Our incumbent Regional District of Nanaimo director Julian Fell declares that he is a refuter of climate science, not a denier (The NEWS, Oct. 28). That seems to be a distinction without a difference — why would you refute without denying? He is apparently privy to information that the thousands of climate scientists worldwide are denied access to.
Rick Ethier, the challenger for the position as Area F’s representative, appears to believe climate change is a global problem that threatens us all and all the generations that may follow.
He is basing his campaign on encouraging practices which at a local level increase education and reduce carbon emissions. I do not know Ethier or how realistic his ideas are, but I do agree with his goals. Climate change is a global problem and a lot of the solutions can be found locally.
The U.N.’s panel on climate science was set up to assess global warming and its impacts. It released a report last week that caps its latest assessment, a mega-review of 30,000 climate change studies that establishes with 95-per cent certainty that nearly all warming seen since the 1950s is man-made.
Today only a small minority of scientists challenge the mainstream conclusion that climate change is linked to human activity. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Science has spoken. There is no ambiguity in their message. Leaders must act. Time is not on our side.”
Let’s vote this time for somebody In Area F who will a least nudge the RDN in the direction we should be going. Vote for somebody who actually understands and believes in mainstream science and wants to offer solutions and hope for the young people of today and their future generations.
Dick StainsbyErrington
