Pirate's Cove

Interesting editorial from the Bangkok Post News

Regrettably, there is a great deal of nonsense talked about global warming and the causes and effects of climate change. Much of it comes from proponents of the merited belief that humankind is poisoning the only planet it has. A typical example of this ”foot in mouth” disease occurred during last month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, and was recounted by a Canadian newspaper. The Calgary Sun noted to its surprise that when Steven Guilbeault, director of the Greenpeace movement for Quebec, made a comment which it described as idiotic and implausible, not one of the 10,000 delegates present publicly questioned it. ”Global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter, that’s what we’re dealing with,” he said. The newspaper tried to interpret this remark for its baffled readers by editorially concluding: So now that colder means warmer basically, anything goes. 

With such illogical statements from organisations such as Greenpeace, is it really any wonder that talk of global warming, the chances of the Kyoto Protocol ever achieving its far-from-impressive targets, exchange of carbon credits and the prospects for long-term climate change cause so many people’s eyes to glaze over? They would prefer to discuss the pros and cons of the Thaksin administration or how long they were stuck in the traffic trying to get to work that morning. Not delve into the realm of the hypothetical because they are confused by all the conflicting claims. Perhaps they have just read Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, which attempts to debunk the concept of global warming or just feel the whole thing is not worth bothering with because there is nothing they can do about it, anyway. That is why urgent appeals regularly issued by groups of concerned scientists to take human-induced global warming seriously, usually fall on deaf ears. And yet, something hasn’t been quite right with global weather patterns over the past few years. Strange things have been happening, none of them good.

Exactly. Too much conflicting data. Too many overboard antics by groups such as Greenpeace. Too much overblown rhetoric, ie, the sky is falling! from many environmental activists. Too many illogical statements. Too far in the future.

It is hard to link something which may happen in the future to changes today. Especially when global warming may or may not be happening. And, if it is, it may or may not have anything to do with Mankind. How about linking CO2 to what people can see, like the haze that hangs over many metropolitan areas? Pressing for vehicles that are cleaner burning and put out less pollution? Getting industry involved in a positive and proactive manner to protect the environment? It is the little things that affect the short term that can allow the long term issues to be solved. Silly antics and talk leads the masses to label environmentalists as "wacko’s." Nothing gets solved that way.