6 THE NEW TANNER Feb. senior safety checks Recent studies indicate that falls are the number one cause of injuries in seniors. The Halton Hills Injury Prevention (HHIP) Committee in ip with the Halton Hills West Seniors' Planning and Education Committee of HHCSI have received funding to complete community safety checkups. Committee members will visit businesses and agencies Feb. 8-25, to identify potential hazards for injury to seniors in Acton. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2000 Challenging climate chan ge sceptics Recently, I wrote about the Kyoto Protocal and the im- portance of reducing green- house gas emissions. I was surprised to learn that some newspapers received letters TOTAL Skin & Body Spa relaxing in our heated, massage lounge with whirlpool ets) (For Men & Women) afterwards arguing that cli- mate change is just a contro- versial theory and that lama "doomsayer" for suggesting otherwise. Naturally climate change is a theory, just as evolution is a theory. All science is based on theory and observation. We cannot prove that the vast amount of greenhouse gases released when humans consume fossil fuels for en- ergy are oe climate to change - we have to draw our conclusions and base our actions on the best available evidence. In this case, the experimen- tal subject is the entire planet. Science tells us that a warmer world could be exceptionally damaging - especially to hu- mans. Therefore, to exercise the necessary precautions, the World Meteorological Society and the United Na- tions combined forces, set- ting upan extraordinarily com- prehensive scientific panel, including every major climate scientist in the world. They concluded that our climate is ° Therapeutic pedicure ° 1/2 hour anti- stress massage changing and that human ac- tivities are responsible. This conclusion is not just based on 'computer modelling, It is on a massive ac- cumulation of observational © Suntanning 10 tanning sessions + 2 BONUS TANS! 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Global ing " tics" often use old data or un- substantiated claims in their assertions that our climate is not changing. Well-funded sceptic groups have been quite successful at getting their voices heard, partly by creating a number of ic web sites. But there are lots of places to go to find good scientific data. Where should you look? Try NASA's Goddard Insti- tute for Climate Studies at www. gis.nasa.gov, or the Hadley Centre for Climate Pre- diction and research at www.meto.gov.uk, or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at www.ipcc.ch, or the Union of PASSING THE REINS: At the Acton Agricultural Concerned Scientists at www.uscusa.org. Then com- pare this information to tic sites like the Global Cli- mate Coalition at www.globalclimate.org, the Heritage Foundation at www.heritage.org or the Fraser Institute at www.fraserinstitute.ca and judge for yourself. Some sceptic web sites are quite bizarre, offering apoca- lyptic scenarios of what will happen if people consume less fossil fuel. Scenarios range from everyone sud- Gente losing their jobs to the end of Western civilization as we know it. According to some sites, we really have no choice but to burn more and more fossil fuels, regardless of the consequences. Meanwhile science marches on - the Jan, 20 issue of Nature, for example, reports that a U.S. National Research Council panel, which includes researchers who have in the past been sceptical of climate change, unanimously con- cluded that the Earth's atmos- phere is warming up. The ar- ticle notes that, "Its unani- Continued on Page 7 Society's annual general meeting on Saturday, newly elected Acton Agricultural Society president Doug Fread (left), presented retiring president Ron White with a framed print of a poster from the 1914 fair in appreciation for all of his hard work during his two-year term as fair boss. -- Frances Niblock photo PROUD TO BE BACK IN ACTON For More Information Call 1-800-387-8227 kitchens & baths and so much more!!! FREE ESTIMATES Dave Dawkins 853-2887