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Mythology has the ostrich burying its head in the sand at the first sign of danger. Many ostriches are farmed in Australia and the most famous representative of this head-burying behavior is Mr. Howard the Australian Prime Minister. Howard has reluctantly conceded that some climate change is taking place. He finally has noticed the depleted reservoirs, failed crops and arid farmlands as Australia suffers the worst drought in 1000 years. Still, using thoughtful scientific logic of our President Bush, he argues that the Kyoto process is flawed because it does not include the big polluters India, China, and the United States. This is in spite of the fact that the U.N. has shown that Australia’s emissions are the highest per capita of any nation in the West and growing at a rapid rate. Italy and France each have three times as many people and yet emit less greenhouse gases. While the Australian drought gets worse, rains linked to El Niño has produced bumper crops in Argentina and will likely lessen the threat of Atlantic hurricanes. Short-term effects of global warming have not been evenly distributed here in the U.S. In fact our southwest has actually cooled over the past century. El Niño contributed to global warming but it is not the cause of it, records go back hundreds of years. However, Niño will worsen the drought in Australia and contribute to a lot of unusual weather in the Pacific. The drought will help with Australia’s "wine glut." There will be no overproduction this year. As I write this snow-plows are sweeping the streets of Santa Barbara on Southern California’s coast. Many young people had never seen it snowing. Yes, it is confusing and complicated but a head in the sand won't help. One of the places you should visit on the web is: http://www.epa.gov. Go to "climate change." The EPA site also has suggestions of what we can do to help slow global warming, and best of all these suggestions will help you save money! |