Letters, feedback, get it off your chest: 13 April 2011
And still the carbon debate continues. Why not write in and let us know your thoughts on this or any of our other stories.
Re: Anti-carbon tax campaigner James Cryer steps up to the mike
Jim Cryer is spot-on. Identify the culprits and work on solutions. However, sustainability is the real issue. The Carbon Tax is exactly that a “Tax” which will make no difference to climate change.
Mike Schrafft
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Re: Letters, feedback, get it off your chest: 6 April 2011
It staggers me to think that people sufficiently intelligent and educated to be in the upper levels of a national industry can so happily ignore the most informed and highly-qualified advice the world’s best minds can deliver.
Garry Clifford writes: “Carbon Dioxide and carbon are not pollutants for a start: they are essential for life.” So are Iron, Phosphorus and Cadmium but only the smallest excess or deficit can lead to debilitating sickness or death: you can have too much of a good thing. And: “The reality is that if the temperature was two degrees warmer we would have more rain and better food production.” I don’t know where he got that idea. The reality actually is that a two-degree rise in average temperatures would result in far more severe extreme events like floods, droughts, hurricanes and bushfires. A recent CSIRO conference has concluded that, while the overall frequency of hurricanes on the north-eastern seaboard could be expected to decline slightly, more of them would be extreme, the severity of the most extreme would be greater, they would deliver more rain and, as sea levels rise, coastal inundation would be more prevalent and widespread. And “it must be remembered that China and India are still polluting at a rapid rate and have no intention of changing.” Actually they do. They realize they have a lot to lose. China, at least, is building wind and solar generation capacity faster than any other country on earth.
Mark Reid dismisses Carbon emission reduction to mitigate climate change as “something that can’t be measured, to solve a problem that can’t be described, about which no consensus exists.” I don’t know what decade he is living in but, as at 2011, it is being measured with increasing accuracy to address a problem that is being described in ever more explicit detail with a consensus that includes the great majority of those qualified to assess the science competently. Or does he confuse consensus with unanimity?
As regards taking the word of the scientific community: why not? They’ve been right about everything else so far. They would take our advice about the best way to impose and print their books for the same reason.
The best way to move our economy from a high-Carbon regime to a low-Carbon regime with the least pain is the subject of legitimate debate. But if you want to see some real economic pain, just try doing nothing for another 30 years.
Peter Lawrance
In response to Peter Hobbs:
Firstly, Peter I am glad you responded to my comment (as my wife was horrified by my comments as well) in which in reflection and upon reading of the Full Story I can see why you responded as you have.
I would like to put the story straight on reading the article in Print21 I believe the heading was ‘Women upset by language of Guest speaker’ then the article went on to read about a woman who had been through hardships and had come out the other side in building a business. This struck a light with me due to the fact of starting up a business 2 years ago and knowing how hard it can be!
The article never mentioned about the fact this woman had not articulated her story very well and had offended women in the audience by signing off on “Well I am a women in a male dominated industry and that is good as I like men”
So I believe the editors have done a very good job of maybe twisting the facts & comments to get a response in which they have!
So to my wife, my apologies once again!
To the women in the audience who were offended, my apologies!
To you, Peter, my apologies (and hope to grow up soon)!
To the guest speaker, congratulations on your achievements; just work on your guest speaking!
To the editors, congratulations on your creative writing!
Ross Campbell