It is pretty sad to see two leading UK climate researchers Professors Paul Hardaker and Chris Collier, both Royal Meteorological Society figures criticizing those among their peers for ‘overplaying’ the global warming message. As an example, they point to a recent statement from one of the foremost US science bodies – the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The association released a strongly worded statement at its last annual meeting in San Francisco in February which said:
As expected, intensification of droughts, heat waves, floods, wildfires, and severe storms is occurring, with a mounting toll on vulnerable ecosystems and societies.
All this comes at a time, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report stating that the earth faced its warmest winter in 2006.
Also, a recently released report by the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC) stated:
The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level.
I think rather than crying foul over those ‘blowing up’ the events, the need of the hour is to make world sit up and pay attention to the catastrophe that is slowly but surely unfolding before us. The scientific community should set aside their differences and enlighten those underplaying the whole phenomena – for the larger good.
The message has failed to find support of those who really matter and those who can drive a change. In such a scenario, ‘Hollywoodisation’ or ‘catastrophism’,as contested by the researchers definitely helps to get the attention of the governments as well as the general public from wars to environmental crisis. Al Gore’s documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ for all its exaggerations has definitely led to the wider acceptance of the fundamental issue about climatic changes across the board.
Ignorance is definitely not bliss when it comes to Global Warming and overplaying it is definitely much better than trivializing it!