Gifted Typist

Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ripped this phrase from the song book of think tanks funded by companies that wish to cast doubt climate change science.

“Intensity reduction” - a pillar of Mr. Harper’s new green plan - allows industry to increase greenhouse gas outputs as they raise production. According to Al Gore, “intensity reduction” is a poll-tested phrase developed by think tanks financed by Exxon Mobil and other large polluters.

Mr. Gore lambasted Canada’s new plan to reduce greenhouse gases, calling it “a complete and total fraud” because it lacks specifics and gives industry a way to actually increase emissions.

Given Mr. Harper’s disdain for green politics, it’s not surprising that he would so gratitously appropriate the weasel words of oil-and-gas vested interests.

Let’s do everyone a favour and ban these weasel words “intensity reduction.” That way Mr. Harper can use words we all understand to explain how, when and where he will reduce greenhouse emissions.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 at 1:17 am and is filed under banned words, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.