The 240 Million Tonne Challenge - Rick Mercer isn't supporting this one!

OK, so I want you guys all to write to your MP and tell them to take a dose of their own medicine! They want us all to reduce our emissions, which is great, but they aren't doing their part by forcing businesses to do the same or helping us to do it by handing out some cash from their fat surplus.

Also, there's a neat calculator on the Government of Canada website to find out how well you are doing with your emissions. I had 2.62, which is less than half of the average Canadian and way less than half of the average dirty Ontarian's - shame on us - it's all those damn commuting 905ers! So calculate when you have time and then let me know what your emissions rate is: http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/onetonne/calculator/english/inventory.asp

Here's the letter I wrote to Bill Graham, I know it's a bit rough, but I did it at work and I'm a bit hungry, I'm sure he gets letters much less coherent than mine. Anyway, you should find it motivational, because once you see it, you'll realize that yours doesn't have to be a masterpiece either, or you can just use the one that Greenpeace has set up for you all ready to go. Here's mine, such as it is:

Subject: Please Take the 240 Million Tonne Challenge

Date: Thursday, February 17, 2005

Dear Mr. Graham,Will you take the 240 Million-Tonne challenge?I just calculated my emissions for the 1 Tonne Challenge on the Government of Canada website and found that my emission level was less than half the average emissions rate for the rest of Canada. This is quite the feat considering I live in an apartment building where I have little control over the heating and cooling and no compost collection at all. Why doesn't the Liberal government offer retrofit grants for rental housing? When I lobby my landlord to make our building more energy efficient, it would be a much stronger argument if there were grants from the government to help pay for them to do so. Why is the TTC so underfunded by the government? Other than walking it's my only means of transportation (short of taking a cab) and not only is it often more difficult to use than it needs to be, but the price is going up. Where is the incentive for people like me not to go out and buy a car and avoid the hassle of public transportation? This is a direct result of underfunding by the government.If you really cared about reducing emissions then you would put your money where your mouth is and make it easier for those who are willing to make changes to get things done.I was so pleased to hear that people who take the initiative to generate their own green energy might be paid market price to contribute their surplus to the grid, it would be even better if the government subsidized the purchase of green generating equipment like wind turbines. It is so important that we reduce the amount of power we use from the coal generating plants.I'm doing my part, now it's your turn to do yours, put some more funding out there to help willing individuals and force the private sector to reduce their emissions. If you spend that money now, out of your surplus, you'll save money on buying Kyoto credits later.