I figure if one is going to have an opinion about climate change, it had better be an informed opinion. I thought I was well informed but there is always something to learn too.
The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery was published in 2005 just after Hurricane Katrina. Fifteen years later not much has changed – the North American politicians continue to dither.
The book delivers as advertised. The 356 pages detail exactly how we are changing the climate and what it means for life on the only planet we know. It is thorough and accurate. The earth and atmosphere system is indeed complicated with many feedback mechanisms that swing both ways. The research and science devoted to how humans are interfering with this delicate natural balance has been peer reviewed and closely examined for weaknesses. Simply, there are none. Any unknowns are clearly stated. We have reached the “Act of God” tipping point.
A.P. Herbert defined in “Uncommon Law” in 1935 that an Act of God was “something which no reasonable man could have expected.” The impacts of climate change are no longer Acts of God. Science can prove it and “the judiciary will be faced with apportioning quilt and responsibility for human actions resulting from the new climate”.
The rich and powerful have been polluting the atmosphere and oceans for profit. Simple greed with disdain for nature everything else too. You might also read “Dark Money” described as “The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (2016). “Dark Money” is a non-fiction book written by the American investigative journalist Jane Mayer about a network of extremely wealthy conservative Republicans, foremost among them Charles and David Koch who have together funded an array of organizations that work in tandem to influence academic institutions, think tanks, the courts, statehouses, Congress, and the American presidency for their own benefit.” Their game plan is simple and has been played without variation on many occasions when their self-centred profits where threatened. (from “The Optimistic Environmentalist” by David R. Boyd )
• Deny the existence of any problems.
• Pay charlatan scientists to lie and claim that their products or emissions are safe.
• Finance scientific journals with official-sounding titles to publish bogus articles based on junk science.
• Buy the support or acquiescence of politicians and bureaucrats.
Far worse has been done as well but few have been held responsible which is concerning about the independence of the judiciary. Politicians have been known to call judges...
There are many other books that cover similar material. In 2000 Jack Doyle published “Taken for a Ride: Detroit’s Big Three and the Politics of Pollution” in which he exposed the fight and miss-information campaign resisting the creation of clean transportation. This was in response to the London air pollution disaster of 1952 and the public outcry about air pollution in general. Ford argued in 1953 that automobile exhausts “are dissipated in the atmosphere quickly and do not present an air pollution problem”. President Reagan declared in 1981 that “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles”. Corporations clearly have enough money to even buy democracy.
Flannery also investigates “the corrupt relationship between government and industry. And it is into this cesspit that we must now leap.” as he described Chapter Twenty-Six entitled “People in Greenhouses Shouldn’t Tell Lies”. The campaign of deceit and spreading misconceptions has been very successful though as employed by the transportation, tobacco, DDT, CFC’s, asbestos and GMO industries to name just a very few. The result has been decades of indecision when the viable solutions are readily available. The net results being that those funding the bogus science and confusion continue to profit.
The issue returns to one of greed and power. As Flannery explained in 2006, the Act of God Defence will no longer work. The science and knowledge explaining climate change are established just as it was for the other harmful industries. Those profiting from promoting fossil fuels can be held accountable by law.
Real change though apparently needs to come from the people. Elected followers closely study the polls to ensure they remain in power. Power is paramount and it can control you like greed. When the polls tip toward green innovations as they surely must, the politicians will eventually follow. The transition to a circular green economy will not be politically supported until the polls reflect that the public want it.
The impacts of a changing climate could sway public opinion. Hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires and heat waves can be very persuasive. I always thought that becoming informed and prepared would be better than waiting for the catastrophes. That is what weather prediction is all about. Being proactive is much more affordable than simply being uninformed and reactive. Meanwhile species are going extinct as the result of our inability to act.
“The Weather Makers” is an important read if you want to have an informed opinion regarding climate change. Time for real, pre-emptive action is long past but better late than never. This needs to get done even if only to tell your children and grandchildren that you tried to make a difference. The school presentations, letters to the Editor, MP, MPP and PM have yet to bear any fruit. But it is important to remain optimistic for the sake of the generations yet to come.
Canada has a very, very long way to catch-up on the Scandinavian countries that are leading the way forward into a greener future. Meanwhile our politicians are still debating the pros and cons of dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the nation’s waterways. Shame.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sewage-pollution-wastewater-cities-1.3889072
You might also consider reading “The Optimistic Environmentalist” by David R. Boyd published in 2016. Some parts of the world are actually proving that the circular, green economy is the way forward. Indeed people and the planet can profit while preserving the environment and the habitats of the creatures that also share the globe. This almost happy note is a good book to leave until the last in your efforts to remain informed and involved for a brighter future.
These reads are very important... they are not fake.
Phil the Forecaster
The book delivers as advertised. The 356 pages detail exactly how we are changing the climate and what it means for life on the only planet we know. It is thorough and accurate. The earth and atmosphere system is indeed complicated with many feedback mechanisms that swing both ways. The research and science devoted to how humans are interfering with this delicate natural balance has been peer reviewed and closely examined for weaknesses. Simply, there are none. Any unknowns are clearly stated. We have reached the “Act of God” tipping point.
A.P. Herbert defined in “Uncommon Law” in 1935 that an Act of God was “something which no reasonable man could have expected.” The impacts of climate change are no longer Acts of God. Science can prove it and “the judiciary will be faced with apportioning quilt and responsibility for human actions resulting from the new climate”.
• Deny the existence of any problems.
• Pay charlatan scientists to lie and claim that their products or emissions are safe.
• Finance scientific journals with official-sounding titles to publish bogus articles based on junk science.
• Buy the support or acquiescence of politicians and bureaucrats.
Far worse has been done as well but few have been held responsible which is concerning about the independence of the judiciary. Politicians have been known to call judges...
Flannery also investigates “the corrupt relationship between government and industry. And it is into this cesspit that we must now leap.” as he described Chapter Twenty-Six entitled “People in Greenhouses Shouldn’t Tell Lies”. The campaign of deceit and spreading misconceptions has been very successful though as employed by the transportation, tobacco, DDT, CFC’s, asbestos and GMO industries to name just a very few. The result has been decades of indecision when the viable solutions are readily available. The net results being that those funding the bogus science and confusion continue to profit.
The issue returns to one of greed and power. As Flannery explained in 2006, the Act of God Defence will no longer work. The science and knowledge explaining climate change are established just as it was for the other harmful industries. Those profiting from promoting fossil fuels can be held accountable by law.
Real change though apparently needs to come from the people. Elected followers closely study the polls to ensure they remain in power. Power is paramount and it can control you like greed. When the polls tip toward green innovations as they surely must, the politicians will eventually follow. The transition to a circular green economy will not be politically supported until the polls reflect that the public want it.
The impacts of a changing climate could sway public opinion. Hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires and heat waves can be very persuasive. I always thought that becoming informed and prepared would be better than waiting for the catastrophes. That is what weather prediction is all about. Being proactive is much more affordable than simply being uninformed and reactive. Meanwhile species are going extinct as the result of our inability to act.
“The Weather Makers” is an important read if you want to have an informed opinion regarding climate change. Time for real, pre-emptive action is long past but better late than never. This needs to get done even if only to tell your children and grandchildren that you tried to make a difference. The school presentations, letters to the Editor, MP, MPP and PM have yet to bear any fruit. But it is important to remain optimistic for the sake of the generations yet to come.
Canada has a very, very long way to catch-up on the Scandinavian countries that are leading the way forward into a greener future. Meanwhile our politicians are still debating the pros and cons of dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the nation’s waterways. Shame.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sewage-pollution-wastewater-cities-1.3889072
These reads are very important... they are not fake.
Phil the Forecaster
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