Funny cartoon…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

And, at face value, it shows quite vividly what fine company Canada keeps on this file.

But, do use a bit of caution when interpreting this map literally. I haven’t been able to track down the report from whence this came so am unable to assess the robustness of the methodology used to reach these conclusions.

But they do seem to be in line with my thinking on the subject.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

UPDATE – Yes, I should have included a table of historical values for reference sake. Too lazy this morning.Thanks to @RunnertheFirst for pointing this out… please see the bottom of this post.

The average daily maximum was 17.3 C.

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… is a buncha crap, should consider this forecast for Inuvik.

Yes, this is “weather” as opposed to “climate”. I know the concepts and terminology very well…. but if these patterns persist, then there will be some major social, economic and biological upheavals in the North.

And I don’t believe we or any other polar nation is prepared for that.

Inuvik average temps – 1971 – 2000

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The old adage, actions speak louder than words has never been more applicable than to the news that the CPC is shutting down the climate change research station off Ellesmere Island.

It is common knowledge that the Harperites and their core supporters (read: he oil and gas industry, Sarah Palin) do not accept the science that – to any intelligent individual – points to overwhelming evidence that the planet is warming up and that human activities have and are contributing to this.

It’s quite clear we have a government that says they believe this is an issue but really don’t care about it.  Andrew Weaver, climatologist at the University of Victoria

But the minority government had yet to do anything to show this view. Yes, lots of inaction but not a lot of action. This withdrawal of research funding tells me three things:

1) Any hope that the Cons would change their position on climate change is as dead as the Leafs’ playoff hopes.
2) We should expect more of this type of the decision in the future.
3) The Cons much vaunted ballyhooing about being a solid supporter of the scientific community is a bunch of crap.

To Iggy and Jack : please merge your parties, force an election and kick these cowboys all the way back to Calgary!!!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Sometimes a child’s eyes is the best lens through which we can simplify complex issues.

Take my youngest daughter, for instance. Yesterday, and unprovoked, she informed her Mom and I that she wanted a “lot” of ice cubes to put outside.

Why?

For the polar bears.

“Because their ice is melting and they are going to drown in the water”.

Nice, eh?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

I thought I would put up a new post in response to this question posed by Doug Newton. This is a fair question that deserves some measure of response. Thanks for the question and thanks to Thorin as well.

Global warming / climate change – whatever. The important thing to note is that the Earth is undergoing some pretty dramatic changes as I write these words.

What more pressing ecological changes are there – aside from a change of a few degrees?

Absolutely none. Zero, Zilch. Why? Because every other environmental variable will change as a result of these few degrees.

And this is not a myth. We see it now in Ontario in the extreme weather patterns we have experienced the past few years. They are seeing it in the north as permafrost melts (read a story over the weekend about the booming biz in mammoth bones in Siberia as the frost melts and gives up its secrets!). It is being felt in Australia as massive brush fires are an annual occurrence. And they are seeing it in the SW United States as water is fast becoming a scarce commodity.

Which brings me to another point relating to the geopolitical and economic ramifications of climate change. As the weather patterns continue to shift and water and food supplies are impacted, it makes sense that sooner or later some of these impacted nations are going to get desperate.

One of the nations is Ontario’s – and Canada’s – neighbour to the south. And as someone stated in a presentation given to a group of us in Moncton last week, when the desperation kicks in, Canada has a great big target right in the middle of its forehead.

Yes, there are more issues in the Ontario election aside from global warming (duplication in the education systems, for example), but the climate crisis trumps all.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario