FROM THE HARPER INDEX:

"ASPIRATIONAL GOALS" FOR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION INVITE RIDICULE:

This story might be subtitled 'Little Stevie Does the UN'. On September 25th Stevie got the great thrill of addressing the United Nations on the subject of climate change. Never mind that his only role was to parrot US President George Bush in saying that a)some magical technical fix is going to solve the problem and b)while waiting for the corporate white knights to ride to the rescue with same that Canada is joining the Asia-Pacific Partnership, a group of nations that wish to see the stated goals of the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions replaced by "aspirational goals". The APP comprises the USA, Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea and now Canada.

No doubt one can "aspire" to many things. Molly has been aspiring to win the lottery for many years, but so far no luck. The article in the Harper Index describes some of the reactions to Harper's speech by environmentalists. It also ends with what may be the best line on what "aspirational goals" means- an excuse to do nothing. This was given by TV comedian Rick Mercer writing in the Globe and Mail where he said,

"An aspirational target is the sort of pre-emptive excuse that a really dumb guy would use on his wife. Give it a try men: Next time you have to deliver your wife's irritating sister at Thanksgiving tell the little lady that you are setting an aspirational target to stay sober all evening...."