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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007 7THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 20076 Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Rebecca Ring Matthew Reid Justina Pembleton Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Advertising and Circulation Composing Marie Shadbolt Bruce Cargill Ken Baker Tracey Gardiner Justina Pembleton By Angela Tyler EDITORIAL with Hartley Coles (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. I needed therapy. I also needed some new clothes. In recent months I have lost a considerable amount of weight and my pants especially were almost falling off of me. I told the Dude I wanted to go to my favourite store where I always stock pile their jeans when I shop there. The problem was the store was JC Penney and it is in the U.S., not Canada. I needed retail therapy. The Dude had promised to shuffle off to Buffalo with me, however, his schedule has been hectic and this past weekend, mine wasnt. He on the other hand had offered to help a friend close his cottage. I couldnt complain as, the friend is an electri- cian and when one helps out, there is usually a helping hand in return. The return was our hot tub will finally be hooked up so I can escape in piping hot swirls of water and the Dude will benefit as well as he wont hear me nagging anymore Can we please get the hot tub hooked up I begged endlessly over the last few months. I love our hot tub. Next to my engagement ring, it is the best thing he has ever bought me. This writer was just warming up over the reality of global warming when he ran across an article which purported to show much of the propaganda supporting the theory is not only politi- cally motivated but highly suspect as well as being alarmist. It is very convincing. Written by Thomas Sieger Derr, a professor emeritus of re- ligion and ethics at Smith College in the U.S. for First Things, a periodical, which features debate on religion and public life out of New York City. Derr contends that climate change occurs about every 1500 years. He has scientific data from reputable weather scientists to back his case. In all cases it was due to natural features of our planets life. Derr acknowledges that it is not a popular belief now that almost all politicians, Al Gore included, churches, corpora- tions and news sources have adopted global warming as caused by human activity to be a reality despite the fact dissenters of distinguished credentials in the scientific community scoff. In most cases they are marginalized, accused of being in the pay of the oil companies and denied space in so-called flagship scientific journals. This dismal state of affairs is made possible by an astonishing historical amnesia, Derr says. It is indisputable that climate swings are a regular feature of our planets life since short-term changes lie within our personal memories. He notes the current warming trend dates from only 1975. Before that a pronounced cooling period starting about 1940 led the scientific consensus of the 1970s to proclaim global cooling with perhaps another ice age brewing. Sixty percent of global warming since 1850 occurred before 1940 while 80% of CO2 was emitted after that date. Going further back the little ice age of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the Hudson and Thames Rivers froze, crops failed and millions died. And during the medieval age prevailing warmth enabled grapevines to grow in England and Vikings established settlements in Greenland and New- foundland. They lasted until the little ice age froze them out. The period was in turn preceded by an unfavourable climate in the Dark Ages and by another warm stretch in Roman times. There is no room in this column to include all Thomas Derrs facts but he notes that the large rough historical record should be enough to awaken the critical instincts and take a second look at the claims of the global-warming alarmists and alarmists they are, deliberately and unabashedly so. Derr notes that even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) a U.N. body has backed down from its earlier estimates of sea rise, from three feet for the next century to 17 inches. Some scientists believe even thats too high. Theres no doubt, as Derr states, wild statements about global warming are meant mainly to scare people into acting and accept the enormous sums required for the proposed reduction program. The first chair of the IPCC, Sir John Houghton, backs that up in a 1944 book he declared, Unless we announce disasters, no one will listen. However, a backlash against such exaggeration is growing among scientists concerned about their own integrity, Derr states, but he doesnt think the popular agitation and alarmism will de- cline until the temperature starts to decline again a la 1970 when well hear more about the inevitable return of an ice age. In the meantime, people would be wise to think conservation and the things we can do ourselves to take some of the pressure off. Alarmist exaggerations Angela shuffles off to Buffalo With a day almost completely free of work, I decided I could take myself to Buffalo and hit JC Penney and Target, another favourite store. The Dude was not pleased I was going by myself, but I had a plan. Go during off border hours, hit the one mall close to the border I knew had Penneys and be back across the boarder before dark. Of course, the exchange rate was a benefit, how- ever, that wasnt the reason I was cross border shopping. I was doing it because I like their clothes. I checked the border crossing times before I left and all looked good. I had the Dudes big honking diesel pick-up truck which is far more reliable than my Jeep, and of course, a map just in case. All went well. I talked to the Dude before I crossed and promised to call upon return to Canada. He still wasnt thrilled but he knows sometimes I just do things that dont perhaps make sense to others. The customs line was brief. I did learn something though. When a customs agent asks why you are visiting their country, the response retail therapy is not found amus- ing. I quickly retracted with Im going to the Boulevard Mall. He didnt seem to be a happy camper but I was as I drove off. Upon glancing at the map, I had a thought. There is a Target store near the Galleria. I should go there. Crossing the border isnt a problem. The problem now with cross border shopping is getting into the mall and finding a parking spot. Disgruntled with Target, I no- ticed there was a JC Penney at the Galleria. Bravo! Almost one stop shopping. Lesson one. If you go shopping at a border mall when the dollar is doing well, dont take the big honking diesel pick-up truck. I finally found a parking spot but by the time I got into the store, every woman from Ontario who was my new size had bought what I wanted. Back to plan A, the Boulevard Continued on Page 8 HARD WORK: Robert Little Public School students dig holes to plant trees as a part of their Celebrate You and Me community project last Thursday afternoon. Justina Pembleton Photo.