Originally posted 2/7/07; reposted 2/18/07

I did my morning round of newspapers online this morning and discovered a new online poll on my local paper’s website. I found myself feeling quite aggravated and composed and submitted the following letter to the editor of the Wheeling News-Register/Intelligencer.

The tone of this newspaper’s coverage of the very real threat posed by global warming–including the recent poll asking if this cold snap changes people’s opinion about climate change–is irresponsible. Scientists from around the world have determined that the documented increase in Earth’s temperatures is 90% likely caused by the actions of human beings. A cold snap doesn’t change the reality of global warming or the impact climate change is having and will have.

What we need from our leaders is a cohesive and comprehensive plan to address our reliance on a lifestyle that continues to damage our planet. This plan must include not only long term methods of responding (e.g.; implementation of clean mass transit or concrete ways to help people switch to renewable energies to heat and cool our homes) but specific strategies that everyone can participate in immediately (e.g.; adjust our thermostats, stop using disposable products).

This newspaper can immediately talk to experts and publish in a practical, readable format ways in which each one of us can lessen our “carbon footprint”. This newspaper can investigate and report—not simply repeat the self-serving answers of politicians and executives–what the impact of any proposed action will be on the climate of our world.

In short, this newspaper has the ability to responsibly inform and educate and improve the life of our community and the world. Or, you can simply focus on making a buck.

Originally posted 1/18/07 reposted 2/18/07

My wife and I were in England for two weeks over the holidays visiting our daughter who is working on a visa in rural Hampshire. This was our first trip overseas.

I love newspapers and was thrilled to be able to read paper copies of the Times of London and the Guardian among others. One of the biggest differences between the discussions in the US and the UK media is the way in which the issue of global warming is framed. In England even the more conservative papers and columnists seemed to be asking : “Are we doing enough to combat climate change?” Contrast this with the poll in my local West Virginia paper that asked whether people believed in global warming or not. In the United States we seem to be arguing about whether or not there is a problem as the ice caps melt while in Britain they have at least accepted the scientific reality of climate change.

Another difference that I noticed, that relates to climate change, is the mass transit in the UK compared to the US. We spent two weeks in England and traveled by bus, subway, train, and the occasional taxi. Only a couple of times–when we were forced to pay the high price of the taxis–did we regret not having a private automobile. The trains were spotless and full of passengers. Even the subway in London was clean and comfortable. Yet, the locals told us that the trains were terribly inferior to the rest of Europe. I guess the Brits should meet Amtrak to fully appreciate what they have.

A third difference is the size of the cars that they do drive. I saw precious few SUVs and those that I did see were small by American standards. I saw cars two sizes smaller than the smallest cars that the very same global corporations (Ford, Hyundai, Daimler-Chrysler, Toyota, etc.) offer to consumers in this country. When only one person is in a car, do we really need the bulk that we drive around in?

Perhaps, the British are more sensitive to climate change because global warming may very well cover the isles completely but will we wait until West Virginia has oceanfront properties before we admit the magnitude of the problem?