Cobourg Blog

Although Global warming is undeniable as proved by Arctic Ocean and glaciers melting, there is yet no proof that man has been the reason for it.  Nor is there any evidence that the best efforts of the human race will make any difference.  There have been several statments by Scientists that have stated this but the media establishment has mostly ignored them.  The first major one was after the 1992 earth summit with 4000 signatures including 72 Nobel Prize winners. [source: Lawrence Solomon - web site www.energyprobe.org]

Further, implementing the Kyoto protocol would be harmful because Carbon Dioxide is actually beneficial.  This was the subject of another petition/statement organized by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine and has 19,000 signatures as of today [www.oism.org/pproject/]

So why do people like the idea that man is causing global warming and can fix it? To me there are three reasons:  First, few people understand science and the scientific method and many think global warming is a popularity or political contest; second, it gets confused with the environment in general - cloth grocery bags are good but not because of global warming; and third, people are vain - they like to believe humans are significant.

So let’s by all means work towards a better environment (and also conserving earth’s resources such as oil) but if we want to do something about global warming, we should focus on coping with the coming changes.

Even in winter when the weather can sometimes be miserable, Cobourg is a great town to live in. Who else has a Santa Claus parade, lights in the park, a New Year’s Eve “First Night” and a Mayor’s levy? The season kicks off with a Santa Claus parade - yes I know it’s commercial and lots of other towns have them - but we do have one. Then Victoria Park has so many lights decorating it that bus tours come to see it! And for New Year’s eve, we’ve had a “First night” celebration for many years where several restaurants and other venues have entertainment with a great fireworks display over the harbour. Everyone said this year’s was the best ever!

Above is the Wagon used for a Hay-Ride to transport between venues on First Night. More photos here: Cobourg photos

Then the next day, the Mayor and all the councillors, put on a reception (levy) to meet and greet anyone who came. The Cobourg Concert Band had a concert and a “good time was had by all”.  Some reasons why they call us a “feel good” town.

The moral of all this? A blog does not have to be all negatives!

John Draper

Most people can see for themselves that the world is warming up - although this December’s weather in Cobourg would say it is not warming here this year.  But there is a question that has not really been answered:

How much influence is there from the activity of humans?  Estimates range from 100% to 10%.  If there is a 1000 year cycle that indicates it’s time to be warmer - like when Greenland was discovered - then we are due to warm up anyway.

Assuming we should worry about even a 10% influence, how much effect would Canada have if we even reduced emissions to zero? Obviously it would be negligible except for the “example” we would be giving.  I doubt India, China, South America or Africa would notice yet their emissions are largely uncontrolled even by Kyoto.

Again, assuming we should “do our bit, because it all adds up”, why is Stephane Dion so righteous when as Liberal Minister for Environment he did absolutely nothing - unless you count talking big?  It seems to me I’d rather have a Prime Minister who tells it like it is and yet does at least some things to help.  One of the things I thought Chretien “did well” (as a Politician) was to talk big on Kyoto knowing full well that Canada would do nothing yet get all the credit for being an environmental hero.  It seems to me there were a lot of people in Bali with the same idea.  Two exceptions were Canada and the US.

John Draper

In Cobourg, new traffic lights seem to go up weekly and angry residents keep demanding 4-way stops on every intersection that does not have a traffic light yet. One residential street in the west end has 12 no parking signs.
Saw on City News that in the Dutch city of Drachten there are no stop lights, traffic signs or street markings and the divisions between where the road ends and the sidewalk starts are removed. Accident rates have gone down and traffic flows more smoothly.
The concept is called “Shared Space” and it was created by Dutch traffic specialist Hans Monderman. His idea: those who use the road are too busy looking at distracting signs, directions, instructions and prohibitions. His theory states that if drivers and pedestrians had to see and negotiate with each other to make the system work, it would create a safer environment overall.
Would laissez-faire traffic work in Cobourg?

Why is a new Environmental Policy, complete with actions, a bad idea? It’s a whole lot better than the promises with no actions from the previous Government. Maybe it could be tougher but it’s certainly a start. And why does anyone even take any notice of Al Gore? How can he know what’s best for Canada? I would bet he was briefed by someone in Canada who wants a nominal support of Kyoto and without that, feels the policy is nothing. If you’ve ever visited the U.S., you know that they hear nothing about what’s going on in Canada - so we know Gore has only heard what a limited group wants him to hear.

But Chretien knew from the beginning that Kyoto could not be achieved in Canada and Liberals admitted that (during the leadership campaign). So do we want more talk or do we want actions? Let’s at least do something then build from there as required. I’d like to believe that Canadians can see through this latest noise.

John Draper