[Image courtesy of Marquisa]
The recent ‘big freeze’ that has struck the UK and large parts of the northern hemisphere has pushed global warming right back into the spotlight (if it was ever out of it) and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the climate change sceptics are quick to use it as evidence of the ‘myth’ of global warming. Surely one of the most prolonged cold periods in recent British history surely suggests that the earth is not getting warmer? Well, according to this rather interesting Greenpeace blog, it has no relevance whatsoever. As they point out:
“Winters will always be colder than summer, and the possibility of snow will always be there. What climate change will likely influence is the frequency and severity of extreme weather events: droughts that would have been called “once in a century” might become “once in a decade”, or worse, “once a year”.”
So far no-one has presented that decisive evidence that proves climate change is indeed cause by increased and prolonged carbon emissions by an increasingly industrialised world but, even if you think climate change is a myth, surely there can be no harm in preparing for something that could turn out to be a certainty. Cutting down on your personal emissions isn’t hard and can only do good – for your bank balance, for a start!
A large part of the problem must come with the now dated expression ‘global warming.’ The phrase has needed a ‘re-brand.’ Scientists refer to it as climate change, not global warming, because their beliefs now claim that the damage to the earth’s atmosphere is more likely to result in unpredictable weather conditions, not just a rise in the earth’s temperature.
Many sceptics say that this supposedly freak weather is such a peculiarity that little can be done to prepare for it in the future. But who’s to say that this sort of weather won’t become the norm in the future? As the Telegraph reported this week:
“The floods in the Lake District last year were passed off by the Environment Agency as a ‘once in every 1000 years weather event’. Unfortunately, once in every 1,000 year events will start to occur with alarming frequency now that the effects of climate change are starting to be felt.”
And if so, how long will it be before the sceptics sit up and take notice and try to do something about it?
