The 200 Mancunians who crammed room C16 in UMIST's Renold Building on Friday 11 July, drawn by the reputation of Bob Watson - ace climatologist, behind-the-scenes mover and shaker, Bush-ite dismissee - were not to be disappointed. In a planet-ranging 65 minute exposition of the climate woes assailing us he laid bare the the main underlying causative forces in a lecture aptly titled "The Science and Politics of Climate Change".
This Norwich-born, London educated, US resident, whose chairmanship of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was terminated ("Exxonated") in 2001 by one George W Bush, took the audience through accumulating evidence for the climate change which has already occurred over the past 25 years.
He did not stop there. With widely garnered research findings and plentiful illustrations to hand, he showed how the planet, with all its plants and creatures, is now under direct threat if we do not rein in our consumption of fossil fuels. This exposition was no mere tirade from an angry and disempowered prophet. It was a masterpiece of point by point elucidation of each problem and each effect. And it hinted at hope for the future - if we act fast.
Of all the long term effects predicted by Dr Watson and his fellow workers, perhaps four stood out most starkly: a global warming pattern has already become so established that even a sharp diminution in fossil fuel burn within the next 25 years will not prevent a rise in temperature and sea levels which will continue for 400 years; uneven warming will raise polar temperatures by 6-12 degrees C, enough to institute a whole new geological era; Africa will become even drier and hotter, with dire effects upon already stressed populations; and an ultimate indirect effect could be the weakening of the Gulf Stream, thus provoking, paradoxically, a dangerous cooling of Europe's climate.
Dr Watson's remedies? An informed electorate, intelligently concerted international action, relevant & well funded research and development, the empower-ment of women everywhere, and the treatment of the whole climate threat within a framework of human development. Although Dr Watson's advisory role at the World Bank and his belief in market mechanisms may upset many readers, his analysis and message was almost beyond challenge.
Sustainable Development
Round up of green news
In Town Without My Car
Monday 22 September is car free day, but who's doing what?
Urban Voices, Future Choices: Learning for Sustainable Cities
report back from a very successful meeting of world-wide sustainable education pioneers
Tons Weigh in for Trade Justice
campaigners hold 24 hours of raising awareness about debt
Make a Splash
it's time to plan your activities for this year's Mersey Basin Week
Manchester Rejects GM
massive opposition to genetically modified crops
Extra Recycling Emerges
recycling is set to expand over Greater Manchester
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