In the 1970s there was a huge demand for newsprint and recycling facilities were almost non-existant. There were several pulp and paper mills in my province and they polluted nearby water supplies, sent an orange smoke into the air that could be smelled from miles away and they were very energy inefficient. Demand for newsprint has plummeted, recycling is everywhere, the orange smoke is no more, pollution of waterways is now unacceptable and the noxious smell is a thing of the past. Do you still have factories in your neighborhood that pollute like these old ones did?

In the 1970s, coal had a huge role in generating electricity. Smokestacks produced pollution that, as well as being bad for humans, created acid rain that polluted lakes. Since then demand for electricity has soared and we are struggling to generate it cleanly and economically. Coal and even natural gas generation is now criticized yet it is technically possible to produce power from these sources cleanly and cheaply. There are many countries that continue to use "dirty" coal as fuel. These countries produce products cheaper than we can due to lower power costs and should be made to clean up their act rather than have us become even less competitive in production costs. We should continue to use fossil fuels for power generation if/when it can be done cheaply and cleanly. Is electricity cleanly generated and cheap where you live?

In the 1970s more people commuted to work in inefficient gas powered cars and diesel powered buses. One could actually smell the un-burned hydrocarbons coming out the tailpipes of these gas guzzlers. Many people work from home these days. Those who commute often do so in electric powered transportation rather than diesel buses. Cars are smaller and much more fuel efficient with mostly steam coming out the tail pipe. Cities in north America that used to have smog now have none or significantly lower levels. The air quality is noticeably better. There is also a greater focus on green space and other carbon capture methods. Has air quality improved over the past 10 - 20 years where you live?

Where I live, natural gas heating is the norm. In the 1970s gas furnaces had a pilot light that burned non-stop and every time the main furnace kicked in there was some unburned gas going up the stack. There were also propane BBQs that required a match or other source to light. These days our furnaces have no pilot light and are so efficient there is no stack and almost no pollution of any kind. The furnaces produce steam as waste and not much else. The biggest home heating polluters are those with fireplaces, whether wood burning or gas burning. Air quality during winter remains poor at times because of these latter sources. Should log fireplaces in urban centers be allowed?

If we add up the impact of these and other measures we have taken to reduce our carbon footprint, I think we are doing as much as the rest of the world should expect from us. China, India and Mexico are doing much less. Should we be using our purchasing power to get these countries to do better?