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After a crazy year at home and at work, I’ve been compelled to write a new book given the events over the past few years. This one is much broader, but will keep you posted along the way. Any thoughts, wishes or comments are very welcome.
Ben
Professor Warwick McKibbin is an economist and Board Member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and I agree with him completely so I am posting his quote from AUSSMC about todays ‘climate consensus’ announcement. Have a read, particularly the bit about failing on the Hawke/Keating reformist legacy.
“The Labor party’s climate approach is extremely disappointing. The science and expert input has made a strong case for action for more than a decade. A majority of Australians already want to take action on climate change. What would be required to come out of a Citizens Assembly to convince the government to take action? An absolute majority – a majority in key electorates? This appears to be another 2020 summit style delay to make it appear that action is being taken when the purpose is purely delay for political advantage. Australian’s deserves better than this. If the Hawke and Keating governments had taken the approach of a Citizens Assembly to consider the major economic reforms of the 1980’s, Australia would have be a third world economy floundering in the wake of the global financial crisis. The floating of the dollar, tariff reductions and labour market reform would not have been understood nor supported by a Citizens Assembly. What is proposed is not leadership – it is abdicating responsible action…
It is hard to decide which of the Coalition or Labor policies on climate change are worse. It is appalling to see the politics of asylum seekers, applied to climate change policy.”
Despite the increasing apparent denial over climate change, the latest data from NOAA (National Climate Data from the US) is that we are currently in the hottest year ever to-date. Here is the press release. By the way, the solar cycle is at its lowest point for a number years (see the Copenhagen Diagnosis for that analysis) so we should be experiencing some of the COLDEST temperatures on record. Thats the power of our greenhouse gases we’ve already accumulated in the atmosphere.
No wonder the east coast of the US and Eastern Europe are sweltering through a heatwave. Check-out the temperature change for June 2010 showing 4-5degrees above average conditions across most of the land in the Northern Hemisphere.
It makes me wonder how much evidence is enough to warrant meaningful action??
Really nice new climate / clean-tech /green new site from business spectator to keep us informed 24/7 in this space called ClimateSpectator. Giles Parkinson is the editor who I think is Australia’s most informed journalist in this space. Check it out – it’s now my homepage.