Baz, Tony, worry not. I am sure I am older than you two and I remember when London suffered SMOG which killed thousands of people. It was fixed in a couple of years.
Now AGW, fear not. We survived the hole in the ozone layer and the Y2K bug. They were both going to destroy us and BILLIONS yes Billions of dollars were given to shyster public servants and other scum and what happened. Er, well, nothing! So do not worry about AGW it is all bulldust and a way of giving more money to the UN. We should all look very concerned and tell them we would love to help but not yet. They will soon move on when they are denied money.

Oh Yes Jbower, well I am not worried about AGW.
It is the wrong problem to worry about.
Everything changed in late 2005 when peak crude oil occurred.

Re the Y2K bug, well that never happened because thousands of computer
programmers worked a lot of overtime so it would not happen.
And then everyone said;
See, I told you it was a lot of rubbish, nothing to worry about !
Oh yes there was something that happened when the millenium ticked
over, but it did not get any publicity & I can't remember what is was.

As an insight, of those that predicted the date of peak oil, two got
it very correct on the date but they also predicted that after the
peak there would be very large volatility in price swings for a small
number of cycles. We are in the 2nd cycle at present and we may get
another cycle. Watch for the price to climb again and the a year approx
later to collapse again.

Bazz,
Interesting article.
But your concerns are ill placed.

The world has an infinit supply of solar and wind renewable energy. Plus other renewable types.

If you read -

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/renewables-now-cheaper-than-coal-and-gas-in-australia-62268

you will find that large new wind electricity power stations are now cheaper than a new coal power station in Australia. And in a very short time, large solar stations will also be cheaper than coal.

And both of these renewable stations will be so much cheaper than coal stations to run, because their input fuels are zero cost.

And the total lack of coal dust and chimney fallout caused illnesses makes going renewables a no-brainer.

JBower,
Thanks for your comment.
I understand that Marg Thatcher decimated the coal industry, and in so-doing, substantially removed atmospheric pollution in London.

The problem with excessive CO2 in our atmosphere is very different. That CO2 is the key greenhouse blanket preventing our world from freezing has been understood by scientists since the mid 1800s.

The difference is that the degree of warming caused by the CO2 is mostly independent of the daily emmission amount. It is the cumulative amount of CO2 in the atmosphere that causes the problem.

If the world stopped all fossil fuel burning tomorrow, our planet would keep warming for a couple of decades or so. Once CO2 is added, it hangs around for a long time.

We have heated our planet by 1C already, and the impacts are today being felt in lost lives, infrastructue damage and death causing droughts / typhoons, heatwaves and changes to normal climatic cycles - causing great damage to subsistence farmers in Africa and elsewhere.

While you can remember London of old, my concern is that todays children, and their children, could easily be faced with intractable climate problems.

Unless the world acts with urgency.

Hi Tony,

When you say 'cheaper', do you include all the construction costs - were all the twirly bits constructed using wind- or coal-power ?

People, governments, capitalists are not stupid: if wind-power was genuinely - from go to whoa - cheaper than coal etc., then they would be onto it like a shot. What idiot would keep using coal if wind was cheaper ?

Of course, this is Lomborg's point: as soon as wind is cheaper IN TOTAL, the world will leap on it and not a single gram of coal will ever be mined again.

True ?

Joe

Tony, Margaret Thatcher had nothing to do with London in the 1950's! They just changed from smoky coal to what was called "Smokeless fuels" It was virtually an instant fix.
The Y2K bulldust was not even a problem but an opportunity for IT managers to rack up a load of overtime and they certainly milked it for all it was worth.
Hole in the ozone layer ah yes apparently it has cropped up again but as Russia and India are producing lots more CFC's they could be blamed but they won't be because they do not care!
Peak oil do not make me laugh they have still to find that unicorn. Don't worry be happy and let's tax doomsday scenarios and the Greens can pay some tax.
Here is an idea a law that makes any greenie cut off from the grid and go it alone, lets see how long they last lol.