Editor, The Times:
When I read the Jan. 24 letter to the editor by Keith, I must say that he made it very obvious which one of us rambles on! However, it looks like Keith has a nine-question test for me to answer with either a “yes” or “no”. I will comment on questions one through five, but questions six through nine are a definite “yes”, and shame on you for even asking!
Question l: “Do you disagree that the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is increasing?”. No, of course it is. In 1900, the world population was approx. 1.5 billion. By 2000, the population had increased to 6.1 billion in just l00 years and the current population is approx. 7.53 billion. That increase resulted in a lot of carbon dioxide, not to mention methane.
Question 2: “Do you disagree that carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas?”. No, all gases are powerful, and this one is necessary. Trees need carbon dioxide to survive and in turn they give off oxygen (grade 4 science.)
Question 3: “Do you disagree that the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is changing our climate? No, our climate changing is a natural phenomenon that has been going on since the last ice age. Dr. Suzuki told those damn cavemen not to play with fire.
Question 4: Do you disagree that our climate could change so much and so quickly as to endanger our civilization?”. Yes, I do. I think that there are much larger problems in this world that could endanger our civilization: civil unrest, nuclear and germ warfare, and Trump the Chump, to name a few.
Question 5: “Do you disagree that the most efficient and economical way to control climate change is by putting a price on carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuel?” Yes. What makes you think that you can control climate change? What percentage of the total amount of carbon dioxide produced in the world is the 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (your number, not mine) from the production of fossil fuels? The fact of the matter is no one has the answer to that, but I’d be willing to bet that it is equivalent to a pimple on an elephant’s ass.
Climate change has become a multi-billion dollar business. Carbon tax is not about saving the planet; it’s about “show me the money.” Call it what you will, but it’s still just another tax borne mainly by the working people and the poor. There is a place for the morons who maintain the stupidity to say that we have only 12 years to reverse climate change before it is irreversible. That place is the roundabout, with their placards, and with Keith McNeill, Dennis Peacock, and Chicken Little.
Jim Lamberton, The Rambling Man
Clearwater, B. C.