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The latest out of ANU...for those interested:
ANU Media Release
News from The Australian National University
THURSDAY 12 JULY 2007
SCIENTISTS TAKE THE HOT AIR OUT OF ‘SWINDLE’
Leading scientists from The Australian National University and Stanford University have dismissed much of the content of “The Great Global Warming Swindle” to be broadcast on ABC TV tonight as a lot of hot air that fails to present any credible evidence to back up its claim.
ANU climate scientists Dr Janette Lindesay and Professor McCulloch, along with their Stanford University colleague, Professor Robert Dunbar, will critique the claims aired in the documentary at a public forum at ANU this Friday lunchtime, focusing in particular on claims that global warming is not due to greenhouse gas emissions but other ‘natural’ causes. All three have viewed the original documentary that went to air in Britain.
“Nearly all the ideas presented in the documentary as arguments against human-induced climate change are either carefully selected parts of more complicated stories or are in fact recycled hypotheses that have long since been rejected by the science community based on thorough testing and analysis,” said Professor Dunbar.
“The record of pre-20th century climate change has been developed by 1000's of scientists working all over the world. Contrary to the unsubstantiated assertions in documentary, this record strongly supports the view that carbon dioxide levels have an important and substantial influence on climate, at timescales ranging from years to 100's of thousands of years. Climate scientists have also examined the influence of other factors that force climate change, solar forcing and ocean circulation for example. Although these are found to be important, the collective wisdom is that carbon dioxide levels are very important, particularly the current and previous periods of planetary warming. The fact that climate can change "naturally" in no way argues against the idea that humans also influence climate.”
Dr Lindesay said there is unequivocal scientific evidence that global average temperatures are higher today than they have been at any time since world-wide instrumental measurements began in the mid 19th century, and strong evidence that they are higher than at any time in at least the last 1000 years.
“It is equally indisputable that there is an identifiable anthropogenic (human) signal in the temperature trends during the last 100 plus years, overlaid on natural variability.” Dr Lindesay said.
“In Australia, the effects of rainfall variability have been exacerbated by rising temperatures, as is evident in the long-running drought and recent severe bushfire seasons in south-eastern Australia. The rainfall decline in the south-west of Western Australia has been linked with large-scale shifts in atmospheric pressure patterns associated with climate change.
Professor McCulloch warned that the program takes a step backward in attempting to deny the reality of global warming. “It ignores for example recent temperature data that shows that the beginning of this century has included the 2nd to 7th warmest years recorded with the years 1998 and 2005 being the warmest on instrumental records. Other so-called scientific data are at best distortions or in some cases blatant misrepresentations.”
“Whilst there is no question that our planet has previously undergone major shifts in climate our current era of global warming is unique in being driven by man-made emissions of greenhouse gases.
“Our current era of global warming is being driven by increased atmospheric CO2 , and is occurring almost 100 times faster than during the period at the end of the last ‘ice age’, and is of enormous concern. In fact, such rates of warming have rarely, if ever, been previously encountered by our planet.
“So what can be done to prevent this? Action taken now can substantially ameliorate some of the worst effects. Clearly the reduction of CO2 emissions is a key challenge, which requires more efficient energy usage, and the development of new and alternative technologies, such as solar and wind power, as well as the wise use of our vast natural endowments of gas, coal, and uranium. Given the expertise and calibre of Australia’s scientific community, and thus our potential technological capacity, there is clearly a great opportunity for Australia to play a leading role in the development and implementation of a new energy regime, which takes advantage of our natural resources. In such critical times, scientists have a clear responsibility, to not only get the science ‘right’, but also in educating, not misleading the general populous as this program does.”
The public forum, “De-bunking the Debunking 'The Great Global Warming Swindle” will take place from 1.00 pm – 2.30 pm on Friday 13 July at the Finkel Theatre, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Road, ANU.
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