ESTERDAY would have been a tough day to argue in favour of global warming as temperatures across the region dipped and most folk were muttering grimly about the cold.
Climate and temperature have been in the headlines in recent days with the release of the report by Professor Ross Garnaut as well as another report from the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology predicting droughts will occur one in every two years in the future.
On the latter report, it is hard to treat it as credible as weather forecasts are hard pressed to predict next week’s weather correctly, let along something that might happen in a couple of years time.
Also casting doubt on the drought predictions are the NSW Farmers’ Association whose president Jock Laurie, a farmer who has country at Walcha and Attunga, believes the “alarmist reporting” will only add pressure and confusion to farming families.
It is almost as if some of the climate change seers are hoping to shut down agriculture because of its carbon
footprint. One wonders what they plan to eat when the last farmer shuts his or her gate and trundles into town to live off Centrelink.
Also of concern is criticism levelled at those who dare to criticise some of the predictions in Professor Garnaut’s draft report.
NSW Treasurer Costa was one who picked up the cudgels and was immediately labelled a climate change doubter, only because he dared to offer counter argument.
One was reminded of remarks made by US President GW Bush in the lead up to the Iraq invasion. “If you are not with us then you are against us”, was the argument he pressed at the time.
I dare say many climate change warriors would be horrified to be lumped into a similar category as President Bush, but the two arguments are sounding similar.
By no means should this country sit back and wait like other nations give the impression they are doing.
The call to hasten slowly is appropriate, there is still much to verify.