To understand the climate change scare just follow the money

After a radio interview with Naomi Klein, a texter to the radio station said that ‘climate change’ is poppycock. The well-known anti-capitalist author was promoting her recently published book called ‘This changes everything’ mostly about the climate change scare.

The talk show host answered the texter’s comment by saying that the vast majority of scientists agreed it was a big problem. He questioned how such a big conspiracy could exist if it were not true.

Having studied this topic for years I know that the belief in catastrophic anthropomorphic climate change is still strong, despite the relative lack of evidence, irrelevant evidence and much evidence to the contrary. So why is this?

As with many things consider the money flows.

1. It is not in the interest of climate researchers to downplay the issue. No problem – less research funding. It makes it financially difficult for academics to downplay the risk even if that is what they believe. It could affect their funding or their colleagues’ funding. The number of actual climate scientists is relatively small. It could conceivably cost less to ‘buy’ this issue than a world cup in Qatar.
2. Insurance is easier to sell if people accept increased risk – Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, is hosting the 9th Extreme Weather Conference in Hamburg this week. No climate change sceptics were invited.
3. Windmills and other alternative energy technology can only survive with subsidies. People selling these technologies are among the issue’s strongest supporters.
4. Anti-capitalist protesters want to make doing business more expensive.
5. Governments can raise additional funding with carbon taxes.

Climate change scare campaigners often accuse fossil fuel energy companies of funding ‘deniers’. However, the amount spent is small compared to amount spent by well-heeled supporters of the belief - George Soros and Richard Branson come to mind.

In any case, some fossil fuel companies can cynically benefit from the scare. They sometimes receive carbon credits. It may make it easier to charge customers more because restrictions imposed to counter climate change can reduce supplies of fossil fuels and increase prices. Restrictions on fracking in Europe and the delay of the Keystone pipeline in North America are two examples.

Fossil fuel companies know that despite all the huffing and puffing people will still need fossil fuels for energy. Also gas producers can use the climate change issue to target coal producers because their product contains relatively less carbon than coal.

Campaigners against the scare are outnumbered and outfunded independent researchers and consumers. The supposedly convincing nature of the overwhelming evidence is never properly explained. The argument that the evidence is unconvincing is usually refuted in the same manner as by the radio host - stating that 97% of scientists agree without looking in detail at what they agree.

A quick look at history will show that the vast majority of scientists have been wrong about issues before – the position of Earth in the universe and others. Scientists are people like everyone else and the majority will put their own self-interest ahead of anything else.

The truth will eventually become apparent and irrefutable. Even before that China, India and even Germany will burn more carbon because it is good for their economies. And in the meantime many people will become richer by exaggerating the problem – from research funding and by selling books, windmills and insurance.

To save water turn off the water in the shower

Recently a singer was criticised for wasting water while being being filmed in a video with the tap running. But this is nothing compared to the amount of water wasted if people leave a shower running for the whole time. I posted on this issue last year before it was so topical in my post Shower like a submariner. 

To save water when showering turn off water after wetting yourself while lathering. This simple idea  will save water and energy.

A simple idea is to shower like a submariner. We are all told we should shower instead of taking of a bath to save water. This saves some water. But occasionally when I have stayed in a hotel with a shower in a bath I have put in the stopper to see how much water I used. Often my shower will more than half fill the bath. There is a water saving for showering relative to filling the bath but it is not absolutely massive.

But when showering on a submarine or other naval vessels you have to conserve water. Fresh water is scarce on any sea vessel especially submarines. On ‘Das Boot’ and other WWII submarines there were no showers and sailors shared bunks sleeping in 3 shifts, but modern nuclear submarines are not so cramped. But they can be underwater for weeks on end without surfacing so they do need to conserve fresh water.

So how do they shower? Turn on the water and wet their bodies. Turn off the water and shampoo and lather up. Turn on the shower again to rinse and that’s it. There is a major water saving because the water is not left running while lathering. There is the added benefit that half the soap isn’t rinsed away before it has a chance to soak in properly.

I have started to use a variation of this technique and am saving lots of water, and more importantly, the energy used to heat it. In high summer my solar panels produce enough hot water to waste but now after the autumnal equinox, I have to supplement the solar energy with expensive oil water heating. I wet myself, turn off the water, shampoo and lather, rinse my hair and face only, turn off the water, add conditioner to my hair and rub it in, turn on the water slowly to rinse my face and off again, rub shaving oil on my face, turn on the water slowly to rinse again and shave. Finally, I turn up the water full blast and rinse the conditioner from my hair and the soap from my body.

By learning to use the on off knob in the shower I am saving lots of hot water and it is no sacrifice! Save water and energy. Shower like you’re in a submarine!