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.

The votes have been consistently 4 in favour and 3 against. Mayor Delanty, Bob Spooner, Dean McCaughey and Bill MacDonald in favour; with Miriam Mutton, Stan Frost and Gil Brocanier against. Agree with them or not, it’s interesting to analyze why they vote this way. Why would they vote as they do?
I suggest it breaks down as follows:

• Peter Delanty asked his Liberal friends for money, got it and now has to follow through or lose face.
• Bob Spooner is a big hockey fan and the more chances for people to play hockey the better
• Dean McCaughey - probably believes he is supporting the silent majority (the only acceptable reason)
• Bill MacDonald - maybe the same as Dean - who knows.
• Deputy Mayor Gil Brocanier - thinks it’s a waste of money - he manages the budget so is more attuned.
• Miriam Mutton - wants to delay to be sure the council really knows what the majority wants - a good thing in this case.
• Stan Frost - seems to share Gil and Miriam’s concerns.

The Rink is certainly not what was originally suggested. Originally a park was suggested with space for a natural rink with no concrete. Then the Fountain, Pond and Artificial rink were suggested when we got the grant (courtesy of Peter’s connections).

Let’s see what happens. The upside is that the Rink may turn out to be a big success - I’d be interested in a count of users through the next winter. We may even get bus tours with people marveling at the “”Rink in a Park”"! More likely it will be mostly deserted except for one or two families on one or two weekends in winter. With no fence, I can’t see hockey being played there.

Another upside is that the next council could spend a few bucks and add a border to the concrete and create our pond after all.  Council changing its mind implies the majority would (hopefully) vote for new councilors. However, I understand that at least two of the frink supporters are not expected to run again next time.  Something to look forward to!