 |
| Road to the lighthouse inundated by the sea Dec 2012 |
Here on the edge of the N.Atlantic we know about bad weather, heavy rain and violent storms, but the last three months have been extreme. Strong winds and rain have been relentless since the beginning of November. Alistair who lives down by the shore, just above high tide, has known Ardnamurchan weather for over seventy years and he cannot recall anything remotely like it.
 |
| Bad weather blogging |
For the last twenty years climate science has proposed that there is a high probability that global warming, climate change and extreme weather are linked. As a scientist I accept this balance of probabilities. Almost as disturbing as the evidence for climate change is the emergence of a vociferous bunch of climate change deniers who are actively determined to undermine public confidence in science. Nigel (Lord) Lawson, Nigel Farage (UKIP) and even the Minister for the Environment Owen Paterson. If I were paranoid I might think it was some kind of right wing conspiracy of ill informed publicity seekers funded by big business.
The UK Meteorological Office has objective evidence on climate change and the rise in sea level (12cm) during the last 100 years, together with a prediction that it will rise by a further 11 - 16 cm ( two thirds of this is attributed to climate change) by 2030. Thats three to four times as much as in the previous 100 years and only 16 years away.
The loony right in Westminster may be climate change deniers but the Scottish Government is committed to a precautionary approach and has policies that will attempt to deal with climate change. In the government White Paper, "Scotland's Future" there is an acceptance that climate change is happening and that it is driven by CO2 emissions, energy policy after independence will be based on this premise.
You may think that I am saying, "VOTE YES FOR INDEPENDENCE AND SAVE THE PLANET"............
I couldn't possibly comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment