Compost Bin and a Solar Powered Charger!
Having posted on a few forums recently about the impending doom that this planet faces, it is hard not to notice that quite a lot of people are still sceptical about the whole global warming issue. In particular, people would argue that there isn’t a consensus within the scientific community about the extent of global warming.
My wife would often accuse me of believing everything I read. A harsh criticism you may say, but then maybe I am just choosing reading material that fits in with my world view.
Over Christmas I read Derren Brown’s book “Tricks of the mind” which provided me with a couple of good memory techniques, but also encouraged me to look on issues with a more sceptical eye, particularly the claims of alternative therapists. From reading this book – I searched out a couple of sceptical podcasts and came across “The sceptics guide to the universe” which I would highly recommend. I’ve also started listening to Penn Gilette’s (From Penn and Teller) radio show, another great sceptical show.
I’ve been going off on a bit of a tangent there, but my point is that even from a sceptics point of view global warming really has become undeniable. Sceptics would emphasise the importance of the scientific method, so when you get 2500 scientists from 30 different countries working on a project about climate change you must attach some sort of credibility to it. And you would have to present some pretty strong evidence to argue against the findings of the IPCC.
It should come as no surprise then, that the oil industry would try to discredit the findings of the IPCC.
From the Guardian last week:
Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today.
Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an ExxonMobil-funded thinktank with close links to the Bush administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The UN report was written by international experts and is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science. It will underpin international negotiations on new emissions targets to succeed the Kyoto agreement, the first phase of which expires in 2012. World governments were given a draft last year and invited to comment.
The AEI has received more than $1.6m from ExxonMobil and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush administration. Lee Raymond, a former head of ExxonMobil, is the vice-chairman of AEI's board of trustees.
When your only opponents are funded by the oil industry I think we really can say
YES – THE VAST MAJORITY OF SCIENTISTS IN THE FIELD OF GLOBAL WARMING DO BELIEVE IT IS REAL
YES - WE HAVE CONSENSUS!
YES! IT IS OUR FAULT!
NOW DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
