3 min. read
Writing in the Calgary Sun yesterday, former Conservative Party Cabinet Minister Monte Solberg claims there is "good news on the climate front."
Now before we get into this too far, this is the same Solberg who in 2009 celebrated the end of global warming because it was really cold in Saskatchewan that winter. Conveniently missing the idea that it's called "global" warming and not "Saskatchewan" warming, and that we will see different rates of warming in different regions of the world.
Solberg's latest "good news" refers to recent claims by conspiracy theorists, former energy lobbyists and bought-and-paid pretend climate experts that the upward trend in planetary warming has stalled out.
Now I'm not a scientist and neither is Solberg, but here's a chart of actual warming measured by NASA over the years:
Again, I am not a scientist, but that is one big giant upward trend in warming that starts right around the time we all started burning a lot of coal and oil in the late 1800's.
Of course, like any good 9-11 or moon-landing conspiracy theory, this chart of actual measured temperature rise will never convince folks like Solberg and other members of the flat earth society, that the earth is warming and human activities are a key driver of rising temperatures.
Honestly, I could post an endless string of charts showing the scientific reality of our warming planet, and there will be a dismissive argument for every one of them from Solberg et al. Conspiracy theories are infallible, that's why they just get nuttier and nuttier.
In his Calgary Sun opinion piece, Solberg relies on a very nuanced argument to downplay the whole reality of the situation we are facing on our planet.
Solberg writes,
"In 2007, leading science guys at the IPCC projected that the planet would warm at a rate of .2 degrees every 10 years. They now say the rate is only .12 degrees."
Now go back to that NASA chart. Whether we are looking at .2 degrees or .12 degrees, that big upward spike in warming is the reality. No matter what Solberg or anyone else in the flat earth society wants to think. No matter how much they want to quibble on the fringes about computer models and projections, that big swoop up in actual observed global temperature is the reality.
We are coming into an age now where the scientific predictions made 20 years ago about a warming planet, atmospheric distruption and more extreme weather, are actually being observed in real life. We are even as a global society trying to soften this new reality by calling it the "new normal."
So if that's the reality, the question is: will you find solace in Solberg's "good news" or will you look up and face the truth of the matter?
Honestly, I won't blame you if you side with Solberg, because as the old saying goes: "Ignorance is bliss!"
Image Credit: montesolberg.ca
