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Climate chaos continues: who’s at fault?
Published: 18 February, 2010, 07:14
Edited: 20 February, 2010, 10:28
TAGS: Ecology, Global warming
As the debate over climate change heats up and some scientists continue to maintain that global warming is caused by humans, others are claiming it is all part of a clever marketing scheme.
Head of National Energy Security Fund Konstantin Simonov said to RT, “The global warming theme is a fine opportunity to sell goods with an ecological margin. I mean you come to a shop and see expensive merchandise. You ask: Why so expensive? They reply: Friend, it's ecologically clean merchandize. Purchase it and you will save the planet. And this sort of thing is happening everywhere.”
He also believes that much of the greenhouse gas debate is just that – hot air – with governments posturing in one direction, but acting in another.
“Take the US position: We have a new administration and we will work for ecology. Where is it? Have they joined the Kyoto Protocol? No. Did they save the Copenhagen summit? No. Obama took the PR cream off, but the paper remained unsigned,” Simonov adds.
However, people who are for clean energy say that pursuing green technology such as wind farms is more important now than ever.
Valery Vasilyev, head of Eco-friendly Company, notes that the existing installations make it possible to save electric power and “teach people how to use power the right way.”
“If they save, then less thermal-plant production is needed. This kind of symbiosis, the use of several sources of power – wind, solar, atomic, thermal, hydro – is rather effective and makes it possible to save fuel and natural resources,” Valery Vasilyev added.
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John Christie, climatologist from the University of Alabama says human activities “really don’t change the entire global climate.”
On the other hand, Aleksey Kokorin, WWF representative, believes man is responsible for huge increases in carbon-dioxide gas – the driver of global warming.
“The temperature is just a symptom of illness. The main reason is CO2 concentration; the anthropogenic increase of CO2 concentration. It is completely proven!" insists Aleksey Kokorin.
Scientists may argue, but the question remains: Is the general public ready to change their lifestyle simply for the idea of a cleaner planet?
Russian TV producer Sergey Nadezhdin has his own view on the matter:
“Russia is not an environmentally friendly country at all. Polls have shown that most people – 60% – agree with us, which means it's important to understand that every environmental initiative has a price. I asked whether they are ready to pay, let's say a thousand dollars a year, for a better environment, and most people say no.”
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Scientists must be pulling their hair out. So much mixing of various concepts, issues, problems. Apples, oranges, pears, cherries, and then lions and tigers and bears... oh, my! Enough already! Climate change has been happening on earth for ever, and we know it. Many ice ages, and every imaginable level of warmness in between. Now, due to the wobble in earth's axis, we have in northern hemisphere warmer climate, while the south is colder. South pole in fact has expanding ice. So, the real issue is the DIRTY PLANET. So, the pollution is the real thing, and needs to be tackled. We are poisoning our air, soil and drinking water. We are poisoning our seas and oceans. But let us then talk about it, not some phony data on global warming. Until some of those "scientists" explain the Milankovic's cycle, and ACCEPT that they are wrong, and Milankovic is right, as has been right for decades now --- they have no right talking. They cannot dismiss existing science, and just keep on talking like the science has been discovered when they were born. And incidentally, it is a cruel joke that out of President Medvedev's office comes out a document that mentions "fossil fuel". Today, scientists in US are trying quietly to drop this unfortunate name, as the Russian scientists have basically proven that carbon-based fuel is not "fossil fuel". Let us move on, and get cleaner energy. Let us not use cars. That is all doable, but car industry and oil majors will not have it. They want to continue POLLUTING, while telling us that it is OUR fault, and that WE are changing climate, causing tidal waves, and hurricanes, and even the great storm of 2010 in Washington! Time to spell out reduction in carbon emissions, and Russia is on target there. But no Wall Street schemes like "cap and trade", that would siphon money into the magic Wall Street casino, while promising something to little island nations.
There is no power on this planet that can tell MOTHER NATURE what to do. She gets hot when she wants and she gets cold when she wants. Little insignificant human scientists and politicians are way out of their league when playing with mother nature. I am sure MOTHER NATURE is very displeased with humanity's harming of the planet. Mankind has spoiled almost everything they have touched Now we have air that we can hardly breath, poisoned waters (which include rivers, lakes,streams, oceans), huge landfills that are leeching/poisoning the water table, rain forests destroyed, concrete covering land that should be parks and every country seems to want atomic bombs so they can help finish the destruction of mother nature. What's a mother to do? Mankind may very well find out the hard way, sooner than later.