Australia: Graham Kraehe bags carbon trading scheme | The Courier-Mail

ONE of the country's most respected businessman, Graham Kraehe, yesterday made a blistering attack on the Rudd Government's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme, saying it would cost jobs and probably increase global emissions.
"The Australian economy will survive the economic downturn but it may not survive the emissions trading system," Mr Kraehe, chairman of BlueScope Steel, told a Courier-Mail-sponsored Australian Institute of Company Directors function yesterday.

He said BlueScope's board could not commit to a proposed investment of more than $1 billion in an emissions abatement project under the draft regulations.

Plug-in Vehicle Hucksters are Doing P.T. Barnum Proud | Alternative Energy Stocks

Listen up America – It's a scam! The emperor has no clothes! There is no such thing as a cost-effective electric vehicle that will carry a family of four at highway speeds.
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With due respect for emotionally committed carbon activists who sincerely believe plug-ins are the only way to save our beloved planet, the DOE estimates that cars with plugs will be 0.0% of the new car fleet in 2010, 1.1% of the new car fleet in 2015, 1.3% of the new car fleet in 2020, 1.8% of the new car fleet in 2025 and 2.3% of the new car fleet in 2030. In simpler terms, plug-in vehicles are not the Greatest Show on Earth and the three ring circus we fondly refer to as the auto industry would close the sideshow if it wasn't such a big draw for children of all ages (including government) that bring fat wallets.

Spring, Calgary-style: Lingering cold weather leaves many jittery

CALGARY - It officially opened a week ago, but the outdoor garden centre at the Costco store in Deer-foot Meadows is nearly empty, save for a handful of sad trees covered in snow.

On Monday morning, workers are overwhelmed trying to find room inside the warehouse for the giant shipment of hanging flower baskets and annuals that just arrived.

"It's a disaster," says employee Michelle, as she uses one hand to wipe snow off plants and the other to point me in the direction of the new location for the bedding plants, now squeezed into an aisle next to beach towels and lawn chairs. "We can't let them sit outside or else they'll all die."
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By the time you wake up this morning, we should be on our way to a grand high of 0 C, far below the average seasonal temperature of 12 C, and a pitifully far cry from April 28, 1987, when Calgarians enjoyed a record 27 C in the sunshine.

Much of the recent water cooler talk has centred around the horrifically long winter we're experiencing, the longest in recent memory, which has thrown havoc into the usual April pastimes of kids' soccer, cycling and teeing off on the links.