The Editor,
The recent G20 summit appears to have accepted Australia's proposal not to talk about climate change.
A smirking Prime Minister Stephen Harper, boasting of his "forthright" approach, provided the rationale: Talk of policies that favour the planet may damage the fragile world economy. In other words, if you are pro-planet, you are an enemy of prosperity.
Environmentalism is a perceived enemy of prosperity when alternative policies, procedures and technologies are ignored.
Geothermal, wind and solar energy sources are not new - they are 30 to 50 years old and, until recently, have been neglected and underfunded. Nevertheless, they are up and running in many jurisdictions and creating jobs.
Green economy plans leading to prosperity could now fill a whole library and are being consulted.
Candidates in our 2014 municipal elections often talked about environmental concerns such as mitigating the infrastructure effects of suburban sprawl. Nobody, to my knowledge, called them enemies of the economy.
It's still a free country, Mr. Harper.
Doug Rolling, Port Coquitlam
