Monday, December 08, 2008

Almost famous

I could have been a contender.

The BBC World Service sent me an email on Saturday morning. The writer had seen my recent post on climate change and wanted me to participate in a debate on whether it is too late to save the planet. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to join in: the email had been sent at 1.30am our time and the broadcast was at 6am. To my loss, I had an early night; so I slept through my chance to speak to the world.

Oh well, it was nice of them to think of me.

Buddy Rich and his lovely daughter Cathy:

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I should not be surprised, but I am deeply dismayed that they thought an Art Historian had the right qualifications and experience to be able to comment on a scientific matter.

I am not casting aspersions on you Paul, but on Aunty.

This is just part of why I am an optimistic pessimist when it comes to climate change. I am optimistic that we can avoid damaging climate change but pessimistic that we actually will.

Part of this comes from observing my family, it will be women that do it. This thing they call 'retail therapy' will kill the planet.

Giovanni Tiso said...

Surely you can tell us, though: is it too late to save the planet?

Paul said...

Peter: I suppose they wanted someone in this little corner of the world who had an opinion about the matter. Had I been asked, I would have presented an opinion not disimilar to yours: we could change things but we won't, because we are too fond of shopping.

Giovanni: see above.

Anonymous said...

Today's Guardian reports on some really rather gloomy science:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/09/poznan-copenhagen-global-warming-targets-climate-change

If Siberia (& Northern Canada remember) gives up it's permafrost locked in methane then the warming induced is likely to trigger what the above report does not mention, the methane hydrates frozen on the seafloor. Then the climate will flip and we will not be able to get it back for millenia.