Copenhagen brings climate debate to a thunderhead

I am amazed at the effectiveness of the climate change sceptic movement in dominating public debate around the Copenhagen conference. Time and again, climate sceptics' pseudo-science is exposed but they just churn away regardless.

They even claim that climate change science is a global conspiracy by (a) the British Monarchy or (b) the communists whereas I think they are the ones in the pay of the fossil fuel industries. Here's a site with a neat list of climate sceptic organisations and where they get their money from. Surprise surprise, it's the oil and coal industries! Who would have thought!

And this article in today's SMH rounds up some science showing alarming global warming and extreme weather patterns -- as I wrote to the Herald in August when we had bushfires simultaneously in both hemispheres. It rings true to this lay person.

Photo: A storm out to sea pictured from the roof of the Blanco Restaurant building in Roslyn St, Kings Cross on 19 November. No, I'm not saying this is a result of global warming, it just seemed a graphic illustration. A few minutes later the storm produced a classic anvil thunderhead, below, as the sunset peeked through to highlight buildings in the eastern suburbs:

PS: 702 Radio is reporting the last six months were Australia's hottest on record with an average temperature of 20.1 degrees since June, according to the National Climate Centre. I know weather is not climate but... what's the downside of building renewable power stations and a decent rail network, just in case?