The era of denial is over

Forum –

Garry Clifford responded to my earlier letter with further evidence which he claims supports his assertions that global sea level is not rising, and carbon dioxide is not responsible for climate change (Chronicle Forum Mar 24).

Clifford claims as his proof that global sea level is not rising, is the fact that the highest tide recorded at Fort Denison prior to 1986, occurred in 1974.

The reason that the Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) gives us forecast tide heights as well as tide times is because tide height is influenced by the prevailing wind and air pressure and their interaction with local topography, as well as the position of the moon.

The fact that a particularly high tide occurred on one day in 1974 tells us nothing about average sea level at Fort Denison, let alone the average global sea level over the past 100 years.

To suggest that this one scrap of information carries more weight than all the results of NASA’s purpose built satellites and their correlations with the global network of tide measurement services is farcical.

See https://research.csiro.au/slrwavescoast/sea-level/measurements-and-data/sea-level-measurements for more information on sea level measurement.

Clifford then claims: “even the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has stated there is no evidence linking CO2 to warming”.

Here is what the IPCC has actually said: “During its three decades of existence, the IPCC has shed light on climate change, contributing to the understanding of its causes and consequences and the options for risk management through adaptation and mitigation.

“In these three decades, global warming has continued unabated and we have witnessed an acceleration in sea level rise.

“Emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activities, the root cause of global warming, continue to increase, year after year.

“Climate change is already affecting people, ecosystems and livelihoods all around the world.

“It shows that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics but would require unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society.”

You can read the full IPCC report at https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_Full_Report_High_Res.pdf

The truth matters.

The arguments provided by Clifford have been published hundreds of times by climate deniers over the past 30 years and have been refuted by the evidence hundreds of times.

Newspaper editors claim they need to keep publishing climate denier misinformation in order to provide a “balanced” debate.

Unfortunately, you can’t have a debate with a thermometer.

Or a debate with a flood.

Or a drought.

The era of denial is over.

We have now entered the era of consequences.

These things will keep getting worse until we stop making them worse.

I suggest that ceasing to give oxygen to climate denier propaganda would be a good start.

Email, Mar 30
Geoff Cameron, Narara