Article Tags: Opinion
Quality science, not alarmist hyperbole, must inform debate
SERIOUS climate change debate is not the place for alarmist hyperbole and sophistry. Australians need to come to grips with the issue through quality science and rational argument, which is why a new CSIRO/Bureau of Meteorology analysis is welcome. While more than 90 per cent certain that greenhouse emissions have caused most of the global warming observed since 1950, the report’s balanced approach enhances its credibility.
Temperatures in Australia, it notes, have increased by about 0.7C since the 1960s, with some areas experiencing warming of 1.5C to 2C. Sea levels are rising between 1.5cm and 3cm per decade in the south and east, and between 7cm and 9cm in the north, it says – a trend far short of the deluges predicted by some. Greenhouse gases are blamed for half the fall-off in winter rainfall in southwest Western Australia, while heavy increases in rainfall in northern and central Australia and decreases across the south and the east are also noted.
For years, The Australian has promoted intelligent discussion on climate, recently providing a platform to commentators as diverse as climate change father James Hansen and economist Bjorn Lomborg, who accepts the theory of climate change but argues that cutting carbon would be more costly than living with the problem.
Source: theaustralian.com.au