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The Forum > Article Comments > Learning to live with climate change will not be enough > Comments

Learning to live with climate change will not be enough : Comments

By David Orr, published 19/6/2009

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions now will be easier, cheaper, and more ethical than dealing with runaway climate destabilisation later.

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” Of course, neither adaptation nor mitigation alone will be sufficient…”

If the author believes that adaptation will be insufficient (and there is no such thing as mitigation when it comes to climate change), he is in for a very worrying time.

The globe has been warmer than it is now in times past, and people successfully adapted and society flourished. And, let’s not forget that there has been no warming since 1998. In modern times, there was warming from 1850-1940, cooling from 1940-1976, warming from 1976-1998 and cooling since 1998.
“… the effects of climate destabilisation can be contained perhaps only by emergency action to stabilise and then reduce CO2 levels.” This is another theory that has never been tested.

No relationship between measured temperatures and CO2 emissions has been proved.

“To argue that modern climate is driven by slight changes in a trace gas (CO2) requires many non-scientific leaps of faith”. (Ian Plimer, “Heaven + Earth” Page 87).

The world has been warmer than it is now when there was no industrialised production of CO2.

Previous inhabitants of Earth adapted, and civilization and well-being flourished in times of warming.

These climate change hysterics seem to think that we modern people don’t have what it takes to adapt. If they are right, there is no hope for us, because adaptation is all we have.
Posted by Leigh, Friday, 19 June 2009 11:51:42 AM
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The author mentions the calculations of Svante Arrhenius as many have in recent years, but does not mention that CO2 warming has a cut off point or saturaction effect. If CO2 concentrations are doubled, it is expected that temperatures may rise by 0.6 degrees, all else being equal, and that's it. The bulk of this increase may well have already occured. The point about the limited affect of CO2 itself is not in dispute. The climate models get their vast increases in temperatues by assuming major feedback effects from that warming.
But even if climate sensitivity to CO2 concentrations is high (and there is some doubt on that point) I would hesitate to endorse efforts to cool the earth artificially. So much is unknown about climate that any such effort could backfire..
Posted by Curmudgeon, Friday, 19 June 2009 2:01:21 PM
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As the climate has cooled now for ten years ?
Secondly if CO2 is a problem why are we not supporting the MIS Forestry and further why are we not planting new Forests .
I recall back in the 60's I was with some people who visited Castlemaine in Vic to buy some motorcycle parts , this guy was the Australian and World Scrambles Champion Les Shehan , unfortunately we missed him ; we were advised that he purchased a tractor and he and Wife and children every weekend planted Pine trees in the Forrest apparently sponsored by the Govt? Somehow they must have got paid . My understanding now is nothing like this happens ? Strange given people , indeed a majority now believe in non science/history based CO2 intrusion / destruction on our Planets atmosphere , the time has arrived perhaps to harness these people , disciples of the CO2 doctrine
which ever way it is their actions will be positive this is a win win situation .
Another positive contribution would be to agitate for the RAAF to provide fire mapping and coordination of services so the Fire Brigades and people living in the Fire Prone areas can be advised with instant precision ; where they are ; how to navigate away from fire path; Use munitions to remove trees or canopies in the fire path ; coordinate rescue of both Service and Civilians .
Promote Forest floor manual clean ups , engage Service Clubs etc not to do the work but to provide coordination and learn about fire prone Forrest's etc in their areas , clean ups should happen every 2 yrs .
If this is done correctly canopy flares will be minimized and millions of tons of carbon will be locked up in the trees , people will not be fried alive , it's another win win situation .
Posted by ShazBaz001, Friday, 19 June 2009 2:22:06 PM
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Nothing new to see here. These AGW rants are getting as dull and predictable as Peter Sellick's monthly sermon on how only Christians can be good something-or-others. I don't ask that AGW credulists necessarily agree with the other side, or even bother to familiarise themselves with all the evidence on that side, but it would be nice if they acknowledged that there was some justified doubt. What does it say about a movement when it can only survive by closing its eyes and ears to criticism and shouting down the opposition? Peter could probably tell us something about that too.
Posted by Jon J, Friday, 19 June 2009 2:40:11 PM
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Jon J writes

'I don't ask that AGW credulists necessarily agree with the other side, or even bother to familiarise themselves with all the evidence on that side, but it would be nice if they acknowledged that there was some justified doubt.'

NO difference from evolutionist. Just blind dogma.
Posted by runner, Friday, 19 June 2009 5:35:02 PM
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I am presently reading Ian Plimer's book Heaven and Earth, and a very interesting read it is. The IPCC seem to stretch the truth of their facts and figures just a bit. No, actually, quite a lot.

Personally I find it interesting that suddenly we are being warned about "climate change" as opposed to "global warming". The words seem to be changing and I wonder why that is. Is it because, yes, we do have climate change, in fact climate change happens all the time? We can't change the climate though. What an incredibly egotistical bunch some are to think humans can. Nature will do what it does and there is nothing man can do about it.

It was in the late 1970's, we were being informed that a new Ice Age was beginning in more or less the same scare mongering terms although there was no access to the net as there is now.

Some of those 'scientists' and I use that description loosely regarding those people, have now turned the scare tactic story to 'global warming' for, one assumes, political reasons and financial remuneration. The IPCC has always been a politically motivated committee anyway.

Do IPCC advisors believe people cannot recall what was being said in the late 1970's, there are many of us still out here.
Posted by RaeBee, Friday, 19 June 2009 6:29:42 PM
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Charles Dodgson's Alice in Wonderland is a better read.
Posted by Dallas, Friday, 19 June 2009 9:08:40 PM
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Not sure if this thing is working properly, so at the risk of repeating myself here goes again.

Was very interested in this article so much so that I Googled Mr Orr and was stunned to learn that:

"I come from a long line of preachers," he says laughing, tucking into a veggie burger at the Foxgrape. "My daddy was a preacher, I have uncles who are preachers, my grandfather was a preacher . . .

and that he is associated with a Presbyterian College in Ohio.

Well if its not another academic nit wit doing the old godbotherers routine.

This time its Ayatollah Orr thinking he is passing off his brand of environmental extremism as another form of hell fire and damnation to the poor gullible students.

Only in America
Posted by bigmal, Saturday, 20 June 2009 1:06:03 PM
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How intersting, Mr. Orr is a god botherer from a long line of such. I think I might Google some of these authors too before I comment. I wonder what is in it for him?
Posted by RaeBee, Sunday, 21 June 2009 11:25:05 AM
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AGW people need to call for a respite on this subject and reassess their message to people who simply will not buy it . AGW people are unable to sell their Science full stop .

30 years ago people were perplexed when the paint on their Cars , homes etc was going chalky , when Plastic products were getting brittle and breaking up , Skin Cancer more prevalent , Colors in clothing etc normally permanent were now fading ; Science came to the rescue when Chlorinated Fluro Carbons were found to be destroying the Ozone layer the degraded Ozone was now allowing UV Alpha and later UV Beta through the Ozone Layer .

CFC's were used in refrigeration , and Spray Pack Cans eg; Deodorant , Paint , insect repellent etc , I used several hundred tons as Refrigerant . It was supposed to be cut out by 2000 but you can buy Chinese Air-conditioners from the Retailers in AU gassed with R22 a CFC obviously the Govt is not doing what they said the would .

Here the Public responded , got on board , there was no decent ; why because the science overwhelmed , proof was available unlike AGW .
National Geographic had space Photo's of the Ozone Hole that developed over the South Pole .

AGW is like Religion if you don't "believe" your karma will get fried
you will be ostracized and labeled a Skeptic , a Pariah .

AGW in it's current form is unacceptable , there is no Science just Hype and Abuse , so much energy wasted by well Educated People who could make a difference if only they stuck to the Rules of Science .
They have blindly followed a couple of Goons whose Business is HumBug and Persuasion .
To be contd..........
Posted by ShazBaz001, Monday, 22 June 2009 12:50:58 PM
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Cont'd
They have blindly followed a couple of Goons whose Business is HumBug and Persuasion .

If you were to write a list of things to do regarding the health of our Planet it would be quite long , on top of the list would be "Water" millions die for lack of clean water , many die because someone else wants their water , Trees die from lack of water even more trees are going to die as humans pump down aquifers , can we live without Trees are not they our Oxygen Provider as a Bonus they live on CO2 ! Crikey that darn stuff again . Is our favorite Professor from the Illawarra talking up forrest MIS schemes that stretch from Boort to Mildura that are about to be junked ? Surely it must be obvious to all the AGW people that the Hume Reservoir and Eldon are no longer Viable infrastructure even if it does rain , more is needed .
The sea of course is a terrific source of water all we have to do is get the Salt out and of course this is done on a large scale in the Middle East using RO tech but it's too expensive to use for forestry
and agriculture with the exception of some specialist applications where up to 900 Kg of Tomatoes are grown per square meter ; thats fine for that crop however Carrots were grown on a large scale near Swan Hill probably juiced and exported to Israel back not so long ago when water was available from the Hume Weir .
Water will be best desalinated by looking at nature , we all know where rain comes from , we nearly all know how to evaporate sea water and how to or what condensing means , some of us know what Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate means etc etc . Given we have an abundance of AWG experts with all that latent knowledge properly directed we could zip up half a dozen Murray Rivers from Melbourne to Perth and beyon
Posted by ShazBaz001, Monday, 22 June 2009 12:53:34 PM
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We can only marvel at the innovative abilities of AGW proponents in regards to transforming the Chicken Little fable into a Gone With the Wind format.

They have also provided practical insight into the almost limitless hubristic psyche of anthropophobic pseudo-intellectuals.
Posted by Cowboy Joe, Thursday, 25 June 2009 12:49:43 AM
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