There is plenty here to make us wince
FOR once I agree with Richard Flanagan, the novelist muttering eco-pieties in his Tasmanian holdout.
FOR once I agree with Richard Flanagan, the novelist muttering eco-pieties in his Tasmanian holdout.
Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize this week and was asked — apparently being an expert — what he thought of Tony Abbott’s claim that “coal is good for humanity”. Groaned the guru: “To be frank, I’m ashamed to be Australian.”
Me, too. I am ashamed the PM needed to insist on something so obvious — that this cheap and reliable source of power literally brings light to the poor, plus jobs and freedom from backbreaking toil.
I’m ashamed we have so many “experts” who mock that truth.
And I’m also ashamed — well, maybe just ticked off — that Abbott didn’t dare complete his case by pointing out the global warming bandwagon just blew yet another tyre. Why didn’t Abbott also point out that the world’s atmosphere hasn’t actually warmed for at least 16 years now, contrary to the predictions of almost every global warming model?
Why didn’t he point out that the excuse for this pause — that the missing heat is just hiding in the deep ocean — has now been sensationally exploded?
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory admitted this month “the cold waters of Earth’s deep ocean have not warmed measurably since 2005 ... leaving unsolved the mystery of why global warming appears to have slowed”. Sure, “the temperature of the top half of the world’s ocean ... is still climbing, but not fast enough to account for the stalled air temperatures”.
In a rational country a prime minister could dare say that. But Australia is not rational. The more the planet refuses to warm, the more extreme the proposals to “stop” what isn’t happening.
The Australian National University, for instance, now says it’s dumping its investments in fossil fuels, almost certainly meaning students will suffer for the planet.
In the taxpayer-funded Conversation, two law academics — David Hodgkinson and Rebecca Johnston — even argued this week that people wanting more than one child should pay an extra carbon tax for the damage to the planet.
“For each additional child, credits must be purchased from the relevant carbon market.”
Barry Walters, an obstetrics professor from the University of Western Australia, has calculated the price — “a levy per child of at least $5000 at birth ... and an annual tax of $400 —$800 thereafter”.
Mad. So, yes, Richard, I’m embarrassed to be Australian.
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