From John Ray's shorter notes
|
December 11, 2018
Sir David Attenborough: Climate change 'our greatest threat'
What drives this nonagenarian propagandist? For a start, he has always been a Greenie. His lifelong work of documenting the natural world predisposes him to that. The natural world is obviously his love. So any apparent threat to the natural world has him come out fighting
But it is worse than that. Being in favour of the natural world has also made him a misanthrope. His love of nature seems to have made him an enemy of people. He has repeatedly said that there are too many of us and he supports just about every measure that would put a lid on the human population.
But to do that you need control and global warming is the main hope of controlling people in democratic societies. So he pushes that gospel relentlessly.
He obviously hopes that his acclaim as a naturalist might cause him to be seen as an authority. But taking pictures of interesting animals does not make you a scientist. And he obviously knows nothing of the science of the matter. He could not be so sweeping if he did. Note for example the much discussed paper by Fyfe et al in which a large group of Warmist scientists discuss the fact that temperatures did not rise as they should in the early 21st century. It was about as UNsweeping as you can get. In its conclusiion it speaks of "the EMBRYONIC field of decadal climate prediction". The way Attenborough talks has nothing in common with the rightfully cautious way scientists talk.
And there is an element of hypocrisy in where Attenborough lives. He wants us all to live in some sort of Green Eden But he does not practice what he preaches. He lives in polluted old London despite his proclaimed love of natural environments. He could go much nearer to practicing what he preaches by living in the Southland of New Zealand -- infinitely more pristine and naturally beautiful than London. And they even have good internet access there and speak English. And you can definitely drink the water. He might also discover what fresh food tastes like in New Zealand
The naturalist Sir David Attenborough has said climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years.
The broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world".
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of United Nations-sponsored climate talks in Katowice, Poland.
The meeting is the most critical on climate change since the 2015 Paris agreement.
Sir David said: "Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change.
"If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon."
The naturalist is taking up the "People's Seat" at the conference, called COP24. He is supposed to act as a link between the public and policy-makers at the meeting.
"The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear. Time is running out. They want you, the decision-makers, to act now," he said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said climate change was already "a matter of life and death" for many countries.
He explained that the world is "nowhere near where it needs to be" on the transition to a low-carbon economy.
But the UN Secretary-General said the conference was an effort to "right the ship" and he would convene a climate summit next year to discuss next steps.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has announced $200bn in funding over five years to support countries taking action against climate change.
SOURCE
Go to John Ray's Main academic menu
Go to Menu of longer writings
Go to John Ray's basic home page
Go to John Ray's pictorial Home Page
Go to Selected pictures from John Ray's blogs