Saturday, January 13, 2007

The "Coal" Dealers

Ever since I read Crichton's State of Fear (and I dubbed it "The Da vinci code of Global Warming" in this earlier post) I started my own mini-obsession with Global Warming. Recently I read "The Weather Makers" and I must say I found the author extremely boring as he repeats himself towards the end of each and everyone of his 36 short-but-amazingly-boring chapters.

I however learned two very fun facts:
1. I was amazed by how far reaching COAL lobbyists are?! Yes I said coal lobbyists! For me, I understand when Governments are under the influence of big evil oil companies (*cough*Iraq invasion*cough*Cheney*cough*Halliburton) but Coal?! All those years I thought only the village people were into the coal business?!Turns out not only is there a Coal lobby, it's arguably the most powerful in resisting actions against Global Warming!

2. Turns out Global Warming is NOT caused by Big Evil Corporations, it's caused by YOU. The two biggest sources of CO2 emissions and therefore Global Warming are:
  • Transportation (cars, planes, ships ...etc)
  • Use of electricity (most electricity is generated from non-renewable sources like coal or oil)

So when you think of it that way, it becomes clear that if we ALL decide to have a more fuel economy car or a hybrid or maybe use public transportation more. Or if we decided to reduce our electricity bill per month by 10%-20% or a more drastic 50% by installing Solar panels (if that's an option where you live) then you are ACTIVELY fighting Global Warming.

Think about it, definitely your actions can help!

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