National Affairs
Dion's environmental free ride over?
Claire Hoy
Back in the 1970s, most major media outlets - newspapers, magazines and television stations - were publishing horror stories about the impending new ice age.

That's because the world had witnessed about 25 years of global cooling, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, and the fear was that unless we turned it around we'd all turn into human popsicles.

Obviously, it didn't happen. Nor did we all succumb to the dangers of "acid rain," an environmental plague which was all the rage in the early to mid-1980s.

Now, of course, the fear mongering over global "cooling" has been replaced by fear mongering over global "warming."

Once again, it's not based on nothing. There is widespread agreement that our world is currently experiencing a prolonged period of overall warming.

Since the earth began - most scientists date it around 4.5 billion years ago - there have been several lengthy periods of global warming and cooling, long before humans even existed. And if you don't think this is true then ask yourself this: what caused the great ice age and how did the glaciers melt if the pre-human world enjoyed constant temperatures?

All of which brings us, of course, to the current kafuffle over three Tory ads attacking Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's self-described title as an environmental champion.

The Liberals - as you would expect - are crying foul. This same party which has systematically attempted to smear Tories by accusing them of harboring a "secret agenda," now complains that the Tories are showing "desperation" by revealing to the public just how empty Dion's claims to environmental nirvana really are.

In case you haven't seen the ads yet, the best part about them is that they use fellow Liberals - during the recent Liberal leadership contest - to underscore just how poorly the Liberals handled the environmental file while in office.

Mind you, some would say - with considerable justification - that the environmental issue hasn't exactly been a strong suit of the Tories either. The difference, it's fair to say, is that the Tories haven't set themselves up to the public as environmental champions. The Liberals have.

One ad, for example, shows current deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff attacking Dion on the Liberal government's failure to meet the Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"We didn't get it done," Ignatieff says.

They didn't either. While former prime minister Jean Chretien actually scolded the Americans for not signing Kyoto, the fact is that the American record on slowing down greenhouse gas emissions was far superior to our own record, and this when Dion was the minister of the environment for much of the time. Dion's reputation - blithely repeated by a fawning media - as a great environmental crusader flows not from his actual accomplishments when he held the job - since the facts show he was a disaster - but because he showed up at the convention wearing a green scarf and claiming to be an environmental crusader. Dion even claimed that it was "unfair" of the Tories to attack the Liberals on the environment because when the Tories were in opposition they fought the government every step of the way, attempting to "nullify" Liberal initiatives and policies.

What nonsense. The Liberals, throughout the 1990s and beyond, enjoyed strong majority governments.

The Tories, whatever their goals, didn't have the votes to stop them.

Conservative MP Jason Kenney, who unveiled the ads to reporters last weekend, made one significant observation, saying that "Stephane Dion's free ride on the environment is over."

Let us hope so.

As things stand now, public opinion polls show that the environment has shot up at or near the top of those things which worry Canadians.

And, as we said earlier, the Tory approach to environmental issues hasn't exactly inspired confidence among environmentalist either.

But Dion's reputation as an environmentalist simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Sadly, he hasn't had much scrutiny to stand up to until now.

The media - as it too often does - falls for the rhetoric while ignoring the reality. If a leader says he believes in something, they all rush breathlessly to report it.

Just because Dion named his dog "Kyoto" does not change the fact that, apart from signing the Kyoto Accord, Dion, as environment minister, completely failed to live up to the greenhouse gas emission cuts he promised to make.

No amount of partisan jingoism can change that fact.

On the other hand, now that the Tories are raising the issue, they too will have to do more than talk a good game.