Climate in the Northeast has already changed so that we are having more days in the 90s and even over 100 than ever before.
My step-father died of dehydration in a Massachusetts nursing home during a heat wave in 1999. He had dementia, and his children decided not to put him on an IV (he would have had to be sedated to keep the tubes in). Nursing homes in NY and New England never used to need to be air conditioned--yet another positive feedback loop: we need more AC because we have more very hot days, but the increased burning of coal to power the AC increases global warming. . . and so on. Yes, less cars--but also less electricity. Conservation is more important than paying for green electricity (which is giving capital to the power companies to build new wind capacity). While any way of building more renewable energy sources is still generally a good idea, I would rather have my money going to build publicly-owned power generation. Anyone know of any options like that out there? In any case, paying for new wind, etc, doesn't help reduce GHG emissions unless the overall use of electricity drops enough to CLOSE COAL PLANTS. The grid as a whole is still mostly coal, and usage is still going UP. Margaret On Dec 18, 2008, at 9:27 AM, Andrejs Ozolins wrote: > This article also illustrates the general muddle-headedness that our > society cultivates. They discuss "the myths about what the biggest > threats to life and limb are," without mentioning that more people are > killed in auto crashes than by all the listed scourges -- and > terrorism > to boot. > Andrejs > > Joey Gates wrote: >> Sobering to think about as the mass of humanity continues to ignore >> global warming: >> >> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081217/hl_nm/us_death_usa >> >> WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Heat is more likely to kill an American than >> an earthquake, and thunderstorms kill more than hurricanes do, >> according to a "death map" published on Tuesday.... >> >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > Questions about the list? ask [email protected] > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
