Karma

I texted a friend of mine a couple of days ago to make sure he was okay. He was due to fly into Fort McMurray where the wildfires have reeked havoc and I was more than a little concerned. I got a text back that his flight had been cancelled. I talked to him at length today about it. It turns out that not only was his flight in cancelled but his room in camp had been given away.

The big, bad, evil oil company Suncor that so desperately deserved karmic retribution from the heavens had opened up their camp to house and feed hundreds of displaced and desperate families with no where else to turn. Not only that, he told me that more than a few co-workers that were still on-shift in camp had given up their rooms voluntarily, handing in their keys so that families and individuals that had no where else to go had a roof over their heads at night while they chose to sleep on rec-room couches and theatre seats instead of their comfortable beds. I hope Karma is watching. I find it interesting that I have not seen any stories about what these companies are doing to help those in need, perhaps they have but I haven't seen it.

Tom Moffatt

Undoubtedly you've heard about the douchecanoe former NDP candidate for Tom Moffatt karmic tweet former NDP candidate in the Lethbridge-East Riding Riding/constituency. As 88,000 people scrambled to evacuate the Fort McMurray area, he posted this on his twitter account:

He later deleted the tweet and made a haphazard apology. He told the CBC that perhaps it was “not the best adjective to use, because it can be interpreted in different ways.” Really? Because “Karmic climate change fire burns Canadian oilsands city” really means something totally different?

The provincial NDPs, embarrassed by the tweet, tried to distance themselves from Mr. Moffat, saying they didn't know him. However there are several photos where he is captured standing next to a smiling Government House Leader and Minister of Infrastructure Brian Mason and other NDP members.

Fortunately his current employer, the Town of Taber, where he is their IT Manager, has unanimously approved a resolution suspending Moffatt indefinitely pending an investigation into the comments. They released a statement:“A recent post made by a town employee on a personal account in no way reflects the Town’s views on this terrible tragedy. Employee’s views and opinions in no way reflect the views of the Town. The Town of Taber apologizes unreservedly. We are discussing this matter with the employee.”

The Lethbridge Public Library board, where he volunteers, also released a statement. They said “his view on the Fort McMurray fire, does not in any manner reflect the view of the Lethbridge Public Library Board or the Lethbridge Public Library staff or volunteers.”

Personally, I hope Karma comes back to bite him in the nether regions. I hope that the Town of Taber and the Lethbridge Library sever all ties with this idiot.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May also had much to say regarding the cause of the wildfires. When asked if there was anything about the fire that is linked to global warming, she said, “Of course, the temperature records were being smashed through last month for northern Alberta." While noting that no single event is caused by climate change alone, "it's due to global emissions.”

“The fact that the forest-fire season has arrived so early in northern Alberta is very likely a climate event. Very likely related to extreme high temperatures and very low humidity, very low precipitation and it is, as we saw in the quote from one of the firefighters, it’s a firestorm.”

“It jumped a highway, it jumped a river,” she continued. “It’s a devastating tragedy right now and I think our focus is always on the right now: to think for the firefighters, for first responders, for people who are losing their homes. It’s a disaster. But it’s a disaster that is very related to the global climate crisis.”

Others also took to Twitter to blame the oil industry for the climate change. Cowards such as TheVeganArchist, who smugly tweeted “you nature-disrespecting, earth-raping sons-of-bitches brought this on yourselves. #FortMcMurray #Fire.” While thousands have lost everything they own, these cowardous envirofreaks use this horrible disaster for their political gain. Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd posted a picture of the fire and tweeted, “This is what climate change does...”

The smoking ruin of Brian Jean's home in Fort McMurray

Who is to blame for this disaster? In April, even though Alberta had an extremely dry winter from El Nino and very little rain this spring and on the heels of the busiest fire season in 25 years, Rachel Notley's NDP government cut $5.1 million from its air tanker contracts and cut a further $9.6 million from its base wildfire management budget. Basically they cut their fire-fighting budget by 80%, the only thing they cut in the whole budget. But this wildfire is karmic retribution on the oil patch? The premier dismissed warnings from opposition leader Brian Jean at the time. There was a wildfire burning at the time near Jasper but Premier Notley called Jean a “Fearmonger” during question period. Brian Jean's own home has since been burned to the ground. Brian had already lived through one wildfire that burned down a large part of Slave Lake when he was an MLA for the Slave Lake riding. I remember the Slave Lake fire as I was working in Slave Lake just weeks after the fire tore through a large residential section of the town leaving most of my fellow co-workers without shelter. I'd say Brian hit the nail on the head.

Is global warming responsible for the wildfires, for the increasing dryness and drought seen everywhere from California to Alberta? What seems to be touted as a forgone conclusion is in my opinion simply a theory. With so little data points (less than 200 years of weather data) climate cycles that range at least in decades if not centuries, we simply do not have enough information to do more than speculate. My mother relates that when she was in high school in the fifties, scientists were predicting another ice age as the climate had cooled in recent years. Now, less than a century later, the next generation of scientists are predicting that unless we stop CO² emissions, we will soon have a runaway greenhouse effect which will destroy our world. The theories move rapidly from one extreme to another.

My friend further excoriated the Premier and the Prime Minister for not going to Fort McMurray in person. On July 14, 2000 a tornado touched down at Pine Lake outside of Red Deer. Premier Ralph Klein got in his car and drove to Red Deer and helped out with the aftermath of the disaster. I'm not sure the situation today is the same. The fire continues to burn out of control. Having a Premier and Prime Minister and the accompanying entourages and press would likely be more of a hazard and take away from the efforts to fight the fire right now. When Premier Klein visited Pine Lake the damage was done, the disaster over. The time for Premier Notley to visit will be after the blaze is controlled and put out.

However, her insistence on cutting the fire-fighting budget in the face of every indication that this year would be one of the worst years on record is foolish and she and her government should be held accountable for their actions. Tweet that, all you Vegan Archists.