At Saturday's legislative forum, Rep. Bethel stated that he did not believe in global warming, but rather believes we're going through a cyclical weather cycle. I was surprised to hear this, but it made me wonder - how do you feel about global warming? And more importantly, do you feel any need or responsibility to find ways to reduce your carbon footprint? Please weigh in!

Comments 

Well I wear size 10 shoes so my "carbon footprint" will be quite large. I remember in middle school hearing about the ozone layer depleting and knowing that my aerosol can of hairspray was a cause. I switched to the pump bottles of hairspray for a while but those always get gummy. I have always been a slow to get on the environment train. But today I do believe global warming exists. If anyone has any doubts about it, I challenge you to watch "An Inconvenient Truth." It is fascinating. As to what I can do to reduce the carbon footprint I do not know yet. I am just proud of myself for using canvas bags at Dillons and Wal-Mart this year.

Can I say both. I don't believe Al Gore. History has shown us that the world goes through huge climatic changes without help from those of us with thumbs. Just like I don't believe the media that we should all take our retirements, convert it to cash and stash it in Mason jars in the backyard. I do think we are hurting the environment and I do think we should constantly, non-stop be exploring legitimate, and common sense ways to stop those effects. Just like I think our economy is on a down-turn that we should be aware of. Media hype creates drama which creates viewers. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. Perfect example in my mind is the Coal plants in Kansas. I am still not sold that we don't need them. At the same time I think we have to push like crazy to make wind feasible and hope that this is the last time we have to build coals fired plants if indeed we do need them. The extremism is what gets us in trouble. I don't think the polar ice cap is gonna melt and drowned us all, but , I do think we should respect Mother Nature and constantly improve our relationship with her. I don't think we can not ever use any traditional means of energy (coal plants. internal combustions engines) again, but, I do think we have to constantly be exploring new options. I don't think we are in a giant economic recession that is going to lead to us all having to hunt for our food, but, I do think Americans have borrowed to much money in the recent past and it is gonna bit us in the ass for a while and we should learn from it or it might just bite us again sometime. I also think that KU vs. NC tomorrow night is a bigger priority in my mind than any of the above and maybe I need to grow up a little.

I personally find it hard to believe. Our planet is hundreds of millions of years old. We have had an ice age on our planet before man kind, and some how all that ice went away. We really only have several hundred years of weather data, less than 100 years of that can really be considered accurate. On the grand scheme of things, a couple hundred years of history compared to hundreds of millions of years of exsistance is not a very ideal way to judge and predict an out come. We only now know of the polar ice melt because we have satellite's. We didn't have them 50 years ago, and we have no history as to their life cycles. I feel it's just a way for some people to make money. I agree we need to explore ways become more efficient in energy use, but only because it's a way to better our way of life and make things easier. Remember, there was a time where the cure for the common cold was a leach on your back and hole drilled in your head.

I can always count on Michael to be pretty much in the same corner as me. Mainly cause we are always right! Right Michael. HAHA!!!! You can kinda also always count on Michael for a strange off the wall comment about something like leeches and/or holes drilled in your head. Again my thoughts are we should constantly strive to get better at things with a common sense approach and not go haywire drastic about things.

That's funny, but very true!

I find this questions like this somewhat harmful in and of themselves. Asking laypeople what they think about questions of science can be dangerous. Why does Rep. Bethel deserve any credibility on whether there is or isn\\\'t global warming? Would anyone care if he/she thought that atoms didn\\\'t have protons and neutrons?\\r\\n\\r\\nHow do I feel about global warming? Jesus Christ. Feelings are for hugs and pillows, not for scientific phenomenon with the ability to decimate the planet. Why should anyone care what state representatives or Hutchinson webmasters feel about global warming?\\r\\n\\r\\nI guess because it\\\'s easier to read blogs than scientific journals. Science is hard. Cody, you and Michael say that you don\\\'t believe it. People read the blog, and then they think “well, maybe I don\\\'t believe it either. Cody and Michael make some pretty good arguments.” \\r\\n\\r\\nYour arguments about science aren\\\'t worth the 1\\\'s and 0\\\'s they are blogged on, and are idiotic to boot. Cody, you reduce things to “I don\\\'t believe Al Gore”, which in itself implies that global warming is some liberal agenda. Way to inject politics where it doesn\\\'t belong. Forget Al Gore. He\\\'s an easy target for conservatives. You can take a stance against global warming, but you need to do a couple things first. One, go and do the research. See what scientists that study this crap every day are saying. I think that you\\\'ll find that the question of whether the earth is getting hotter and whether people play a role is boring to them. It\\\'s been studied to the nth degree and there isn\\\'t any more good work to be done in the area. The earth is getting hotter, and carbon emissions from six billion people are playing a significant role. Don\\\'t bail yourself out with politics. Your first sentence should have been “I don\\\'t believe overwhelming scientific opinion.” Not Al Gore. \\r\\n\\r\\nMichael, you fall into the same traps. Your arguments are tantamount to “It was cold this year, so there must not be global warming.” You make the claim that all scientists have to go by is a couple hundred years of observation. This is of course not true. \\r\\n\\r\\nThe most compelling arguments for global warming come from ice core samples dating back hundreds of thousands of years. In those core samples, scientists can see a few things. They can determine the temperature and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. And no, there isn\\\'t any scientific debate on whether you can measure this stuff in core samples, it\\\'s 9th grade Mrs. Berkeley level science. The samples show them that there is a direct correlation between the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the temperature. Over the last several hundred thousand years, those levels have never breached a certain level. Now, suddenly, in the industrial age, CO2 levels have doubled, tripled, over anything that has ever been seen before. Temperatures are following. \\r\\n\\r\\nCody, you minimize the importance of humans in the equation. Surely a bunch of idiots with thumbs can\\\'t irreparably harm the environment? I know you are smarter than that. You are an entrepreneur and understand the power of numbers. Twelve billion thumbs is a lot of thumbs. Is it so hard to believe that that many people, taking a negative action, could impact the world around us? I find it not only easy to believe, but obvious. \\r\\n\\r\\nLook, I can\\\'t debate the ins and outs of global warming point by point. And I don\\\'t have to. I only have to take an interest in what people much smarter that dedicate their lives to figuring out. Those people in overwhelming numbers are saying that we have a problem. By moving this debate to the court of public opinion, and framing it as an argument that can be won or lost by the “feelings” of laypeople, we\\\'re doing a serious injustice to our planet and ourselves.

Tiny comment box, no escaped characters. I don' t believe that this website was made in PHP, but the way.

You make the comment that you can't debate the ins and outs of global warming, yet it sure seems you made a valiant attempt. I most definitely can not go at it point for point. I really don't want to be able to. I have other things to do and trust the people in charge of that. I can however with certainty say that i took Jessica's blog post as a moderately light-hearted question coming out of a curiousity of what some of her peers thoughts were. I kinda looked at it like Jessica and I were sitting at a coffee shop and she asked me a question, so I answered it. By no means did I think Jessica wanted it to get political, (you made it political, I never said anything about a liberal agenda and I am as much against big oil and there ties to the Right as anybody)I just don't believe Al Gore's message in "An Incovienient Truth" completely.Thats all I said and thats all I meant by it. I really don't think Jessica meant for this to get heated and I don't want it to either. So again thanks for getting involved, you have great points and obviously a lot more knowledge on the subject than I do.

this is about to get interesting. I was just trying to oblige. Did I mention that I don't recycle, and that I haven't made the switch to the good light bulbs yet and that I drive a SUV? I just like global warming for the arguments.

I have done my research and the only place I believe there is actually Global Warming is in select metropolitan areas in Alabama.

The weather in Alabama, from what I've heard, is always mild and pleasant.

and so would it be safe to say that whether or not the issue of climate change is something people believe has merit or not, reducing carbon emissions, finding ways to produce cleaner energy, and building "greener" are all positive things - for the environment, the economy and the well being of the world.

I was preparing a response to Cody and Michael’s comments. My head was spinning, my blood pressure was rising and I was trying to figure out how to respond without going crazy and then, William did it for me. Great, great, great response! Then William (and I have no idea who you are) you broke my heart with the no recycling, no good light bulbs, driving an SUV comment. Broken, my heart is broken. I am doing all I am comfortable doing to reduce my carbon footprint. I don't ride a bike to work and that is a shame because I live within a reasonable distance to my work. My family has one "real" car (we also have a junk truck for hauling yard stuff etc.) We recycle everything. We compost, buy organic, use CFL's, purchase only what we really need and don't purchase items with a lot of extra packaging. We use cloth and biodegradable diapers. The list goes on and on of the personal choices we have made. I am saddened that I don't have as many opportunities in my workplace to reduce our carbon footprint. That is an area where so much can be done. It is quite easy to find carbon footprint calculators on-line. Just be prepared to make some lifestyle changes if you don't like what you find out. Personally, I find it harder to live "green" in Hutchinson than in other places I have lived. I catch flack from my co-workers and people I have met socially. This is not a green friendly community.

Kate, This is a sincere question. Why is it harder in Hutch than other places?? Specifics, please!!

I think there are two main reasons - first, people don't want to go to the extra effort to make those changes (recycling, cloth diapers, composting). Secondly, as the above comments have reflected, some people don't feel there is a problem. Hutch, or any community, isn't going to become a green community unless there is strong support for being green. I think we're trending that direction, but clearly we have a long way to go ... as individuals and a community.

Kate - I'm "green" with envy with all the things you are doing to reduce your carbon footprint. Although we don't compost, we do recycle everything at home and I'm thrilled to say the Chamber (where my office is located) recycles as well. I think we should issue a challenge to our YP counterparts to all ride our bikes to work at least one day a week starting May 1st. I live a little farther than you do - but I'm game if you are:)

Harder to act. I should absolutely do more to reduce my carbon footprint. We do more than I let on, but not nearly enough. Sorry to break your heart. But every time that someone tells what they are doing, like you did, it makes a difference. So thanks.

interested in this discussion. Do people do more good things because it is the right thing to do or by having governmental dictates? At present, I think we are doing better (more recycling monthly) in Hutchinson and Reno county due to the constant discussion than using the strong arm of the government to force what is just good citizenship. what do you all think. sorry for an old guy getting onto a yp blog, but nathan myer asked that i look at your web site. ron sellers

Doing anything becuase Nathan Meyer says to is ridiculous. Ha!!! Secondly old guys are always welcome here. Thirdly, its always better to accomplish anything by peer pressure than having to legislate it if possible.

your article in today's paper was great jessica!

I apologize for the delay in responding to all the great comments and questions. In response to Mr. Sellers' question, I think personal action and peer pressure are best for individuals and I do believe in the power of the individual consumer to affect change. I do think there is a role for government to play in creating some opportunities - like citywide curbside recycling - or setting standards for industry. I also think some governmental "rewards" always help to sweeten the pot. (Tax credits for hybrid cars, energy efficiency improvements to your home and business etc.)

In response to Dorothy - you read my mind smart lady! I have added to my personal "to do" list to talk with the folks at the local bike shop about the possibility of a Critical Mass ride in Hutchinson. See the site http://critical-mass.info/ Portland, OR just hosted a Kidical Mass for families riding bikes. I will follow up with you as this moves forward.

In respponse to Cody: As far as the question about not feeling that Hutch is a "green" friendly community, I have a long list and this is only a partial isting: difficulty in finding organic foods (it takes much more effort here than in other communities); lack of opportunity to eat local organic food if I choose to eat out; difficulty in purchasing green living options (diapers, household goods, clothes, etc.); it's not easy to find others in the community like me and my family. Along those lines, there are no public areas for me to find like minded people in the area. In other communities a natural food co-op serves this purpose. These stores often become the central place to learn more about green living in your community. Other options for connecting with the "green" in a community are an alternative newspaper, a community gardening association, a neighborhood association, etc. These are generally lacking in the Hutchinson area. Now, this list is in response to a question and is not Kate bashing the Hutchinson community. So, I don't want you all telling me I am being negative. I think some of these are ideas we can grow here in Hutchinson for the benefit of everyone.

Thanks for your post Mayor Sellers. Obviously the more we can accomplish without governmental regulation, the better. However, I think there are certain things that are dependent on some regulation in order to get people to change their behaviors. At the city level, one example of change that I think is needed is for the City to stop allowing residents three extra bags of trash each week. Presently, you can fill your dumpster, plus put out three bags of trash at your curbside for no additional charge. It would be nice to see people switch from extra bags of garbage on the curbside, to blue bags full of recyclables instead.

When I originally asked Kate the question I was baiting her to come back and blast her and label her a whiner. Not really Kate, you know I am not like that..,\\r\\n\\r\\nBut I really did not think she would have as good of a case as she does. So Kate, here I am, I will back you and help with ideas as much as I possibly can. i still don\\\'t bite off on the whole thing completely but I see zero wrong with going after solutions to the issues you mentioned. This is all I ask, pick one. Pick one very specific issue and we tackle it until we win and then we go to the next one. You get to pick. I don\\\'t want to brainstorm for a solution to Hutch isn\\\'t Green, I am however willing to brainstorm solutions for one very specific problem. So if you pick one, maybe the one that you think is the easiest to solve, we will solve it. Let me know. I already have some ideas, so if you get stuck for words (doesn\\\'t seem likely, let me know)

Jessica, I regards to your idea of limiting numbers of trash bags... Sounds like it would be productive, is there anything we could ask the city government to do that wouldn't be stripping a service away from the folks in this community that don't bite off completely on the whole idea yet. Maybe there isn't. If not than go for it. But we could start swaying the town Green alot smoother if the first real thing we asked the City Gov to do didn't involving stripping tax payers of a service they have become accustomed to. Just a thought??

cody, that's an excellent idea! i'd definitely be willing to work on making reno county greener. we can only do it one step at a time. kate, it's great that you're able to offer a unique perspective because you've lived in greener communities. i don't think you're being negative at all. the only way our community can get better is by looking at what we need to improve upon and being receptive to change:)

In response to the challenge from Cody and the support voiced by Dorothy B. and Jade, I am suggesting we take on an initiative to increase to visibility of and use of green transportation options in Hutchinson. This means 1) bicycle awareness, including a Critical Mass event; 2) improvements - bike racks downtown, bike racks on RCAT buses, bike lanes, and maps of bike routes around town; 3) RCAT awareness (no point in having bike racks on the buses if no one is using RCAT.) If you are interested in this e-mail me and we will begin to work on this effort. Anyone is welcome to work on all or part of this effort. Hopefully this is an achievable goal – I know it has been in other communities. I also know there are some decision makers in the community open to some of these ideas. katevc@yahoo.com

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