The Guardian newspaper published on Monday a selection of the top ten ideas to combat climate change.

The article is entitled "The Manchester Report" - it's so ridiculous, you've got to laugh. The name of the report is apparently "to underscore the city's carbon hungry past" and the Guardian gathered there last weekend a bunch of candidates who pitched their global warming busting ideas to a panel. The result is the top ten selection (plus the ten runners up).

I completely miss the point of meeting in Manchester, that Ian Katz deputy editor calls "the birthplace of man-made global warming". You've got to be kidding. Poor manchunians, they are so doomed. Who is doing their PR? Is there some alignment of planets or secret sorcerer's motive to meet up at the centre of this epicentre of pollution that will bring about the solution? Answers please.

Since Mr Katz (who is described as "deputy editor responsible for environmental coverage") has decided that industrial manufacturing is the key culprit and origin of global warming then we know the answer (and blame) sounds like it's got to be in Manchester. Bless. I adore to be in the company of intellectual giants.

I must apologise for my flippant tone, but this article is infuriating because it's very much a case of the elephant in the room. Let me explain. As it's no secret that we believe in reforestation as the main solution to global warming, imagine the anti-climax when I didn't see it even mentioned in the top ten, or the runners up. The small matter of deforestation (it alone causes more GHG emissions than could be saved by any of the top ten candidates on the list) and the even smaller matter of protecting our rainforests (whose surface area is in direct correlation with the planet's ability to capture CO2) doesn't obviously deserve the attention of the Guardian's panel and we understand that. We wouldn't expect them to be interested in anything so obvious if one tries to be cutting edge and in order to justify a "report" and expenses for a weekend away in the pit of pollution then one needs to be more recherche.

Brunella

brunella@carbonica.org

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