There is a depressing interview on the BBC. 
Since the critical left has essentially failed to deliver new government in the USA, Australia, Denmark, and France (to name a few places I have lived over the last few years) - what next, if people like the guy below  are in positions of power? 
Climate change attitudes are increasingly on a left-right faultline - and the right is clearly winning the day in several countries. At the least - a scientist-left alliance would appear obvious to develop further, but it is not always evident. 


> > BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, Thursday 4th November
> >
> >
> >
> > 'With the Queen in Germany worrying about climate change, will we see
any change in George Bush's attitude over the next four years?'
> >
> >
> >
> > Interviewer: ..to an American who advises President Bush on climate
> > change.Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming at Competitive Enterprise
> > Institute (http://www.cei.org/), in Washington.  I asked him about the
> whole
> > question of climate change..
> >
> >
> >
> > Ebell: No, I don't think you will see a change because, of course, not
> only
> > was President Bush re-elected both the House and the Senate have more
> > Republicans than they did before, particularly more conservatives, for
> > instance, Senator Inhofe from Oklahoma has now been joined by Senator
> Coburn
> > who is even more convinced that climate change is not a serious problem
> than
> > is Senator Inhofe, who is Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee.
> >
> >
> >
> > Interviewer: Do you believe they are right?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: Yes, largely. The whole tissue of argument that makes climate change
> > into the greatest problem facing humanity is based on a long series of
> > improbabilities.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: How do you deal with the fact that there is no previous time in
> recorded
> > history when the world's temperature has risen so much and so quickly?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: Oh, I don't think that is true at all. Recent research shows, for
> > instance, that the 'hockey stick' claim of the third assessment report
> from
> > the United Nations that the 20th century was the warmest in the last
> > millennium has now been thoroughly debunked.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: Not withstanding that the overwhelming majority of the world's
> > climatologists believe that this is precisely what is going on - that we
> are
> > seeing a rapid and frightening increase in the world's temperature.
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: There are a bunch of climate modellers who take unrealistic
> assumptions
> > and get out unrealistic forecasts.  The hard scientists who work on
these
> > issues are not alarmist. We have people who know nothing about climate
> > science like Sir David King, your Chief Scientific Advisor, who are
> > alarmists and continually promote this ridiculous claim.
> >
> >
> >
> > (I: Why would he do that?)
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: Sir David has no expertise in climate science.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: So the man who gets to be the chief scientist of this country is
naïve,
> > gullible, or what?  What would his motive be for accepting the evidence
of
> > other people in such a foolish way?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: I can't speculate on that but I know that people who are great
experts
> > in one field, and I'm sure Sir David is in his own particular field,
> ..there
> > is something about great experts in one field that doesn't necessarily
> > transfer to judgement over issues that they really don't know anything
> > about.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: And how do you deal with facts. This is not a matter of speculation
or
> > modelling. How do you deal with facts such as the rise in carbon dioxide
> > levels that has taken place, there is no doubt about that, and that is
> > consistent with the increase in global warming.
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: There are two possibilities here. One is the models are tuned much
too
> > high. They assume the climate is much more sensitive to CO2 than it
> actually
> > is. Or there is some mystery factor, we have no idea what it is, that is
> > somehow concealing the warming that has already occurred. I think one of
> > these is a scientific explanation. The other one is just fantasy.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: If there is some sort of great conspiracy theory or enormous naivety
on
> > the part of so many scientists who believe global warming is indeed the
> > biggest challenge.. the biggest threat . facing the word as we speak, is
> it
> > not possible that there is another theory which is that people in the
> United
> > States who deny global warming do so because they are the biggest
> polluters
> > in the world and they are simply not prepared to change their
lifestyles?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: Yes that is a possibility. I would put another possibility to you,
> which
> > is we still have independent scientists in this country.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: And no other country does?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: Not to any real degree, no. Virtually all scientific funding in
> Europe,
> > Japan, and Australia is helped directly from government
> >
> >
> >
> > I: And is it not slightly odd that so many governments would buy into
this
> > theory?
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: No I don't claim that there is a vast conspiracy but I do think, for
> > instance, in the European Union's case it's not a conspiracy, it's right
> out
> > in the open.  Margot Wallstrom, the EU Commissioner for the Environment
> > outgoing, said at one point and was quoted in one of the London papers
> that
> > this is all much more than just a scientific or environmental issue,
this
> > was about levelling the global playing field for business. And that's
> > because European businesses are not competitive in most areas with
> American
> > businesses, and by putting a governor on our energy use the EU actually
> > hopes to slow down and hamper American competitiveness.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: So we are not out to save the world we are out to get America
> >
> >
> >
> > ME: I think that is pretty obviously and explicitly the programme of the
> EU
> > Commission.
> >
> >
> >
> > I: Myron Ebell, many thanks.
> >



-- 
Dr. Simon Batterbury, lecturer, SAGES, University of Melbourne
221 Bouverie Street, Melbourne Vic 3010, Australia
tel 61-03-8344 9319/8344 9382 fax 61-03 9349 4218 [log in to unmask]
www.geography.unimelb.edu.au  www.simonbatterbury.net