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Saturday, July 09, 2005
Letters to the Editor
The Globe and Mail
444 Front Street W.
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2S9
Dear Editor
Eric Reguly bleats the relentless refrain of the Kyoto flock. (05/07/05, “Without U.S., Kyoto is wishful thinking”). He suggests that climate change doubters should not be heard – let alone listened to since they are so few in number. He concludes the G-8 meeting will be “a waste of time even before it has officially started” as he expects it will not endorse the misguided and ineffective Kyoto Protocol.
It turns out the G-8 meeting has been helpful and reassuring. Thanks to sober input from the U.S., the G-8 summit has come up with a concisely expressed way forward on climate change. Paragraph 1a of the communiqué signed by the G-8 leaders’ states; “Climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe. We know that increased need and use of energy from fossil fuels, and other human activities, contribute in large part to increases in greenhouse gases associated with the warming of our Earth's surface. While uncertainties remain in our understanding of climate science, we know enough to act now to put ourselves on a path to slow and, as the science justifies, stop and then reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.”
This suggests our leaders are beginning to realize they have been sold a bill of goods with the Kyoto Protocol. They are listening to the sceptics and agnostics. They are stepping back from the brink to seriously appraise the damage potential of climate change (warming or cooling). They will undertake forward thinking on action to control atmospheric greenhouse gases should that be needed. It seems reason may prevail after all.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast