High profile German meteorologist Donald Bäcker recently told an audience that there remains great uncertainty as to what is really behind climate change. He told the biggest problem the planet faces is waste, particularly plastic in the oceans.
Hat-tip: Hallolindenlimmer.de
Donald Bäcker regularly gives his weather forecasts on flagship German public television and spoke in an entertaining way before an open-minded and very interested audience in the Ihme Centre in Hanover.
The lecture lasted two hours and the videos posted at Hallolindenlimmer.de show the climate excerpt of it.
Plastic pollution a greater problem
The topic of climate change was emphasized in his lecture under the title: “Is our climate going crazy?” Bäcker rejected climate panic and recommended to the climate striking pupils to go back to school and learn.
His conclusion on the climate debate: “Plastic in the sea is worse”.
On climate he told the audience that it is very difficult to figure out what part man plays and what natural factors play in the complex system of climate. At the 5:30 mark of the 32-minute video excerpt, he told that rolling back CO2 is not going to save us and that the worst problem is plastics and coping with the population growth.
Too many people living in naturally hazardous areas
Concerning natural disasters hitting populated areas, he tells the audience that it’s not climate change causing the tragedies, but rather people living in hazardous areas.
“Dangerous” to declare climate science settled
He also criticizes the climate discussion and calls the claims that the discussion is over and that CO2 is the main driver today “dangerous”. Bäcker points out that predictions made by climate scientists in 2000 that Germany would dry out have turned out to be wrong.
At the 14-minute mark he warns that the climate model predictions are lacking in quality and that climate scientists know their predictions will be forgotten 30 to 40 years down the road. He reminds the audience how scientists warned in the 1970s of a coming ice age, which today we know never showed up.
At the 16-minute mark, Bäcker reminds the audience that renewable energies like solar are not what they are cracked up to be, saying that the production of solar modules “is very energy intensive” and more damaging to the environment than we are led to believe.
Today’s climate not unusual
When questioned about the “dramatic” situation in the Arctic, Bäcker remined that this is not an unusual situation in that people once settled in Greenland 1000 years ago and how the climate back then was warmer than it is today.
No consensus
At the 18:00 mark he sharply criticizes the notion that the science is settled and finds it disturbing that people who present alternative explanations get dismissed and labelled as nuts, and shut out by the press. He adds that there is in reality no consensus and there are scientists out there who don’t agree.
Wonderful! When I volunteered at the NC state aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores on the NC coast, we had a visitor’s day dedicated to this and other environmental pollution with “touch displays” of actual junk gleaned from the ocean. Very telling!
One thing I wish presenters such as Dr. (?) Bäcker would include is the trivial contribution of anthropogenic CO2 we make to the atmosphere. The last solid data I had was in the 2004 AR4 IPCC report that showed only 2.9%! Current estimates apparently range from 3.5% to 4.5%, but those are not “hard” data. Thus, if accurate, over 95% to 96% emitted CO2 is from natural sources (e.g. biosphere, volcanos, ocean de-gassing). “Carbon-free” future? Stupid.
Congrats BobW on being a volunteer
Questions that sprung to mind whilst reading this article are – What happens as these plastics degrade ( if indeed they do)? Do they give off any gas/ses? Do they just break into bits? Do they remain whole for long periods and are readily available for unsuspecting sea creatures to ingest?
Unlike CO2, it is a very visible and real problem world wide.
As we can see, if what I’m pasting comes out right, the prime culprits are underdeveloped nations.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-putting-the-most-plastic-waste-into-the-oceans.html
Countries With The Most Mismanaged Plastic Wastes:
Rank Country Plastic Waste ass, 2010 (..metric tonnes)
1………China……………………. 8.82
2………Indonesia………………… 3.22
3………Philippines………………. 1.88
4………Vietnam………………….. 1.83
5………Sri Lanka………………… 1.59
6………Thailand…………………. 1.03
7………Egypt……………………. 0.97
8………Malaysia…………………. 0.94
9………Nigeria………………….. 0.85
10…….Bangladesh………………… 0.79
11…….South Africa………………. 0.63
Keeping them underdeveloped by preventing them from using fossil fuels will only perpetuate the problem, not solve it.
Personally, I would say the biggest threats to the planet are lunatic leftists, and their insane “solutions” to the non-existent problem of AGW. Here’s just one recent example. Electric cars are barely useful on a good day. On a bad day, they can really hurt you.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6916279/Families-stranded-disasters-Shortens-electric-vehicle-plan-voted-through.html
Oh, and this is more confirmation that Leftist “solutions” are just an evil scam.
http://joannenova.com.au/2019/04/electric-cars-are-already-causing-some-grid-failures-in-australia/
EV’s will never work, and even if they end up working as planned, they will never be affordable or adequate for most people.
EV’s will never work, and even if they end up working as planned, they will never be affordable or adequate for most people.
Plastic recyling will save the planet.
Oh wait :
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/04/13/claim-plastic-recycling-is-a-total-con/
From the UK’s document https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634433/Future_of_the_sea_-_plastic_pollution_final.pdf
[my bold]
Just as I said before — without the data of what is in the seas, how it gets there, and who put it there, you can not effectively tackle the problem.
Also within this document is a list of identifiable plastic items that are commonly found. I do not see any reference to drinking straws, balloon sticks, or cocktail stirrers on the list — the items the useless EU bureaucrats have banned for the ‘feel good’ virtue signaling effect only.
I used to regularly help with cleaning up the local beach, the spring tides certainly would bring in the most exotic trash by the sackful. But usually the most common beach trash that I encountered are plastic bags, plastic drinks bottles, plastic used with food(plastic plates, cutlery, cups, etc.), toys and broken plastic footwear. Occasionally the odd (cell) mobile phone or pieces jewelry would turn up but never that much.
Interesting.. I have never noticed or been hit in the face by some plastic anything while swimming twice a day at Bondi and Bronte beaches in Sydney.
I do see and pick up plastic on the sand and bin it.
As an aside, Bondi Beach is still there to the max with no sea level rise in sight.
Plastic bags should be banned.
“Plastic bags should be banned.” – Steve
No.
Those plastic grocery bags are the most recycled plastic product on the planet and the demand for recycling of plastic grocery bags is at an all time high.
They are tough and can be used over and over again.
The number one plastic product that is recycled the most is plastic grocery bags, hands down.
Easiest plastic item there is to recycle.
However, plastic bottles for bottled water is a waste of resources and energy. Just have a refillable container for your RO water, you can eliminate an entire industry.
Sheer laziness, appalling, disgusting, and obscene.
The early spring weather has yet to have much warming effect, the snow banks persist. The creeks and potholes are full, not much evaporation, the temps are too low. A slow melt is what is happening. Plenty of moisture from the winter weather, though.
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