Letter to Belfast Telegraph


This letter was published in the Belfast Telegraph on 7 Feb 2017.

Dear Editor,

Dr John Cameron’s letter of 2 Feb 2017, Climate change report alarmism, not science was useful in that in drew the public’s attention to the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Report, but his letter was recklessly useless in its comment on it.

Dr Cameron makes an number of claims about climate science but offers no credible sources for his point of view. The Committee on Climate Change, who publish the report, draw upon peer-reviewed scientific papers in their work. Their conclusions are based on facts and evidence.

Some indisputable facts about climate change are: global temperature has increased 0.85°C since 1880, global sea level has risen an average of 0.19 m in 100 years, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere have increased almost 30% since 1958 (graphs). The last time the CO2 levels were above 400 parts per million was 4 million years ago.

The impacts of climate change are severe: Arctic sea ice, glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet are melting fast; deadly heat waves are more likely; severe flooding is increasing, for example Storm Desmond or the Paris Flood of 2016 were more likely because of climate change; and climate related disasters raise the risk of conflict such as the Syrian civil war. References for the above at bit.ly/BTCCfacts

I hope that in this era of ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ (lies) readers will be sceptical of hearsay and baseless opinion.

Stephen Trew
Lurgan

Comments

Hobos. said…
Climate change cause of Syrian civil war. Really?
This one stupid assertion calls into question the rest of your letter. Another alarmist idiot.
8:22 PM
Stephen Trew - www.thetrews.com said…
Drought in Syria was a factor in the conflict, not the cause, read the reference linked in the letter.
10:50 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Care for Creation - new growth in Ireland

Image
It is been quite a year for Care for Creation in Irish Churches, perhaps it could even be called a season of new growth. And it all came about because of two teenage girls speaking passionately. Tori and Isobella from Mullingar Parish in county Meath spoke for a few minutes at the Irish Churches Creation Care conference and captured the hearts of the audience and explained what creation care is all about.  You can see the moment below, Their project Lighten Our Darkness by Numbers is a youth-led response to climate change. They are educating church goers, engaging communities, building bridges to businesses, and enhancing biodiversity in church graveyards.   This short talk from the girls had a deep impact on the Archbishop of Armagh, and he spoke about it at his presidential address in General Synod.  Archbishop John McDowell said, We need to do what that group of young people from Westmeath are doing. That is, to work on ways of inspiring and equipping parishes t...
Read more

Speech to General Synod 2022

Image
Photo from Stephen Spillane The support from the RCB to parishes, dioceses and cathedrals during the Covid-19 emergency was most welcome. It helped us worship in difficult at times. May I suggest we use this model of support to respond to other emergencies too. The World Health Organisation said in October last year that, “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” is Climate change. We must take decisive action. I want to thank the RCB for leading the way by divesting and supporting the Creation Care Conference in April.  But it is also up to every diocese, every parish, and every one of us to take action. We need a grassroots movement to transform our churches and our lives for a sustainable future. And church leaders, you might need to sow some fresh seed to help the grass roots grow. I think the RCB can support this movement by responding to the Climate Emergency, just as it did with Covid. For example, How many of you clergy have lived in a cold and draf...
Read more

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland to vote on fossil fuel divestment

Image
  Photo by  Lukasz Szmigiel  on  Unsplash There have been a number of very positive statements from the PCI in the last few months on climate change, and today there is an opportunity for action to stop funding fossil fuels. The church's decision to support The Climate Sundays initiative is really positive. The moderator is encouraging congregations across Ireland to set aside one Sunday in October as `Climate Sunday' to focus on God's creation and humanity's responsibility to be good stewards of it. Rev Dr David Bruce also produced a Climate Conversation video to outline briefly some of the theological reasons why Christians should take climate change seriously and care for creation. This is all very welcome. Another key moment will be today, Tuesday 5th October, when the General Assembly will vote on a motion to divest from fossil fuels. It aims to fully divest from fossil fuel production companies that it holds - that's £5m in BP, Shell and Total - and to engag...
Read more