Global Warming - We're missing the picture...

A typical Toronto Star type article on the horrors of Global Warming. But they miss the big picture.

"As the Arctic melts, the ocean rises and those islands sink. We're the two most vulnerable spots in the world," she says.

Canada's ambassador for the environment, Karen Kraft Sloan, said Watt-Cloutier had "given voice to a small group of people" by emphasizing linkages between the Inuit and populations around the world.

"She's been a tremendous inspiration, not only for her own people but for Canada generally," Sloan said in an interview from Buenos Aires where she was attending a meeting.

The vulnerability of individual Inuit to climate change features prominently in all Watt-Cloutier's interviews and speeches, including her address to the Sophie awards ceremony.

As one example, she mentions three turbot fishermen, Inuit from Baffin Island, who lost $35,000 worth of equipment when heat-thinned ice gave way beneath them in March.

"How are they going to get back their livelihood? Insurance won't pay for that equipment.

"This is really all about children, families and communities," she says.

First, the Arctic isn't melting, the oceans aren't rising, and the islands won't sink. In fact, temperatures in the Arctic are similar to what they were decades ago (slightly warmer, but nothing out of the ordinary).

But, look at her story of the equipment lost. I can't say if that was due to global warming, or just because of changing currents, winds, precipitation, etc. But, it does point to one important point. We need to have dollars to be able to cope with changing climate, rather than wasting money on trying to change our climate. If we waste all of our money on the latter, we won't have the financial flexibility to attack the former.