Post #3: Global Warming

Hello again:

Before I begin what is bound to be a long-winded and increasingly insane blog post, I should maybe give you some background information. For those of you who are apparently living under a rock, global warming is, in a nutshell, “An increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.” (http://www.dictionary.reference.com) Essentially, the ”Greenhouse Effect” is the “what” and global warming is the “how much” – for a more cynical approach, try Junk Science for a very complicated (Allergy Alert: Contains Logarithms) description of what I just said. Or check out the American Heritage Science Dictionary definition (scroll down a bit on the page to find the right one).


Okay, to begin (somewhat): My grandparents have gone to Florida for two weeks. I know, I know, this seems terribly irrelevant, considering this post is supposed to be about Global Warming. Fear not, I have a point. When a subscriber to the London Free Press goes on vacation or is away for any reason, rather than cancel the subscription for however long, the LFPress will simply redirect your paper’s delivery. This means that as long as my grandparents are living it up in Senior City, which is pretty much what Florida has become, we get their LFPress every morning. I don’t usually get the opportunity to read any newspapers, unless I specifically buy them or take a chunk out of my lunch break to read the school’s, and then steal articles out of it that I want to peruse further (yeah, sue me). Now I get them delivered to the door, and I don’t have to sneak it around my house, like I do at school. Seeing as Global Warming seems to be the new pink, it’s always the main feature in the paper – along with the daily Justin Trudeau and Prince Harry updates. My mom said to me this morning, "There's a good global warming article on page 4," to which I replied, "There's a global warming article on EVERY page!" I’ve been trying to read all of these articles*, and when one catches my eye, I’ll rip it out and keep it. A couple of notable titles lately include Young, Urban and Green (part one of a five-part series) and “Let ‘em Live Like Commoners”. I’ll address “Let ‘em Live Like Commoners” at a later date – it’s a very well-written piece, and I think it deserves a lot of my attention. Today, however, I am going to draw from Y, U & G periodically.


The real beginning (sorry for making you read the rest of that): At the end of every week, our class heads over to our teacher, Mr. Holmes’s blog, to find out the week’s blog topic. You may have noticed from my previous posts that Global Warming is a hot (haha) topic for me, and I was exceedingly pleased to see that it was this week’s required post. Mr. Holmes’s blog discussed the ridiculously warm temperatures Canada experienced in December: “A 'Green Christmas' was on everyone's lips, and you could argue that the unseasonably warm weather we experienced before holidays was part of the reason that the environment and global warming has 'suddenly' become a major concern to the public.” I have to say, if one more person had randomly sung the line “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” at me this past holiday ‘season’ I would have had to burn down the tree. Needless to say, I was getting pretty frustrated with many people’s ignorance to the problem that was tapping them on the heads and saying, “Hellooo? Anybody home?” Global Warming was drawing more attention to itself than Stephen Harper** with his little bribe “donation” to Québec. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about – you all know that the $350M he just handed them for “environmental” reasons was just a little reminder of the election this spring, and how much he wants to be re-elected. Still feigning ignorance? Click here to see what I mean. Anyway… back on topic. Everybody was sooo upset that it looked like it was going to be a green Christmas: a few people thought, “Hmm, maybe there is something wrong here?” while most of the world whined. Personally, I was preaching Global Warming from the mountains, as my relatives grew exceedingly sick of me. I heard “Don’t worry; there was a warm spell in the ‘70s… the Earth goes through cycles…” pretty much every time I opened my mouth. Nobody wanted to ruin his or her holidays by facing the music: we are in trouble. Sure, the Earth goes through cycles, but these cycles have become increasingly warmer over the decades. But now that the holidays are over, and North America has hit the late-winter slump, people seem to be taking more notice of the fact that THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!!!!!(Clickity-click for another good global warming movie) Okay, maybe that’s a taaaad melodramatic, but it gets my point across, albeit less efficiently than handing out money, but hey – I’m not the one receiving taxpayers' dollars***, am I?


In Young, Urban and Green, journalist Vivian Song refers mostly to the TNS Canadian Facts Survey, which says, “…a majority of Canadians [specifically Quebecers -- wonder why?] are willing to make some simple changes in their daily lifestyle to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, but they are less prepared to take drastic action.” Well, duh… Nobody will ever be willing to “take drastic action” given the fact that everybody seems to assume that “drastic action” means getting back on the Mayflower and living in mud huts. I highly recommend looking at this survey: it proves exactly what I’ve always been afraid to face: Canadians are disgustingly greedy. Be sure to visit Y, U & G as well, and pay special attention to the facts at the bottom of the article. Keep an eye out for tomorrow’s edition of the series, titled Carbon Offsets: Can we buy our way out of polluting?: it’s sure to be an interesting read!


The Goldilocks Effect is just like the story: Not too much, not too little, juuuuust right – of course, in this case we’re talking about the composition of the Earth: carbon, silicon, oxygen and iron. Also, according to my other classmates' blogs (see the left sidebar for links) Earth is like Baby Bear's porridge -- not too hot, not too cold. It's juust right. Mars is the "too cold" porridge, and Venus is the "too hot" porridge. And just like Goldilocks, humans said "It's juuust right!" and starting chowing down. We just have to wait until they finish the bowl and head upstairs to take a nap.


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is part of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission is “To understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs.” It focuses on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere, and credits itself on being:
1. A Supplier of Environmental Information Products
2. A Provider of Environmental Stewardship Services
3. A Leader in Applied Scientific Research in these areas “of national and global importance”: a. Ecosystems; b. Climate; c. Weather & Water; d. Commerce & Transportation.


For more information, check out these sites:
David Suzuki’s Inconvenient Truth
Canada Factbook
Environment Canada
Check out David Suzuki’s Site, and while you’re there, Vote for the Environment! (If Rick Mercer can do it, so can you).
Stop Global Warming I haven't taken a good look at this site, but from what I saw, it looks like a good resource for tips and information.


* Even though I can't make any sense out of some of these articles, like Troops Lose Cold Game of Go Fish ... Would anybody care to explain?
** Note: This video is also worth a watch if you agree with me with regards to Harper's new "investment" -- votes from Quebec.
*** I'm curious to find out how London's "Green Plan" saved taxpayers $1.8M since 2001 , while Londoners' property taxes increase by 2.8% (on top of increased assessed values).

Stay tuned,
Lauren.

P.S. I know my birthday was more than a month ago, but if anybody wants to buy me a really late present, or just have a good laugh/reality check, click here.

P.P.S. Awww, some celebrities will be arriving in eco-friendly cars to tonight's Academy Awards. That's cute... Then they will each get on their private jets and fly out to one of their eight homes where they'll spend the night burning their money. But it's the award that counts, right? Winners tonight will be sure to thank their PR people who decided, "Global warming is so hot this year! Let's go green!"

Interestingly enough...
Just as I was checking my facts regarding the London property tax increase, I noticed this link, which pointed out something that should have been obvious: Mr. Kyoto, David Suzuki, is a "carbon-spewing beast" , saying that his diesel tour bus (seen here with the lovely but currently misguided Rick Mercer) is acceptable because he uses "carbon credits" while Al Gore is chauffeured around in a freaking limo! Oh, and here's Al Gore's personal jet! And his SUV! Okay, sorry, no picture: I looked for hours, but nobody bothered to keep proof. You'll have to use your imaginations (or just watch the film ) to see him being chauffeured though picturesque country villages and peering through the Presidental Tint on his windows at all of the wrongdoing, global warming-causing Americans. Here's an interesting video: although I won't guarantee its accuracy -- particularly on the "CO2 meter" -- it definitely sums up what I'm trying to say. Ohhh, now I'm angry...