soapbox

. . . . .. THE TAX PER LITER OF GAS IN CANADA IS APPROX. TWENTY FIVE PERCENT.THE LION'S SHARE, SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT GOES TO THE OIL COMPANY. . .. . . .. .. .. .IN ENGLAND TAXES ACCOUNT FOR OVER FIFTY PERCENT. . . .. . . .WHY.....ARE OIL COMPANIES GETTING SUCH FAVOURED TREATMENT FROM OUR GOVERMENT ? . .. . . AS A REWARD FOR DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT ? ?ASK YOUR MP OR MPP THAT QUESTION PRIOR TO NEXT ELECTION.. .. . ... .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Mon Jun 25, 3:08 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thirsty San Francisco city workers will no longer have bottled water to drink under an order by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who says it costs too much, worsens pollution and is no better than tap water. . .. ... .. .. . .. . . . . A GOOD MOVE BY HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO . . .. . . .AT LEAST THAT 'S MY OPINION.

. . . . . . . . . . . .I JUST RETURNED FROM A LONG MORNING WALK IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. . .. . . . AS I CROSSED AN OPEN GRASSY FIELD I HAD AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW OF THE DISTANT SKYSCRAPER BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN.ONE THING WAS OBVIOUS.THE VIEW AS IT TURNED OUT WAS NOT UNOBSTRUCTIVE. . . . . . .INSTEAD THERE WAS A VEIL OF SMOG BLANKET COVERING THE DOWNTOWN CORE. . . . . .NORMALLY I WOULD HAVE MY EXERCISE RUN ON SUCH A BEUTIFUL DAY.I 'M GLAD I CHOOSE NOT TO RUN TODAY AS I WOULD HAVE TO BREATHE ALL THAT SMOG . . . . . . .NOTE: TEMPERATURE NOW IS AROUND 26 DEGREES C.(OR 76 F. ) EXPECTED TO GO TO 90 DEGREES F. THIS AFTERNOON.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A tree too far The total logging response to the pine beetle catastrophe means healthy trees are being felled with the dead ones. The policy needs rethinking Ben Parfitt, Special to the SunPublished: Thursday, June 21, 2007 Thus, last year, roughly 46,000 highway truckloads of usable logs were abandoned at Interior logging operations. Those logs could have put another 1,300 people to work turning out products that many of us use, products that have the added benefit of locking up carbon. Instead, all those logs were pushed into piles and burned, releasing another 1.5 million tonnes or so of CO2 into the atmosphere to further mess with our already seriously compromised climate. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . THE ABOVE ITEM EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO USE COMMON SENSE IN TACKLING THE PINE BEETLE INFESTATION PROBLEM . .. . . .. . . . .IN MANY CASES WE FOLLOW BLINDLY THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF STUDY COMMITEES OR CONSULTANTS . . . . . THE DESTRUCTION OF COMPLETE

. . . . . . . . . .HAVING TO CHOSE BETWEEN TWO POISONS IS NOT A GOOD POSITION TO BE IN,NEVERTHELESS THAT IS WHATS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AS THE CAR MAKERS ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT HYBRID CARS ARE BETTER FOR THE ENVIROMENT THAN THE REGULAR VEHICLES. . . . . . . .IN FACT THEY ARE SLIGHTLY BETTER IN EMISSIONS BUT THEY STILL LEAVE A LARGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT DUE TO THE HUGE BATTERY SYSTEMS THEY EMPLOY AND ALSO AGAIN THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE DONE . . . . . .SO . . . . .. . . . IN SUMMARY DONT FALL FOR THEIR PROPAGANDA . .. . . . .THE EARTH WILL BREATHE EASIER IF YOU CHOSE . . . .NOT . . .TO . . . DRIVE OR OWN A MOTOR VEHICLE . . . . PERIOD.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .I INCLUDED A PICTURE OF PART OF A BIKE IN THIS POST,TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER IN THE FIELD OF TRANSPORTATION. . . . . . . IT IS A CRYING SHAME THAT WE (THE HUMANS) HAVE BEEN BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE THAT THE AUTOMOBILE DESERVES THAT HONOR. . . . . . . . . .NOT SO . . . . . . . . .THE IDEA THAT A TWO TONNE PIECE OF METAL AND PLASTIC SHOULD BE USED TO CARRY A 90 POUND PERSON AROUND JOY RIDING OR TO PICK UP A 5 POUND BAG OF GROCERIES OR FOR WHATEVER REASON IS IDIOTIC AND PROVES HOW GULLIBLE THE POPULATION IS. . .. . . . THE PEOPLE THAT PEDDLE THIS PREPOSTEROUS IDEA HAVE GROWN TO BE VERY POWERFUL MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN OUR(?) SYSTEM . . . . . . . AND IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DISLODGE THEM FROM THEIR IGNORANT WAYS AND POSITIONS OF POWER. . . . . . BUT . . . . .ITS . . . .NOT IMPOSSIBLE. . . . .THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO THE EARTHS ECO SYSTEM FROM THESE VEHICLES IS ENORMOUS AND CONTINUES . . . . .UNFORTUNATELY.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . MAYBE ITS ABOUT TIME I EXPLAINED THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG . . .. . . . . .. WHEN THE HURRICANES WERE HAPPENING AROUND FLORIDA I NOTICED A STRANGE RESEMBLANCE TO THE MIGRATION HABITS OF CERTAIN ANIMALS(RODENTS) . . . . . . .LEMMINGS ARE KNOWN TO GATHER IN LARGE NUMBERS AND FOLLOW A LEADER OVER A CLIFF,AT LEAST THATS MY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT . . . . . .. . .. . . . . .. IN HURRICANE SEASON THE HIGHWAYS ARE FULL OF CARS AND TRUCKS TRYING TO ESCAPE THE HURRICANE ,THUS WAS BORN THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG. . . . NOW YOU KNOW. . . . .NOTE . . . . ITS... . LEMMING. . .WITH THE NUMBER 5(FIVE) . . . . .NOT . . . .LEMMINGS . . . . . LEMMING5.BLOGSPOT. . . . .WITH . . COM . .. AT THE END. . .. . . . . .NO WONDER PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING THE BLOG.

. . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . CanWest News ServicePublished: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 QUEBEC - The Quebec government announced Wednesday that it will be the first province in Canada to introduce a carbon tax on gasoline. The 0.8-cent per litre carbon tax will go into force Oct 1. Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard said he hopes the oil companies, who are reporting record profits, would absorb the tax, which he said is based on the principle polluters pays. "That is not negotiable," the minister said. . . . .. . . .. . . .. ITS ABOUT TIME SOME OF OUR LEADERS SHOWED SOME COURAGE ON THE ECOLOGY FRONT . . . . . . .ALSO TODAY A NOTICE FROM ELIZABETH MAY OF THE GREEN PARTY THAT IF ELECTED SHE WOULD INTRODUCE A TAX OF 12 CENTS A LITER ON GASOLINE . . . .. . . . .. . . A LOT OF THIS INCREASE WOULD GO TO REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF GREENHOUSE GAS ON THE PLANET AND ALSO BE USED TO REDUCE PERSONAL INCOME TAXES .DETAILS OF HER PROPOSAL IS AVAILABLE ON THE GREEN PARTY OF CANADA

. . . . . . . . . . . . IN THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN AN UNUSUAL DECLINE IN THE BEE POPULATION ESPECIALLY IN NORTH AMERICA,AND I SUSPECT ELSEWHERE ON EARTH.HAVING HAD A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR MANY YEARS I'VE NOTICED THIS ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO.SOMEHOW THE BEES SURVIVED BUT IN LESSER NUMBERS THAN BEFORE. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ..FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT TIME.IN TORONTO THE TEMPERATURE HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HOT FOR A NUMBER OF DAYS THIS WEEK,BUT AS OF TODAY THE WEATHER IS PREDICTED TO HOVER AROUND THE FREEZING MARK TONITE(GO FIGURE) . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . THIS SEE SAW TEMPERATURE MAY BE THE CAUSE OF THE DISAPPEARING BEES,AS THEY ARE VERY FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE IN THE COLD,AND THEY DIE AS A RESULT . . . . . . . . . .JUST ONE MORE REASON TO TRY AND PREVENT CLIMATE CHANGE.

Emissions from generating electricity account for the largest chunk of U.S. greenhouse gases, nearly 40 percent. Transportation emissions are close behind, contributing about one-third of U.S. production of carbon dioxide. States with mass transit and cities, such as New York, come out cleaner than those with wide expanses that rely solely on cars, trucks and airplanes, like Alaska. Alaska, which stands out for its carbon dioxide production, also stands out as one of the early victims of climate change. Its glaciers are melting, its permafrost thawing, and coastal and island villages will soon be swallowed by the sea. Alaska ranked No. 1 in per-person emissions for transportation, which includes driving, flying, shipping and rail traffic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BOY THERE'S A LOT OF FACTS AND FIGURES TO DIGEST WHEN CONSIDERING THE IMPACT WE EACH HAVE ON THE GLOBAL CLIMATE . . . . . . . . . . .I SOMETIMES WONDER IF HUMAN BEINGS ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE E