Last Friday, at the invitation of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, I spoke at the Climate Change Hearing of the Florida Catholic Conference. The two other speakers in the morning session were Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, who gave a talk on the “Florida Perspective”, and Mr. Walt Grazer, who spoke on the “Theology of Climate Change”. The purpose of this hearing – one of many across the country – was to devise a Catholic response to climate change.
Arctic Villages
On permafrost for millennia
Falling into sea.
ignoratio elenchi n.
A logical fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but has nothing to do with the proposition it purports to prove. Also known as “irrelevant conclusion”. [Lat. ignorance of refutation.]
Al Gore’s response to charges of being an energy hog was that he buys carbon offsets to neutralize his carbon emissions. This sounded bogus to a lot of people, but in fact it’s not.
This is the first installment of a four-part series to be published each Wednesday on Action Needed to Stop Global Warming.
1. How Warm is Too Warm?
2. Worldwide Emissions Target
3. U.S. Emissions Target
4. Technologies to Get Us There
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (see IPCC report [PDF] and description of the IPCC), global warming is “unequivocal”, and almost certainly due to human activities. Moreover, the IPCC says, global warming is already doing significant damage – more droughts, wildfires, heat waves, and downpours, and more intense hurricanes. What can we do about it?
In case you haven’t noticed, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs, for short) have been in the news lately. Environmental Defense, along with scores of other environmental organizations, have been encouraging folks to switch their old-fashioned incandescent lightbulbs for CFLs. Australia has mandated that incandescents be phased out completely [PDF], and California is considering similar legislation. Here’s why.
Here’s an interesting news item you may have missed. The Inuit, who live in the arctic circle, are blaming the U.S. for destroying their homeland. On Thursday, they will make their case at a hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Representing them is Sheila Watt-Cloutier, recently nominated with Al Gore for a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change.
So why do the Inuit think the U.S. is responsible for the loss of their homeland? Here’s the scoop.
