I'm afraid the world in general has concluded that there is no such thing as global warming. The sceptics have won.
I can't wait to see what their excuses are when the N.Pole disappears in summertime.
"It's actually still there, just under the sea where you can't see it"
"It's a temporary effect"
"it's because hot stuff is coming up from the centre of the earth"
"We didn't want all that nasty ice getting in the way of Growth anyway"
"It's the Sun wot dun it"
or, most likely:
"All of the above"
How about
i) "Those communist environmentalists have towed it off somewhere."
ii) "Aliens stole it."
iii) "It never existed in the first place. The whole North ice cap pole thingy was a giant lie cooked up by the environmentalist communists and the US government."
iv) "The US government has doctored the satellite images."
v) "We actually planned it all along, now where's the oil....."
The most complete exposition of a social myth comes when the myth itself is waning (Robert M MacIver 1947)
I'm afraid the world in general has concluded that there is no such thing as global warming. The sceptics have won.
I can't wait to see what their excuses are when the N.Pole disappears in summertime.
"It's actually still there, just under the sea where you can't see it"
"It's a temporary effect"
"it's because hot stuff is coming up from the centre of the earth"
"We didn't want all that nasty ice getting in the way of Growth anyway" "It's the Sun wot dun it"
or, most likely:
"All of the above"
Cabrone wrote:
I can't wait to see what their excuses are when the N.Pole disappears in summertime.
"It's actually still there, just under the sea where you can't see it"
"It's a temporary effect"
"it's because hot stuff is coming up from the centre of the earth"
"We didn't want all that nasty ice getting in the way of Growth anyway"
"It's the Sun wot dun it"
or, most likely:
"All of the above"
How about
i) "Those communist environmentalists have towed it off somewhere."
ii) "Aliens stole it."
iii) "It never existed in the first place. The whole North ice cap pole thingy was a giant lie cooked up by the environmentalist communists and the US government."
iv) "The US government has doctored the satellite images."
v) "We actually planned it all along, now where's the oil....."
They will just say the same thing happened during the MWP, as discovered by a Chinese fleet in 1421 so all part of natural cycles, nothing to get worried about blah blah blah. All completely disproven of course but it won't shut them up. Facts never do.
Aurora wrote:I'm afraid the world in general has concluded that there is no such thing as global warming. The sceptics have won.
Yes, I'm afraid you're right there Aurora.
Who says the sceptics have won? What are the terms of reference here? I see more political and corporate engagement than ever before, certainly more NGO activity and scientific activity. The area is ramping up not ramping down.
Whether a largely scientifically illiterate public mass believe one thing or another is largely an irrelevance. Large groups of people, even majorities, believe lots of complete rubbish. Governments and corporates are forever doing things against he will of the ignorant masses. They don't know what's good for them so elect other groups of people to make decissions.
Imagine if every political decision was by public referendum? Imagine if the space shuttle had been designed with every decision made by public referendum. It doesn't work. The public at large are dumb, really dumb. They are also fickle. Two hot summers and a drought in Europe and the US and the public will swing the other way.
At a local government level in my neck of the woods the sceptics are nowhere. Planning on the Lincolnshire Marsh is dominated by the acceptance of sea level rise, with County Council and Environment Agency working on the assumption that things will turn out worse than the IPCC figures quoted in AR4.
Here in Ferryside we were 'chosen' by the local council as a target village for their anti-climate-change spending efforts. We got all kinds of free stuff from lightbulbs to energy monitors. Lots of big public meetings went on. A noticeboard went up outside the village shop declaring "Ferryside - tackling climate change together!"
Notably, this board never had any information on it and is now filled with climate-sceptic materials declaring the whole thing a fraud (including peak oil, which they still insist is a scam to get higher oil prices for Big Oil).
Well, whatever. I got disillusioned as soon as I talked to the local council people tasked with leading the anti-climate-change project. The council openly buys into the BAU growth model, and when I asked in a meeting how this was remotely compatible with reducing carbon emissions, answers there were none.
I like my free energy monitor though. And my free composter.
Governments and corporates are forever doing things against he will of the ignorant masses.
You seem to be suggesting that the the general populace needs business to make decisions for us and that this is a good thing.
What about tobacco companies denying the link between smoking and cancer (widely denied by tobacco companies until mid nineties), oil companies denying the link between anthropogenic climate change and human activity (eg Exxon Mobil) and the recent behaviour of Trafigura?
Oh yeah, I trust corporations to act with the best interests of the world population at heart.
Corporations are money making machines. No more or less; making decisions on the basis of maximum profit. Why is this a better way to make decisions- unaccountable, unelected and with little account for human beings in their equations.
Additionally aren't 'corporations' and 'governments' substantially responsible for the current financial meltdown.
biffvernon wrote:At a local government level in my neck of the woods the sceptics are nowhere.
Agree. Local government are brilliant at climate change. One of the houses I rent out has an old boiler, so I decided to apply ( in the name of the tenant, young mum two kids) for the upgrade. Turns out Wales do not do the boiler scrappage scheme, so I was directed to the dept’ that does.
Had a call from the tenant a few weeks ago. Turns out she is getting not only a new boiler, but a whole new gas central heating system, solar thermal hot water, EXTERIOR cladding of the whole house insulation, drought proofing of the inside, eco bulbs etc. About 18K worth all in all.
I’m sure all on this board will know this is being done for PO reasons. Council has it under climate change.
Governments and corporates are forever doing things against he will of the ignorant masses.
You seem to be suggesting that the the general populace needs business to make decisions for us and that this is a good thing.
What about tobacco companies denying the link between smoking and cancer (widely denied by tobacco companies until mid nineties), oil companies denying the link between anthropogenic climate change and human activity (eg Exxon Mobil) and the recent behaviour of Trafigura?
Oh yeah, I trust corporations to act with the best interests of the world population at heart.
Corporations are money making machines. No more or less; making decisions on the basis of maximum profit. Why is this a better way to make decisions- unaccountable, unelected and with little account for human beings in their equations.
Additionally aren't 'corporations' and 'governments' substantially responsible for the current financial meltdown.
Who are you to contradict the deity. Go on sling yer hook before you get a clip round the ear’ole.
Governments and corporates are forever doing things against he will of the ignorant masses.
You seem to be suggesting that the the general populace needs business to make decisions for us and that this is a good thing....
I agree with all your points... I just used 'corprations' as another power block along with government. Would a world without corporations be better? Sure there are some big high profile problems, but if the alternative is Soviet style government ownership I expect the world might be a worse place. Sure there are better ways - but so far there isn't evidence that they can be realised. I just use the Soviet counter example because it did exist.
stumuzz wrote:
clv101 wrote:. The public at large are dumb, really dumb.
Were they wrong about the Iraq war . O great prophet.
Getting one thing right doesn't mean anything...
Don't you agree that the consensus opinion of the population is far more often than not rubbish?
