Thursday, October 29, 2009

Death Blow Climate Change Denial



This is a very cool video of a brief seminar which delivers the silver bullet death blow to the pretensions of climate change denialists like Clive James, Melanie Phillips and Richard Littlejohn - not by detailed science, but by looking at the Cost Benefit analysis of taking action or not taking action on decarbonisation of Earth's atmosphere.

His argument can be summarised thusly:

In the end, this is not an academic debate, because we and our children are part of the experiment.

The consensus among scientists (yes, with a few exceptions, as is always the case in science) is that we should decarbonise our economy as a matter of urgency.

Let's take a bookie's eye view of the matter.

Say we decarbonise our economy, and it turns out (unlikely as that may be) that Man-Made Global Warming (MMGW/AGW) view is wrong? Well, we will have created hundreds of thousands of jobs in insulation and renewable energy manufacturing and taken thousands out of fuel poverty. Not bad, but that's not all. We will also have reduced the shock of Peak Oil and Peak Gas, and reduced the acidification of the oceans. And addressed our energy security problems. And increased prosperity in hot countries through solar technology and afforestation. Not bad, not bad at all.

Say on the other hand, we go the way of the denialists/skeptics, and it turns out, as per all reasonable expectations, that they are wrong? We will have problems with energy security, Peak Oil, Peak Gas, acidified oceans, acid rain, fuel poverty, unemployment, poverty, civil unrest and finally, massive, catastrophic climate disruption from droughts, floods, crop failures, disease, and war. With massive migration caused by environmental collapse. Not good.

Any sensible punters would put their money on decarbonising the global economy.

His name is WonderingMind42, or Greg, aged 40, father of two and ex-hang glider pilot, (hey bro, happy landings) and he has a sequel video here, which addresses hard-core skepticks (denialists). He changes the question from "are humans causing harm at a planetary level?" to "What is the wisest thing to do?"

History may record greg and his viral video as the Man that Saved the Planet.

2 comments:

Dorothea said...

Further to our discussion on REDD, you may want to take a look at Carbon Trade Watch.

A couple of other things should provide pause; the latest edition of “Seedling“ which focuses on climate change, showing how the multinationals are scheming to make massive profits out of combatting climate change, at the expense of the poor.

Also the Declaration of the Africa People's Movement on Climate Change
which specifically rejects carbon trading in all its forms.

DocRichard said...

Hi Dorothea
Good links, but a lot to take in (and some are not easy to read). Would it be too much to ask you to summarise the key arguments, with their links?
Thanks

Richard