Friday, January 21, 2011

Climate Change Reality Does Not Match Perceptions


Disconnect, disconnect, disconnect ...

I see disconnection everywhere in the climate change 'debate'. (Don't get me wrong. There is no debate about climate change. Just a debate about how to combat it.)

Some politicians claim that we cannot act on climate change without hurting our economy and yet economies around the world are being devastated by the extreme weather events caused by climate change.

Witness the flash floods in Australia. The incredible devastation in Brazil. These events destroy local economies and hurt the global economy. The global supply of wheat was dramatically impacted by the destruction of Australian farms. The insurance industry is already seeing soaring costs.

The cost of the effects of climate change far outweigh the costs of doing something about it. Disconnect.

Every day I hear people saying too bad the government of Canada does not reflect the opinion of the people of Canada. Our obstructionist government is the worst in the world about acting on climate change and shuts down international action at every turn. Apparently Canadians want to do something about climate change, while our government does not. Disconnect.

Canadians could pressure the government to act on climate change. The government would act pretty darned quickly if they thought they were going to face a loss in the next election. Canadians perhaps are not as active on climate change as they think they are. Our self image does not measure up to our action. Disconnect.

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