1.  Rositta said:
   10:52 AM  

   Good Morning Cathy. Thank you for your comment. I have been using curly bulbs, composting, recycling forever now, and I am absolutely not opposed to doing our bit within reason. Yesterday's Globe & Mail Editorial which I unfortunately can't link (subscription only) says more clearly what I'm thinking. Kyoto can't be met. "Demand Action", sure, let's force the Chinese to do their part. Cathy, people are good talkers, want things done by government yet no one really wants to give up any part of their comfortable lifestyle. The stuff we do is easy but legislate the measures that I think are necessary (no new cars, no plane trips, higher gas prices, restrict heating oil, gas or whaever) and people will riot in the streets. Restrict imports from China until that country lowers it's emissions, no more shopping trips for computers, ipods, xboxes, cheap clothes etc. oh and lets not forget the 3000 sq foot new homes that everyone aspires too. We are a country of what 40 million, no matter how much we "suffer" in the name of the environment, when you have 400 million who don't give a hoot, again, we are a piddle in the ocean. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but we do need to stay warm and we need our economy to stay strong, otherwise we will become the third world... if there's a world left...ciao

1.  Devil Mood said:
   12:44 PM  

   I think things are changing, they have to be.
   The changes are much slower over here but it's a miracle that some supermarkets are now selling the plastic bags instead of giving them away...This may sound crazy, what about paper bags or big baskets or carts, you may ask? But it's still an important step, in this crazy plastic bag country.

1.  Cathy said:
   1:39 PM  

   Rositta;
   Go to this site:
   http://climate.wri.org/globalwarmingmap-pub-3982.html
   
   for further information; it displays a cartogram, which distorts geographic space according to the phenomena being mapped. The world's land masses are recreated according to their relative contributions of carbon dioxide. I will post another answer to your response shortly.
   
   Cathy

1.  Cathy said:
   1:55 PM  

   Rositta;
   My response continued...
   Such maps and figures only tell a portion of the story. When we break down the numbers to include what each individual citizen of a nation (on average) contributes; we should be ashamed and need to do significantly better(and ultimately will).
   
   The follwoing numbers are what the average citizen of a number of countries contribute in tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (as of 2006):
   UK: 9.5
   Germany: 10.2
   France: 6.8
   Canada: 19.05
   Australia: 19.55
   US: 20.05
   
   We could "scarcely do more to destroy the biosphere if we tried" (Monbiot, 2006; "Heat; How to Stop the Planet from Burning").
   
   A recent Decima survey has also indicated that 59% of Canadians support returning to the Kyoto Protocol (which I personally don't believe is strong enough in light of the most recent science that has just come out).
   Would Kyoto kill our economy? Rubish and nonsense; of course not. There is contrary research that indicates that with new green technologies and innovations, we can come out ahead on both fronts.
   And who gives a shit about the economy of we don't have a safe and healthy planet on which to live, anyway? Really, this is not an either or scenario....

1.  Dr. Deb said:
   2:52 PM  

   OMG, I love the lightbulb ending. It does give hope.

1.  missbhavens said:
   3:18 PM  

   Done!

1.  Rositta said:
   3:38 PM  

   I am NOT disputing that climate change is a problem, all I am saying is this; people need to take responsibility and make changes themselves. As I sit here in my toasty house and it's -15 with windchill -30 outside I wonder how low I can turn my thermostat before my 84 year old mother suffers too much. Comparing countries such as U.K, Germany and France to Australia, Canada and U.S. is a little unfair. Their landmass is way smaller, Germany can fit into half of Ontario. You can drive one end of France to the other in a day. They use way less gasoline than we do. So what do we do, do we force people to leave remote areas and all live in cities? I have relatives in Germany, they use a lot less heating fuel tha n we do, it's not as blinking cold. Our footprint is larger because we are colder and because as a western society we are spoiled and have too many wants instead of just using what we need. I know you are a scientist, I'm a grade 8 dropout but I get it and I conserve, reuse, recycle where I can, does everyone else? I enjoy reading your blog and your links, I like to learn as much as I can...ciao

1.  Rositta said:
   3:40 PM  

   Sorry, I can't get that link, maybe email it to me, thanks...rositta

1.  Eric said:
   4:57 PM  

   I'm doing all I can, Cathy.
   
   Gore for President, 2008!

1.  Cathy said:
   8:08 PM  

   Dr.Deb;
   Hopefully lightbulbs are going off in peoples' heads all over the globe (see MissB's lovely one:)
   
   MissB;
   You are my new heroin. Can I copy your photo and show it to people?
   
   Rositta;
   You make a great point; our nation is very big and cold (still, anyway).
   But the climate does not care and brooks no excuses. Every tonne of carbon, as necessary as it may be, has the same impact on the cimate as a tonne emitted somewhere else. "Nice and well-intentioned as [we] are, [we still] do as much to drown Bangladesh or starve the people of the Horn of Africa..." (Monbiot, 2006).
   
   The sustainable limit for carbon emissions per capita is 1.2 tonnes. One sixteenth of what we emit. We can live warm, happy, healthy lives with the 1.2 per capita. We just need to do things a little differently and politicians and industry need to step up and use their collective imaginations. But seriously, this can be done. Without significantly impacting our economy, I might add. We just need the collective will.
   
   But here's the thing; even if we are and have been failing; we now need to talk a better line on the international front; our government has sabotaged climate talks as effectively as the Bush administration has done. We have provided an open door for every nation which wants to wriggle out of its obligations.
   
   We do not need to freeze ourselves and our aging parents. But we also don't need to wear t-shirts and shorts in the middle of the winter in our over-heated homes, nor have air-conditioning at 50 degrees North latitude.
   
   The government is not acting, perhaps can not act unless we demand that it do so; more loudly and more effectively than those who demand that nothing change.
   
   You are doing more than many, Rositta. And you are obviously open-minded and educating yourself on the topic. Thank you.
   
   Eric;
   You're the man. I know you will vote wisely, my frind. Now convince a few others to do the same! ;)

1.  Berlinbound said:
   8:16 AM  

   Thanks for sharing that clip Cathy ...
   
   Now how do we make this a global priority?

1.  Eric said:
   6:20 PM  

   Have you seen this?
   
   I'd be curious to hear your reaction...

1.  Cathy said:
   6:36 PM  

   Richard;
   And THAT, my friend, is the million-dollar question. I'll let you know when I know...
   
   Eric;
   People who spew this kind of mis-information are deplorable to me. Prof. Ball hasn't published on climate science in any peer-reviewed scientific journal in more than 14 years. He is often paid to speak to federal MPs by a public-relations company that works for energy firms. And his travel expenses are covered by a group supported by donors from the Alberta oil patch. But the article doesn't mention that information...
   Sigh.
   HUGE sigh.

1.  Stephanie said:
   8:27 PM  

   I vote wisely, use public transportation, drive an econmical car, have the swirly light-bulbs, etc, etc, etc...but each bit seems like such a little drop in the bucket :(

1.  x said:
   5:38 AM  

   i have the lightbulbs and although they annoy me a bit (they take forever to light) i am sticking with them, it's suh a small thing to do.
   We recycle everything and this is also a bit inconvenient because at points the house is full of garbage (paper, metal, plastic, glass) waiting to be recycled, but there is no other option. What i am trying to say is that all these things take a bit of effort and grimacing and are not comfortable. Because we are TOO comfortable and that's how we've gotten where we are now: having only 10 years before we totally destroy this planet.

1.  x said:
   5:39 AM  

   oh blogger is making it very difficult for me to comment now that i changed versions.

1.  barb said:
   2:58 PM  

   This is worth doing - an online quiz to get a feel for your own 'ecological footprint'. It dates from 2002, but still gets you thinking.
   
   http://www.myfootprint.org/

1.  Jennifer said:
   4:14 PM  

   I wish all nations would implement a carbon tax. Attaching a price tag to carbon emissions would be the best way to spur development of alternative energies. However, as an American, I know my government will never do such a thing. Americans scream bloody murder when the price of gas goes over $2/gallon. As long as fuel is cheap, there will be no real change here, which really depresses me. Thanks for posting the Gore interview, that made me feel a bit better about this, I've become somewhat resigned to the idea that my country will never do anything serious to address this issue. Maybe Gore will run for president... Perhaps in 2008 my country will start to actually do something about global warming!
   
   And you're right, we should all do our best to raise awareness and create change!! :-)

1.  Jennifer said:
   4:14 PM  

   I wish all nations would implement a carbon tax. Attaching a price tag to carbon emissions would be the best way to spur development of alternative energies. However, as an American, I know my government will never do such a thing. Americans scream bloody murder when the price of gas goes over $2/gallon. As long as fuel is cheap, there will be no real change here, which really depresses me. Thanks for posting the Gore interview, that made me feel a bit better about this, I've become somewhat resigned to the idea that my country will never do anything serious to address this issue. Maybe Gore will run for president... Perhaps in 2008 my country will start to actually do something about global warming!
   
   And you're right, we should all do our best to raise awareness and create change!! :-)

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