4 April 2007

Greenpeace doesn’t know the meaning of its own colour

There is no greater hypocrisy in the present debate on climate than Greenpeace describing carbon dioxide as a pollutant. This today from Professor Augie Auer, chairman of the science panel of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. He was commenting on criticism of the government by Greenpeace following comments by OECD about New Zealand’s handling of climate change issues.

"Don't they know that it's carbon dioxide that maintains on the Earth the greenness from which the organisation's name is presumably derived?" asked Prof. Auer.

"To describe as a pollutant what Dr David Bellamy has correctly described as the Earth's best friend, displays an ignorance of the most basic lessons of science taught in our schools to third formers. Carbon dioxide is essential for plant growth and essential for controlling our breathing.

"Before Greenpeace, OECD, or anyone else calls for limits on emissions of carbon dioxide will they please cite the valid, verifiable scientific proof that an increases in the atmospheric concentration of the gas will cause damaging climate change.

"I would hope that the caution being displayed by the present government on calls for the introduction of carbon taxes and other checks on economic activity is because it is yet to be convinced that carbon dioxide is the cause of the small increase in average global temperatures from 1978 to 1998 and even less since then.

"People should not allow themselves to be deluded by the computer-modelled speculation with which they are bombarded in the news media these days. Measurements show mankind's contribution to the greenhouse effect through carbon dioxide emissions has been somewhere between miniscule to indiscernible. In any case, records tell us that increases in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have followed, not led, natural cyclical increases in Earth's temperature," said Prof. Auer.

ENDS

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