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The climate

August 20, 2021   ·   0 Comments

Sir:

I can’t believe the audacity of the IPCC and the CBC Radio news writers.

The IPCC’s latest tome, reportedly 3500-odd pages, was “read” by CBC consultants virtually overnight.  What was more likely read is the “Summary for Policymakers,”  which targets media and politicians.

This morning the CBC interviewed someone who praised England for having converted from coal to “renewables” to generate energy.  The Drax plant “renewables” are wood pellets; they come mainly from North Carolina forests via diesel trucks, trains and ships at a rate of 70,000 tonnes a day.  The CO2 emissions consequently greatly exceed those from coal, but at some decades into the future those carbon sinks may be partly replaced.

In each of its reports, the IPCC includes a clause to absolve itself of false predictions.  In 2013, for example, Page 769 of the 1552-page report said ““[The] difference between simulated and observed trends could be caused by …model response error” (but the “Summary for Policymakers” didn’t include that).  In 2018 the IPCC report confessed “long-term prediction of future climate states is not possible.”

With new towns and expanded (and expensive) cities springing up yearly, it’s hardly surprising that the odd house burns down along with the forests, but the hundred-year trend for damaging disasters is down, not up.

Those who claim to have read all the IPCC reports should tell the whole story, not just segments intended to excite media and governments.

Charles Hooker  

East Garafraxa

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