Time from data gathering to action needs to be sharply reduced

Letter by Chris Laurette
Cape Breton Post
Sat., Nov. 28, 2009

Absolutely, put a dome over the tar ponds while they are being treated (Weekend Feedback: Tar Pond Emissions a Health Hazard, Nov. 21).

Apparently the lag between data collection, processing, reporting and action is a major problem on all levels of environmental management from Sydney to Copenhagen.

According to leading environmentalists, the data being presented in Copenhagen in talks to replace the Kyoto Protocol are more than half a decade old and do not represent what we now know about the problems we face.

The integration of new data has been stymied because the numbers haven’t gone through the years of processing that the officially accepted data have.

We’ve got to figure out how to integrate new data and take action faster. The deterioration of the environment will not wait for red tape.

It will be tragic if people get sick and die because bureaucratic protocol could not adapt as fast as the people affected were willing to.

Chris Laurette Sydney