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The public's opinion of what causes global warming .....

The BBC has asked for comments on global warming from the public, after the following headlines (and a report) appeared on its website, 6 Apr 07:

Billions face climate change risk

Billions of people face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding, experts at a major climate change conference have warned.

The bleak conclusion came ahead of the publication of a key report by hundreds of international environmental experts.

Agreement on the final wording of the report was reached after a marathon debate through the night in Brussels.

People living in poverty would be worst affected by the effects of climate change, the gathered experts said.........


The messageboard attracted some interesting commments. Some of them I've paraphrased below.

So - here we go.......


......The world's poorest suffer the most, huh? Gee, that's a novel insight. Pin another star on Captain Obvious.

S.A.


......When the rich, powerful and know-all classes start leading by example, i.e. flying less, living in modest sized houses, driving smaller cars and not wasting our resources in wars in foreign lands, then I will believe in global warming. Until then my carbon footprint stays as it is.

D.G, Bournemouth, England


......The BBC should be ashamed. It has become the government's mouthpiece on 'man-made climate change' and incessantly peddles the same one-sided view. Get some of your old-fashioned independence back, BBC, and try reporting more balanced views.

J.P, Cheshire


......I find myself getting increasingly annoyed with BBC reports on global warming. Every time it's mentioned, it's said that man is solely responsible for global warming. We know that the planet's temperature naturally changes over time, yet this is never mentioned. We can all see the climate changing, but we really don't know how much is down to natural phenomenon or humans. The media are very much responsible for ever-increasing "doom and gloom" scenarios.

M.M, Leiden, Netherlands


......Climate change looks inevitable. Is it nature or us? Not relevant. Most of the things it is proposed we do to reduce global warming we should do anyway – help the poor , clean the air we breathe, preserve biodiversity, etc, etc. Even more important we should prepare for the consequences - especially for the poor.

R.M, Mold, England


......Ban cars... increase taxes, reduce air travel, all well and good but CO2 emissions from UK power generation rose 20% over the last 10 years.

Until we tackle carbon dioxide from power generation by building nuclear stations for our baseload generation and wind powered pumped storage hydro stations for the 5pm boost, all the rest is fiddling around the edges and will have no effect at all apart from upsetting the voters...........

B, Portsmouth, England


......I see a lot of people arguing here about who's fault it is. I put it to you that it doesn't matter if climate change is down to natural causes or whether it's man-made - that's completely missing the point. Climate change IS happening. So while we all sit around and pontificate about who's fault it is, and who's wrong and who's right, the clock keeps ticking away and the real issues- adaptation and survival - are ignored.

S, Nottingham, England


......Great to see so many skeptics. Scientists have been forced onto the 'establishment view' bandwaggon to earn a crusts - grants aren't available for alternative views. Retired ones are different. This one from an Emeritus Prof of Biogeography :-"Climate is the most complex system we know governed by thousands of factors. The point is, it‘s like Glasgow on a Saturday night, chaos. And what we‘re trying to do is manage it by dealing with one pub!"

I.G., Ullapool, England


......The Eastern United States is in the midst of one of the coldest Aprils on record with snowfall, freeze warnings and miserable weather. Maybe the Al Gore fans (gee we wanna keep this guy in the headlines.....sore losing, can't get elected, folks) can explain this cold spell.

D.C, West Jefferson, United States


......I have no doubts that global climate change is happening nor should anyone considering the evidence. What I do doubt is the relevance of human activity and advocating draconian measures to reverse the process. Do you think we could have prevented the last ice age?

The whole man-made global climate change issue is about controlling the masses & raising money. Much in the same way as religion. Climate Change hasn't affected me yet besides in the pocket.

A, Kirkcaldy, Fife


......I have no doubt that the planet is warming, but I take exception to the idea that the solution is for developed nations to subsidize the development of less developed countries (including China and India) by means of carbon credits.

This would implement a massive transfer of wealth but would do nothing to help the climate problem.

R.O


......Many scientists get their funding through government grants. If the politicians want to push a certain political agenda such as the Global Warming Industry, what are these poor technical folks to do to earn their wages? Follow along the money trail folks. It's politics and money. Let the facts be damned. Yes, the earth is warming. And then it cools. And then it starts over again. When it's 90 degrees in Texas I will be running my air conditioner full blast.

P, Dallas, Texas


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What a load of tripe this is, invented by Thatcher to move to nuclear power away from coal, to out the miners and the unions. Still being banged on about today - as it allows the goverment to up taxes on flights, fuel and energy.

Nothing is ever mentioned about Nigeria and the gas flaring. They burn off wastefully the same as 25% of the UK's total usage.

"Climate Change" is happening whether we like it or not. Even if we weren't polluting the earth with our cars, industry and reliance on fossil fuel powered electricity, the climate would still change. It has done so for millions of years. There is no eminent proof that we are changing the climate. I agree we need to take better care of our natural resources and look to alternatives when they do run out, but governments and oil companies should stop this scare mongering. It's pointless.

C.H, Borders


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N.D. comment:

It's good to see healthy scepticism for political hype.

However, it's a sobering fact that fossil fuel reserves which were beneath the earth's surface for millions of years are being used up in a few generations.

Britain is now a net importer of gas - our reserves, when they run out, will have lasted less than a century.

What will our descendants think of us?

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