Environmentalist David Suzuki Vs. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach: who's going to win the court of public opinion?

Question

You may know Suzuki and Stelmach have had a war of words on the enviroment & climate change.

Pulled from the Calgary Herald & Edmonton Journal, February 24 & 25--

SUZUKI: "If your premier thinks he's worried about the future -- and he doesn't realize not doing anything about greenhouse gases is going to wreck the economy -- then he doesn't deserve to be a leader."

STELMACH: "The issue of greenhouse-gas reduction will require more than hot air and grandstanding. It requires recognition that C02 reductions will require sacrifice on behalf of all Canadians in reducing individual energy consumption. Mr. Suzuki's comments reflect the unproductive emotional rhetoric and personal attacks that distract from efforts to find constructive solutions."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/ne…
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/ne…

Additional Details

Ladies and gentlemen, please note that this is Canadian politics we're dealing with here. Suzuki has a reputation for knowing a heck of a lot of stuff about science. Stelmach has a reputation for being a nice guy and falling apart in front of reporters' microphones and cameras.

The answers below are correct. I forgot that Suzuki has his education in genecics, as opposed to Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. I am under the impression, however, that true enviromentalists did keep Suzuki 'in the loop,' on global warming. I could be wrong, though.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It's refreshing to hear a question about Canadian politics on Yahoo! Answers for once.

Well I'm a Quebecer and I don't hear much from Suzuki or Alberta. You must take into account that no one will ever get 100% support from the country itself. Take Quebec and Alberta, for example. Those are two drastically different positions on the environment (Quebec uses Hydro electricity, and I doubt that Alberta uses something quite as clean).

In my opinion, I believe that Suzuki will win support in most of Canada, but I wouldn't be surprised if Stelmach pulls through in most of Alberta. The environment is obviously an important issue for Canadians, and it will be very interesting to see what the politicians have in store for us.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Yay! Unlike the others, you addressed the question, "who is going to win the court of public opinion," NOT "who is right" or "who is wrong." From what it looks, Suzuki will win over the rest of Canada because of reputation, but Stelmach is facing challenges in AB over his C02 plan from industry too.

Answer 2

It's not hard to see who you support. Anyone who doesn't believe global warming is real is pure evil. They are bad, evil horrible men who suck *** at ping pong. They are bad, they are bad, they are bad.

Answer 3

I thought David Suzuki said that even if humans completely cut off athropogenic greenhouse gas production. .. if we produced not one spec of it that the environment would still not see a recovery for 500 years.

Now knowing that its impossible to not produce any, isnt he essentially saying that we are skroood

Answer 4

HMMMMMMM where to side with this one? A scientiest who has been doing this for years or a polatician who has been studying lying and manipulating for years. I will take Suzuki on this one.

A scientist is taught to show the truth, a polatician is taught to show as much of the truth as they want the public to beliieve. And frankly it is never much because for every truth hcomes 10 lies.

Answer 5

Suzuki - geneticist, not qualified
Stelmach - politician, not qualified

Answer Neither

Suzuki Foundation - at risk of losing charitable donation deduction status due to participation in politics - not allowed under Canada's tax laws

Conclusion : Suzuki should be quiet.

Answer 6

David Suzuki isn't, to my knowledge, an environmentalist. He is a geneticist, who did studies of fruit flies. Then became a tv host with The Nature of Things.

There has been global warming. Over the past 100 years earth's temperature has risen .6 of one degree celsius. Most of this temperature increase occured during the first 50 years, and is certainly nothing to be concerned about.

I think that a lot can be done to curb pollution worldwide, and much has been done already. Countries like India and China are the worst polluters, so until they act little will be accomplished. But Suzuki's assertion that global warming is caused by man-made carbon dioxide is fully flawed. There is no basis for it.

He's seen regularly on The Weather Network, where he promotes his wild theories as if they were fact. I used to like him on The Nature of Things, but lately his lies have been getting too much attention. If you believe what he says then you also believe that we are all going to fry within a few years.

David Suzuki is not a climatologist, geophysicist or even a metorologist to the best of my knowledge, though some lefty college somewhere may have given him an honourary. He's a fruit fly specialist with a better understanding of plants and small animals than most. The fact that he's well known doesn't make his crazy ideas real. He needs to take a pill and relax. Or maybe take a handful of them.

Answer 7

Some people seem to think controlling Canada's Greenhouse Gas emissions is going to stop the Global Warming problem.

http://www.stuffintheair.com/SolutionGlo…

Good luck.

Answer 8

STELMACH is a money loving pirate and his childish comments mean nothing useful for the future of humanity. He is the type that will tell you everything is O.K. when the oceans rise to our knees.