Canada’s ‘Leave it in the Ground’ Energy Policy

Recently, the heads of government of Germany and Japan each came, cap in hand, to beg Prime Minister Trudeau to supply them with Canadian liquefied natural gas.  They left empty-handed.  Both of these countries – along with many others without adequate supplies of natural gas –  are switching to a greater use of coal, which has twice the CO2 emissions of natural gas.

But Trudeau sent them away empty-handed because, as a leading warrior in the crusade against climate change he had to follow the “leave it in the ground” theology of what seems to have become a new secular religion, Net Zero.

Net Zero

Karl Marx called religion the opiate of the masses. He sought to replace it with “Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains”.  That inspired communist revolutions, but Marxism is no longer a significant secular religion outside of China and a few academics in the West.

Net Zero treats CO2 as Satan and the climate crisis as Hell on Earth.  This is a frightening story that demands politically mandated good deeds to get CO2 Satan behind us. Computer models are the Bible of this religion, telling us there will be global annihilation by 2100 unless we purge the planet of CO2 emissions by 2050.

The numerous priests of this new religion include the climate politicians at the UN, many leaders of Western political parties, climate NGOs and many scientists seeking climate research grants, etc.  Any questioning of whether climate change really is an existential crisis is considered heresy.  It is also heretical to question whether the global warming part of climate change is caused entirely by humans, and whether all humans on the planet will perish if Net Zero is not reached in the 28 years left to 2050.  Heretics are guilty of evil climate denialism, and punished by firing, deplatforming, and on-line mobbing.

Satan tempts us to continue using fossil fuel when we should immediately switch to 100% renewables to generate electricity, stop flying, eating meat, and driving gasoline powered cars. If we continue to give in to Satan’s temptation the climate will punish us with more severe fires, floods, hurricanes and droughts.

New Packaging of a Very Old Product

The climate crisis advocacy of this new religion is merely new packaging. The real product being sold is panic.  Everyone applauded her when Greta Thunberg said “I want you to panic as if your house is on fire, because it is”. Selling panic is an old government scare tactic. It never goes out of style. Satan may change his form, but he is always with us.