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Mike's Minute: Climate alarmism gets us nowhere

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 3 Dec 2020, 10:46AM

Mike's Minute: Climate alarmism gets us nowhere

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 3 Dec 2020, 10:46AM

Prince William, earlier this year, was speaking to Sir David Attenborough when they launched their Earthshot prize.

And as part of the chat, they talked a bit about the environmental credentials of the Royal family. William is the son of an astonishingly devout and consistent environmentalist in Prince Charles, who even if you're the staunchest republican, you'd be churlish not to recognise his unwavering dedication.

And Charles is the son of Prince Phillip, who was preaching the message dating back to the 1950s and 60s. The clip they showed of Phillip had him uttering that oft used line in environmentalism, "we must act now before it's too late."

Ah, before it's too late. Just when is that?

Well, for insurance purposes in this country it appears to be in 15 years. At least for a few thousand homes who sit in this fantastically unscientific 1 in 100-year flood zone they’ve invented. There places will not be able to get cover, we won't have acted before it's too late.

But the problem with this mad chicken and egg game we are playing is what if, yet again, they're wrong? What about all that stuff that was supposed to happen by 2020 and didn’t?

Y2K in 2000. In fact, the environmental movement warned us endlessly in the 80s and 90s we only had a decade left before it was too late. The cliff was the year 200, and we were going over it.

They spouted the same sort of bollocks when they signed the Kyoto climate deal. That same deal that was usurped by the Paris deal when Kyoto wasn’t going to get met.

This is not to say we shouldn’t be concerned about climate, the environment, or any of that because we should. But we have to stop being alarmist, because alarmism puts people off. The same way deadlines that come and go put people off.

To get buy-in you must have credibility. Every time you say the world is ending and it doesn’t, you’ve shot yourself in the foot, and it's harder to pedal the cause next time.

Since calamity was going to envelope us in 2000, more time has passed, 20 years, than the time that is due to pass before our homes are no longer insurable, 15 years.

In other words time passes quickly, a lot quicker than calamities arrives it would seem.

The proof the message is not sinking in is the price you pay for a house by the water, it's not going down.

Why do you reckon that would be?

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