Dear editor,
When Al Gore, having failed to become president of the USA, started shrieking and yorking about global warming, both of my eyebrows went up. I had known for at least 20 years at that point that the world goes through cycles of warming and cooling, and it was due to enter a warming trend towards the end of the 20th century. When the political left and their environmental allies started insisting that the Western countries (Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand) must destroy their economies to “save the planet,” I could only conclude that this was the lefts’ latest attack on Western civilization, although it was more overt than usual.
This was essentially confirmed when the “magic hockey stick” graph was produced. The dates were chosen to avoid what real climate scientists call “the Roman warm period” and “the medieval warm period.” During the Roman warm period, grapes were grown in Britain and according to anecdotal evidence, fine wines were produced. During the medieval warm period, the Norse/Scandinavians were establishing settlements in Greenland, present-day Newfoundland and the as yet unidentified Vinland. They were yachting off the East Coast of North America at least as far South as present-day New York. There is even some evidence that suggests some sailed up the Mississippi River. When the medieval warm period ended the Norse abandoned many settlements in Greenland because they couldn’t acquire enough food to see them through the lengthening winters.
When global warming slowed to a stop in the early 21st century, the left morphed it into “climate change” as if the climate is something cast in concrete. The reality is that the climate is in a constant state of the flux. Any given location will have warmer or cooler years and drier or wetter years.
Incidentally, it has been reported that this past year saw reduced sunspot activity, Historically, reduced sunspot activity has coincided with cooler temperatures.
I bet there is a lot of people to our east wondering “where’s global warming when we need it?”
W.H. Welsh
Royston
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