Confusing The Climate Change Debate Helps No One

One thing that really bugs me about the climate change debate is the way that variations in the weather seem to be twisted to suit particular points of view.

If the weather’s warmer than at this time last year, global warming is a fact, if it’s cooler, then it’s a fallacy.

For example this report from News.com.au about the weather not cooperating with the global warming model doesn’t shed any light on the subject at all.

Apparently 2008 is tipped to be the coolest year of the century, with the average temperature for Australia believed to be about 22.18 degrees Celsius.

In 2005 the average was 22.99 degrees, in 2006 it was 22.28 degrees, and in 2007 the average temperature was 22.48 Celsius.

Not being the fountain of all knowledge, I don’t make any claims to knowledge about what is causing global warming and climate change.

I agree that human activity can affect climate change.

There have always been seasonal variations in the weather though, and the only way to detect a trend is to measure the statistics over centuries, not three or so years, and not even decades.

In the meantime, we certainly need to do what we can to conserve resources and protect the environment.

Simple actions such as saving water, installing solar power and using effective insulation can help cut costs, as well as protect the environment.

Building fear and using irrational arguments to further a point of view can only lead to confusion, and prevent logical discussion from being heard!