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OT: Al Gore and “The Climate Crisis”

Sorry for the off-topic.

I saw Al Gore on Swedish television last week. He had received the Gothenburg Sustainable Development Award and was holding a speech at the ceremony. As usual Al Gore was able to capture his audience with a mix of scaring facts and a call for action. This time he conveyed the new prediction that the arctic ice could be gone in as little as five years. While that could very well be a grave exaggeration, we can’t deny that something is terribly wrong with our climate.

Where I live, a coast town in the middle of Sweden, the rising temperature has been particularly noticeable. The first sign came in the late 1980’s when I experienced my first non-white Christmas. Now, having no snow in December has become normal.

This year, the year of 2008 – a year I’ll never forget – we have witnessed something I thought was impossible. This year we had rain in January. Where I live January is the winter month. It’s supposed to be cold and the only thing coming down from the skies should be snow. In my life, and I’ve been on this planet for 37 years, I have never experienced rain in January before. But this year it rained for ten whole days.

So what can we do? Well, Al Gore’s mantra is that “we can do something about it,” and I agree. There are definitely things I can do to reduce my share of released greenhouse gases. I can use my car much less (we have great public transportations here,) and I can, with little effort, save energy. Simple things would be a good place to start; like really turning things off when they’re not used (computers, the TV, lamps), turning heat down (human beings sleep best in 18 degree Celsius) or replacing old energy devouring machines (like our freezer from 1980).

My promise to you, my dear reader, and to the rest of the world, is that 2008 will be the year when I start to implement changes to become a more optimized human being. I will make sacrifices, my life will be less convenient, but I’ll do it happily for the sake of my children and for future generations.

My intentions are not entirely unselfish though, I expect the changes to have a significant and positive effect on my economy as well.

Cheers!

P.S. I can’t help wondering what the world would be like if the outcome of the election had been different.

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  1. February 19th, 2008 at 23:31 | #1

    It’s a scam man. The temperature of the earth is always in flux, but to think that man can really have a serious impact on it is pretty outlandish. Furthermore, to think that we can predict it based on the minute amount of data we have when we can’t even accurately predict tomorrows weather? A single volcano eruption can do more “damage” to the cause of the Global Warming fanatics than the sum of all automobiles in human history. Looks like they’ve hooked you with their propaganda. Even with the faulty data they do have, the impact of something like the Kyoto protocol is tiny. It’s like trying to stop a tidal wave with a feather. I’m all for clean air, water, etc, but I’m also for science unmarred by politics. Why do you think that the primary proponents of man made global warming are either politicians, or scientists that rely on politicians for their funding? There will be cycles in temperature and there is nothing we can do about it. We can, however, focus on things that will help people in the real world – like help people in poor impoverished nations get clean water and food, and more importantly help them build a government that will represent the people. The cleanest countries in the world have representative Governments. Before even caring about a clean environment people typically want to first live in a world where they can provide for their families honestly. Why focus on this mystical problem that is out of our control when we can put our time and resources to something that matters.

    • February 20th, 2008 at 16:36 | #2

      Interesting perspective. I totally respect your beliefs, but I can’t make them my own. Of course, this could all be a “scam” of huge proportions, but my gut feeling tells me different. And I don’t agree that we cannot have a serious impact on earth temperature. It may be small in comparison to volcanic eruptions, but it’s continuous.
      For now I have no reason to disbelieve the greenhouse theory, since I have such clear evidence in my own environment. It could of course be “natural flux” as you say, but – as I said – my gut tells me different. So I keep waving my feather.

  2. Javi
    February 20th, 2008 at 16:29 | #3

    I heared too that the data used in the Al Gore’s conferences are exagerated and incorrect. Of course we must look after the planet, but Al Gore travels in his private jet expulsing tons of CO2 to the atmosphere (maybe he has allergy to commercial airlines). The Gore’s mansion consumes 20 times more energy than the average houses in USA, and I don’t want to know how much water is wasted in his 8 bathrooms… This is really an “inconvenient truth”.
    Practice what you preach Mr. Gore.

  3. February 28th, 2008 at 02:31 | #4

    Funny, we live in the ‘information age’, yet we really do not know if its an ‘inconvenient truth’ or a ‘profitable lie’. Could be either, couldn’t it?

    Paul.

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