Canada is in an awkward position. We've just asked leaders around the world to sign on to our proposed ban of land mines. Many of them have. Now, in turn, we are being asked to agree to limits on our greenhouse gas emissions prior to the Kyoto Summit in December. This is ostensibly another "good" initiative designed to make the world a healthier place to live.

So why is Canada hesitating?

The media has begun to explain just how expensive any agreed reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be for North Americans. Reductions will trigger an enormous tax on the oil and gas industry, and will result in significantly higher consumer costs for everything. Potentially, home heating costs could skyrocket, as could transportation costs and the price of food and durable goods.

What the media isn't telling us is that the science is dubious. Who says we are facing a global warming crisis? The overall temperature of the earth has barely moved since the beginning of the century. Could the computer models that scientists have used to predict global warming be wrong?

This thought-provoking issue of Forum gives you a new way to think about this topic.