THE MORAL DANGER OF GLOBAL WARMING

By Philip Stott

"Global warming represents the latest doom-laden 'crisis,' one demanding sacrifice to Gaia for our wicked fossil-fuel-driven ways. But neither history nor science bolsters such an apocalyptic faith.

Our so-called 'crisis' is neither a product of current observations nor of projections.

But does it matter if global warming is a 'crisis' or not? Aren't we threatened by a serious temperature rise? Shouldn't we act anyway, because we are stewards of the environment?

Herein lies the moral danger behind global warming hysteria. Each day, 20,000 people in the world die of waterborne diseases. Half a billion people go hungry. A child is orphaned by AIDS every seven seconds. This does not have to happen. We allow it while fretting about 'saving the planet.'

What is wrong with us that we downplay this human misery before our eyes and focus on events that will probably not happen even a hundred years hence?" Read more.

Philip Stott is an Emeritus Professor from the University of London, UK. For the last 18 years he was the editor of the Journal of Biogeography.