Global WarmingWhere do you stand on global warming?I am ashamedly undereducated on all things Global Warming. I am well aware that there are numerous studies pointing to its existence, and that it needs to be tackled by global actions.
I am firmly in the "it exists and is an issue" camp. It admittedly doesn't always rank highest on my list of priorities for my country, but that's not to say it should be ignored. I might never see Global Warming cause major issues, or see benefits of an attempt to stop it, but my children, or grandchildren definitely will.
Do you think global climate change is real, and that humans have had a significant impact on it?I don't know them well enough, but every day I see studies coming out saying that climate change is real, that it is a concern, and that humans are most certainly pushing it along.
We may not be the only cause, sure. There may be a natural cycle to the earth's climate which we are also falling into.
But the human race has been pumping millions, if not billions of tonnes, of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere for roughly 200 years now, and the rate we have done so has only increased in the last 100 years.
I think it's preposterous to assume there's no correlation between that (as well as the release of other disastrous chemicals, like
CFCs) and the identifiable increase in floods, loss of ice within the arctic, heat waves and more.
Do you think there exists any way for humanity to slow or stop the effects of global warming?The power lies in the hands of nations, but even they need to work together. I'm sure we can slow, or even halt, or possibly reverse global warming if we thoroughly begin to force companies and nations to restrict their output of greenhouse gasses.
A major turn needs to be made towards ditching fossil fuels as much as is possible.
There's no point starting fracking, ecological/geological worries aside. We'd be better off dedicating our funds towards the research and implementation of green renewable energy, and increasing their efficiency.
And in place of the heavy load of fossil fuels in the meantime, I'm personally in support of nuclear energy. It's cleaner and even safer than fossil fuels. Yes, there have been accidents and disasters in the past, but they pale in comparison to the number of disasters at fossil fuel plants. A more determined focus on safety and proper procedures, and we can easily avoid disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Ultimately, when we come to have a backbone of renewable energy, in all it's forms (solar, geothermal, wind, wave, etc) and fossil fuels make up but a sliver of our energy production, I'm certain we will see changes to climate change.
But there are plenty of other areas where we can improve our environment.
The seas need cleaning too, after all.
Gay MarriageWhere do you stand on gay marriage?I fully support and endorse gay marriage. I don't believe there's a sanctity of marriage. You can marry a person for their money, or to gain entry to a country, or for a tax break. All of that is supposed to be sacred, provided you're a man and a woman?
How is a marriage not based on love possibly sacred? But a marriage that is based on love, but between two men, or two women is somehow tarnishing the sanctity of those marriages based on something entirely else?
I can't understand that school of thought.
I'm happy that gay marriage is becoming legal across the world.
Should same-love couples receive the same benefits as heteroloveual couples?I do believe that same-love couples should have every benefit that a heteroloveual couple has. Whether that's inheritance rights, adoption rights, tax benefits, or anything else.
However, I also believe that heteroloveual couples should have the same rights to homoloveual couples. Or namely, the same right to choose not to have a marriage, but to have a civil partnership instead.
There's no benefit to having a civil partnership over a marriage, and soon those with civil partnerships will be able to convert them into marriages. But if the two forms of union are to continue to exist, then I think it's only right that everyone can choose which they would like to have.
Mandatory VaccinesWhere do you stand on mandatory vaccination?Mandatory vaccinations should be what all countries do.
To choose not to vaccinate your child, without medical reasoning, is in my opinion, tantamount to child abuse.
You are condemning your child to be at risk to the most dangerous diseases out there. As well as increasing the risk that those children who are incapable of recieving vaccinations are going to encounter the disease and catch it.
In regards to the statement in the cons-table, "
most diseases that vaccines target are harmless, therefore making vaccines pointless", I have to absolutely disagree.
We are vaccinated against Polio, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Tetstar fish and HPV (in girls) amongst other diseases.
Every one of these diseases can, even in unlikely circumstances, cause severe disabilities, extreme complications, and even death.
Polio - Muscle paralysis, muscle atrophy, deformities of the legs.
Measles - Pneumonia and Encephalitis (infection of the brain, capable of causing confusion, seizures, epilepsy, amnesia, fatigue, and death)
Mumps - Swelling of ovaries/testicles in post-pubescent individuals, pancreatitis (includes diarrhoea, pain, vomiting, jaundice), temporary/permanent hearing loss, encephalitis.
Rubella - Babies can be born deaf, brain damaged, with eye problems, and heart abnormalities if their mothers have Rubella during pregnancy.
Tetstar fish - Lockjaw, Tachycardia, suffocation, heart failure.
HPV - Cervical cancer.
If you think there are no dangers to avoiding vaccinations you're sorely mistaken.
Do you think that the government should compel parents to get their children vaccinated, or should it remain a personal choice?Governments should most certainly compel parents to have their children vaccinated.
Parents should most certainly lose child related benefits if they refuse to have their children vaccinated.
But honestly, I'm not against it being a criminal offence to prevent a child having vaccinations.
