Climate change, so just what are these people using taxpayers money for? Is it natural climate change or man caused climate change. Ever since the earth stopped warming and has entered a cooling phase the anthropogenic crowd "AGW" dropped the term man caused climate change and shortened it to just climate change. They feel uneasy about using the term, man caused climate change, when holding out their hands for grant, read taxpayers money. there is a lot of money available for this scam so they might just as well get on the train before it falls off the tracks.

I recall watching a tv show about jet planes exhausts affecting the upper atmosphere....so why are precious dollars being dolled out to someone to do a "study" on something already reasearched? As for the other two, the work sounds nebulous to say the least.

Congratulations to all three. Kathryn Hrinkevich is a brilliant person. It is comforting to know that there are some very bright Americans even here in PG.

"Is it natural climate change or man caused climate change"

Two comments on that.

1. Humans are part of the natural earth. There might be theories out there that we came from other parts of the universe. Even if we did, we are part of the "natural" system. Which, of course, begs the question, is there such a thing as an unnatural system?

2. I never considered whether the current global warming trend is influenced by human activities. I think all these people are doing - in fact I know that all one of them is doing - is looking at historic local climate change.

If you read the article carefully, you will notice that the background data supplied by the last two individuals is the base data used by others to make some decisions of how to deal with climate change.

I think it is a no brainer that society is spending more and more money on planning for future events. Hard to plan for past events, isn't it :-) We have to spend the money somehwere since that is the only way we have to distribute it to people so that they can pay for their housing and food.

Are we better off as a result of all the planning? I do not know. How often is the planning successful and saves a lot of resources?

Of course, we could spend it on art like they used of in the years of enlightenment after the dark ages. But I foresee that the modern dark ages will also go by the wayside one of these days. :-)

Gus cooling or warming? I'll put my money on cooling though this winter we will be affected by La Nino. This La Nino gave us the hot summer and should give a mild winter but lots of precipitation. La Nino is weather not climate.

Pacific Institute of Climate Solutions was invented by Gordo and his henchmen. Premier Gordon Campbell announced on January 25 that his government will seek legislative approval for $94.5 million to create the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), to be hosted and led by the University of Victoria in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern British Columbia.

Here's their mandate
Understanding the patterns and magnitude of climate change;
Evaluating the physical, economic and social implications;
Assessing options and developing solutions; and
Communicating climate change issues to government, industry and the general public.

More cushy jobs where nothing gets done. In order for our economy to improve, actual physical work has to be done. We can't have everyone in a lab coat or suit and tie.

I do not see the three in the picture having either a lab coat or a suit and tie.

You want to go ahead and do something based on no information? Be my guest.

People always start new businesses without a business plan.

Banks look for people without business plans so that they can give them priority low interest loans since they are the most likely to succeed and cary the least risk.

Wineries plant plant hundreds of acres of grape vines from McKenzie seeds knowing that no planning and research will give them the best chance at producing a wine that the world will grab up like crazy.

I really have to agree with supertech. Why on earth would anyone want to

1. Understand the patterns and magnitude of climate change;

2. Evaluate the physical, economic and social implications;

3. Assess options and develop solutions;

4. Communicate climate change issues to government, industry and the general public.

They must have been smoki' some wicked weed. It is idiocy of the worst kind. It is subversive activity right in front of our very eyes.

I mean, we might us well spend it on the arts for all the good it will do.

Seamutt.

It is called GLOBAL warming, not LOCAL warming, although that too can happen.

Wikipedia has a reasonable primer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

Are the things in the linked article happening or not? Are they an indicator, or have these things happened all the time and we have never really considered them?

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/earlysigns/?refid=6

Do we want to set up approriate monitoring systems and be ready to respond early rather than late?

Maybe we would be better off hiring a soothsayer and getting away from all this scientific mumbo jumbo that people in government really do not understand anyway.

"In order for our economy to improve, ACTUAL PHYSICAL WORK has to be done"

And you know this how? What exactly do you call actual physical work?

1. picking strawberries?
2. planting trees?
3. filling potholes?
4. building runways?
5. putting up Xmas lights on Connaught Hill?
6. driving buses?
7. stockpiling timber in sawmill yards?
8. stockpiling lumber in sawmill yards?
9. flipping burgers?
10. flippin' prawns and scallops at Shogun?