IPCC Report on Climate: Presenting the Facts Vs the Denier Machinery

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The much-anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR5 (Fifth Assessment Report) will be released at the end of September 2013. Through earlier leaked draft versions many sources tell us that we can expect the report to confirm that:

The world’s climate continues to warm at an unprecedented rate, and that, with 95% certainty, scientists are confirming that humans are the primary cause of this warming.

The rate of sea level rise is also accelerating at unprecedented rates and we need to move beyond historical rates to reflect the current changes.

The arctic sea ice continues to melt rapidly and our oceans are rapidly acidifying, as they absorb much of the excess heat and atmospheric C02.

None of this is good, and I have to wonder how many more “nails in the coffin” we need to be presented with before we start not only adapting to the changes we are all experiencing, but actually doing something to stop them.

In my own New Jersey suburb within 20 miles of mid-town New York City, one of our local papers published a letter to the editor this week from a local climate denier. Rather then presenting the conclusions of thousands of scientists from all over the world and peer reviewed facts and data, this letter quoted and presents as fact, an obscure source that forcefully discredits factual information on the human fingerprint and our changing climate. The letter’s author is under a misguided assumption that there is a “world plot” tied up with the facts on climate change that threatens the prosperity of the United States. Sadly, these types of letters are springing up all over the US, including in the shadow of New York City and are presented in all forms of media.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

As we teach our children to “tell the truth” and that “actions speak louder then words” when you see mistruths, point them out to your children. When we see that the “emperor is wearing NO clothes” we need to call him out!

Look for articles about the IPCC report this coming week. If your local paper prints climate denier information, or a blog you follow or a TV station you watch tries to present a contrarian view to the facts, stand up and strike back with the truth!

Yours,

Climate Mama