It's time to scrap the Pacific Carbon Trust

The B.C. government's Pacific Carbon Trust has become frighteningly adept at taking taxpayers' money - $14 million last year - and transferring it to big businesses.

It's time for the provincial government to scrap the trust, and end corporate welfare disguised as environmentalism.

The numbers prove that transferring tax dollars to companies through the illusion of carbon neutrality is a massive failure.

The trust's new annual report, released in late July, shows that government agencies purchased 775,825 of the 777,992 carbon off-sets sold by the trust last year. That means 99.7 per cent of the trust's work was funded by taxpayers.

Only 12 private companies or individuals bought carbon credits last year for a measly $54,050. The rest of the trust's $14-million budget was funded exclusively by taxpayers, taking money out of our pockets, classrooms, hospitals and social services.

For example, the Vancouver School District was forced to buy $454,824 in carbon credits. The Vancouver Island Health Authority spent $887,926. The Northern Health Authority paid $650,466.

Bernie Sanders challenges global-warming skeptic | Burlington Free Press | burlingtonfreepress.com

Inhofe said he thinks Sanders is sincere in his beliefs, but added that he also thinks those beliefs are based on bad science.

Inhofe said scientists warned of a new ice age when temperatures cooled between 1945 and 1975. They were wrong about that and they're wrong about global warming, he said.

"It has become something of a religion to say that the world is coming to an end," Inhofe said. "The world is not coming to an end. We're going through a cycle. We've had these cycles before. It gets colder and warmer and colder and warmer. God is still up there."

The two men both said they have become good friends despite being polar opposites politically.

"It's been years since this came up on the floor of the Senate for debate," Inhofe said. "I'm glad it's coming up again."

Red Centre cold snap not enough to break record - Australia

Forecaster Mark Kersemakers says it was still a very cold night in the Alice.
"We recorded minus 0.6 overnight which gives us a monthly average minimum temperature of minus 0.2 degrees, which is still the second coldest we've ever had down in Alice Springs in terms of minimum temperature."

'Hockey stick' climate scientist opposes Keystone XL pipeline

"The bottom line is that if we don't take into account the environmental degradation associated with the climate change impact of some of these decisions then we're not operating on a fair playing field when it comes to our energy choices," said Mann in an interview with Postmedia News.