A while back, I predicted above average temperatures and rainfall for southern Australia based on information from the Met Bureau. The post was titled ‘One Wet Year‘ How wrong was I. Lucky I am not a meteorologist! The only part I got right was the wet bit. Now that summer has officially passed us by (even though I think we have a few warm days ahead still), it turns out that it was Australia’s second wettest year on record, and if you single out Victoria it was our wettest summer ever. In fact it was our first wet summer ever, in recorded history anyway. The La Nina in the Pacific Ocean still has a lot of potential in it, it looks like the wet season will continue up north until April/May.
However that does not change the fact that 2010 was a tie with 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record worldwide. If you want to look at that data, pop on over to www.sciencedaily.com for the rub.
So forget any clueless weather forecasts from me in future and take it with a grain of salt. However, please do take heed of the consensus of a overwhelming majority of climate scientists, when they warn that the Earth is indeed warming due to increase levels of CO2-e in our atmosphere and oceans and that our climate is changing for the worse.
However, to cap it all off , I read this article today that made me grimace with a sense of loathing. I shouldn’t really pick on this bloke, but hey, it was in a NewsCorp rag so it had to be bent towards climate change denialism. Have a read of this article in the Tasmania Mercury titled “Victim unmoved by flood“. It is a gem. After all, this bloke is highly qualified to pass commentary about climate change when the, and I will say it again, the overwhelming majority of climate scientists that anthropogenic climate change is occurring, but he has an opinion just as I do. What gets me is that after he dismisses man-made climate change, he offers solutions on how to solve it. Recycling more and using less stuff is the key folks. Kind of right mate, but you left out the part about lowering our carbon emissions.
Or that is what NewsCorp would have us believe. It must be part of Rupert’s grand plan.
OK, this is just my opinion 🙂
as right as you may be about climate change the world won’t change by having people ranting and raving and trying to jam information down their throats…
it is people’s natural instinct to veer away from that and become sceptical…
it’s the same reason why people think of greenpeace as a bunch of crazy hippes who climb trees and chain themselves to bulldozers… most people don’t want to be associated with what’s seen as a touch of lunacy…
people like to come to an understanding on things in a calm and rational way- it makes them feel like they have come to an intelligent and informed decision (that was made on their own terms)…
as frustrating as the “gently gently” approach may be, it’s going to attract a greater following in the end… people don’t want to hear it’s all doom and gloom… the most successful campaigns are made by those who give practical ways people can make a difference (and it’s usually done in a light hearted sort of way)… they’re “inclusive” campaigns where everyone can do something, rather than “exclusive” where everyone’s seen to do the wrong things except for a precious few…