One of the big questions being discussed around the world today is Global Warming or Climate Change. From the very outset there were many schools of thought. The subject has been talked about, written about, lied about and used as a tool to protect global industry and financial institutions.
One side of the question was taken from a scientific approach whereby scholars massed data to prove that it was a reality and predicted the outcome if we as earthlings did not change our ways, we were in big trouble in the near future. They produced facts to back up their case.
Another point of view was that the changes were cyclic and we had little to to with the problem. Cleaning up the production of carbon spewing into our atmosphere had little to do with the mess. Industry, specially oil interests loved this point of view.
The more that the scientists produced and preached in the way of facts, the more the other side laughed it off. Today surveys show that the ordinary person is confused and does not really have a handle on the problem. In Canada we have some of the worlds experts on this subject as we have been observing and recording data about the Arctic. These experts are frantic as they feel that they are not being heard or not being taken seriously by agencies who could make a difference.Our government has been cutting the budgets of environmental watchdogs when we should be stepping up our programs to monitor and check changes.
One only has to look at the Canadian Arctic to see just how quickly the changes are being made. Only a few years ago Arctic summers were counted in weeks and now in months. The North West Passage could be navigated by by ice breakers and now pleasure craft regularly cruise along during a much longer and ice free summer. Pictures taken by satellite show the decrease in ice fields that used to be thought as permanent and they no longer exist. Birds have moved further north every year and robins are now settling in the Arctic region. I could go on and on to make a case for the changes being experienced but the question really is it man made ,a natural phenom or a combination and what are we going to do about it.
Because the public debate is confusing there appears to be no real, long range planning to help make the needed adjustments to protect our vital interests.
As a simple point, our weather guys all say that when temperatures were taken back then, they were out in a field and not in the heat holding concrete city.
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