt we'd call this a step forward.

And where does Mr. Williams stand on global warming issue? After lengthy and fancy dancing around the question, Williams suggested that the province must act cautiously. Not all the studies are in. While most scientists are in agreement about the cause of climate change, we don't have all the information. And then he plugged his government's Energy Plan (a plan that comes up so short on any real conservation and energy efficiency strategies and with a hit and run reference in support of alternative energy development it's embarrassing). But back to the PUB.

Presumably with the PUB's mandate, you'd think we'd want someone who could actually make links between global warming and energy usage, embrace ideas and innovations around energy conservation, help create a culture of efficient energy usage.

Sure, where's the (quick) money in that? Especially when you 've got legal fees to pay. ~ kl