Climate Change
I do beleive that human activity has and is affecting the climate. However I have to agree with the Federal Opposition from the point of view that it is better to wait until after the Copenhagen Conference before deciding on the best course of action. The Federal Government rush to have it passed by the end of the year was nothing more than political grandstanding so that Kevin Rudd/ Penny Wong could go to Copenhagen and tell the world how good they are (not) in getting the first scheme up.
As a young University student in the late 60's we were told of the natural cycles of cooling and warming of the planet and that we were and still are in a natural warming cycle. Evidence of that can be found in thge likes of Glacier Bay Alaska where the extent of the glaciers has been tracked since the mid 18th century and it has retreated a long way over 70 miles or so since that time in a steady progression.
That is not to say that human activity by way of the Industrial Revolution has not contributed to the an acceleration in the warming process. I would venture to say that human activity is a significant harmonic on the natural warming and cooling cycles the planet goes through.
In my lifetime I have noticed a significant change in the climate particularly since the acceleration in industrialisation in developing countries like India and China in the last 20 years. That is not to say that India and China are to blame, we are all to blame as we live more and more opulent lifestyles.
The highly developed countries laid the foundations for climate change in the last century with rampant industrial and economic growth based upon the use of fossil fuels for energy to support that growth.
We all have to take a step back in the industrialised world and take steps to mitigate our use of energy and processed resources.
However I am not sure that an Emissions Trading Scheme based upon taxation only is necessarily the best option.
I spend a lot of time on politcal forums in this country and overseas and the general view of Seniors by most of the much younger posters is that they are mostly incapable of thinking and are going senile.
Well I can only hope that these people do not visit this forum and see that what they think being practised by a very few who just like children in the school yard try to wreck any discussion about serious matters with inane remarks.
Now if you were paying attention and some were - 100 billion if the figure being bandied about at Copenhagen re paying for technologies for the third world and compensating them for climate change.
This will be made up of 7.5% of our GDP that for Phyl is the figure we produce as a country and what the entire economy of the world is based on for every country. Not Aldi's output but the output of the country in question. Our output this year makes the figure 7 billion if we get signed up to pay for 2009 - easy if you read and comprehend it.
Then and for the entire period of the treaty if signed every year add 2.5% extra of our GDP.
Not hard now is it if you pay attention.
Koko gave you the download link to get the entire package from the UNIPCC which is of course a PDF file and you will need a reader like Foxit or Adobe.
The 3.5 billion promised by Rudd to Indonesia and Malaysia etc is for not cutting down any more of their forest and on top of the amount due to be paid to the United nations for redistribution to developing countries.
Now off you go and wreck another thread and discussion because it is not worth my time to bother any further.
It is a pity that the mods on here are not willing to do anything to help the forum along and let a few wreck it - and also btw it is not possible to upload an avatar as needing fixing like all of the board it is old and outdated.