02.22.2011 07:30 AM

Why should you care about Libya

Just did an interview about this with NewsTalk 1010.  We talked a fair bit about my 1992 book about the country.

You’re unlikely to visit the place anytime soon; you’re not even sure you could spot it on a map.  Why should you care?

Here’s why.  All of the unrest inLibya and other places in the Arab world means volatility, and volatility means higher oil prices.

Summer 2011: not a good Summer to start pitching a new and improved Green Shift.

5 Comments

  1. Cow says:

    Wouldn’t record high oil prices — and the news from the Americans that they believe the Saudis are lying about capacity and, in fact, can’t increase production further — be *exactly* the time for a new and improved Green Shift?

    And I do mean improved. You can’t just say “hi, your fuel is whatever per litre, we’re adding tax,” but a new green/Green platform seems like the only reasonable choice right now. If fuel is two, three dollars per litre, then people are going to want to drive less, just as it happened in the huge spike in the last decade. And we need a forward-thinking government that has already built out the infrastructure to make that possible.

    The problem with something like Dion’s Green Shift is that it sounds like Government Is Coming to Take Away Your SUV. What we need are sensible investments in infrastructure and transport so that the public is offered a choice: you can drive to work this morning (and pay fuel, upkeep, wear and tear) or you can take transit (maybe it takes a little longer, and you have to pay fare / pay for a pass).

    We’re not going to get it from Harper or Ignatieff, I know, but it’s what we need to be doing.

  2. The Other Jim says:

    I picked up “Unholy Alliances” a few years back. It is an excellent, if often disturbing, read.

  3. Michael Slavitch says:

    The price of gas in Europe is already well over $2.00 a litre Canadian. People still drive, just shorter distances in much smaller vehicles.

    • Steve T says:

      Europe is defined by “shorter distances”. You can’t compare their situation with ours. In Canada, even basic transportation of goods and services means travelling distances that would span multiple countries in Europe.


Notice: Trying to get property 'comment_ID' of non-object in /home/q84jy4qfdyhq/public_html/wp-includes/comment-template.php on line 677

Notice: Trying to get property 'user_id' of non-object in /home/q84jy4qfdyhq/public_html/wp-includes/comment-template.php on line 28

Notice: Trying to get property 'comment_ID' of non-object in /home/q84jy4qfdyhq/public_html/wp-includes/comment-template.php on line 48
Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.