- Tom Chivers on Unherd complains that “Every few weeks a newspaper will run an article by someone saying they won’t have children out of fear that the world won’t be fit to live in, and a global 2021 survey found that more than half of the 10,000 young people surveyed agreed with the phrase ‘humanity is doomed’.” He’s no “denier”; he insists that “climate change will have a lot of negative effects on the world, and it’s reasonable to be worried about it”. But he rubbishes a book saying climate change is trashing our brains, causing everything from amnesia to ADHD in boys. These days, finding someone else willing to object to that stuff is actual progress in the debate.
- The allegedly right-wing GB News station shrieks “UK weather forecast: Urgent ‘Danger to life’ warning in force before scorching temperatures strike”. Holy cow. What? Deadly heat waves in Britain in April? Must be climate change, right? Well, no. The real story is first that “Powerful winds with a ‘danger to life’ warning will batter parts of the UK today and tomorrow”, which they did, killing nobody, “just days before temperatures as high as 20C will scorch Britain.” Dudes, 20C won’t even scorch an ice cube. Give it a rest. (Oh, and the actual threat from the Met Office was “there is a small chance that injuries or danger to life could result from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties - or from flying debris elsewhere”. Yeah. And a piano could fall on your head on a quiet London street.
- If support for nuclear power is a sanity test for climate alarmists, then Canada’s Minister for Innovation and Industry unexpectedly just registered as sane. François-Philippe Champagne told The Canadian Press that he considers nuclear power part of the renewable energy portfolio “Nuclear, definitely. For me, we have to look at hydro, we have to look at nuclear, we have to look at small modular reactors, we have to look at wind, we have to look at solar.” Of course they already have been looking at wind and solar, and seeing things that aren’t there, so he shouldn’t leave therapy yet. But he’s making progress, and an honesty test for those engaged in policy debate is to give credit where due.
- When science met anecdote: Pseudoscientific American tells us “Every spring when the weather turns warm and plants begin to bloom, people start flocking to Neelima Tummala’s ear, nose and throat clinic. They seek remedies for sinus infections, a scratchy throat and other pollen-induced allergy symptoms. And over the past several years, many have complained that their once run-of-the-mill hay fever symptoms are worsening and lasting many weeks longer than they used to. The likely culprit, Tummala says, is climate change.” Oh, and did someone do an actual study of whether hay fever is getting worse? Heck no. Why bother? Everybody knows, when “As fossil-fuel burning continues to flood the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, driving up average global temperatures, the planet’s once reliable seasons are also shifting.” As are the once reliable scientific publications.
- Speaking of pseudo-science, David Gelles in the New York Times “Climate Forward” starts a piece “The extreme weather. The melting glaciers. The weirdly warm oceans. They’re all the product of global warming, which is being driven by the release of the three most important heat-trapping gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. And according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, emissions of those three greenhouse gases continued to surge last year to historic highs.” Almost exactly as if scientists had succeeded, rather than failing in a crucial test, in explaining the weird recent ocean warmth by reference to CO2 in their computer models. And as if weather were in fact getting more extreme, something not even the IPCC claims. But who needs facts?
- Everyone’s keen to do their part… as long as it pays. The Grain Growers of Canada are hyping climate change (as in “Amid a rise in droughts, climate change fears, and a growing demand for food security, Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has launched policy recommendations to help guide the government in tackling carbon emissions while growing the Canadian economy”) and sure enough, point 1 is “The federal government must maintain and increase its financial support of public and private research and development” and point 2 is “appropriate financial investments, payments for ecosystem goods and services, and knowledge transfer provisions”. Meanwhile over at the International Maritime Organization they’re totally keen, seeking “a goal-based marine fuel standard regulating the phased reduction of the marine fuel’s GHG intensity; and an economic mechanism(s) to incentivize the transition to net-zero.” Yeah. An economic mechanism. We’ll bet. As Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek once sang, “Give me some money, oh give me some money…”
- Speaking of money, in releasing a defence policy update that pretends to take national security seriously, “During a press conference Monday, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair highlighted climate change and the melting of the polar ice cap as dramatically changing Canada’s threat landscape.”
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Tidbits
17 Apr 2024 | News Roundup
Wherever you live, imagine the hardship endured by people who live 300 km to the south where it is one degree warmer.
"... the three most important heat-trapping gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide."
Er, what happened to the most important greenhouse gas of all, water vapour? The difference between a dry atmosphere and a humid atmosphere in terms of heat trapping capability will overmatch by orders of magnitude any amount of the other three gases. Deserts can be boiling hot by day and then drop below freezing at night. No CO2 etc needed. But I forgot. This is New York Times-talk. Silly me.