LETTER AS SUBMITTED TO THE NORTH WALES CHRONICLE

Dear Editor,

In his letter about climate change (Chronicle, 2nd March 2006), Francis
Wykes repeats the kind of disinformation that has been spread about by
lobby groups funded by the oil companies, most notably Esso. Their aim
has been to persuade us that there is nothing to worry about and that we
can carry on burning their oil.

A good antidote to the kinds of myths contained in Francis Wykes's
letter is "A guide to facts and fictions about climate change" published
by the Royal Society and available via a link from
www.mng.org.uk/green_house/threat/threat.htm. Reports from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are still well worth studying
even though they date from 2001 and are due to be updated in 2007 (see
www.ipcc.ch/).

Climate scientists are well aware that water vapour is a greenhouse gas
and their models take full account of it. It is highly misleading to say
that "The jury is very much still out on what causes climate change".
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that CO2 released
into the atmosphere from the burning of oil, gas and coal is causing
global temperatures to rise.

They also agree that there is a real risk that a vicious circle may
develop and cause rising temperatures to spiral out of control, reaching
levels far in excess of anything that human beings have ever had to
adapt to. Rising sea levels will flood coastal towns and cities around
the world, including many in Wales, making the disaster in New Orleans
look like a picnic.

It defies common sense to suggest that we should simply "adapt" rather
than removing the source of the problem by cutting CO2 emissions. There
are in any case immense opportunities and benefits to be gained from
developing truly renewable (non-nuclear) forms of energy and weaning
ourselves off our addiction to fossil fuels.

Sincerely,

Marianne Jones

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