(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[29. December 2006] The Christmas holidays have been green and sparkling. For Norwegian garden owners, the lawnmower has been as relevant as the snow shovel and Olympic champion Ivar Formo's sad drowning death on Christmas Eve was final proof that we can not rely on the power of the cold in winter. In this issue of Ny Tid, we have tried to predict the future. It is popular to predict the weather.
In 2006, the political climate change was greater than in nature, and with this year's book Tim Flannery has been one of those who have made it probable that humans are also warmers. Al Gore has toured the world with film to put the cast and action in us all. Paradoxically, the flights the American politician is taking to tell us this is the surest way to provide personal emissions of greenhouse gases.
When the UN Climate Panel (IPCC) presents its fourth report in the New Year, we will certainly be told that temperature changes are happening faster and are greater than ever. The report is gloomier than the previous editions and will generate much debate. The IPCC will announce higher water levels and diminishing poles and they will require swift political action. Pressure on the US will increase, for the world's largest source of greenhouse gases to ratify the Kyoto agreement. And even though the IPCC is disputed, the conclusions are disputed and key researchers withdraw from the panel in protest of some of the plays, the panel will be leading the international debate next year.
No one knows for sure to what degree the temperature changes we see are man-made. But no matter the extent, we know that to the extent that humans are warmers, we can also take precautions. The great environmental threat of the 1980s, holes in the ozone layer, was stopped by an effective environmental strategy and a ban on dangerous gases. Nevertheless; Although greenhouse gases can be important impacts on major environmental threats, they cannot be our only guideline. Environmental protection is so much more than climate. Therefore, it is certainly not certain that the government's measures against climate emissions are solely for the benefit of the population. When new year car taxes change to make diesel cars cheaper, local pollution will also increase brutally. 51 days last year, the air quality in the capital was hazardous to health due to excessive dust. With more diesel, there will also be more particulate matter. This is what is called taking two steps forward and one back.
