Britain's Chief Zealot

Tas Walker

It says a lot about 'science' too. People commandeer 'science' to push their agenda. Evolution is another big one. The film Expelled is a must-see to find out how 'science' works.

Kiran

Well, zealot is just about the right word to use. There are disturbing echoes of Osama in the speech. Thank you for your immensely sane columns.

David M.

A brilliant piece by Christopher Booker. Like many 'chump change' paperbacks I expect that King's will destined to be pulped or spend most of its time in the toilet. If former scientist King is suffering from a false ego after being promoted beyond his limit then he is in good company. Bertrand Russell, mathemetician and peer of the realm, published books where he expounded his views on wide range of subjects from marriage and morals to soviet agriculture. Hypocrisy and twaddle in equal measures. Just because a person is competetant in one very small area of endeavour does not mean that we should necessarily accept their authority on other matters. These people are human, they all have to use the toilet in the morning..... Which brings us neatly back to King's paperback which could best play a supporting role in saving the planet by being recycled.

stanley Jerusalem

Scientists remain scientists for life but scientists turned administrators are a totally different animal with their own processes of self-delusion for the maintainence of their lofty positions, in this case - one of being promoted beyond the limits of his own incompetence. The comment on the use to which the paper on which such stuff is printed is derived from a wonderful pre-toilet paper era story in late 19thC Paris. Max Reger had received an apalling crit. traversing the boundaries of scholarship and decency and wrote a reply to the Editor saying "I am sitting in the smallest room in the house and the work of your critic is before me. It will soon be behind me". BTW if you want to confound " Global Warmers" tell them to explain the Maunders Minimum.

David M.

It is ironic isn't it, that scientists of the former Soviet Union can now quite justifiably point their fingers at their Western colleagues and accuse them of peddling political dogma as real science.

Lance Grundy

"President Putin’s chief economic adviser, was withering about the EU team’s conduct. Their pressure on Russia to ratify Kyoto, he said, ‘was equivalent to a war on truth, science and human welfare’". As with Kosovo, I'm with Russia on this one.

Keith

Good article by Christopher Booker. It is funny how these dubious arguments about so-called global warming are supported by those of a left-liberal persuasion. This proves that environmentalism is the 'last refuge of the socialist'.

Martin

Ha ha Maunder's Minimum. What a joke. It always makes me laugh when fools try to use arguments they know nothing about - anyone with any knowledge of sunspots know that they have little influence upon current climatic change. Similarly only someone without any knowledge whatsoever could be stupid enough to suggest that they are a key issue in the current debate. What Melanie knows about climatic variation isn't worth knowing, and her opinions on the matter are simply ill-informed, political drivel.

Sergey

This arrogance is even more objectionable because Russia has especial position in climate debate: it posesses leading scientific schools in the field. Andrey Petrovich Kapitza, director of Institute of Geography, pioneered the science of paleoclimatology being the head of two Soviet Antarctic expeditions, and all models of climate are based on data extracted from ice drilling at Vostok station in Antarctida under his supervision. Russia also holds leading positions in mathematical modelling (under director of Institute of Oceanology Monin), Sun-Earth connections and astrophysics (academician Zelenyj), sattelite sounding of atmoshere (Institute of Cosmic Reasearch) and many other related fields.

THX1138

a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism Surely if AGW does turn out to be a fact this statement is true.

C. Barber

Very interesting to hear all this. I am getting so tired of hearing of climate change "its worse than scientists thought last week", every week and that we have to change radically now...Now!!
Give us a break. I've never known government get so worked up so quickly and therefore dont trust it at all. Humans will have to find a way...as we always have, to get this far. Otherwise, well its the way of the dinosaur.
What about the submission to the Canadian gov a year or so ago from some eminent climate scientists, who didnt all agree with this dogma - not very well publicised was it?

stanley Jerusalem

Martin, you know nowt of my scientific training and manifestly less about polite speech. Your invective places me comfortably alongside someone who, in her own words, has passed from left-wing liberal to right-wing fascist in the space of ten years without changing her opinions or political attitudes. Thank you for speaking up for all the dumb idiots out there. If they needed a spokesman the job is yours. The Maunders Minimum was the expression used to label a mini ice age lasting several centuries and ocurring during a period of almost no interference by man whatsoever. Its demise was followed, slowly, by the industrial revolution in Europe. During the last ten years of the end of the Twentieth Century there has been no perceptible rise in the Global temperatures about which our scientific harbingers of doom have been warning us. Oh, BTW Martin, I presume you also swallowed the Millenium Bug?

Stephen Fox

Curious, Martin, that the one post here which descends into adhominem sneering about fools and drivel should be the only one supporting MMGW. It is precisely that shrill, overbearing impertinence which has alienated so many recently, and led to the perfectly sensible aim of energy conservation being as comprehensively ignored as in the recent E-day. (For those, no doubt many, who are still unaware it even occurred, on a day when we were all supposed to cut down on our power consumption, we slightly increased it. Oops!) I suggest that you re-examine your whole misguided approach, and in addition perhaps you could list the qualifications in climate science which enable you to know so much more about it than the rest of us.

Max Kaye

Like Lance Grundy, I am somewhat amused to find myself a supporter of Russia on the issues of MMGW (or, this week, Climate Change) and Kosovo.

On certain issues the US and Europe have taken leave of their senses.

Peter

That E Day was less than a total success was attributed,by the organisers, to it being too cold.
That isn't to say that AGW is not taking place,it is simply the wrong king of warming,technically known as getting colder.

Kiran

All of this raises another point, which is worth considering. As a society (western society) we are all too eager to believe people because they are scientists (whatever that might mean). It is not just a question of getting your facts right, but of the fact that there is nothing whatsoever (nor could there possibly be: There is only a conviction which everything else is made to serve) on which to base trust. Hence the "zealotry" of much of what is said on issues like 'global warming.' I agree, it does say a lot about 'science' as well as about us.

Penny Russell

Well, Martin, you certainly show your bona fides as a staunch advocate of the global warmongers - your post is rude and ill-informed and your tone is obnoxious. As are, invariably and to an astonishing degree, your cohorts. Smarten up.

Nick Kaplan

Martin; I do not know what scientific background you have but I would imagine your expertise is significantly less than that of Nigel Calder, former editor of New Scientist magazine, who has various other credentials and is an advocate of the idea of the Maunder's Minimum and its effects on global warming. To simply dismiss and silence such ideas simply because you know little of them or because they are controversial is arrogance in the extreme and is the kind of dangerous thinking most fascist regimes rely on. Sadly the environmental movement is increasingly reliant on such tactics to the extent that it is almost impossible to get funding for research into such ideas. MMGW many very well be true, but to silence all dissent is a disgraceful suppression of free speech made possible by the quasi-religious zeal of those who make up the almost totalitarian green movement.

Mike Stallard

Christopher Booker was utterly right about the EU. I read all his articles and they all came true, one by one.
Christopher Booker was right about the scares too.
Now he is, no doubt right about Global Warming.
And nobody (except the Telegraph) gives a monkeys.

Gareth

Now this is the truth.Global warming may be occuring but it is impudent to declare the phenomenon a result of human activity.One needs to appreciate that the political class don't give one hot damn about the environment.However they love Global Warming because it makes their sinister and evil plans to increase taxation,welfare and the general intrusion of Big Government into our lives to the extent that even our thoughts will be controlled,seem benign.Obviously we cannot expect better from New Labour,but the complicity of Cameron and the Tories in this wicked con deserves the wrath of right thinking citizens.I don't deny this earth does not have some serious problems;the most formidable of which is an out of control population.And that is a problem that confonts the UK more than most nations.Don't wait patiently for any politician of any party to address the population issue.