How it all ends

This is an awesome video on global warming/climate change/ climate destabilization. You must watch this! And then, please, forward it or a link to this post to everyone you know. Trust me, after you watch it, you'll know what I mean:

The White House's new spin: Climate change is good for you!

Yay! No more pesky cold winters!

From White House spokesperson Dana Perino:

"But it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals."

The White House's environmental lapdog, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), tried its best to support Perino with a straight face, saying:

"It is important to consider both health risks and health benefits of climate change. We rely on the best available science to guide our policy decision process," said spokeswoman Kristen Hellmer.

CEQ used findings from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, but didn't quite give the whole story. From the AFP the IPCC report states:

"Studies in temperate areas have shown that climate change is projected to bring some benefits, such as fewer deaths from cold exposure," according to the Summary For Policymakers of the IPCC report.

But "overall it is expected that these benefits will be outweighed by the negative health effects of rising temperatures worldwide, especially in developing countries," it said.

Another section of the report suggested a "mixed" impact on malaria, restricting the range of the deadly mosquito-borne illness in some areas, expanding it in others.

Climate Change: How can anyone even question it anymore?

One of the most amazing things I heard from the Sunday morning talking heads yesterday was lunatic pundit George Will's anger at the awarding of the Nobel Peace Price to Al Gore. Will was seething that such "baseless" claims of global warming were being recognized. He trotted out the ancient argument that "scientists don't agree" on the amount of polar ice melt, and that the current warming is all a part of nature's course.

To their credit, the other three on the panel (Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, and George Stephanopolos) calmly refuted his tirade, albeit with a bemused look at the sad little man. All three agreed that while there may merit discussion on the severity of the problem (is it just the polar ice cap that's melting, or Greenland, as stated in An Inconvenient Truth?), there is no question that global warming/ climate change is a real problem.

I came across an interesting website that gives information on the efforts of companies to adress this issue. Because after all, even though you and I do everything we can to recycle, reuse, and reduce, the biggest impact is by far from manufacturing and other large corporations. You can see “who takes climate change seriously” (obviously George Will's name is not there!) at ClimateCounts.

For example, while it's true that “nobody doesn't like Sara Lee”, you might not like her so much after you read that she's basically doing nothing to decrease her rather large footprint. However, you will be pleased to know that Unilever, makers of Country Crock, Hellman's, Knorr, Lifebuoy, Lipton, Lux, Pond's, Slimfast, Vaseline, Wishbone, Dove, Ben & Jerry's, and I Can't Believe It's not Butter, among other things, has been tracking and reducing their impact on globla warming since 1995.