What happened yesterday
I was flicking through a copy of New Scientist at 8 o'clock yesterday morning.
That is unusual. I was in Sainsbury's in Huddersfield at the time, which is also unusual. (I have been in Sainsbury's before, just not in Huddersfield.)
It was so intriguing (the New Scientist, not Sainsbury's) that I am tempted to part with £2.95 of my hard-earned cash to subscribe for 4 issues, now. (It's a bargain - 1 issue usually costs £2.70, you know.) Because I found the full version of this which was actually prompted by this.
I saw that programme. Well, sort of. Sadly, depleted as my attention span is by 5 a.m. starts, I missed a lot of it. The main thing I caught is that it is not our fault that the world is warming up. And it's not the scientists' fault that we think it is. It Is Margaret Thatcher's Fault.
This fits in so beautifully with the world view around here (aah, land of my fathers) that I feel a tad guilty about letting Maggie Maggie Maggie off the hook.
But I remain unconvinced. By both sides of this argument. Global warming is a natural phenomenon, regardless of what the human race might do. I accept that. I just don't accept that means we're making no difference. We don't know how much our greedy consumption of fossil fuels is contributing to the recent hike in temperatures. We don't have the data.
So I'm not prepared to take it as an article of faith that turning up the heating or driving a 4x4 is killing the planet, but I am prepared to err on the side of caution.
That doesn't mean I don't want to slap po-faced prats who pontificate about it, though.
*Edit* Driving back from Huddersfield was good, as we ignored the motorway. Clouds up ahead and the sun striking through them, giving the water a steely glint. Very atmospheric.
Blubbed a bit this morning. I've contrived to ignore most of the Mother's Day hoo-hah, but it caught me out a bit first thing. We're alright now, though.
And it snowed. Then it shone. Then it sleeted. Then it snowed again. Now it's shining again.
'S pretty.
That is unusual. I was in Sainsbury's in Huddersfield at the time, which is also unusual. (I have been in Sainsbury's before, just not in Huddersfield.)
It was so intriguing (the New Scientist, not Sainsbury's) that I am tempted to part with £2.95 of my hard-earned cash to subscribe for 4 issues, now. (It's a bargain - 1 issue usually costs £2.70, you know.) Because I found the full version of this which was actually prompted by this.
I saw that programme. Well, sort of. Sadly, depleted as my attention span is by 5 a.m. starts, I missed a lot of it. The main thing I caught is that it is not our fault that the world is warming up. And it's not the scientists' fault that we think it is. It Is Margaret Thatcher's Fault.
This fits in so beautifully with the world view around here (aah, land of my fathers) that I feel a tad guilty about letting Maggie Maggie Maggie off the hook.
But I remain unconvinced. By both sides of this argument. Global warming is a natural phenomenon, regardless of what the human race might do. I accept that. I just don't accept that means we're making no difference. We don't know how much our greedy consumption of fossil fuels is contributing to the recent hike in temperatures. We don't have the data.
So I'm not prepared to take it as an article of faith that turning up the heating or driving a 4x4 is killing the planet, but I am prepared to err on the side of caution.
That doesn't mean I don't want to slap po-faced prats who pontificate about it, though.
*Edit* Driving back from Huddersfield was good, as we ignored the motorway. Clouds up ahead and the sun striking through them, giving the water a steely glint. Very atmospheric.
Blubbed a bit this morning. I've contrived to ignore most of the Mother's Day hoo-hah, but it caught me out a bit first thing. We're alright now, though.
And it snowed. Then it shone. Then it sleeted. Then it snowed again. Now it's shining again.
'S pretty.