The second-rate comedian Marcus Brigstocke is off on a trip to the Arctic to show how awful Global Warming is. Chances of his mentioning that the Earth hasn't warmed for years and is predicted not to warm for years are, of course, zero.
He clearly likes to think of himself as an environmentalist, as all affluent Guardian-reading jet-setting media-class types do. So I was pleasantly surprised to read this:
I don't much care if you don't agree that global warming is caused by human activity. It is quite possible that you are sick of the entire eco movement and that phrases like 'Carbon Footprint', 'Reduce Re-use Recycle' and 'offsetting your' this, that or the other make you want to scream or bury your head in the sand.
It doesn't matter. The Arctic is melting faster than the Wicked Witch of the West in an outdoor bath with the shower on in the rain, so whether it's our fault or not may not be that relevant. Whether or not we can change it certainly is.
Apart from the lame Oz joke, I couldn't agree more. If the Arctic is melting, then the question is not "Was the melting caused by humans?" The question is "Can we humans cause the melting to stop, and do we want to?" Absolutely the best reason to save polar bears is because we like them.
Thing is, though, that position is pretty much the polar opposite of environmentalism. I wonder if Brigstocke knows.
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