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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (89853)	11/25/2006 7:39:53 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361606

Shrub lies like a rug. Good joke, tho.

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (89853)	11/25/2006 7:45:04 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361606

2005 Another Record Year for Global Carbon Emissions November 22, 2006 — By Earth Policy Institute WASHINGTON, D.C. — "In 2005, carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels climbed to a record high of 7.9 billion tons, an increase of some 3 percent from the previous year. Annual global emissions have been increasing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century, when humans first began burning fossil fuels on a large scale to produce energy. Since the early 1900s, emissions have been rising at an increasingly rapid pace. Annual emissions have grown by a factor of fifteen since 1900, advancing nearly 3 percent a year over that time," says Joseph Florence of the Earth Policy Institute. Half of all energy-related carbon emissions come from only four countries. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for 21 percent of carbon emissions. It is followed by China, which emits 18 percent. Other major contributors to global carbon emissions are Russia, Japan, India, Germany, and Canada. See data. Qatar, with 14 tons of carbon emitted per person, leads the world in per capita emissions. The United States, Australia, and Canada each emit roughly 5 tons of carbon per person each year. This is five times the figure in China and 17 times that in India. Some 40 percent of energy-related emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, to generate electrical power. The transportation sector is the second-largest source worldwide, responsible for 20 percent of all carbon emitted. Residential and commercial buildings, industry, and a variety of minor uses account for the rest. As global emissions of carbon increase, they raise the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The average atmospheric concentration of CO2 reached 380 parts per million by volume in 2005, up 2.2 parts per million from 2004 levels and up 103 parts per million from pre-industrial times. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the current atmospheric CO2 concentration has not been exceeded over the last 420,000 years and probably not during the past 20 million years. There is a scientific consensus that the increasing concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has caused global temperatures to rise. Over the past 30 years, global temperatures increased by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.08 degrees Fahrenheit). The IPCC projects that this warming trend will continue and that global temperatures will rise by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100. There are already numerous documented effects of global warming. The World Health Organization attributes 150,000 deaths each year to the effects of climate change. Sea level has risen by roughly 15 centimeters (6 inches) over the past century, while hurricanes have become more severe in the Atlantic and North Pacific. Experts predict that the effects of global warming will be far more dramatic if carbon emissions force atmospheric CO2 levels above 550 parts per million. To prevent this from happening, scientists estimate that carbon emissions must be cut by some 70 percent. We can help to avoid the dangerous effects of global warming by enacting strong and mandatory policies to shift to renewable sources of energy and improve energy efficiency. With wind turbines, solar cells, energy-efficient household appliances, mass transit, and gas-electric hybrid vehicles, we now have the tools required to shift to a low-carbon economy. Also, there are policies that have been proven to reduce carbon emissions effectively, such as carbon taxes. Since human activities are now responsible for unprecedented changes in the global climate system, we each have the responsibility to work to decrease carbon emissions. The question is, will we act soon enough? Contact Info: Joseph Florence Earth Policy Institute Tel: 202-496-9290 x 17 E-mail: jflorence@earthpolicy.org Website : Earth Policy Institute enn.com

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (89853)	11/25/2006 9:01:24 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 361606

Plant your share of trees! Wangari Maathai, who has done more to change the landscape of Africa than almost anyone is calling for the world to plant a billion new trees, and keep them alive. Doing so will reduce desertification, absorb heat-creating carbon from the atmophere, and improve our quality of life worldwide. A friend of mine from college works helping plant trees in Africa, and describes the sheer amount of labor it takes to keep trees alive in the desertified soil of much of Kenya. And yet, the people who do Maathai's work haul water and protect their trees from animals with enormous attention and care, because they know their quality of life and the quality of life of their children depends on it. Can we, who are more priveleged, work less hard and have everything they do not, do less? In the Northeast here, the problem is often keeping the forest at bay, not growing it. But as heating oil prices rise and the climate changes, we also need to tend to our trees. Because 200 years ago, the Northeast was largely denuded of forest. If we put woodstoves in every house, where will the wood come from? What harm will we do in our quest to keep warm. So everyone reading this needs to plant some trees (I'll have to wait until spring, sadly). Call the Arbor Day foundation, or check out the Musser Forests catalog for some wonderful trees www.musserforests.com. Or plant some fruiting trees, and add to your food self-sufficiency as well. And support the work that Maathai and others are doing in the third world. In part, their world is hot and dry because we in the west are burning fuel. The very least we can do (and there's much more) is plant our trees, and send some money to Kenya. And don't forget to register your trees with the UN. home.peoplepc.com Sharon casaubonsbook.blogspot.com ========= savetheredwoods.org sempervirens.org Mike

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (89853)	11/25/2006 1:43:29 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361606

I said that same thing a while back...................if he is motivated to work with the Dems it's because there's a smoking gun out there somewhere. Now it's the Democrats job to find it. He knows the Dems will find evidence to hang him so he is trying to get on their right side quickly. Also, if public sentiment is with him he will be unlikely to get impeached...or convicted if impeached. One thing we all need to remember is that Bush signed a Presidential Executive order keeping all presidential documents under lock and key for an additional length of time. His father's papers are locked away ion his library and I'll bet junior's get put there also. More secretive measures to hide evidence have been taken by Bush and Cheney.