Climate Change Catastrophe

According to a new report, climate change is going to kill us all... again.

It's really strange but there are no upsides ever reported about climate change. It's as if it is just one huge unmitigated disaster. This is one cloud with no silver lining (well at least it's a cloud because in the future apparently there won't be any clouds!) Have you ever noticed that nobody is asking the Greenland farmers what they think of being able to farm land that one was permanently covered in glaciers?

The latest report is about the health consequences of climate change.

Apparently we are all going to die due to increased heart problems, respiratory issues and obesity. Apparently people in warmer climates are fatter than people in colder climates- which is the exact opposite of what you would expect. All the extra heat means that you can't stay fit doing exercise like swimming! Yes I've seen all those mounds of blubber sitting on Gold Coast beaches- Queenslanders are obviously already fatter then Tasmanians. :)

There will be more people dying due to heat waves. I would have thought that would be balanced out by the number of people not being killed due to hypothermia, frost-bite etc. What will the homeless people do in winter without that lovely frost to make their cheeks glow? :)

Virus diseases like the dreaded SARS will be much more severe. They neglected to mention the fact that "cold weather" diseases such as colds and flus would have to decline in number.

The ABC mentioned the case of an opera singer who suffers from severe pain in the summer due to MS. MS is a fairly rare disease. What about the millions of people with arthritic conditions who will be spared the severe pains caused by cold winter conditions?

Here's a good one. Depression will increase due to there being less rain! So how come so many old people (the very people prone to dying in heat waves) fantasise about leaving the cool, damp conditions of cities like Melbourne for the sunny, blue skies of Queensland? If this is true (which I very much doubt- because in practical terms the only people who get depressed in dry weather tend to be farmers), won't there be a compensatory reduction in the number of people who suffer from the kind of depression caused by the gloom and overcast conditions of winter?

Good grief! It's no wonder that many people are sceptical about this rubbish!

I believe that climate is changing. The earth is a dynamic system and the long term average weather condition which we call climate is also ever-changing.

I don't believe that the climatic shift we are currently experiencing is as severe as Al Gore has led us to believe. I don't believe that climate change is caused by human activity- there are way too many variables and also too many indications that increased CO2 in the atmosphere is caused by warming and not the other way around.

I do believe that too many people, including Al Gore and the environmentalist movement, are making too much money from feeding on people's fears. I believe that way too many people listen to all the tripe being produced by "research institutes" and don't question the so-called scientific research.

I also believe that ultimately this world that we live in is being sustained and nurtured by God. We have a responsibility to take care of the planet, but we aren't alone in that role. Way back in 4004 BC, or 4 billion years ago depending on which belief system you follow, when God created the world and told the first people to fill it, He knew exactly what He was doing.

Blessings

Keith