The Iron Lady and Changed Climate.

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The Iron Lady and Changed Climate.

Post by Hafiz »

The Iron Lady and Changed Climate.

Decades after it was first seen as a threat to human existence we are still listening to the mad right, oil companies, the scientifically illiterate and the generally mad saying that it doesn’t exist/don’t do anything etc.

Thatcher saw is coming, was loud in describing it and thought huge effort would be required. Maybe her view of capitalism – competitive with the best winning/ruthless competition – made her mind amenable to understanding that in this matter nature was going to behave the same way.

Margaret Thatcher was educated and trained as a research chemist which meant that whilst others would glaze over at scientific cabinet documents she understood them. Unlike all previous Conservative PM’s she hadn’t bee a Fag at Eaton, not become an indolent drunk at Oxon/Camb, nor had she studied Ancient Greek or Latin, History, Literature etc.

No PM before or since was better qualified to independently assess this scientific matter.

Her public position in 1989 on Climate Change was clear, she thought the danger large requiring early and hefty effort by all.

Here is her speech to the UN – clearly she understood the scale, urgency and need for joint effort. The speech includes a charming point based on Darwin’s specific genius.

(Lyndon Johnson had received a prescient report from his peak advisors on climate change and carbon emissions in 1965.) https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/03/ge ... t-history/

Can I more than suggest you watch Thatcher (above). Her description of climate problems and causes would vastly improve any current Parliamentary speeches you have listened to.

Its chilling that the top of the pile knew these to be facts 30 years ago.

Three decades later there is still squabbling – a wide acceptance that Paris (16,000 delegates) targets just don’t do the job, revelations of corrupt reporting from corrupt countries and the only substantial country exceeding its targets, in terms of reductions, the US.

A dark joke, but one I mean. Why there has been so little progress may be caused by the disgust reasonable people feel for that pompous self-appointed saint, Al Gore. My view is that action on climate change will accelerate when he explodes from his obesity after consuming 4 times the worlds average resources for a single person for all his life and talking/farting 8 times more than any other living human being.

What no politician talks about are ‘tipping points’. The scientists all now say that a point could be reached through regular progression of inputs, carbon, and outputs, rain and heat increases/decreases, but there is a point beyond which these regular progressions of outputs accelerate and accelerate in an unpredictable way for reasons too complex to bore you with. https://www.pnas.org/content/105/6/1786

Eventually we may have to face screaming facts – collaborative decision making by all and using the UN to handle the matter is a bit like the League of Nations helping us stagger to war in 1939.

In all societies there are particular events where endless self-serving debate is closed down and a few nominated persons act swiftly and firmly for the others. Debate and consensus is just not suitable for all serious and dangerous issues.

Here are example. Fluorocarbons in refrigerators and lead in petrol (the removal of which were huge and expensive projects where Egyptian action at best was delayed (permanently?) and flawed) which were led by the major powers (never Russia) but in fluro by Margaret and, unexpectedly, Regan. As bad as Regan was the current crop, including in Australia, couldn’t tie his laces. The ‘UN AIDS’ program for the 3rd world is another example 97% USA in money and political clout. The US PEPFAR has cost the US $US80 billion and counting to ‘manage’ AIDS – assisted, paradoxically, by the AIDSRelief consortium of Catholic Relief Services. https://www.crs.org/our-work-overseas/p ... berculosis

There are other options to deal with climate change besides reducing carbon dioxide,

NASA has immense geoengineering solutions to climate change which were considered several decades ago but thought too risky and with unintended consequences. A NASA lecture on geoengineering – a little bit boring.

Geoengineering would leave the answers to science and the big economies whilst the rest of us continued on with polluting.

NASA is a great public institution which takes its public education role seriously.

NASA is one of the great science and engineering bodies in the world and is prodigiously, so to speak, generous with its video, podcast and written materials on a very wide range of matters produced for Ms Average and often for kids. No other science body in the world approaches them in this way. In this matter, as in many others, they show enterprise, deep skills, hard work, thorough thinking, a disregard for vested interests and, on occasion, a limited interest in their own, a profound concern for humanity and superb communication skills – qualities almost absent from all western politicians.


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Re: The Iron Lady and Changed Climate.

Post by newcastle »

As a scientist I understand the parameters of climate change and broadly agree with the forecasts of what will happen if ..actually I suspect “when”.....we are tardy with our response.

I won’t be around to suffer personally, and, in the long term, I’m not concerned for the fate of the planet and the vast array of life which has ebbed and flowed over 3 billion years and which will continue to do so for many millions of years to come.

Of course it’ll probably be the end of one species...homo sapiens....Ill-equipped as it is to cope with huge environmental changes. Their disappearance alone should give a boost to the fortunes of many other species.

Those of a religious bent better hope their god, or gods, step in to save humanity from the inevitable.
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