With odds like that, wouldn't you take out insurance against it?
In his letter on 19th January, Patrick Hockey pointed out that commentators argue against action on climate change because scientists can’t be precise.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That upsets him, and me too. Unlike many members of the public when expressing opinions, scientists report under strict standards.
They are almost never 100% certain of anything because science expects allowance for errors in findings.
Even the existence of the atom is not considered 100% fact – it’s called the atomic theory.
That does not mean that scientific findings are wrong.
However it is wrong to say, for instance, that because Australia had terribly hot weather and long droughts in the 1930s that the current phenomenon must be the same, for the same reasons.
That is simplistic ignorance, and sheer arrogance in the face of reports by scientists who have spent their lives and expertise studying our environment.
98 percent of them report that climate change is caused by human kind and will likely lead to disastrous weather events in future.
That’s a 98 percent chance that climate change will hurt us.
Your chance of having a car accident; a house fire; a flood; etc is probably not even 50:50 (50 per cent), yet we all take out insurance against these events.
But with the 98 percent chance that we are heading towards a dangerous climate, we are procrastinating.
Hardly any of our politicians are doing enough to safeguard our future.
Should we trust such negligent people to lead us as they see fit? We should insist that they act on climate change.
Joe Boin, Invermay.
Act Now For Lake Survival.
Although the Lake Learmonth I enjoyed as a kid is virtually dry, there is an opportunity which Lake Wendouree missed out on.
With the help of Volunteers and local industry, a trench could be created through the centre or near the embankments for future fish stocks and drought proofing.
Learmonth and Burrumbeet are two lakes which are underrated and have so much potential, but action for their future survival must be are taken.
Michael Rickard, Mildura
Energy Minister’s Hot Air Was Not Cold Comfort.
Recently, Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told us power outages were not a possibility, but with 44 degrees anticipated, the demand was unanticipated. Her contingency plans were to draw from already overloaded other states, reduce our power usage, or hope for a cool change.Cold comfort for overly hot customers.
The closure of Hazelwood was a concern, leaving the remaining power stations ageing,worn and pushed to the maximum. Power bills since the sale of the SEC assets and deregulation have approximately doubled and reliability halved. Surely the money generated from the sale could have been prudently reinvested in a power station for the future.
With population increase and hotter temperatures expected in the future, the recent blackouts can be viewed as a practice run. At least 200,000 affected customers will now know how to face the next lot.
Colin Holmes, Ballarat.
