Canada scores 2nd last on energy efficiency study

We're only just ahead of Russia

Necessity is the mother of not only invention, but also efficiency. There is no need to be efficinet if you have a surfiet of the good in question.

Ever see a kid on Halloween? The first night they pig out. All the good stuff too. The Snickers, the Kit Kats. By the end of day five they're trying to make the last few sour candies last as long as they can.

Hmmmm, the countries at the top of the list are geographically small. The countries at the bottom are the largest in size. Coincidence? Plus are you really going to trust any numbers coming out of China?

Too many variables to consider like geography, climate and size, then they throw in GDP?

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility in practise. Then, watching US tv this morning I see this commercial: http://www.americaspower.org/now-is-the-time. I'm not sure which emoticon to use or. .

Let's not forget that the countries with the harshest winters are also at the bottom - I'm sure the long, cold winters makes a big difference in energy efficiency/consumption.

Good point.

Without a deeper look at the methodology used to rank the nations, it's hard to make any informed conclusions.

So all you have is a sensational headline.

You should read the report itself. They use some good metrics (efficiency), but bulk them out with other useless and even misleading numbers and then add it all up. It brings up some interesting questions, but mostly about how NOT write a report. The final grade is next to useless.

But Greenpeace was still quick to denounce the Alberta Tarsands.

Greenpeace hates humanity in general so I don't really care much what they have to say.

That's not true, Bart. Greenpeace is well intentioned, it's just that they're a bunch of unqualified boobs playing like they know what the fuck they're talking about. They're Sean Penn or PETA types...their cause is legitimate, they just don't realize that their foolish and sensational actions piss people off and, hence, detract from serious, qualified efforts to make the world a better place. That's what happens when hippies and people with silver spoons up their asses take up causes in which they have no experience nor vested interest.

Yeah, I'd go with this. The Pembina Institute are smart guys. The Mining Watch--sharp cookies. The various envionmentla law associations. But Greenpeace and the David Suzuki Foundation are basically "marketers" of their cause. As anyone who has worked at a company with a marketing department, the marketing guys don't usually understand their product. Their expertise is the social interface.