With regard to "No credible scientist disputes the fact that the Earth is getting warmer"
I am happy to have stimulated a debate on this topic, as a free society needs to have both sides of all issues in the open to be weighed and considered.
Some points of my letter were missed by this responder in his eloquent, heartfelt, and annecdotal response. Firstly, I am in agreement that the climate has warmed, though we may agree to disagree on by how much based on how and where it is measured. The point in dispute is what caused the warming.
My central point is there is no such thing as a static climate state for any period in the Earth's history. Warming and cooling came regardless of the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which have never been static either. Our propensity to put out forest fires actually decreases carbon in the atmosphere so all we do is not to the additive side.
For all the warming, has anyone in the Maritimes recently reported any threats from rising sea levels? No. Is Georgian Bay lower now than it was in 1965/66? No. Are there fewer polar bears? No, the last census of numbers showed an increase. Looking for knowledge in noted environmentalists or self-serving organizations such as Worldwatch will only provide one side of what has become a too one-sided debate.
To cope with climate change, what we need is to learn to adapt and save our resources to work to that end. Sending carbon trades to Russia or Brazil is not going to help. But I am in complete agreement about the need for wise choices for all of us learning to conserve and use resources efficiently and wisely.
Who among us doesn't instinctively see that as the way to go? My argument is with how and why.
On a more practical, local level, as a keen observer of nature and weather, I am going to go on a limb and predict the 2007- 2008 will prove to be the low point in this Georgian Bay cycle.
If you watched the weather this winter the amount of precipitation moving in and up from Texas and Colorado, rather than just lake effect snow, was somewhat remarkable.
