Climate Change

Gonzo

Electoral Member
Dec 5, 2004
997
1
18
Was Victoria, now Ottawa
I feel terrible for those in New Orleans, but part of me is thinking that now maybe those idiots who dont believe global warming is happening will wake up. It's not an environmental trend, it's a man made problem. The oceans temperature has risen. Even a slight rise can cause stronger, more frequent hurricanes.
I suggest people listen to science instead of religious nuts who think New Orleans is being punished because of homosexuals.
 

mrmom2

Senate Member
Mar 8, 2005
5,380
6
38
Kamloops BC
I'm beginning to wonder how much is Global warming and how much is man messing with the weather :? I would like to know how many times they've fired up HAARP and heated the ionisphere .Shooting microwaves into our atmosphere has got to be screwing things up too 8O
 

Gonzo

Electoral Member
Dec 5, 2004
997
1
18
Was Victoria, now Ottawa
In Macleans there is an article about the economic benifits of the polar caps melting. They want to develop shipping routs through the artic and use Churchill as a major seaport. Personaly, I would prefer they did something about global warming.
One thing people should do is instead of waiting for government to do anything, we should do our part. People complain about sky high gas prices. Maybe stop driving gas chugging suv's. Bike to work. Europe has been paying over a dollar a litre for a long time now. Thats why they drive fuel efficient cars. Stop complaining.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
Really eh? I hear people freaking out about how much it's going to heat their houses this winter. I feel bad for poor people who are going to be hit hard by this, but most of those I hear complaining aren't poor. In fact, most of them have a pretty good income.

How 'bout this? Get you damned houses insulated and buy those new doors and windows you've been thinking about for the last decade. If you can't afford it all at once, at least get started on it one room at a time.

While you are standing there complaining about heating costs, maybe you should think why you needed a 3,000 square foot house with a heated attached garage for you and your wife to live in too. How many bedrooms do two people need anyway?
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
18,326
119
63
I remember cold winters in northern B.C. that were a lot colder than what they are today. I remember temperatures of more than fifty below zero. Places like Vanderhoof and Burns Lake just don't get that cold anymore. I'm just thankful I live on Vancouver Island. Because of the rising fuel costs our heating bills may double as well but we are starting from a much lower base than someone in the north or on the prairies. I am still convinced that the rising gas prices are a swindle in that the price of a barrel of crude has simply not gone up by any amount that would justify the increases we are seeing at the pumps.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
It is a swindle. If the prices matched, the profits would remain more or less constant. The companies that wholesale gas have seen record profits this year.

Of course the other part of the swindle is that we should have been paying more for oil and gas all the time, but our governments have been subsidising the fossil fuel sector with our tax money. Of course we've still been paying...we just didn't know it.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
18,326
119
63
missile wrote:
All of our best efforts to halt global warming will only slow it down,and give us a few more years. Sadly,it's inevitable!

If only we could get everyone to give their best efforts. Meanwhile, I would like to know, if we stopped all production of greenhouse gasses tomorrow, how much further would the global temperature rise?
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
Nobody knows the answers to that, Juan. The best estimates give a 50 year time lag between when the fossil fuels are released and we begin to see an effect, which means that even a total halt right now would still see the effects accellerating for another half century.

There is also the tipping point theory and a few scientists think we may be very close to that, or possibly past it, right now.

We have to start someplace though. All but a few luddites have now recognised the problem, and even the luddites are making uncomfortable noises. The next hurdle is getting them to realise that we can't put the economy before the environment because if we do, we'll lose both.
 

annabattler

Electoral Member
Jun 3, 2005
264
2
18
Certainly I agree that we should all do our part in terms of NOT adding to global warming.

That being said,what we in Canada contribute to global warming is far exceeded by the developing countries....China,India,South American countries...and because our world leaders cannot or will not agree, the issue seems to be beyond our control.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
On a per capita basis, we are still among the worst though, Anna. We like to blame that on our climate and the size of our country, but look at our lifestyles.

We used to have rail travel. It was cheap and easy. Now it's hard and expensive.

We used to have public transport in cities. A lot of it ran on electricity. It's gone in all but the largest cities now.

In the 70's we had federal and provincial programs to cut back on energy usage. They were effective and they spawned an industry that, along with our climate, has given us some of the best energy-efficient building technology on the planet. Most of it isn't code though, there are no retrofit programs worth talking about, and new technologies are fought by special interest groups every step of the way.

The biggest single point about developing countries is that they get their technology from us though. If we go to friendly technologies, so will they. Do you think somebody in China cares if their car runs on gasoline or alcohol or hydrogen? They don't. In fact they care less than us because they have a lot less invested in existing infrastructure. They will use what's available, but we haven't made anything else available.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
18,326
119
63
For a while I was hopeful

that fuel cells might be the way of the future. It appears they are not. Fuel cell powered cars are not in the practical forseeable future because they require exotic material (platinum) that at the moment doesn't exist in the quantities required to build fuel cells in the numbers needed to make a difference. The best bet right now is the hybrid, which is a combination of a very clean, small internal combustion engine and an electric motor driven from a battery system. Another step that is in the right direction is the "Smart Car". Let's face it, just about anything is an improvement over F-350 pick ups that the morons among us drive back and forth to work in that rarely even carry a passenger. If a person needs a big pick up for work i can understand it, but to use these vehicles to commute to work is insane.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
I'm just thankful I live on Vancouver Island. Because of the rising fuel costs our heating bills may double as well but we are starting from a much lower base than someone in the north or on the prairies. I

Your not worried about the increase on everything living on the island. The increase in fuel for the truckers and the ferries is being passed on directly to you, on the island.
My husband use to commute between here (the mainland) and Victoria. The price difference on groceries and on gas is something to be concerned about. We pay less for most stuff over here. Our gas is not as expensive as on the island. From what I've heard it's only going to get worse. Ferries are angling to increase fares. Truckers have their fuel surcharge raised......
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
18,326
119
63
Hi Twila

You are right. We'll feel the pinch. It has always cost money to live on the island. The ferries haven't raised their prices yet, but they will. I was only talking about our heating costs. When we lived up north our heating bills were about $350.00/month during the winter. In Nanaimo we might get as high as $130.00. We are putting in a woodstove to supplement the electric heat so we could get a bit better.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
I always believed, and obviously rather niavely that the prairies had some kind of "magic" to prevent such heat loss.

I guess not. That's an awful lot to pay for heating. Wow!

Thanks for the clarification.
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
We do have that magic, Twila...that's why people will offer you shots of rye if you up at their houses at ten in the morning. ;-)

The prairies has something else that the people in charge don't like to talk about much. We have straw to build houses out of. Some of the best insulation around, and it's cheap and easy to use.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
18,326
119
63
One thing that people from the west coast would notice right away on the prairies, is that nobody builds big post and beam houses with glass walls. I think that style came from California. They are hard enough to heat in Vancouver. Winnipegers wouldn't build them.
 

Jo Canadian

Council Member
Mar 15, 2005
2,488
1
38
PEI...for now