Although the world's climate has undergone many
cyclical changes, the phrase 'climate change' has taken
on a sinister meaning, implying catastrophe for
humanity, ecology and the environment. We are told that
we are responsible for this threat, and that we should
act immediately to prevent it. But the apparent
scientific consensus over the causes and effects of
climate change is not what it appears. ''Chill'' is a
critical survey of the subject by a committed
environmentalist and scientist. Based on extensive
research, it reveals a disturbing collusion of interests
responsible for creating a distorted understanding of
changes in global climate. Scientific institutions,
basing their work on critically flawed computer
simulations and models, have gained influence and
funding. In return they have allowed themselves to be
directed by the needs of politicians and lobbyists for
simple answers, slogans and targets. The resulting
policy - a 60 percent reduction of greenhouse-gas
emissions by 2050 - would have a huge, almost
unimaginable, impact upon landscape, community and
biodiversity.On the basis of his studies of satellite
data, cloud cover, ocean and solar cycles, Peter Taylor
concludes that the main driver of recent global warming
has been an unprecedented combination of natural events.
His investigations indicate that the current threat
facing humanity is a period of cooling, as the cycle
turns, comparable in severity to the Little Ice Age of
1[zasłonięte]400-17 AD. The risks of such cooling are potentially
greater than global warming and on a more immediate time
scale, with the possibility of failing harvests leaving
hundreds of millions vulnerable to famine. Drawing on
his experience of energy policy and sustainability,
Taylor suggests practical steps that should be taken
now. He urges a shift away from mistaken policies that
attempt to avert inevitable natural changes, to an
adaptation to a climate that may turn significantly
cooler. |
|