Letter to the Editor from Peter Bodle

Peter highlights the difficulty of fighting Global warming

Dear Ray,

I couldn't agree more with John Preston's opening theme of his latest contribution to the Global Warming, Nuclear, Peak Oil, monthly debate. Doing something is better than talking about it. The question is really 'what is worth doing', and on what do you base this important judgement.

I agree some of my statements are as open to question as John's...but that was the thrust of my letter ...to plea for facts, so that all these statements and questions could be discussed and evaluated.

Many good thinking folks agree that to produce less greenhouse gasses is a good idea (me included)...so they go out and buy a Hybrid car, carbon fuel plus stored energy propulsion(not me).... Good in itself until tests conclude that a 'standard' Turbo Diesel in the same size/class/ image, is more fuel efficient, without all the 'add-on's of the Hybrid system tagged into the new car build.. Yet Hybrids are still trumpeted as the way forward by many, despite the obvious fact that all this new technology costs carbon input to manufacture with apparently to no benefit whatsoever.

We now know that the increase in hurricane activity due we were told to global warming is simply untrue. This year was a very, very low year for hurricane activity, a mere 3 in the Eastern Atlantic area that has been the benchmark for so many previous debates. What is more all of them were fairly short lived and relatively 'weak' in the grand scale of things.

I'm afraid I don't know the works of the people John mentions, or their backgrounds or credentials...I myself use NASA, NOAA and some university sites as the sources I turn to for what I believe the best current data available. However as we know, like astronomy and space research, this is an evolving science and is progressing at such a speed that today's truth is just one of tomorrow's many blown myths.

But as I have said several times before, we all need hard facts to enhance the debate...I hope John was able to gather more on his trip to London and will share them with us later in the debate.

Peter

Peter Bodle