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CUTTING OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
“This is about making
sure that our children,
and our grandchildren
and our great grandchildren
have clean air
to breathe.” - Dave
Christopherson
“Tonnes for Trees
provides a way for us
to actually measure our
impact and allows us
obtain trees which filter
the air in exchange for
our commitment to
reduce our greenhouse
gases.” - Brian McHattie
“I’m told unless we make a significant impact on
climate change, we’re going to lose the maple
trees in southern Ontario.” - Russ Powers
Left to right: City councillor Brian McHattie, MP David Christopherson and MP Russ Powers helped launch Tonnes for Trees at Hamilton City Hall on February 28.
2004 WAS FOURTH HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD
Punctuated by four powerful
hurricanes in the Caribbean
and deadly typhoons
lashing Asia, last year was
the fourth-hottest in the last
125 according to the World
Meterological Organization.
The ten warmest years
since 1880 have all occurred
since 1990, and the five hottest
years have been registered
since 1997.
The average global temperature
in the 1970s was
14.01 degrees Celsius. That
rose to 14.26 degrees in the
1980s, and in the 1990s it
reached 14.40 degrees. During
the first five years of this
new decade, it has averaged
14.58 degrees Celsius.
Last year was also the
most expensive for the insurance
industry in coping
worldwide with hurricanes,
typhoons and other weatherrelated
natural disasters.
The bills in the first 10
months exceeded $35 billion,
compared to $16 billion in
2003. This is ten times the
average annual losses during
the 1980s.
In early November an international
team of 300 scientists
reported that winter
temperatures in Alaska, the
western arctic and eastern
Siberia have increased four
to seven degrees Fahernheit
in the past 50 years. They
predicted a further rise of 7-
14 degrees this century and
a decline in arctic ice coverage
by at least 50%.
This is very likely to have
devastating consequences
for polar bears, seals and
local people for whom these
animals are a primary food
source.
The study also predicted
that warming over Greenland
will lead to substantial melting
of the Greenland Ice
Sheet, contributing to global
sea-level rise at an increasing
rate. Greenland’s ice
sheets contain enough water
to eventually raise sea
level by about 23 feet.
