Tom Williamson, Broadland Green Party member had a letter published in the Cambridge Evening News recently with an edited version also published in other newspapers including the Eastern Daily Press on Friday 20 June with the heading “We must act on Science.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Sirs,
I ask the question, are we as a group supposedly enlightened twenty first century human beings actually regressing to believing (1) religious style dogma, (2) ‘piper paid’ pseudo-scientific evidence such as smoking does not harm you, (3) outright lies by our political establishment whether from the right or the left, or a combination of all as perhaps we now only accept that scientific evidence which meets our own belief system.
There is now a political school of thought usually on the right of politics that accepts that there are environmental problems which are now becoming apparent but argues that the cost of preventing further degradation of our world is not something that we can afford to put right as it would impinge upon (a) our lifestyle or (b) corporate profits.
Such an argument is reminiscent of successive governments ‘ostrich approach’ to the possibility of a global health pandemic affecting us all, obviously we now know such thought patterns was laziness of their part and cost 215,819 (Gov.UK figures to December 2022) people their lives and did untold damage to the economy.
There is of course a massive difference between knowledge and belief; knowledge is tested and supported by evidence whereas belief can be based upon faith or personal conviction even without proof.
At this point, I will admit to being on the side of those who through scientific analysis of data show that there is a change in our weather pattens and that the main cause can be attributed to more carbon dioxide being pumped and absorbed into our atmosphere and seas.
It is noted that spring is arriving earlier each year which has poses problems for migratory birds returning from Africa during or even after the main food source for their young has materialised.
The Woodland trust has through collected evidence noted that our woods together with our flora and associated fauna are deteriorating a rapid rate, with actual diversity reducing.
I recently received my National Trust membership magazine with an article on the landmark Corfe Castle in Dorset which is at serious risk of damage mainly attributed to climate change through increased precipitation (rainfall) and warmer winters which is accelerating decay of the structure through increased vegetation growth, damaging the fabric of the building.
This problem is being faced by them and no doubt another organisation of which my wife and I are members English Heritage, who too look after many aspect of our shared heritage.
The seas that surround us too are already suffering from increased acidity through CO2 uptake and heat increases which has an effect on marine life. This month in June there was a BBC report on such issues together with reports of the changes in Antarctica. Unfortunately I can hear the howls of protest that the media is biased and never put any contrary view supported by such protestors which is usually gained from either Bob down the pub or from some extremely opaque funded pseudo-scientific grouping set up to give such sorry individuals the cover of scientific respectability.
One of the arguments used by such opaque ‘paid piper’ groupings is to refer back to previous mass extinctions with the biggest the Permian Triassic 252 mya known as the great dying and the Triassic Jurassic 201 mya being attributed to natural increased CO2 in the atmosphere and sea acidification mainly from volcanic activity. I don’t think anyone from the independent scientific community would argue that such extinction events were anything other than ‘natural’ events caused by volcanos etc .
But what Independent current scientific evidence would point out is that these events occurred at the end of major volcanic eruptions periods which pumped greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which in turn was absorbed by the seas which occurred over millions of years not a century as we are now observing.
Currently scientists are also monitoring the Siberian and Canadian perma-frost regions where melting of the frozen ground has the potential to release millions if not billions of cubic meters of methane into the atmosphere which would be catastrophic for ourselves and future generations unfortunately such an eventuality is probable unless preventative measures are undertaken.
Many reputable scientist are fully aware that where knowledge is being built in response to scientific inquiry that whilst there is any gap in that knowledge until the investigation is completed it will allow the superstitious/ religious/ political or piper paid zealots and of course again the pseudo-science groups to interfere. This gap is known as the ‘god of the gaps fallacy’ as it appeals for ignorance to become acceptable.
Currently we stand at a point in time where we can do something to save future generations from climate breakdown, which when it occurs would result in movements of millions of climate refuges internationally, but also internally. Many regions of our country will be swallowed and flooded most of these regions contain cities and towns where millions live, such an eventuality will probably occur within the next 50 years. Although many of us will not live to see such calamity many of our children and grandchildren will, so do you as a parent or grandparent wished to be cursed as a group by your descendants , for our greed and refusal to act.
Perhaps they will erect monuments to our greed in not wishing to act now as it would inconvenience us a little and reverse part of the epitaph of the Kohima monument.
For your Today you stole our tomorrow.
Tom Williamson
Promoted by Jan Davis on behalf of Broadland Green Party, a constituent party of the Green Party of England & Wales PO Box 78066, London, SE16 9GQ