thanks, jimmi james – scary stuff; we’re all in some giant experiment, with far more unpleasantness to come
Quote:
The growing violence of storms such as Katrina, which wrecked New Orleans, and Rita, now threatening Texas, is very probably caused by climate change, said Sir John Lawton, chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
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Referring to the arrival of Hurricane Rita he said: “If this makes the climate loonies in the States realise we’ve got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation.”
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Asked about characterising them as “loonies”, he said: “There are a group of people in various parts of the world … who simply don’t want to accept human activities can change climate and are changing the climate.”
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Referring to the arrival of Hurricane Rita he said: “If this makes the climate loonies in the States realise we’ve got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation.”
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Asked about characterising them as “loonies”, he said: “There are a group of people in various parts of the world … who simply don’t want to accept human activities can change climate and are changing the climate.”
“I’d liken them to the people who denied that smoking causes lung cancer.”
Yes, seems that in US govt there is/was perception that climate change is partly a political issue – and if it doesn’t fit your political outlook, it isn’t happening or isn’t important. (The Economist seems to adopt such a view, too.)