Anthropogenic, Do You Know What That Means?

Dear Mr. President,

Wow! I just scanned the Copenhagan Treaty. It felt as if I was walking through a sterile metallic hall squinting through small windows of steel doorways. There is not a sound in the hall. The only sound is the poor fellow escorted to the exit door. Too many beans last night and this treaty requires complete compliance. Reading the treaty was akin to reading the scariest SciFi Novel ever produced, it lulls you along with a monotonous tone deceiving you to believe that there is no vile, no evil intentions here. But as you read you hear the crescendo of the dull, faint scream in the background.

It was the YouTube clip that first informed me of this treaty. "On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton, a noted climate change skeptic, gave a presentation at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN." I felt like I was getting my info from tabloids..........However, it lead me to the actual treaty that has been posted online. Of course the language was written by a committee who took delight in expressing themselves in humdrum, coded language that is an attempt to leave you feeling dumb but I'm way smarter than that.

This honestly has "smart" people behind it? The essence of this treaty is "to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system in a timely manner." Got that? Anthropogenic seems to be the buzz word. Anthropogenic emissions, now that's a phrase that will surely have your tongue tied but will untie your pocket book strings. WHERE ARE THE WISE MEN OF THE WORLD? I know where they are not! Behind the closed doors that cloistered this committee!

So, this has me on a quest to learn more. The sterile poppycock will take some decoding! First, I discover that the term, anthropogenic, "designates an effect or object resulting from human activity." This term is derived from Paul Crutzenan's term, "anthropocene" he first used in the mid-1970's. Paul is an atmospheric scientist. Two other men, Sherwood Rowling and Mario Molina "published a series of articles putting forward the idea of the impact of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)on the stratospheric ozone." So now we have a new word, anthropogenic- the pollution emissions produced as a result of human industry. (thanks to Wikipedia)

The group of people who came up with this treaty are looking for carbon levels that reflect the pre-industrial period. We can all be re-enactors now! Honestly, honestly, honestly, thank you for whatever your administration did to put off the signing of this stupidity. May you and your administration do everything in your power to see that this treaty is disposed of and don't worry about how you do it. Any emissions from the burning of this treaty will fill the air with more wisdom than carbon. Go ahead do it while you still have the freedom.

The site where I read the treaty was http://assets.panda.org/downloads/treaty_vol2_web_compl.pdf and the YouTube clip was from http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=copenhagan+treaty&search_type=&aq=f This should provide one with some entertainment, treaty and YouTube, and in that order!

Mr. President, scanning this treaty I couldn't help but stumble over this in the treaty, USD 160 Billion. Am I correct in assigning U to United, S to States, and D to Dollar? I believe the group that wrote the treaty are men and women looking for a job, there's an abundance of homo sapiens looking for cash. A cash for carbon progam in the making.

Keep your chin up, don't wade through this muck losing your dignity!

Blessings on your day,

Lynne Burkholder