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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday July 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist NEIL OLIVER Vice President and GroupPublisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Liberal Green Shift looking to future Bonnie Brown, Oakville MP t is not an exaggeration to say that the rapid warming of our planet's biosphere is a crisis for humanity. If we Bonnie Brown continue with business as usual, the effects will be devastating. Coastal cities will be lost, droughts and famines will be frequent and tropical diseases will spread north and south. These will lead to mass population migrations, geopolitical instability and a global economy in tatters. Ignoring the issue as some political leaders do, will create a world for our kids and grandkids that is frightening to imagine. But it doesn't have to be that way if we have the courage to take appropriate preventive measures now. The Liberal Green Shift is a bold step along this path. It is a forward-looking plan that is good for the environment and good for the economy. It is powerful and simple: we will cut taxes on things we want more of, such as income, investment and innovation. And we will shift those taxes to what we all want less of: pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and waste. Economists and environmentalists are virtually all agreed: pollution cannot be free. If we are serious about combating global climate change, we must put a price on greenhouse gas emissions. By recognizing that carbon has a real cost, we as a society will shift our energy use to cleaner, greener alternatives. This idea will also stimulate opportunities, leading us to invest in technologies that will cut emissions and transform our future. Whether we are talking about capturing and sequestering carbon from the oil sands, or developing new forms of renewable energy, Canada must become a world leader in these fields. The future is green, and if Canada is an innovator, Canadians will profit. The Green Shift phases in a cost for carbon dioxide, starting at $10 per tonne in the first year, and increasing to $40 per tonne in the fourth year. This will apply at the wholesale level on fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. There will be no increase to tax on gasoline at the pump because the existing 10-cent-per-litre excise tax is equal to a price on carbon of $42 per tonne. An average household will pay $225 to $250 in direct costs in year four, mainly due to higher heating and electricity costs. But this will be offset by lower income taxes, a new child tax credit worth $350 per child per year, and other measures targeted at low- and middle-income Canadians, seniors, and other vulnerable Canadians. This plan cuts across ideologies of left and right. The idea of a green tax shift is supported by such diverse groups and individuals as the Conference Board of Canada, environmental leader David Suzuki, and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, to name but a few. Of course, Canada can't solve climate change on its own. It will take global cooperation which is why international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol are so important. Our government must join in good faith with other nations to address this challenge, honour our commitments and act. We all have to do our part as the world economy transitions away from fossil fuel dependency. Those at the forefront will reap the economic rewards. Let us all work together to build a richer, fairer, greener Canada. IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America I THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Burned by the curling iron of inspiration and insurgence I am talking about a hairy (or, maybe not so hairy) deal. I'm talking about getting to the root(s) of the matter. I'm talking about one heckuva hair-raising experience. It started the other morning when my wife was doing her hair -- you know, washing, conditioning, brushing-out, blow-drying and styling, the kind of mundane maintenance women and myriad metrosexuals undertake and endure on a daily basis. Only this was no normal morning. No, on this day my wife was burned by the curling iron of inspiration and insurgence. On this morning my wife decided she was mad as hell and not going to take it any longer. "Have I ever told you how much I hate doing my hair?" she began. And I nodded because she has told me as much on a fairly regular basis, pretty much every morning for the past umpteen years. "We should start a movement," she continued (and, again, I nodded, because I'm always up for starting a movement), "where instead of everyone doing their hair every morning, we all just shave our heads completely bald." You were forewarned, dear readers, a hair-raising experience. Initially I laughed at my wife's suggestion -- laughed as I pictured a world of cue-balled Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel, Michael Jordan-ish carpet-less crowns. But the more I thought of a bald society, the more sense it made. Seriously, think about it. According to a recent study, over the course of her lifetime, the average British woman squanders approximately $74,000 and two years of her life doing her hair, or getting her hair done. $74,000! And, more importantly, two years of life. Ladies, just Andy Juniper think what you could do with an extra $74,000 (why, that's almost a tank of gas). Oh, and consider what you could be doing with those two extra years if not lathering your locks? Any idea how much more cash you could earn, adventures you could accrue, how much trouble you could get into and fun you could have? Any idea how much richer your life could be? Further, from a social perspective, if everyone went bald, everyone would be living life on a more level playing field: no more people getting ahead, or falling behind, or being praised, or being mocked because of silly hair issues. No more bed head. Hat head. Humidity head. Wind head. No more bad hair days. No more premature graying. No more premature baldness. No more pathetic comb-overs for men. Oh, and think about the sweet solidarity universal baldness would create for those people suffering through illnesses and harsh treatments that rob them of their hair. No longer would anyone lose their hair because they would have no hair to lose. Say goodbye to that sick stigma. Finally, universal baldness would give us a whole new canvas upon which to create and capitalize. Surf on over to eBay and you'll find people all over are auctioning off body parts for advertising: from breasts and chests to bums, backs and (pregnant) bellies. Ah, but what better canvas than a shorn skull, a bald bean? Even as I write, bald guys are asking for -- and apparently receiving -- $25,000 to have an advertiser's slogan or sales pitch etched upon their shiny heads. Ad-business insiders have condemned the practice as being silly and perverse and exploitive. But, then, so is spending a king's ransom and a ton of time on our hair. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.