Chris,
I think the climate change nexus should go into a measure of retreat -
following General de Gualle's maxim "recuiller pour meilleur sauter",
or something like that.
There's a near totally-solid bed-rock of evidence for global warming.
The IPCC would seem to have over-reached themselves by throwing in
everything including the kitchen sink to prove their point. Much
better it would seem, with hindsight, to leave open some measure of
doubt but stand firm on that which seems virtually irrefutable.
To repair the Maginot line will regrettably take time. The IPCC
shouldn't have been tempted by a 'bridge too far'. (fun mixing
metaphors, even when the future of our planet is at stake).
But it is the only thing the scientists can do.
In the meantime, we 'believers' can only point to the 'balance of
doubt' pointing firmly towards anthropogenic global warming, the
biodiversity crisis, the fuel crisis, the pending food and water
crises, the sociological stress crisis and the economic/financial
crisis as virtually irrefutable reasons for
looking for a fundamentally different way of conducting our affairs.
Brian Orr
On 5 Feb 2010, at 19:09, Chris wrote:
> I guess recent events have been something of a 'perfect storm' on
> the cc scepticism front.
>
> Taking an holistic view, I wonder if terminal climate change is the
> price we will pay for allowing our political system to be hijacked
> by pirates and murderers? Anecdotally, when I talk to people
> ('normal' a-political people) I sense a great deal of anger about
> the lies used to justify the Iraq war and of course the expenses
> scandal (which I view as something of a proxy for the wider economic
> stupidity of recent years). Then the politicians tell the public
> they should believe the science of climate change and be willing to
> make lifestyle changes in light of this problem. Why would anyone
> believe the establishment, given the lies and deceit they engage in
> on a regular basis (I say this from a left/anarchist perspective,
> whilst recognising similar discourses have been emerging from the
> political right)?
>
>
> Chris
>
> Alastair McIntosh wrote:
>> Folks ...
>> Today BBC News announced the findings of a poll they commissioned
>> showing a sharp rise in climate change scepticism in the UK. The
>> pollsters told the BBC, "It is very unusual indeed to see such a
>> dramatic shift in opinion in such a short period." See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8500443.stm
>> I am not surprised. At Copenhagen much of the world effectively
>> decided not to "believe" in climate change and then, in much of
>> Europe, a sharp winter followed, leaving the goalposts wide open
>> for seeds of confusion to be sown in the public mind between
>> weather and climate.
>> The prominent climate British change contrarian, Peter Taylor, has
>> been suggesting to such media as the Daily Express that our cold
>> festive season has been a harbinger of winters to come, consistent
>> with his version of the global cooling theory.
>> I've had several people asking what I make of Taylor, so I did a
>> bit of research. My findings are now posted to Amazon.co.uk in the
>> form of 2 book reviews. I wanted to do it like this to give him, or
>> anybody else, fair chance to respond in public using the Comments
>> facility.
>> What I found in Taylor's autobiographical /Shiva's Rainbow/ about
>> his time as a Greenpeace "impostor" scientist left me incredulous.
>> Links to both my reviews are:
>>
>> /Shiva's Rainbow/:
>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0954706404/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
>> <http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0954706404/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
>> >
>> /Chill/:
>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1905570198/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar
>> <http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1905570198/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar
>> >
>>
>> While writing, the following links may also be of interest.
>>
>> On January having been warm, not cold, elsewhere in the world:
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8493168.stm
>> NASA says 2009 was 2nd warmest year on record:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/temp-analysis-2009.html
>> On "climategate" scandals and the bigger picture:
>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/
>> On scientific authority post climategate:
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8388485.stm
>> And on a positive note, I am delighted that whisky has been
>> discovered at the South Pole:
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8499931.stm
>>
>> All the best
>> Alastair
>>
>> **************************************************************
>> * Website: www.AlastairMcIntosh.com <http://
>> www.alastairmcintosh.com/>
>> * * Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]
>> > * * Alastair McIntosh * 26 Luss
>> Road *
>> Drumoyne * Glasgow G51
>> 3YD *
>> Scotland * Tel: +44
>> (0)141 445 8750
>> *
>> * /Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human
>> Condition/, now
>> * published by Birlinn, £8.99 - www.alastairmcintosh.com/hellandhighwater.htm
>> <http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/hellandhighwater.htm> *
>> * /Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power/ is now in
>> paperback and
>> * in French translation - www.AlastairMcIntosh.com/soilandsoul.htm
>> <http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/soilandsoul.htm>
>> *
>> * /Love and Revolution/, collected poetry, is from Luath Press
>> * - www.AlastairMcIntosh.com/loveandrevolution.htm <http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/loveandrevolution.htm
>> >
>> *
>> * /Rekindling Community: Connecting People, Environment and
>> Spirituality/
>> * is Schumacher Briefing No. 15 from Green Books,
>> * www.alastairmcintosh.com/rekindlingcommunity.htm <http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/rekindlingcommunity.htm
>> >
>> *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
