Greens shouldn't hold breath for Baird

At first, David Suzuki, Canada's most notable environmentalist, believed that appointing the notoriously outspoken John Baird as Environment Minister signaled a much-needed policy shift from the Tories.

Until recently, Prime Minister Harper used denial rhetoric to evade engaging the public on the climate change issue. Harper even referred to emissions as "so-called greenhouse gases".

However, some Youtube pranksters interpreted Baird's reputation for launching into impassioned rants in the House a little more cynically than Suzuki did.

In an attempt to silence critics concerned about Tory inaction, Baird presented a $2 million cardboard cheque from the federal government to clean up Stanley Park.

He also announced a $230 million ecoEnergy Technology Initiative, which amounts to a pledge for research and development into clean energy (including an exploration of nuclear energy).

But critics see these maneuvers as tactical, yet toothless, green'ish' PR for the Tories, who continue to avoid setting realistic timelines for emissions reductions.

While opposition party critics, like the newly appointed Liberal Environment Critic, David McGuinty, attack Baird's inaction on climate change, the Doomsday Clock advanced two minutes for the first time since 9/11 this week.

The clock is now set at five minutes to midnight-the closest it has been to midnight since the end of the Cold War. For the first time in history, the global failure to cope with climate change was cited as a reason, signaling that time is literally running out for Baird.