Tim Bousquet: Yes, I do actually give a shit!
Just reading your “False reflection” editorial (December 31, 2009), I do agree with you to some extent, that people in general have some difficulty coming to grips with the implications of climate change and actually doing something about it. Individually, we feel we are doing “what we can,” but is “what we can” enough? When we are asked to take measures to curb our individual carbon footprint, how far will we be asked to go?
I think people’s idea of what they can do without or cut back on is all over the map. No one really wants to stand at a bus stop in a blizzard to go the mall 10 minutes’ walk up the road, when the car, a much easier option, is in the driveway. Heaven forbid we should be asked to give up our car completely. No one wants to turn the thermostat down to 16C to save furnace oil or coal-fuelled electricity. Not if we are really honest about it.
However, many folks I know in their early 60s, including myself, are trying to sort out a strategy when dealing with concerns on the future of humankind. After writing to newspapers and politicians, attending rallies and trying to pass the climate change message around to friends and family for several years, I have concluded that in general, aside from personal austerity measures—turning down the thermostat, turning off lights when leaving a room, turning down the temperature of hot water heaters or turning off hot water completely except for bathing, and of course leaving our cars at home and taking the bus more often—we are waiting for our provincial, federal and international governments to finally get the message and take the lead in mandating major changes in our energy consumption way of life.
And when these governments do, we will probably feel relief that something is finally going to be done, but at the same time be fearful of the changes that we will be asked to adapt to.
I look at my three grandchildren, ages seven, five and two, and think of their future. To me, that is a driving force to keep on keeping on. There will always be more letters to write (whether anyone actually reads these letters is another matter). Please don’t assume all older people “don’t give a shit.” Some of us do.
Our 30- and 40-something children tell us we are doing the right thing writing these letters to those who are responsible for change, but don’t seem to feel the urgency to do the same. Perhaps when I was that young, life was busy enough with work and family, and in fact, climate change was not such an important issue then.
So, does our grandchildren’s future depend on us (“the defeatist, wizened fatalists”)? Perhaps yes. A sustainable future is non-negotiable, not for my grandkids.—Vivien Blamire, Dartmouth
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Climate change 2010: time to get our shit together
This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2010.
THe government want to tax you so they back the Global Warming Theory. 1200 limos were used to ferry money bags in Copenhagen. 140 private jets flew in for the meeting. Denmark ran out of Limos, so more had to be driven in from Germany and other parts of Europe. The private luxury jets clogged Copenhagen’s airport, so the private jets were sent to Norway to park.
The British Prime Minister chartered a 180+ passenger jet to take him and 20 assistants to his Photo Op in Copenhagen. The very same day, Prince Charles took a private Luxury jet to Copenhagen. THe very same day there were at least a dozen commercial flights from London to Copenhagen. One would think that the British PM could have shared his plane with Prince Charles as there were over 160 “EMPTY” extra seats available. One would also think that they could have flown on a regularly scheduled commerical flight to Copenhagen and saved British Tax Payers a huge sum of money and not emitted tons and tons of extra CO2.
They don’t worry about the massive amount of extra CO2 that their actions caused. Why should the you?
Anyhow, good news on the Global Warming front. Check the Carbon Trading Exchange.
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/market/data…
A ton of CO2 offsets is now down to 10 cents a ton. At that price banks and other promoters of carbon trading can’t make huge profits. Remember they want $10 – $20 or more per ton. If the 10 cent rate does not rise for say 6 months, you won’t be hearing much more about Global Warming caused by CO2. They will close shop and probably get a government bailout to cover their losses as happened last year with the losses from trading credit default swaps. Credit Default swaps are no longer in the news, and Global Warming news will go the same route.
You see the Global Warming Theory is VERY PROFITABLE, but only for some. You think money bags spent so much money on 140 private jets, 1200 limos, filled luuxury suites for nothing? It must have been very profitable to spend that kind of money. Just think what their profit potential must be like.
In the meantime they send out an army of fear mongers to scare the little tax payer, whose pockets are about to get picked again. Why fear mongering? Ever hear about the human “flight or fight” response. When we have that response, humans shut down the critical thinking part of their brain – you don’t need to ask a bunch a questions when a tiger or lion is stalking you. They don’t want tax payers to ask inconvenient questions.
If reducing CO2 emissions was so critical why did an army of between 20,000 to 34,000 people travel to Copenhagen in Dec 2009 to the IPCC conference? They could have setup video conferences and probably accomplished more and saved hundred of thousands of tons of CO2 emissions. BTW, the UN is supported by the Tax Payers of it’s member states. So Copenhagen was a HUGE tax payer funded junket and photo-op. No asks why and for what? No one ever asked how can people afford to go to Copenhagen via private Luxury jets. No one ever asked why the Limo riders could not have taken public transit and shared taxis. It was cold in Copenhagen. 1200 Limos sitting around running their engines to ensure money bags enters a “warm” car.
No one cared how Global Warming might be affected from the CO2 emissions given off by 1200 idling Limos, or the emssions from Limos having to be driven into Copenhagen from Germenay because Climate Change Conference attendees would not take public transit of share taxis. Why should you care about CO2 and the Global Warming Theory? The politicians who went to get their photo-op did not care about the affect of CO2 emissions on Global Warming. Why should you care? I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Lets just hope that the price of a ton of CO2 offsets does not rise above 10 cents per ton in Chicago.