Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to be asked to write a short piece for the San Francisco Chronicle on the difference between Americans and Europeans in their attitudes to climate change.
You can read the original piece, An ocean apart on climate change. After the release of Meryl Steep's rendering of the Iron Lady, I thought it would be timely to reprise Margaret Thatcher's opinions on climate change in an effort to demonstrate that such issues are not defined by partisan bias in Europe as they are in the US.
My citation elicited at least one incredulous response. The following email which arrived in my inbox on the day the article was published was considered and considerate, which is more than can be said for the rant that appeared a few days later.
You must be mistaken when you said that in 1988, Margaret Thatcher talked of human cause to global warming. The first mention of global warming was from a scientist from NASA and it occurred in 1989. He was hired by NASA in 1981 to study the temperature of Venus and soon concluded the earth was also getting warmer. He was called before congress to explain his "science" but never showed up. I can find no mention of global warming even in the 1990's. Al Gore was in the White House from 1993 to 2001 and never mentioned global warming. In 1997, he read a prepared text at the Kyoto Conference but he admitted it wasn't his words. It's all a fraud. So give me the citation, date, year and article when Thatcher said what you said she said. Give me one citation from anyone in the 1980's that mentioned global warming and its human cause.
Dear Mr C
Thank you for your response.
In answer to your query, full text from a Margaret Thatcher speech to the Second World Climate Conference in 1990 is available here:
I want to pay tribute to the important work which the United Nations has done to advance our understanding of climate change, and in particular the risks of global warming. Dr. Tolba and Professor Obasi deserve our particular thanks for their far-sighted initiative in establishing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.However, this is not the first time Lady Thatcher warned against the risks of climate change. In fact, she established the Hadley Centre on Climate Change in the UK.
Please refer to:
For the following text:
Three events occurred in 1988 that assisted greatly in bringing the issue of man-made climate change to the notice of politicians:A World Ministerial Conference on Climate Change in June hosted by the government of Canada.A speech in September by Margaret Thatcher where she mentioned the science of anthropogenic climate change and the importance of action to combat climate change.The first meeting of the IPCC in Geneva in November 1988. Delegates from many countries agreed to set up an international assessment of the science of climate change, together with its likely impacts and the policy options.
Thank you for your interest and I hope this provides you with the information you requested.
Felicity
Thanks for the reply. Your data did contain an article in November 1990, not 1988. But that matters little. I am not a scientist but believe global warming is a contrivance by environmentalists to save the polar bear, seal, walruses and to keep oil drilling off the coast and disturb the views. Here's why I am not a believer. I am told and have read where global warming has been going on for 100 years. So why didn't someone tell us before 1990? That's 90 years into the problem. We put a man on the moon in July 1969, but no scientist knew about the earth warming. Now when I read about 100 years of climate warming I wonder where they got the data from 1940. Who measured the earth temperature in 1950? Who measured the temperature of Africa? Now also the seas have warmed a degree or so. Same question who measured the seas in 1940, 1950 and 1980? What instruments did they use. But more importantly there is no evidence of it in California or the US. I did research hurricanes for the last 100 years and there is no "trend" toward more violent or more of them. Same thing with tornados. The most people ever killed in one tornado season was in the 19th century when 8000 died in one season. We do have droughts in the southwest and rain torrents in the mid west and that is usual. I see no "global" weather or trend. I see no famine in America, Europe, Canada or South America. I do see famine in some underdeveloped countries but not in developed countries. I see no lack of water and last year we had 50 feet of snow in the Sierra, well above normal. But this year there is only 4 feet so far. But the climate change people change with the times. When there were many cold winters in the world, global warming was changed to climate change. Now that there is no change, the new term is "harsher weather". It's all a lie. I live on the San Francisco bay and see no rise in the seas. But anyway thanks for the documents, I will use them next time I write to global warming "scientist".
Dear Mr C
Thanks very much for your email and I'm sorry that I have not had the chance to respond sooner. I have added links and citations to your comments below. I hope you find these resources useful. As you rightly mention, neither of us are scientists - we can only use the information we have access to.
Thanks for the reply. Your data did contain an article in November 1990, not 1988.
In September 1988 Margaret Thatcher did talk of concerns over climate change:
Recently three changes in atmospheric chemistry have become familiar subjects of concern. The first is the increase in the greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons—which has led some[fo 4] to fear that we are creating a global heat trap which could lead to climatic instability. We are told that a warming effect of 1°C per decade would greatly exceed the capacity of our natural habitat to cope. Such warming could cause accelerated melting of glacial ice and a consequent increase in the sea level of several feet over the next century.
But that matters little. I am not a scientist but believe global warming is a contrivance by environmentalists to save the polar bear, seal, walruses and to keep oil drilling off the coast and disturb the views. Here's why I am not a believer. I am told and have read where global warming has been going on for 100 years. So why didn't someone tell us before 1990?
This should shed some light: My earliest citation of bothphrases is a report in The Hammond Times (of Indiana) dated Nov. 6, 1957, about California scientists “studying the possibility that this continued pouring forth of waste gases may upset the rather delicate carbon-dioxide balance in the earth’s general atmosphere and that a large-scale global warming, with radical climate changes, may result.”
That's 90 years into the problem. We put a man on the moon in July 1969, but no scientist knew about the earth warming. Now when I read about 100 years of climate warming I wonder where they got the data from 1940. Who measured the earth temperature in 1950? Who measured the temperature of Africa? Now also the seas have warmed a degree or so. Same question who measured the seas in 1940, 1950 and 1980? What instruments did they use.
It's interesting that you mention Nasa here, as the agency carries out measurements of land and sea temperatures. This might be a useful link to find this data:
http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
NOAA also takes a lot of measurements:
http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/
Historical temperature data dates back 150 years and I know that there is some controversy around historical global temperatures, but perhaps you could put your questions to the Global Historical Climatology Network also at NOAA:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ghcnm/
This film also shows temperature patterns in a more accessible way:
http://climate.nasa.gov/ClimateReel/TemperaturePuzzle640360/
But more importantly there is no evidence of it in California or the US.
Try the EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
I did research hurricanes for the last 100 years and there is no "trend" toward more violent or more of them. Same thing with tornados. The most people ever killed in one tornado season was in the 19th century when 8000 died in one season. We do have droughts in the southwest and rain torrents in the mid west and that is usual. I see no "global" weather or trend. I see no famine in America, Europe, Canada or South America. I do see famine in some underdeveloped countries but not in developed countries.
It is very difficult to pin extreme weather events to climate change and to link the two so closely in my view will only lead you into trouble. Climate risk is not very well discussed in the US. It basically boils down to this: you always insure your house, even though you would assess the chances of it burning to the ground are minimal, the consequences of it doing so would be devastating for you and your family. Reinsurers Swiss RE says this of climate risk:
Economic losses from climate-related disasters are already substantial, and they are on the rise. Insured losses alone have jumped from an annual USD 5 billion to 27 billion over the last 40 years. Without further investments in adaptation, climate risks could cost some countries up to 19 percent of annual GDP by 2030 and set back years of development gains.
Here's the link to the original document:
I see no lack of water and last year we had 50 feet of snow in the Sierra, well above normal. But this year there is only 4 feet so far. But the climate change people change with the times. When there were many cold winters in the world, global warming was changed to climate change.
The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.
Now that there is no change, the new term is "harsher weather". It's all a lie. I live on the San Francisco bay and see no rise in the seas. But anyway thanks for the documents, I will use them next time I write to global warming "scientist".
I hope you find these resources useful.
Kindest regards
Felicity
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