Catastrophic Climate Change Options

[Simon Kirby]

Latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is out. According to US Secretary of State John Kerry the costs of inaction on climate change will be "catastrophic".

It's not an easy read for the non-specialist, but when the US are warning in such unambiguous terms it becomes difficult to ignore.

Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy. Denial of the science is malpractice.

I would like to know what "action" looks like in practice. I don't think it's necessarily something to be afraid of.

[spartacus]

The UN preaching on climate change. So much hypocrisy.

If only these tens of thousands of UN delegates could learn how to do video-conferencing instead of having to be in New York sitting in a massive assembly hall with hundreds (nay, thousands) of lackeys behind the scenes interpreting or printing out forest loads of documents on a weekly basis, which nobody has the time to read.

Or if only they didn't all feel compelled to go on 'fact-finding missions' jetting around the globe to top up their tans and leave a massive vapour trail and hole in the ozone behind them.

If only they could bother to do that then it would be a great start

[spartacus]

According to US Secretary of State John Kerry the costs of inaction on climate change will be "catastrophic".

The US have paid lip-service to climate change for decades. Presidential candidate Al Gore did give it a half decent stab a while back, but then again he did have a book and film out about the subject. Inconveneient Truth

Has Kerry got a world tour promoting a book deal coming up?

[On the edge]

Yes it's all b**** isn't it. It's not going to affect us because we've got the gas we can get from fracking and all that coal under the North Sea. Added to which it certainly hasn't been too hit in the Summer for several years now. Winter was pretty mild and once we get the rivers people to do the dredging they were supposed to be doing, the rain won't be much if an issue either. Al Gore, yes, that shows it exactly, it's just been hype, just a big advertising campaign..............as Maynard Keynes said, in the long term we are all dead, (this just might speed things up)

As for the Americans, jumping on the bandwagon. What a bunch of xxxxx. Much rejoicing over one sinner that repenteth? not round here mate,

[spartacus]

Someone in a position of power needs to start thinking outside the box and do something radical about over-population of the planet. This thing in the Ukraine is unlikely to turn into WW3 and even if things do become heated it will be very contained.

What we need is a global pandemic to sort the wheat from the chaff and cut down on the use of planet's resources which fuels the climate change models. Ebola virus is becoming popular I hear. A couple of test tubes opened up in the UN Headquarters could spread the plague around the globe in a day, as the delegates would all jet off back home when one of the prominent members developed a cough.

Throw in some zombie flesh-eaters and 90% of the world's climate and resource impacts would be sorted within 28 days (Naturally my superhuman DNA will ensure that l will be one of the immune-survivors) Mad Max bondage accessories would not be necessary in my version...

[Biker1]

I probably missed it so can someone enlighten me?
Climate change IS happening according o the report.
But 3 questions...........
Is climate change the same as global warming?
Is climate change / global warming caused by increased CO2 in the atmosphere or other?
Is climate change / global warming a natural occurrence, or caused by human activity or a combination of both?

[On the edge]

In answer to all those questions is yes.

[pbonnay]

I probably missed it so can someone enlighten me?
Climate change IS happening according o the report.
But 3 questions...........
Is climate change the same as global warming?
Is climate change / global warming caused by increased CO2 in the atmosphere or other?
Is climate change / global warming a natural occurrence, or caused by human activity or a combination of both?

For me, the problem with the argument from the climate change industry is that they keep changing the language.

"Global warming" is now dropped in favour of "climate change" (following "Climategate" & statistics undermining the non-stop rise in temperature argument) and then there is chopping and changing between "weather" and "climate".

When levels of ice reduce in the Arctic, apparently it is clear evidence of global warming. But in the Antarctic, when the Chinese & Russian ships got stuck in ice (at a thickness they did not predict) it is only a "weather event".

But, I agree that we should reduce emissions. We could start with:
Regenerating our once (world leading) nuclear power industry.
Removing green taxes and levies on manufacturing at home, so as to cut down on shipping everything here in heavy-oil burning monster ships from the planet's biggest polluter.
And as said above, compel all climate change "experts", bureaucrats and politicians to use video conferencing/telepresence - just think of the oil that would save...

[Simon Kirby]

For me, the problem with the argument from the climate change industry is that they keep changing the language.

"Global warming" is now dropped in favour of "climate change" (following "Climategate" & statistics undermining the non-stop rise in temperature argument) and then there is chopping and changing between "weather" and "climate".

When levels of ice reduce in the Arctic, apparently it is clear evidence of global warming. But in the Antarctic, when the Chinese & Russian ships got stuck in ice (at a thickness they did not predict) it is only a "weather event".

Science is not well understood by the public. We're brought up on the cast-iron certainties of politics where a thing is immutably, unquestionably so, and we expect our understanding of the natural world to be that certain, but it isn't.

Unlike politics, Science doesn't typically over-state the strength of its position and it is mostly open to the possibility of being wrong. That's about as different an approach from politics as is possible to have.

"Global Warming" is the hook on which is hung virtually the whole of the public understanding of anthropogenic climate change, and it's hardly surprising that the science is actually a little more nuanced than that.

Firstly, modelling predicts that average global temperature will rise, so "Global Warming" isn't such a bad banner headline, but with the global change in climate with its notoriously finely balanced drivers some places may actually become colder, and other places will see greater and more frequent extremes in climate.

Secondly, it's modelling, and it might not be right. That's the deal with science, it may claim to be beautiful, but never claims to be true, science only ever claims to be the best answer at the time. If it's truth you want then you need politics.

[motormad]

The UN preaching on climate change. So much hypocrisy.

If only these tens of thousands of UN delegates could learn how to do video-conferencing instead of having to be in New York sitting in a massive assembly hall with hundreds (nay, thousands) of lackeys behind the scenes interpreting or printing out forest loads of documents on a weekly basis, which nobody has the time to read.

Or if only they didn't all feel compelled to go on 'fact-finding missions' jetting around the globe to top up their tans and leave a massive vapour trail and hole in the ozone behind them.

If only they could bother to do that then it would be a great start

Oh so true!!!

While I am not stupid enough to claim global warming doesn't exist, the world is going through peaks and troughs of temperature and we just happen to be on a rising peak at the moment.

We as a human race are no doubt CONTRIBUTING to the change in climate but we are not soley responsible. As I said, it's just the way of the world.





At the end of the day people like you & I are going to be the ones being taxed out of the eyeballs because of "global warming" - It's being used, yet again, as an excuse for taxation and increased costs of living.

Yet these politicians have meetings about meetings and jet around the world for "research", ultimately paid for by us workers, when they have the internet on their Laptops infront of them and Telepresence conference solutions for the price of their one week trip to Peru.

[JeffG]

In answer to all those questions is yes.

You can't answer question 3 with a yes.

[Andy Capp]

Yet these politicians have meetings about meetings and jet around the world for "research", ultimately paid for by us workers, when they have the internet on their Laptops infront of them and Telepresence conference solutions for the price of their one week trip to Peru.

I think you might appreciate that teleconferencing even these days, isn't a completely ideal solution. If you are negotiating something on the magnitude as they are doing then face to face is important. If a company was negotiating a major contract, for example, then there would come a time when face to face will be done.

The worry I see is what is going to happen in the Middle East if we find a convenient replacement for oil?

As has already been mentioned, I believe our population is of a bigger concern than climate change.

[On the edge]

You can't answer question 3 with a yes.

Don't agree, you can, the question simply asks if climate change is caused by two separate things or both, yes it is! Yes to man made, yes to natural causes, consequently yes to both.

[x2lls]

The UN preaching on climate change. So much hypocrisy.

If only these tens of thousands of UN delegates could learn how to do video-conferencing instead of having to be in New York sitting in a massive assembly hall with hundreds (nay, thousands) of lackeys behind the scenes interpreting or printing out forest loads of documents on a weekly basis, which nobody has the time to read.

Or if only they didn't all feel compelled to go on 'fact-finding missions' jetting around the globe to top up their tans and leave a massive vapour trail and hole in the ozone behind them.

If only they could bother to do that then it would be a great start

Only if the flight(s) were used solely by said delegates which would cancel the need for the flight. If they use scheduled flights, then where are the savings if a few less passengers are travelling?
I assume the seats would be used by others.

[JeffG]

Don't agree, you can, the question simply asks if climate change is caused by two separate things or both, yes it is! Yes to man made, yes to natural causes, consequently yes to both.

OK. It wasn't clear that you were applying a logical OR to the statement.

[On the edge]

OK. It wasn't clear that you were applying a logical OR to the statement.

Jeff, it was, we met at a neatly Newt, you know I'm not logical!

[Biker1]

You can tie nearly every problem the world faces down to one thing................over population.
What to do about it? God knows, but if we don't do it voluntarily Nature will do it for us.

[MontyPython]

..... If it's truth you want then you need politics.

you forgot the Simon.

Politics just hides the scientific evidence that doesn't agree with what they want!

There are a number of issues with Climate change and obviously no clear answers - if the politicians gave a more balanced view it would improve public acceptance.

What I would like to see estimates for are:

What percentage of Climate change is man made?

Of this how much of the future change is down to historic actions of man and how much of current/ future estimates?

Some form of estimates of the benefits in changing our current behaviours.

We cannot expect the public to drastically modify their actions in all areas, and need to find and invest in alternatives such as reliable electric cars. Taxation should not be used as another Cash Cow to fund politicians and Government - it may be used to invest in initiatives to reduce the effect we have, but needs to be across all areas where man might have an impact on CO2 levels (Keeping a dog for example can be said to cause a greater increase in CO2 than a 4x4)

[On the edge]

You can tie nearly every problem the world faces down to one thing................over population.
What to do about it? God knows, but if we don't do it voluntarily Nature will do it for us.

Compulsory castration? WBC have us by the baXXX, they might as well go the whole way....

[Simon Kirby]

you forgot the Simon.