Global Warming

Anyone who thinks all high school students live in their own small world of superficial chatter should spend a lunch hour at Crescenta Valley High School. The classrooms are full of concerned teens meeting on subjects covering everything from helping the environment to saving a civilization half a world away. These teens are members of some of the many CVHS clubs that are supervised by mentoring teachers, but were created and conducted by students. One club is Project Cool Down.

State Sen. Jack Scott gave his annual State of the State address to the Glendale City Council on Tuesday night. Scott, whose district includes Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena, updated the council about various issues including his 16 education bills — 14 of which were signed into law by the governor, the $7.5-billion increase in revenues for public schools and additional spending on kindergarten per-pupil costs. He also spoke about the highlights of the year's legislative sessions, which included discussions on the environment and global warming.

Just to follow up on a few recent columns … On global warming: Perhaps I overstated things. Not all scientists agree that it's a problem. One reader who didn't agree mentioned a list of 17,000 scientists who signed the "Oregon Petition", which cited a lack of convincing evidence linking human activity with a gradual heating of our planet. As it turns out, the Oregon Petition, cited as scientific in nature, was actually circulated to oppose America's participation in the Kyoto Project.

For Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic Legislature, the conclusion of the two-year legislative session has been a summer of love. After a year and a half of fighting over issues like the minimum-wage increase, global warming, prescription-drug reform and school funding, this legislative session was remarkably bi-partisan and extremely productive. Some examples: For the first time since 2000, the budget passed on time, and it included a repayment of the governor's $2-billion diversion from schools.

Steve Mills did a good job laying out the terms of the global warming debate ("Both sides wrong in warming argument," Community Commentary, Aug. 21), but in the end even he succumbs to a mild hubris — "global warming will create many problems for mankind," without saying what they are — while punting on the two most important questions: what, if anything, do we do and what will it cost in human and economic terms? Let me hasten to add that I'm no expert and have no answers to these questions myself.

City making strides on cemetery issue I just want to tell you how much I appreciate the efforts the city of Glendale is making to give us some answers to the problems relating to Grand View Memorial Park ("Cemetery may open Sunday for visits," Thursday). I attended the meeting on Wednesday night and I was impressed with what they are trying to do to resolve this difficult situation. I feel that having the cemetery open as often as possible, in order to visit loved-one's graves, is a very positive step in the right direction.

There have been several letters on global warming in this paper recently, most responding to Dan Kimber's July 28 column on the matter ("Science vs. Politics," Education Matters). I am not a climatologist, but as a scientist working on a weather satellite, I do work with them. There has been serious misrepresentation of their research on both sides of this debate. The global warming issue is more than simply answering the question "is it real?" There are actually four questions to answer.

On Aug. 13, Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias will host a vegetarian, local-food potluck and a screening of the global warming documentary, The Great Warming. The dinner and screening will be held 6 to 9 p.m. in the church hall of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena (corner of Orange Grove and Madison.) Suggested donation is $5 to $15. Space is limited. For reservations or additional information, please call (626) 795--8400 or visit www.pathtofreedom.

Whether the recent heat wave that Crescenta Valley residents suffered through is caused by global warming or a natural cyclical event, the push is now on reducing greenhouse gases and using energy-efficient technology. On July 31, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a climate change and clean energy collaboration. At a meeting at the Port of Long Beach, Blair and Schwarzenegger signed an agreement on a collaborative effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through working with businesses, research in cause and effect, education and sharing knowledge.