Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

In The Great Global Warming Swindle documentary, John Christy said; "I've often heard it said that there's a consensus of thousands of scientists on the global warming issue and that humans are causing a catastrophic change to the climate system. Well I am one scientist, and there are many that simply think that is not true." Who is this heretic? John Christy is Professor and Director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. His research is outstanding and his commonsense is breathtaking, particularly at a time when so many frauds are regarded as seers. Consider this:

Christy is especially concerned about one oft-mentioned scheme for reducing greenhouse emissions: a carbon tax that would raise the price of fossil fuels until consumption goes down. He believes the tax would wreak havoc on poor areas by indirectly raising the prices of goods and services. "In Africa I saw a society living on the edge," he says. "You tweak one thing and it rapidly begins to disintegrate. A villager might not buy fuel, but the bicycle he wants could end up costing far too much for him to buy." He contends that the best thing for third-world countries that burn wood for fuel and heat is to build coal-fired power plants. "Cheap and accessible energy means better and longer lives. It means scientific and societal advances; it enhances health and security."

The really immoral thing about the global warming crowd is that it is cheap and accessible energy that has given them the longer and better lives they now wish to deny to others. It is Christy's deliberate reasoning, backed up with solid data that drives the climate change commissars into a frenzied rage:

John Christy goes a step or two further than some sceptics — both in his research and in the bullish conclusions he draws from it. "The notion that only bad things happen when these emissions go into the air is not supported by scientific evidence," he says. "The planet evolved when CO₂ concentrations were many times what they are today. A carbon-dioxide-enriched atmosphere would be beneficial to all carbon-based ecosystems. Food production would go up. Numerous studies show that people will suffer fewer cold-season deaths than warm-season deaths."

Even if temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, Christy says, such changes will be slow, and humanity will have time to adapt. "All kinds of neat things are coming along. In 100 years, we'll see cleaner and more efficient gas and coal technology. We're clever people."

Agreed. John Christy is especially clever and the most frightening thing about the political correctness that surrounds the climate change debate is that the likes of John Christy will be silenced if the ideologues get their way. "The Gospel According to John" is six years old new, but it is still essential reading.