“THE scientific method is a valuable way to advance objective knowledge. By testing a hypothesis against observation, it can either be falsified or supported. Not proved, of course, but nevertheless over time sufficient evidence can accumulate for a hypothesis to be generally accepted as the best available explanation. It is then known as a theory. Hence, although the vast majority of scientists and citizens (at least in Europe) accept Darwin’s description of evolution, this is still regarded as a theory rather than fact. This is important, because as our understanding develops, apparently satisfactory theories may be replaced by others.
The Already Bankrupt Brown Green
IN the south east of Tasmania, there was once a thriving timber town known as Wielangata. In its heyday it had a general store, bakery, blacksmiths’ shops, school and of course several saw mills. Wielangta was ravaged by bushfires in the 1920s and abandoned in 1928.
Australian Greens’ Senator Bob Brown has been claiming the area as pristine forest and suing those with permission to log it: Not log it to destroy it, but log it as part of a sustainable rotation.
In Defence of ‘Heaven and Earth’
IN the following open letter to the President of the Australian Academy of Science, William Kininmonth explains that the science of climate change is ‘not settled’ and if the scientific community is to get to a position where it can confidently prediction future climate it will be necessary to both understand why and how the climate system has varied in the past, and to have a robust computer construct of the climate system. Given so far we have neither, the recent very public criticisms of Ian Plimer’s new book ‘Heaven and Earth’ are not logical or consistent.
A Green Argues for Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy may well be that backup, or indeed (as I suspect) a mainstay for future energy generation in Australia and worldwide… there is a technology …called integral fast reactor nuclear power, which burns up 99 per cent of the nuclear fuel, leaves no long-lived waste, is passively safe … and does not generate weapons-grade material… read more here.
More on the ‘Sceptics Conference’ in Washington
Stressing the need for reporters to do a much better job on their fact-checking, Dr Michaels dissected assertions such as that 49 percent of the US is in drought conditions, that California bushfires are a result of global warming, and that warming will cause a decline in crop yields and a 3-foot sea-level rise – he demonstrated that, despite their widespread media currency, such claims are wildly in error. Read more here.
Noah’s Ark Revisited
“An alliance of pro-carbon sceptics and fundamentalists is retarding 11th hour attempts at mitigation of dangerous climate change,” according to Andrew Glikson from the Australian National University.
Dr Glikson’s latest article is entitled ‘Noah’s Ark Revisited’ and decries all the mainstream media attention recently heaped on Ian Plimer from the University of Adelaide and Steve Fielding from the Australian parliament – both now suggesting the earth is not about to flood.
Of course Al Gore and Bono have been preaching something else for a long time as Blunt by Knutz explains in his latest cartoon.
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Notes and Links
NOAH’S ARK REVISITED, By Andrew Glikson http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/06/08/noah-s-ark-revisited
Blunt’s Cartoon Revisited, by Knutz
Al’s face in biblical-beard and wearing a wrap around with all its cataclysmically, religio-climate metaphors – Bono fetching the water for Noah while he pours over the Ark’s charts (nee hockey stick graph) and extracts cash from gullible passengers –
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.