I second this motion. Urgent action is needed on climate change. Weird weather here in the Pacific NW. Cars spewing out all sorts of noxious fumes in the complete absence of emissions regulations - for a cyclist this could easily mean premature death (from inhalation of toxics.)

It would be better if people would start using the term 'Climate Disruption' instead of 'Global Warming.' Because although the overall global temps are increasing, as the unseasonably cool and damp late spring here in the NW attests to, the result of anthropogenic introduction of massive quantities of heat and energy into the atmosphere is not necessarily a consistent local warming phenomenon.

Maybe all the cool air here in the Puget Sound is the result of increased mixing with arctic air. If so, I am curious to know what the conditions are in the far Northern and Southern regions of the globe...

Urgent action is needed. For the sake of so many endangered species, for the sake of so many species already lost to extinction, for the sake of my lungs(!) - we need to do something to change the way we operate on a daily basis.

There is no reason why 80% of cars on the road in the USA are not plug-in hybrids. These can typically travel 25 miles without need for combustion motoring - enough for most peoples' regular daily needs. That's where we should be right now, 80% plug-in electric hybrids. The fact that we aren't is a clear signal of governmental failure - and quite possibly corruption as well, in the form of collusion with the automobile and petroleum industries.

Anyway, I wanted to pass on this article from the NYT.

Have a good day. And I wish a lungful of clean air to you!

- bert




http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/world/11climate.html
June 11, 2008 Strong Action Urged to Curb Warming By ANDREW C. REVKIN

The scientific academies of 13 countries on Tuesday urged the world to act more forcefully to limit the threat posed by human-driven global warming.

In a joint statement, the academies of the Group of 8 industrialized countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States — and of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa called on the industrialized countries to lead a “transition to a low-carbon society” and aggressively move to limit impacts from changes in climate that are already under way and impossible to stop.

The statement, posted by the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, urged the Group of 8 countries to move beyond last year’s pledge to consider halving global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and “make maximum efforts” to reach this target.

The academies recommended speeding the adoption of new energy technologies and encouraging changes in behavior that curb energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions. They also urged investing more to improve solar and nuclear energy technologies and in projects to capture and permanently store carbon dioxide produced by power plants. The academies also said it was necessary to study artificial “geoengineering” methods for stabilizing climate, as well as large-scale reforestation.

I would agree that sometimes I can be snarky, or sarcastic, but I really don't think it raises to the level of abusive.

My commenting is at a very low level any more, but as far as content, I do post an article or two every month. I don't think you are a high content person either, or have I missed something?

JPO, thanks for watching my six.

enpen, still trying to be a good boy.

Gug, you don't make me want to puke, but your arrogance does sometimes. Don't personalize things, I thought you were one of those with some thicker skin. If JPO and Norm like you, you can't be all bad ;-)

"A dog is not 'almost human', and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such." - John Holmes

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

this weather, although record setting is not unheard of. June is traditionally a cool, rainy month. This year it's just more so. This is not to diss climate change and it's threat to our species, (and many other higher life forms) but to blame this anomaly on higher greenhouse gas levels is probably not accurate.

On a personal note I like this weather. As a fair skinned man of Northern European descent (Deutsch) who works outside, I do not miss the sun burn and the risk of melanoma that accompanies exposure to an unshielded thermonuclear furnace.

It's a memory kind of sky...

Because Rob W. has an epiphany from his hanging out on a street corner, we are suddenly aware of and worried about vehicle emissions, and our children breathing them, unbelievable.

Not enough real or fabricated gloom and doom for you folks?

If nothing else, you Greeners provide a huge comic relief.

"A dog is not 'almost human', and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such." - John Holmes

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

So we are "killing the earth" with a liquid that the earth naturally produces? OK, I guess we're killing the earth with CO2 as well. Perhaps we should all stop breathing. We will find new advances in transportation, alternative fuels, and new inventions just like we always have in the history of this planet. There is no conspiracy by big business to stop innovation; you see there are always new companies and entrepreneurs out there looking for the next big thing. That's what I believe, I choose look at what's ahead instead of looking for ways to punish people and punish business. So you can keep looking for ways to get people out of their cars, that is doing nothing to address the big picture.

far out of harm's way. Yea, yea, some comes to the surface naturally but it took a naked ape to extract and burn enough to alter atmospheric chemistry.

If you push regulating emissions, you'll be oppressing the lower income society. Most who drive older cars that are exhaust bombs are folks who can't afford the financial upkeep of what they have nor are they capable of buying something newer that would meet your opinion of health standards.

There's always those cute little paper medical masks. $2.00 a dozen. If they're good enough to prevent virus spreads to your lungs in hospitals, they're good enough to protect your lungs from those darn poor people who are poisoning you with their exhausts.

Stand next to a road and you get.... not farts of talcum power and wafts of lavender, you get the byproducts of burning petroleum in internal combustion engines.

If you care about your health don't stand next to a friggin arterial waving signs for a fringe candidate. (Sorry about the marginal candidate dig. I couldn't resist.) That, or buy all those drivers a zero emission vehicle. Or a bus pass. Or...

Asking for clean air is completely reasonable. Farms are generally not public spaces. Roadways, streets and sidewalks are public, and people deserve to breathe uncontaminated and clean air. People should not have to risk their health in order to participate in free speech. Maybe what we need are voter owned elections, so that candidates who do not have the support of the establishment, including the mega-corporations that have a stranglehold over society, do not have an unfair advantage. I know that there's a group in Olympia working on just that, voter owned elections.

I've done a lot of hitch hiking and i know exactly what you mean. at least it's been cold out. nothing is worse than sucking down semi exhaust in kansas in 110 degree heat for hours on end.

standing on the side of the road is the pits.