i think that the way a lot of these debates have been framed for the last 20 years is going to make his proposals hard to understand until you see them actually worked out.
consider climate change. we're so used to hearing about setting emissions targets. but, where has this approach gotten us? the answer is absolutely nowhere. we're used to hearing about taxes & market schemes. these haven't worked either. what's happened is that we've become so lost in the neo-conservative era, that we're not able to even consider anything that isn't a "market-based solution". it's just outside of the realm of imagination.
what nobody is talking about is that the best way to get us off of oil is to build the infrastructure to get us off oil. that's how we've always solved problems in the past: we get the government to throw billions down on getting it done. we didn't twiddle with tax policies to create incentives. we just did it.
i mean, imagine if roosevelt had left the manhatten project up to the market. it's so outrageous, we can't even fathom it. but, that's what we're proposing every time we hear about a cap & trade system or a carbon tax. it's really madness.
if he puts a third of the 20 billion dollars (yes. billion. with a b.) that are in his platform down on transitioning out of the carbon economy, he'll have had a more substantive contribution than any politician in north america has, to this point - and by a good margin. he's not setting targets. but, the truth is that what he's proposing is the most ambitious thing i've ever seen on this continent. it's so ambitious, after so many years of canada collectively having no real ambitions, that it's maybe hard to get one's head around it.
there's a bunch of issues like this.
your skepticism is healthy. i'd encourage it. but, i also think you should take a closer look at that platform and really absorb it.
thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/10/23/Trust-Justin-Trudeau/
cloudburst
There's an immediate, practical way to reduce consumption during our transition off carbon fuels: we need transferable licence plates, so when you don't need your larger gas hog vehicle: 4 wheel drives/trucks for farms, hauling, winter conditions etc you can transfer it to a vehicle that uses less fuel. ICBC could simply charge the rate for the higher cost vehicle and apply it to both, to cover the cost of extra admin.
I have an attack plan when I go into town usually once a week, I write down everything need, buy in bulk and plan an efficient route. Other ways I save energy is to put up a clothes line inside my home. Beware: some clothes racks can collapse creating a safety hazard if a child or cat climbs on them. I boil water on the stove for beverages, boil dirty pots with recycled dishwater in them and fill them with stained coffee cups etc, cutting down on the use of my dishwasher, I also heat water to do the dishes on my wood stove. I create "warm zones" in my home and roll up blankets to place at the bottom off drafty doors.
deathtokoalas
every little bit counts...
but the reality is that the single biggest culprit in canada is how we generate electricity, and this is something the government can take a direct role in.
the second biggest culprit is transportation, and it's hard to blame consumers when the options are not truly feasible. there's no real electric car market. and, there's been no coherent policy to reduce electricity costs.
industry comes in at third, and while the arguments underlying tax policies and market schemes may seem sophisticated, the truth is that they don't work. fines don't work, either - they're the cost of business. this is the hard part, and a big part of the solution needs to be people getting angry about it. you're better off writing a letter to your boss than writing a letter to your mp.
but, the government can do quite a bit through direct investment. yes: a lot of this needs to happen at a provincial level. but the feds can play a role in getting people working together in a common strategy.