Politicians are now urging us to “fight against climate change”, a phenomenon that has been happening since the beginning of time. This letter examines the authenticity of the challenge taking into account the enormity of the task and the proposed solution relating to the restricted use of carbon-based fuels.
Apparently, the term “global warming” is no longer fashionable because of an increasing awareness of the “warming pause” 18 years ago.
The global-warming narrative had been relying on the 1976 to 1996 decadal warming period, one of the four, naturally-occurring climate cycles. However, some alarmists still use the natural recovery of temperatures since the Maunder Minimum - 1645 to 1715 - as support for their global-warming, alarmist message.
Is this “fight” the ultimate expression of mankind’s arrogance? Or are Canadians being duped into accepting a carbon tax under the false premise that it will stop an ever-changing climate?
Politicians are proposing to fight climate change by restricting the use of carbon-based fuels. This task to stabilize the planet’s climate requires the suppression of four, naturally-occurring, climate cycles.
The decadal – 20 to 40-year cycles. It appears that we are now in a cooling cycle. The last cooling cycle occurred during the period 1940 to 1976.
The millenial – roughly, 1,000-year cycles. Assuming that we have just passed the peak of the Modern Warm Period, we are now experiencing the coolest of the six (6) warm periods since the end of the last glaciation 10,000 years ago.
The glacial-interglacial – 100,000-year cycles. We are now approaching the end of the Holocene Interglacial, which followed the Wisconsin Glacial Period.
The ice age – 150 million-year cycles. The current Ice Age is known as the Holarctic-Antarctic Ice Age and was preceded by five ice ages of variable durations. Ice ages have occurred during 17 per cent of the planet’s existence; that is, the planet is usually free of polar ice caps.
Green energy policies are now being adopted by governments allegedly to stabilize the planet’s climate; that is, “to fight against climate change”.
Such “green” policies discourage the use of carbon-based fuels in order to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (“CO2“). CO2 is an essential plant food and is as important as oxygen and water in sustaining life on the planet. Consequently, these policies are really anti-green. Clearly, CO2 is not a pollutant!
The CO2 content of the atmosphere is a fraction of that contained in ancient atmospheres. Our air/ocean store of CO2 has been severely depleted by natural processes to form carbonate rocks such as limestone. The consumption of all known coal, oil, and gas deposits will not materially replenish this store.
Furthermore, Canada’s contribution to the world’s CO2 emissions is an insignificant 1.5 per cent. The world would not even notice a complete shut down of Canada’s economy. It might notice Canada’s consequential return to an impoverished medieval lifestyle.
In the meantime, China would overwhelm our minuscule CO2 reduction by continuing to commission one or more coal-fired power plants per week.
Ontario provides us with ample evidence that the climate-change/global-warming narrative must be denounced. This province is on the “green” road to bankruptcy.
A carbon tax will simply accelerate the destruction of its economy.
In conclusion, there is no evidence that so-called green energy policies will stabilize the planet’s ever-changing climate. Tragically, Ontario’s self-induced, economic suicide will be a futile gesture.
Thorpe Watson PhD
Trail