Climate change is 'man-made' report says

Greenpeace outside DEFRA protest against UK policy

Lady Lake in Central Florida has been hit by a number of devastating tornados killing at least 14. The tornados swept through the state in the early hours of Friday morning, but it was not until daybreak that the true impact of devastation became apparent [TBO / BBC].
The aberrant weather comes as a new report from the IPCC suggests the world is heading for an environmental disaster [BBC]. The report suggests that climate change was 90% affected by man-made emissions. Many scientists have left the organisation which put the report together. Part of the reason for the departures, stem from their feelings that any criticism of the climate change debate is not properly debated. Not all scientists are in agreement with the connection between ‘global warming’ and the influence upon it by man. Part of their argument centres around the lack of long-term records which stretch back little over a century. Some also point to the fact that the Earth’s climate is always in a state of flux and that extreme weather has and global changes in temperature have occurred long before man’s arrival on the planet. The last ice-age was over 1 million years ago, well before the industrial revolution. The passing of that period in geological history also took place without man’s interference.
Besides the scepticism of some scientists, most politicians are attempting to draw public support with greener policies. Recently, in his Sate of the Nation address, George W Bush acknowledged a need to cut carbon emissions. Some have criticised his approach, saying it was led more in line with America being self-sufficient with respect to energy. Not relying on Middle-East oil would not put the country in danger of being held hostage by terrorists. In London, Tony Blair’s government was under fire from environmental groups for not doing enough on global warming. Greenpeace poured a lorry-load of coal at the steps of DEFRA [Dept of Fisheries & Rural Agriculture] in Smith Square.