“Earth near tipping point, climatologist warns” , a Toronto Star article, says James Hansen is back to warn that the Earth is nearing a tipping point, to call for a national carbon tax and to say that CEO’s of energy companies may be guilty of crimes against humanity and nature.
In 1988 James Hansen, a leading scientist, went before the congressional committee to warn of the dangers of global warming. Canadian scientists had been warning of the greenhouse effect in the early 1980’s but it was Hansen’s comments that led to The New York Times headline, “Global warming has begun, expert tells Senate”.
“We have reached a point of planetary emergency”, says James Hansen. “There are tipping points in the climate system, which we are very close to, and if we pass them, the dynamics of the system take over and carry you to very large changes which are out of your control.”
Hansen accused corporate America of a “greeenwash” in which their environmentally friendly words are not backed by actions and he supports criminal charges against CEO’s of corporations such as ExxonMobil who are smart enough to know the situation but are intent on continuing their fossil fuel ways.
The Toronto Star’s editorial, “Credibility essential for climate progam” sums up Canada’s “greenwash”, noting that Canadians have heard a lot of talk from the Harper government on global warming but have yet to see any real action. We have a stalemate between a government that insists on doing far too little and starting too late and an opposition that refuses to bend on the Kyoto target that can no longer be met.
The preservation of our environment is the responsibility of everyone and that includes holding our governments and the corporate world accountable!
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