http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/global-warming/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-wont-happen-overnight-but-it-will-happen/ Every generation has its doomsday scenario. When my mother was studying for what she quaintly calls her “matriculation” in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out. She downed her pen in protest. What was the point of studying, she told her unimpressed immigrant parents, if nuclear war was about to break out? By the end of that decade, concerns over nuclear bombs were defused by The Population Bomb, the explosive book by Stanford University Professor Paul Ehrlich which warned of mass starvation and all kinds of chaos due to over-population. That threat waned too, at least in the public mind. As eventually did the Y2K bug, mad cow, mad bird, mad pig and mad everything else. And now, it seems, climate change is waning as a serious threat in the public estimation. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-wont-happen-overnight-but-it-will-happen/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-wont-happen-overnight-but-it-will-happen/#item8339 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/fooi-11-listen-to-the-experts-they-know-their-stuff/ I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/fooi-11-listen-to-the-experts-they-know-their-stuff/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/fooi-11-listen-to-the-experts-they-know-their-stuff/#item6986 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-would-you-turn-warmist-for/ Islands may sink beneath seas; coral may die; species may become extinct. Floods and droughts and heat-related deaths may soar. But sit down, people – climate change is also threatening our wine industry! Such a shame that the so-called chardonnay socialists are probably on the climate change bandwagon already – but maybe all those doctors’ wives we hear so much about at election time will see their beloved niche varietals under threat and decide the time to act is upon us. According to climate change scientist and wine expert Leanne Webb temperature increases mean grapes ripen earlier, creating more full-bodied wines, while consumers are keener on more elegant drops. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-would-you-turn-warmist-for/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-would-you-turn-warmist-for/#item6077 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-bugger-cate-we-must-all-act/ The climate change debate has never been hotter, with family groups outraged that Cate Blanchett (among others) has thrown her not-particularly-substantial weight behind carbon pricing. Here, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Anna Rose talks about the need for urgent action. Sixteen-year-old Alana volunteers with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. When asked why, she tells the following story: “When I was 14 my brother was born. When I first saw him, I thought about his future and I almost couldn’t face it. I couldn’t bear to think about the world that he was going to grow up in to. So I decided to do something about it.” Life is very different for young Australians today. Gone are the days when young people can plan our futures without factoring in an ominous shadow looming over our plans for our lives, careers and families. Not since the Cold War have young Australians faced a future so uncertain. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-bugger-cate-we-must-all-act/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/climate-change-bugger-cate-we-must-all-act/#item5954 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-climate-change-theories-were-not-created-equal/ The internet’s made everyone an expert, so now all these self-professed sceptics believe climate change is bunkum because Google told them so. The vast sea of information online means that any conclusion is possible; just phrase your search string carefully and it will tell you what you want to hear. And then you have all sorts of links as ‘evidence’ that you are right and all the world’s top scientists are wrong. Without the right tools of critical thought, a poorly written blog by Dr Bumfluff from the Convenient Truthiness Association trumps anything the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change could come up with. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-climate-change-theories-were-not-created-equal/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/all-climate-change-theories-were-not-created-equal/#item5904 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbott-blows-hot-and-cold-on-climate-change/ Tony Abbott does not accept the concept of human-induced climate change, even though he says he does and has presented a policy to combat it. He has merely acknowledged enough of the concept to, he hopes, stall the scientific debate in mainstream politics. It is a convenient truce. Or, to borrow a condemnatory phrase from his mentor John Howard, he is trying to walk both sides of the street. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbott-blows-hot-and-cold-on-climate-change/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbott-blows-hot-and-cold-on-climate-change/#item5393 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-weather-porn-can-we-watch/ I have lived in Tully and Innisfail and survived cyclones when I resided there. I was evacuated in the recent Brisbane floods for five days but fortunately the water surrounding my house stopped just before it entered. I am currently in North America and been bombarded with weather warnings about the “Snow storm of the century” I admit that during the time that Cyclone Yasi was crossing the North Queensland coast I was listening to ABC radio here in North America on the internet as I was concerned for the welfare of friends and relatives living there. The aim of a severe weather warning is to prevent a weather hazard from becoming a disaster. I am amazed however at the national extent of the weather hysteria devoted by the media and politicians both here and in Australia when accurate and credible warnings for potentially affected areas are all that are required. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-weather-porn-can-we-watch/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-weather-porn-can-we-watch/#item5072 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-its-complicated-but-its-real/ Dylan Malloch laments that understanding climate change is difficult, with the forecasts sometimes appearing to be contradictory or having a bit both ways, and therefore seeming all rather confusing! It’s easy to sympathise with him. Unfortunately, this is the nature of science. Let’s consider another example. Newton’s laws of physics work just fine for the everyday world, but if we tried to use them in the timing system of our global positioning satellites, the resulting drift error would be about 10 kilometres every day. So, the engineers at GPS mission control need to use Einstein’s relativistic theories to make sure your iPhone tells you precisely where you are, whenever you want to know. Similarly, neither Newton’s or Einstein’s equations allow scientists to properly predict the subatomic interactions within the electronics of satellites or iPhones. For that, you need to reference the weird world of quantum mechanics. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-its-complicated-but-its-real/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/counterpunch-its-complicated-but-its-real/#item5102 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whatever-happened-to-theories-and-theorems/ Pythagoras and his theorem, which has withstood the test of time and is readily remembered as “The square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides” (a² + b²= c²). Scientific method has historically required a theory to be put forward and tested essentially by trying to knock it down. Even evolutionary theory is still called just that – The Theory of Evolution. How then did we arrive at what is now popularly referred to as “The Science” and as a corollary “The Science of Global Warming”. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whatever-happened-to-theories-and-theorems/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/whatever-happened-to-theories-and-theorems/#item4636 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-farmers-revolution-against-climate-bureaucrats/ What started as a ripple is now growing into a powerful protest wave sweeping across our great nation. In the space of a week, it has been fed by a series of fiery meetings in outback Queensland and southern States, a symbolic funeral service in Perth and gatherings in Brisbane and Melbourne. At first glance these might seem unrelated, but beneath the surface they are connected by a strong under current of people pushed to the limits. The Perth “funeral” on the steps of Parliament House involved the “death” of property rights, complete with wreath laying, a piper in full regalia and a cortege to Cottesloe Beach for symbolic burial. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-farmers-revolution-against-climate-bureaucrats/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-farmers-revolution-against-climate-bureaucrats/#item4374 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 I remember vividly a very long (and unbelievably frustrating) conversation I once had with someone who was genuinely convinced that he was “playing it safe” by not wearing a seatbelt whilst driving. I told this man that seatbelts are one of the most simple-yet-effective life-saving devices ever invented in modern societies, and, backed-up by mountains of independent research, any road safety expert will tell you that you’re crazy not to wear one every time you get in a car. But, this clown thought that the experts were “idiots”, and that he knew better.