After an eight month break, the provincial legislature finally resumed. In usual fashion, it opened with the speech from the throne outlining the government's priorities. This year, it's the environment. However, unlike, past throne speeches, this one delivered shocking news to British Columbians: our very way of life is imminently threatened. Egad! Fortunately, there was no rioting and looting following this dire state declaration. So, why hasn't mass pandemonium broken out

Perhaps, the public has come to realize that throne speeches are nothing more than a snap shot of current opinion polls, littered with hyperbole and rhetoric.

This year, public opinion polls put the environment as the top concern for voters. Expectedly, the government has focused on the environment in this year's throne speech. It's a new take on Pavlov's law.

Also true to form, after the throne speech details the impending crisis, it then thankfully details its action plan to save us. This year, the government's plan will not only put British Columbia at the forefront of environmental protection but also save the earth. Phew!

The earth saving plan includes over thirty-five initiatives to "tackle the challenge of global warming." Most of the reduction targets are ten to fifteen years away; that's two to three elections down the road.

If the government seriously thought that so-called global warming was an impending crisis that threatens life as we know it, then why wasn't it even mentioned in last year's throne speech The most obvious answer: the environment is a fair-weather (mind the pun) problem. It's the new health care; politicians like to talk about it, throw money at it but don't really do anything about it.

Recall the focus of last year's throne speech was the need for major health care reform. It is not by coincidence that health care was the number one priority in opinion polls. That throne speech warned that health care system was in crisis. "We have known for many years that the escalation in health care costs is not sustainable."

To date-nothing-absolutely nothing has changed in health care. In fact, the provincial government has actually retreated from any talk of reform and acted to further entrench the status quo by forcing private facilities to close. Yet, the throne speech specifically stated that "the status quo is not an option."

Judging by that performance, don't expect a hurricane of change on the environment over the next year.

There were no cost estimates for any of these new initiatives included in the throne speech, or what, if any, analysis had been done to measure their economic impact.

The new "green" B.C. government also subsidizes industries known to be greenhouse emitters. It's just like the Ontario government announcing its greenhouse gas reduction plans shortly after announcing a multi-million dollar hand out to the auto industry that will build gems like the new Camaro.

But, like Kermit the frog says, "It's not easy being green."