Archive for the ‘bailout’ Category

Under a crisp sky, the jubilee rose to its climax as the 44th President took his oath. The speech that followed spoke of “gathering clouds and raging storms”. The sheer magnitude of what the new President is faced with is truly staggering. Regardless of citizenship or political inclination, we all know the issues, we all feel their weight, and yet in many ways we’ve all bet the farm on Obama’s confident smile and promises of change.

Resuming tradition, President Obama will make his first foreign trip to Canada, where we can only assume the agenda will focus on Obama’s green stimulus plan.

Obama has pledged to double U.S. wind, solar and geothermal generating capacity over three years, and the plan includes $20 billion in tax cuts for renewable-energy production and an additional $54 billion of spending to modernize the country’s aging electricity grid, and to make homes, vehicles and buildings more energy efficient.

Word on the street is that Prime Minister Harper will take this opportunity to propose a binational deal which would secure a regional source of American fuel through Canadian oil, and help to coordinate Obama’s lofty environmental plans.

Many have noted Haper’s failure to come to terms with the world Obama is proposing. While Harper hopes to peddle our dirty tar sands, Obama has clearly stated the world’s addiction to fossil fuels, and his plan aims to fight climate change while simultaneously stimulating the economy - not through consumption of traditional resources, but through new technologies and innovations.

Are Canadians being left behind?

We are bombarded with news of how European nations are creating jobs and cleaning up their environment. Obama has essentially proposed the green new deal. It’s not difficult to see where the future lies.

So what do we do? We take advantage of this global momentum to promote 40-year-old technology and Canada’s largest contributor to Green House Gas emissions.

Harper can no longer afford to delay Canada’s leadership on environmental issues. As we celebrate the hopes of tomorrow alongside our neighbors, whom can we look to at home to pin our own hopes upon?

Alex Haythorne, at FD Element in Vancouver

After Republicans in the Senate killed the auto bailout legislation two weeks ago, Detroit has been scrambling to come up with another source of funding.  The White House is considering whether to use a portion of the $700 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to avoid the collapse of Chrysler and General Motors.  However, the seven Senators responsible for killing the bill have written a letter to President Bush that implies no amount of money will save the struggling car companies without major changes to the way they operate.  These changes, according to many experts, need to include greening their products as well as the factories that produce them.  If the auto makers fail to receive funds from TARP, the massive layoffs following the decision will require new job training programs that will be included, at least in part, in the pending Green Jobs Act.

By Michael Morris, at The Element Agency in New York