-A left-wing babykiller

Second, let’s make sure everyone understands that the climate has been changing since the end of the last ice age. While human activity may have played some role in recent years, the absolute truth is that the planet is warming - and will continue to warm - without our own contribution. There have been at least three similar warming periods in the past 250,000 years. Since man has been contributing greenhouse gases for less than 200 years, I think it reasonable to assume there is a natural process at place here that goes well beyond anything we have done.

I see a lot of myths listed in the previous reply. Let’s be clear that the bulk of the oxygen on our planet is produced by ocean plankton, not trees. Clear cutting to build houses is not making a single dent in the amount of CO2 converted to O2. There’s some evidence that oceanic pollution is having an impact on it, however cutting down trees has nothing to do with it. In fact, Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts are more forested today then they were in 1620 when the Mayflower arrived! At that time, virtually the entire eastern half of both states was clear cut and cultivated by the various Indian tribes that (until the great plague of 1617) maintained large populations throughout the region. So let’s not be spreading panic about clear cutting for housing and any impact on oxygen levels. It’s not true.

Next, greenhouse gas emissions has nothing at all to do with the ozone layer or any so-called holes in that layer. The largest greenhouse gas by volume is water vapor (despite popular belief.) Carbon Dioxide is another (albeit very minor) contributor. Neither of those vapors or gases have anything to do with a reduction in ozone. In fact, it could be argued that increased water vapor will indirectly increase the amount of ozone since lightening storms are a major generator of O3. Rather, the link to the ozone layer depletion is with fluorocarbons. Oddly enough, they are not a greenhouse gas.

If you want to do something constructive with regards to climate change, then start planning on how to respond to the inevitable continued increase in global temperatures. That’s a far better use of our time, money, and resources. Not only is there very little that we can do given current technology to reduce our own emissions, there is no evidence that doing so will stop the increase in temperatures that have been ongoing for the past 14,000 years. Remember, we weren’t around to cause the last three warming periods. What makes us arrogant enough to think we can prevent this one?

One might ask, what is the hurry? The hurry is: we humans are in the process of destroying our planet. Global warming is the single most significant environmental crisis the world community has ever seen. The 2007 G8 Summit in Germany will focus on the reversal of global warming. President Bush, of course opposes this proposal. Like his strategy in the Middle East, he has a better idea, and he wants to convince the world of something they already know is untrue. This time it’s not that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but that global warming is not that dire an issue.

Our Nero-like President fiddles, but we cannot allow our Rome to go up in flames. This isn’t a city’s destruction we speak of. It is the end of all of us, of history, of every thought and feeling humankind ever produced. Our present federal government is not going to do anything about this crisis.

Connecticut Real Estate and Construction will do something about it, because Connecticut needs GREEN workforce housing in significant number for very important reasons. Suburban sprawl is killing the environment. When we continually clear off two acres per household to put up large houses, we cut down trees which produce oxygen, we deplete the filtering system for our water, and we make houses which leave a carbon footprint which further opens a hole in the ozone. If we instead build multiple units together and build them with solar photovoltaic cell panels and with geothermal heating and cooling, we leave virtually no carbon footprint, we leave sufficient greenery to filter water run-off, and we provide our workforce with housing that allows them to stay in the state and not flee to the South and Southwest as has been the recent trend. As a result, those businesses (and their tax revenues) which require those workers need not flee with the workforce, a trend we have seen throughout the Northeast region of the country.

Additionally, we will build elderly housing. The Boomer Generation is aging. They are retiring at record rates and require specific housing that does not exist in sufficient number. We will build it. We will build commercial buildings and office space to go along with the elderly and workforce housing. We need cooperation from local governments to achieve our goals, and we need that cooperation quickly. As we move forward, we will build with town tax rolls in mind. We are aware that the workforce housing will require significant services and expenses, most notably educational expenses. This is why mixing the elderly housing with the workforce balances the ledger, for the elderly pay taxes without sending children to schools. Further, the commercial and office buildings will bring in significant tax revenues without pulling out revenues from the local municipality. This formula is referred to as “Smart Growth” and is to be part of our plans

While proposing “caution” and “care” is rarely foolhardy advice, studies on these issues have already been done and “smart growth” is necessary throughout the state and the country. We cannot wait. The cost is too dear for all of us to sit idly by and fiddle away time as the planet goes up in flames.