Lawrence Solomon Peddles Half-Truths, Distortions in Climate Change Denial Scheme
I’ve grumbled before about the decline of Energy Probe from an environmentalist organization into a producer of anti-clean energy claptrap. And about its leader, National Post columnist Lawrence Solomon, whose current purpose in life seems to me to be doing as much damage to the world as he can before passing it on to his kids. Today my respect for this professional oaf sunk even further when I discovered, unbelievably, that his latest gambit to discredit climate change is the claim that in 2005 the United Nations predicted that many “small islands,” including Palau, would be submerged within five years. They haven’t sunk, ergo, no climate change!
Naturally Solomon is not able to provide any support for the rather ridiculous assertion that the UN Environmental Programme actually believed islands were going to sink into the sea in just five years. The UN does some damed silly things sometimes, but I can’t imagine even them actually claiming that sea levels were going to rise by metres per year from 2005 to 2010, which it would have to do to swamp all those islands on the schedule you propose. The “report” he claims was the basis for this estimate makes no reference to islands at all, and isn’t even concerned with 2010, beyond a vague off-the-cuff remark that the number of environmental refugees will probably double between 1995 and 2010.
It is fair to assume that Solomon can read, at least well enough to know that he is badly distorting the truth here.
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C.W.
Yes, I remember when Solomon was someone you take seriously – back in the day. He wrote a book which I still have somewhere. It’s curious and sad – what’s become of him.
Pacanukeha
The actual report didn’t even say that the number of refugees would double, merely that the number of people at risk would double – if we look at the state of Bangladesh they are probably right.
A press release did switch the “people at risk” label to “refugees” which was stupid and wrong.
Sixth Estate
Good catch, yes.
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