Where you live

If any of you lives on the planet "Earth," you should read this article from the Globe and Mail. This is especially true if you live in Canada, which I assume all of you do. Yes, I realize that it is not a brand new article, but it is good to read nonetheless. Here is the introduction to get you warmed up:

The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly visible worldwide, but in few countries more so than in Canada, where rising temperatures are rapidly thawing our arctic north. It’s a grave matter not only for Canadians, but the entire world.

As Canada’s frozen tundra, bogs and boreal forests thaw, they are expected to release massive stores of carbon, accelerating the greenhouse effect linked to a recent rise in violent storms, floods, drought, surging insect infestations and other costly environmental impacts.

What are nations worldwide planning to do to combat climate change? The answer to that question will be largely determined next week in Montreal, when Canada hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the largest gathering on climate policy issues since Kyoto. With the beginning of the first Kyoto period only three years away, the UNCCC comes at a critical stage of international negotiations that will shape our carbon reduced world post 2012.

And what did we get out of the UNCCC? Well, a whole bunch of legal gobblygook, the implementation of parts of the Kyoto Accord, and a whole bunch of photo opportunities with big fake smiles and handshakes and politicking between the parties on the campaign trail in Canada. The actual results are available to view here. Out of all of those things, hopefully the legal gobblygook takes us the farthest toward creating a sustainable world economy. And if not, I hope you at least read the article. Maybe it can convince you to try to walk to the store instead of driving, or to buy more environmentally friendly products, or maybe just to turn off all the damn lights when you leave a room. I know I can't compare to what an industry or a government could accomplish, but I am going to do what I can. And since my future job will involve driving holes through the sky with exhaust plumes, I think I had better be trying pretty hard.