Morton writes about Neville Nicholls, a climate scientist who “long believed his role was research, not advocacy. But when he woke on the morning following Black Saturday (so named because of infamous bush fires), turned on his TV and caught his breath after witnessing the shocking aerial footage of what was once Marysville, he instinctively blamed himself.”
Nicholls says, "My initial thought was: is this my fault? Has this happened because I haven't been out there saying that this stuff is going to have catastrophic consequences for us? It is the first time I have ever been shaken from my belief that I shouldn't be an advocate on climate change."
[Black Saturday bushfires Photo: Jason South. The past 10 years have been the hottest since measurements began, and climate scientists have long warned of the extreme weather still to come. Adam Morton reports.]
He, along with some of Australia’s most decorated scientists in climate fields, grew concerned that “published evidence in their areas of expertise was being misused or ignored. Believing they faced a misinformation campaign driven by fossil-fuel interests and an intransigent political system, they formed Climate Scientists Australia as a means to improve the quality of public information and decision-making.”
Though the article relates to concerns about climate change from an Australian point of view (e.g., “for some members, the challenge they faced was underscored in July when the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission released its four-volume final report and made little reference to climate change”), issues related to misinformation campaigns and intransigent political systems are common world-wide.
I therefore recommend you link up to The Deadly Decade by Adam Morton when time allows.
[Read the full article here]
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More Climate Change Concerns here.
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