Friday 3 October 2008

Still Debating Manmade Global Warming?

There is a small but vociferous group of contributors to discussion sites like Yahoo! Answers who continue to argue that the earth isn't warming or, if it is, then we (mankind) are much too trivial to have any influence on the great big planet's thermostat.  Even that CO2 is such a minor component of our atmosphere that increases in its concentration cannot possibly affect the Earth's temperature.  

I have been genuinely surprised by the virulence of this online community's posts, in response to contributors who attempt to explain or communicate the evidence for climate change, mankind's role in global warming and the likely consequences for our descendents.

Dr Iain Stewart (Professor of Geology at Plymouth University) has presented two extraordinary series on the BBC in the last year, "Earth: The Power of the Planet" and "Earth: The Climate Wars".  The producer for both these series was Jonathan Renouf.  

In the Gaurdian's "Comment Is Free" column yesterday (2 October), Renouf has written the most compelling rebuttal of the climate change sceptics.  He dismisses their aggression and their disingenous aderence to discredited hypotheses with consummate grace.  In his clear and calm language, Renouf displays the same thoroughness, objectivity and balance that the researchers and writers of "Climate Wars" achieved.  They have documented the emergence of evidence, the development of ideas, the campaigns and battles that have been fought.  In conclusion, Renouf writes that the overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree on three points: earth is warming, our emissions of greenhouse gases are the principal cause and that the coninuing rise in these emissions will become damaging to society.

"Earth: The Climate Wars" was a seminal production and will serve to put to rest some of the outdated objections of the climate change deniers.  I am honoured that my licence fee pays for people like Jonathon Renouf to produce transformational documentaries like this.

NB: I don't know whether these links to Google video are legal or if  they will work outside the UK.  I found them on another forum and will remove them if they breach copyright.

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3: