| 165 | Warmers and Coolers | 2009-12-18 |
COP-15 is ending today. I hope some accord will be reached as countries bargain with the earth’s climate and resources. There is still an ongoing debate on whether the earth is warming or cooling.
The minority "coolers" say that there is no such thing as global warming. If the globe is warming it is just a natural cycle. The warming scientist cannot prove otherwise. In fact, Joe Barton (GOP, TX) said in a C-SPAN interview that the world was cooling, not warming! He side stepped the warming issues claiming that all the data the scientists were using was corrupt, a fact proven by the leaked emails. Barton claimed that the "warmers" are only using data that proves their point and disregarding all other sources. As a "cooler", Barton’s data sets were scientific and had no ulterior motives. Using scare tactics, I am assuming, Barton continued in an op-ed article posted on his web site, "I just bought a used car. If this were the year 2015 and the global warming bill that passed the House were now the law, I would have gone out and bought a new bicycle, instead."
Meanwhile the "warmers" have been doing damage control over the untimely leaked emails. I am sure the fact of the emails suddenly appearing just before COP-15 was merely coincidental. The "warmers" plead that our earth is warming at an uncontrollable rate. The "coolers" don’t care. They just don’t want the economy disturbed.
Mr Barton said in the C-SPAN interview that he cares about the environment as long as it does not hurt the economy in his state. And thus it is money that does not agree with global warming. The fossil fuel companies have big stakes in the debate. These companies have sizable interests in global warming (or cooling) and the politics of climate change. Their money talks and the debate continues.
With COP-15 closing, a global agreement significantly reducing greenhouse gases seems unlikely because the money and politics were against any such measures.
So regardless of the outcome of COP-15, all citizens of the earth, will continue to make energy decisions each and every day on an individual basis. Politicians can’t make us use energy! By using less fossil fuel based products and making more green energy we will reduce our impact on the earth. The world will be a healthier place to live.
And maybe Congressman Barton would learn to enjoy riding that bike!
Happy clean trails.
links
http://joebarton.house.gov/NewsRoom.aspx?FormMode=
Detail&ID=539