Mayes stands by opinion on climate change

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: December 29, 2009 7:00 PM

Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes is fighting off claims he refutes global warming. Mayes, who returned home from a vacation Monday, says the recent controversy about e-mails he sent out on climate change is misleading. “I didn’t say there wasn’t climate change. Climate change is happening all of the time,” he told The Morning Star. “But the question is global warming and what are the reasons for it. There is a lot of information out there and a lot of conflicting data that needs to be resolved.” In the e-mails to constituents, Mayes says, “Climate warming is happening. Just what the cause is has yet to be substantiated. Is it C02 in the atmosphere, sun activity or cyclical? Is this a trend that will change as we have seen recently in cooling of temperatures and rebuilding of ice caps?” He goes on to write, “I am careful not to over react and spend billions of taxpayer dollars because a few scientists say C02 is causing the planet to warm. Scientists, when I went to school, said there was a coming ice age. They also said that the ozone layer was disappearing over the Arctic. “Scientists theorize many things, some prove to be true, some not. I want to make certain when I vote, my vote is supported by sound scientific facts and less media hype.”

While being interviewed, Mayes stands by his views. “I have never said I am a denier. I am just saying we shouldn’t move too quickly before we have all of the data and make good decisions,” he said. Mayes supports the federal government’s role at the recent Copenhagen climate change conference, and says there is a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to be better stewards of the environment. “We can’t keep doing the same things we’ve been doing,” he said. On a related matter, Mayes is wondering who has set up a website that looks like his own website but contains news articles and press releases that criticize his opinions on climate change. However, he isn’t surprised that someone has done this. “There are always folks who have different opinions and agreements with you. People want to jump on you,” he said.