Four days ago, George Monbiot decreed that cold winters were in fact a product of global warming. And he may be right, although one is bound to ask what kind of weather pattern he would accept as evidence that there wasn’t global warming. My point isn’t about meteorology, but about pessimism. Why should we focus only on the negative aspects of climate change? Aren’t snowy winters, for most of us, rather delightful? Or – to return to the more usual AGW narrative – mightn’t there be an up-side in a two degree temperature rise in Britain?
To put it even more simply, aren’t we capable of adapting to climatic shifts? Mean annual temperature in Helsinki is 5.6 degrees centigrade, in Athens 17.4 degrees, in Rio de Janeiro 26.6, yet all three cities seem capable of supporting large populations. I think we’ll get by somehow. Anyway, I’m going out for another snowball fight. Joyeux Noël, as we Old Brussels Hands say, and bonnes fêtes.
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