I Feel a Campaign Coming On

I feel a campaign coming on, a campaign to tell the world about the truth about Global Warming. The truth is that ‘we don’t know’. We have our suspicions but nothing is certain. I think I may well scream if I read another report stating ‘likely consequences’, ‘possible temperatures’ and all the other vague adverbs around. In amongst all the crap that comes into my work inbox a really good one dropped by the other day with this link, which I should stress is a draft:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4007935

I don’t expect anyone to read all this, it being a policy paper. The interesting part (the bits I have read) is Part 1, the introduction to Global Warming. It gives a good overview of what its all about. I’m attempting to write a critique of part of it as someone has requested I do. The bottom of page 18 is really annoying me. There’s an inference that the author suggests should be ignored which I think is rather important.

I’ve just been scrolling through this document and it really is rather interesting. So the introduction has a sentence that makes me irate, but later on Page 22 there’s a rather frank statement regarding the rise in sea levels. Observing that sea levels have “risen by between 10 and 25 cm over the last century” the author asks, “How much of this anticipated climate change can be averted by reducing greenhouse gas emissions? The short answer is ‘some, but not much’”. Even if we achieved the targets set by the non-ratified Kyoto Protocol it would, “reduce future global warming by at most 0.2C.”.

I had never realised that Kyoto was talking in fractions when we’re thinking of whole numbers. 2C warmer is the 22^nd Century scenario. And that’s if we reach the Kyoto target by 2010. The other thing I learned is that warm oceans take up more space than cold oceans of the same mass. Not something I ever thought about, but we’re predicted to have lots more warm water in the future.

So the name of my new party is, “We’re Too Late – Even the Government Says So”.

Time to start building an Ark.