Response to Emily on Global Warming

I meant to write this post a loooong time ago, but I never got around to it. Emily wrote an opinion about global warming that I totally disagree with and is clearly just from lack of research on the topic. Actually, when I first read it …it was like I was reading a slightly edited version of one of the many kinds of creationists arguing against evolution. Luckily, in the mean time Ian Bushfield responded to it for me.

I am by no means a stereotypical environmentalist who knows global warming is a *serious* problem just because I want to get environmentalism into policy… But I’ve read a lot about global warming, listened to debates and done a lot of schooling around the topic … and it happens to be one of the very few areas of stereotypical environmentalism that I agree with. Here is Ian’s reply which was short, sweet and to the point.

Everything you say has been thoroughly debunked repeatedly before.

There IS a consensus among real climate scientists (notice how, like in the evolution/creation debate, engineers are the major opposition “scientists” to the established facts).

The 1970s global cooling myth is a result of a Newsweek article not a scientific journal or consensus among scientists. In fact, articles being published were 44-7 in favour of warming over cooling hypotheses.

Also, if you were concerned about the CRU hacked data, analysis of the emails results in no real “gotcha” moments, and does nothing to discredit the mountains of evidence that exist. At most the emails demonstrate that scientists remain human with all the associated flaws (jealousy, anger, frustration, etc.) that result from continued attack by self-proclaimed sceptics.

Finally, most of the “scepticism” movement is heavily funded by the oil industry similar to how the tobacco industry funded PR against the notion of cigarettes causing cancer or how evangelical religions fund PR against evolution.

2000-2009 was the warmest decade on record and despite what high school chemistry teachers believe (similar to under-trained biology teachers) we are very likely to have caused it. The greenhouse effect is real (or else the planet would be 30 C colder than it is), and putting more carbon into the atmosphere that is normally buried under ground is bound to have an effect.

Scientists do share some of the blame for bad PR and not communicating their findings properly, but nevertheless, the data is in, and it’s time for action. I really did like Jon’s piece at the National Post about why he thinks people are keen to be doubters of the science on this piece, give it a read if you haven’t yet.

There is a lot of really good and easy to understand literature out there about global warming and “Limits to Growth”… It makes economic, mathematical and logical sense that something like global warming is happening and that we need to respond to it so we can be more readily prepared for the future.

Claiming that the science is too hard to understand and therefore it is best to just be agnostic is intellectually lazy. Scientists have devoted their lives to this topic, and have come to the same consensus - global warming is happening. The scientists have done the science for you AND done a good job of framing it for people who aren’t scientists for those willing to put the effort into learning about it.

I understand that some people want to go against the grain and be a skeptic about stuff… but being a skeptic about global warming at this point…is like being a skeptic of evolution. Only skeptics of global warming are VERY dangerous and will result in a lot of possible death and suffering in the potentially near future.

Food Food Food Food

When you’re dieting and living in North America you really *really* start to notice something - everything is about food. When friends want to go out, they usually want to eat something. When you have someone come and visit, they sometimes plan their day around the meals they will be eating. When you’re living with a boy, every single day, no matter how big of a fight you’re in, you have the discussion about what to have for dinner.

You start to notice how much food you ate before and the different ways that people try to get you to eat more food. Some people just love eating and will do anything to have you eat with them (including the good ol’ “ahh, its just this ONE time! lets get McDonalds!”). Companies try to make their food seem really appealing by going green and olympians (champions of athletics) appear in commercials for really crappy food. …McDonalds is notorious for that sort of thing.

It’s getting to the point where I’m getting really cynical about food and food advertising. Can Patrick Chan eat McDonalds and be a face for their brand while being an athlete? Are Cheerios and the other big names really “going green” or are they just trying to fit in? How could I possibly have spent $19 on a meal that I could easily make for $3 and it wouldn’t be 80% salt?

Eating less is better for the environment, for my health and for my wallet. Eating at home is better for the environment, for my health and for my wallet. I hate food advertising and I hate that athletes claim to eat at McDonalds.

I lost 9 lbs last month!

Back To School…Winter semester

We started our winter semester a few weeks ago and so far…it’s going okay.

My first class is Monday morning at 11:30. It’s Resource Management - pretty straightforward. We are learning about policy making around resources, how to measure resources…and other…resource management things. The worst thing about that class is that over 1/2 of our mark is group work. I absolutely detest group work. Already I’ve had to do someone else’s part to make sure something got done in a good enough fashion. *hate group work* >.< The prof is nice, he’s this big fisherman-like guy who is really friendly and jolly.

Second up is ecological economics on Wednesday mornings at 8:30… This is my favorite class. The prof is brilliant and has a lovely english accent. He wrote a book on ecological economics called Manging Without Growth. I think he’s wonderful. I read a lot of the book and a few papers on the issue and Im pretty sure that I want to get into this for my senior honours thesis. It has quite a bit of potential.

Thursday is a busy day with into to senior honours work at 8:30, urban planning in developing countries at 11:30 and environmental politics and policy at 2:30. Senior honours is a waste of time…we’re basically using the time to learn how to develop a thesis and write a giant proposal. We’re also supposed to do interviews with faculty to find the right person to work with. The class usually only lasts like an hour each week then she just lets us go early. It’s silly.

Urban planning is okay. I thought it was going to deal more with the lack of planning in developing countries, but its more about the practical application of theories of planning. Lots of case studies… But I love the prof. He is this delightful Turkish man who is really intelligent and has a lot insights into things. He worked as an urban planning in the middle east for a few years so he has really crazy stories and experiences.

Policy and Politics is by far my absolute worst course…not only the worst class of this year - but the worst class of my entire university education. My prof is a phd student …which automatically rubs me the wrong way. I want to pay for someone who I am certain is smarter than me… Not someone who has yet to prove themselves to the academic community. The course content is so far…bullshit. And the people are really dumb. They have no depth… and think money can be gotten rid of and this will make the world better. They’re all ridiculous.

So…lots and lots of work… 2/5 are interesting… and 1/5 is absolutely amazing. This semester may not be a bust.

Decrap Update

I mentioned a while ago that I started dieting pretty hardcore. …Cutting my calories by like 65% and biking everyday. It went really well for the first month (-9 lbs!) but December was a bit of a hard one (-4 lbs …) and January isn’t looking so good (I haven’t weighed in yet). It’s hard to get in shape in the Winter, so I’m looking forward to the summer. But I’m still eating pretty good (no chips or candy or crap) and I get on the bike once in a while…

I guess the most exciting update is that I’ve lost 19 lbs! Almost my first 20 lbs! …So I’m only 51 lbs away from my weight loss goal and I have 9 months to do it. That shouldn’t be too hard.

It’s really starting to show and I’m really starting to feel the difference. My old pants fit again, my bras are gigantic on me, and my shirts are getting baggy. So, success is still here! And it really feels great. I can’t wait for summer… :)

Would you trade your house for more happiness?

Yesterday for one of my classes we read a paper (Lawn, P. 2001. “Scale, prices, and biophysical assessments” Ecological Economics 38, 369–382) that said you can have sustainable development (whatever that means, now) while maintaining the same level of happiness in the current society. It makes me wonder if people would be happier if they had to start giving things up. …I got thinking about when I heard about the Ipad (which I just learned about yesterday from my mom…) and how it is essentially just… a really big Iphone. But everyone is going to want it. Would people be willing to not get an Ipad? Or the next Iplack? or Ibod? Im not sure that people are willing to start giving up what they have for a sustainable and less excessive future.

Then I came across this grist article that talks about a family who is giving up what they have to better the world. It’s a really wonderful thing and I hope that more people can start to live like this.

It makes me reflect on what I do… Yesterday I ordered a new MP3 player (not even an Ipod…a zone? zune?…i dont know) because my Ipod just flat out stopped working. But I’m not like that with everything. Phones, for example - I buy new phones all the time just because I like new gadgets. Laptops… I buy new laptops and mini laptops because it’s fun to have new things. Clothes… I am really horrible for buying clothes and never wearing them. Jewelry, shoes, stuff… and I’m someone who knows and cares about the earth and other people.

So, what am I going to do about it…? (this sucks…) I’m going to stop accumulating things. No more makeup from Sephora, clothes from H&M, jewelry from Forever 21… etc.etc.etc. I will challenge myself with this for a year and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll save a bunch of money! That would be cool, too. I’ll (try) to keep track of what I don’t spend and will donate the full amount at the end of the year. I’ll keep you updated on it…

(What a year! dieting, not spending money, working my ass off at school… sounds fun =0.0=)