Can we PLEASE stop saying there’s a “debate” now?
The IPCC report on climate change has been released, and it’s absolutely clear. Even the professional scientists who typically couch their words in lots of conditionals were as blunt as they ever get:
“The public should not sit back and say ‘There’s nothing we can do’,” said Achim Steiner, the executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. “Anyone who would continue to risk inaction on the basis of the evidence presented here will one day in the history books be considered irresponsible.”
So if you’ve been saying things like “it’s not caused by humans” or “there was a warm summer once” or “figs used to grow in England, you know, but it got too cold” (see the responses to Colin McEnroe’s ), just get over yourself, OK?
The only question left is what to do about it.