The unfortunate fact is, the issue has been turned into a politcal football by swivel eyed libertarians on one side and soap-dodging lentil-munchers on the other.
Any attempt at rational discourse is drowned out by trolling rent-a-post bloggists for whom the truth is a non-renewable resource.
Needless to say this is extremely unfortuanate at a time when resilience is becoming an increasingly important issue for cities.
I get to talk to senior people in the emergency planning and utility supply field. It is not common knowledge, but London was only a gnats whisker away from drought related disaster last year. In case you think I am talking this up, being a City boy my definition of disaster is not having your hebaceous borders die, it is having the supply to the water-cooled blade servers which run trading floors in the City interrupted.
The hard of thinking, will blame all our problems on an antiquated distribution network, and that is certainly a contributing factor. But unlike electricity, you can't just generate more water- if it doesn't rain you are stuffed regardless of how shiny your pipes are.
Thinking about these issues and developing appropriate infrastructure investment responses is crucial if London is to remain competitive. Muddying the waters by obfuscation on whether climate change is happening (it is) or whether cosmic rays are to blame (they are not) is not helpful, but the forces of ignorance are fighting an increasingly political campaign which may affect the way in which long term infrastructure decision are made.
I can hold my head up and say that the City of London recognised the risks associated with a changing climate quite a while ago- which is why I was lucky enough to put together the world's first climate change adaptation strategy back in 2006. Communicating the risk clearly is the key so for those who like their data in graphical form I can heartily recommend this infographic http://www.learnstuff.com/climate-change/
Needless to say this is extremely unfortuanate at a time when resilience is becoming an increasingly important issue for cities.
I get to talk to senior people in the emergency planning and utility supply field. It is not common knowledge, but London was only a gnats whisker away from drought related disaster last year. In case you think I am talking this up, being a City boy my definition of disaster is not having your hebaceous borders die, it is having the supply to the water-cooled blade servers which run trading floors in the City interrupted.
The hard of thinking, will blame all our problems on an antiquated distribution network, and that is certainly a contributing factor. But unlike electricity, you can't just generate more water- if it doesn't rain you are stuffed regardless of how shiny your pipes are. Thinking about these issues and developing appropriate infrastructure investment responses is crucial if London is to remain competitive. Muddying the waters by obfuscation on whether climate change is happening (it is) or whether cosmic rays are to blame (they are not) is not helpful, but the forces of ignorance are fighting an increasingly political campaign which may affect the way in which long term infrastructure decision are made.
I can hold my head up and say that the City of London recognised the risks associated with a changing climate quite a while ago- which is why I was lucky enough to put together the world's first climate change adaptation strategy back in 2006. Communicating the risk clearly is the key so for those who like their data in graphical form I can heartily recommend this infographic http://www.learnstuff.com/climate-change/
If you like your facts as articles and discussions then http://www.skepticalscience.com/ is the place for you!
