Letters

Climate change?

Ed,

I see more letters from ‘believers’ about who is to blame and how to fix their perception of changing climate, and their reliance on IPCC reports and climate summits, rather than robust science. Change is what climate does, has been for millions of years, and will continue to do so, despite presumptuous human intent to override solar radiation and the planet’s natural heat sinks.

Global temperature records, on which many climate predictions are based, extend back to 1860. Coincidentally the last great cooling period ceased at about the same time. Geological records over the last 10,000 years show seven warming and six alternate cooling periods, the length of each averaging 770 years. Variation of average temperature over that time span was 4.2-degree C. Today’s average global temperature is 2.1 degree C, above and below the extremes, i.e., we are currently at the mean global temperature of the last 10,000 years. Where is the justification for panic?

Floods and bushfires, along with drought cyclones and shore erosion, are part of nature. Human causation theory is politically motivated mischief, devoid of scientific proof.

East coast flood devastation is a direct result of pioneer settlement on river systems without the modern convenience of water reticulation, and subsequent town expansion over the long intervening period at the same low-lying locations.

The serious extent of 2019 bushfires were caused by the concurrent long drought, and failure to control fuel buildup and maintain adequate buffer zones and fire fighting ground access. As an example of the importance of the latter, the Iluka Road fire was stopped, by volunteer firefighters, on the western side at the national park service road, and on the eastern side by a back burn from Shark Bay beach access.

On another not unrelated subject, I refer to Anne Mazzitelli’s letter (CVI 16/3/22). As one with a long history of ADF involvement, not as a serving member but as a defence contractor, I totally endorse Ms Mazzitelli’s comments. Take note ‘armchair critics.

Ray Smith, Iluka