Dr. Leakey, thank you for raising this most important subject. I completely agree, human-caused global warming pollution is the number one problem facing our planet. My own government is still sitting on its hands, but I’m hopeful that our citizens will take the proper actions. We all have to do our part, no matter how small, to reduce our environmental footprints. I’m just so pleased that you brought this up!

s.

Dr. Leakey, I whole-heartedly agree. We citizens of the United States must also push our legislature into action. I believe that voluntary CO2 emissions controls are not the answer. The general public has known about this threat since the early ’90’s. Yet, very little has been done. Instead the US carbon dioxide output has steadily increased. We have also helped to increase worldwide CO2 output by shipping our manufacturing to other countries who have very little polution controls. One way in which we could curb this kind of activity is to no longer allow polluters a free ride. If the cost of polluting was actually figured into the cost of an item, polluting would become no longer economically feasible. One way to do this is through feebates. Feebates work much in the same way as a rebate. But a feebate would attach a fee to products that contribute to high co2 emmissions and a rebate for products with lower emissions.
Thank you so much for bringing this important topic to the forefront.

Here’s an action that US citizens might want to take part in. It’s called “Step It Up 2″. There will be rallies held in areas of historical significance in the US to get our gov’t officials to do something about global warming. They are asking everyone to invite their representatives to the rally in their area. People are planning to dress in period costume. It is supposed to remind our officials what our country was founded on. The rallies are scheduled to take place on Nov. 3. Here’s a link to see if an event will be held in your area.
http://www.grist.org/comments/dispatches/2007/08/07/SIU2/index1.html

Dr. Leaky, thank you for opening the discussion. I would like to comment on the albedo effect and the popular belief that planting trees ‘can do good’. Carbon sequestration by forests is a topic of immense research interest. Albedo is the property of a surface to reflect heat back. Snow covered surfaces reflect a lot of heat back into the atmosphere whereas vegetation, especially dark “rough” forest canopies, don’t reflect as much. They tend to absorb the heat from sunlight and so exert a warming effect on the earth while snowfields reflect heat back to the sky and exert a cooling effect. Agriculture and farming play a key role in our livelihoods. But how detrimental can they be for our environment? I would like to hear your thoughts about it. Thank you.

I believe all over the world “factory farming” has done more harm than good - it has to be stopped and countries like China and many others including the U.S. just are not getting it — it’s ruining all the landscape in the world and feeding the masses all they can eat in cheap “meat” is all that seems to matter!

hank you for all your comments, forgive me but I am not an expert on albedo or factory farming, but I am very concerned about all these things. Do look at this article which even if it’s only partially right about the quantities and rates - demonstrates just how much of a challenge we are up against with regards to slowing climate change. Richard

[…] its color and go yellow-ish. Dry season is from December to April, but we notice this is changing. Climate change? It is something we read about a […]

You are totally right. Pollution is destroying our planet and something needs to be done. The problem is that people pay more attention to other things and forget about things like pollution, forgetting that pollution affects the planet were they live on. The us and other countries should find a way to get together and stop pollution.