I feel old sometimes. I’m not, according to my doctor, but I’m at least not “Youth”, as defined by the United Nations to be between the age of 15 and 24 (for the first three years in there, you also have the privilege of being “child” at the same time).

Couldn’t care less.

The UNFCCC however, cares a lot, and that’s where I start to care.

The report on youth participation in the climate battle, distributed here at the climate conference in Bonn, is impressive, with government funded youth summits and UN financed education camps. To join in, Alofa Tuvalis together with ADEME, has produced a partly entertaining comic book, where non-environmental decisions in daily life is punished by itching powder thrown by the mysterious bug Sib.

If the island of Tuvalis is really sinking, and if, in that case, it has anything to do with what I have for breafast, is not really explained, but as a pedagogic endeavour, it’s interesting from mainly two aspects.

Good manners is an important virtue, and one that all “youth” should pick up, else they might run into problems later in life. These include most of the things taught in the booklet, don’t throw garbage in nature, try not to work up your parents’ electricity bill too much.

But what ever became of good old youth rebellion against authorities and oppression? Do dress in a UN sponsored T-shirt and harass people, telling them that politicians should “do something”, in other words taxing and regulating people, does not come across as very courageous, or youthful for that matter.

But maybe I’m just too old for this.

On March 21, incidentally my birthday, a friend from Iceland called me and said she had organized some fireworks for me. What a pity she could not set off the second eruption one week ago. With all airline traffic closed down in most of  Europe, as today, the Climate conference in Bonn would have been more eventful. Or less.

But I don’t blame her. Or anyone else. I also have a solid alibi myself.

To my knowledge, honestly, no alarmist has yet tried to pin volcano eruptions on human activity. Nothing surprises me these days, so in case someone would try that over the next few days, it’s interesting to look at the statistics. It’s not Armageddon – non man made - either. Reliable, reported data on eruptions has developed mainly over the past century (though, naturally, there are plenty of earlier accounts). This compiled data shows no significant changes from then to now (though, also naturally, the cycles between eruptions are rather long). Except for the decrease in the early 40’s. I presume you can draw your own conclusions from that. But it also makes you think about the validity of different climate data. The infamous hockey stick, now not accepted by hardly any scientists for example, takes of upwards around 1990. A lot of things happened, including to observation stations, in huge parts of the world those years.

Human action – and design – can, however be valuable. The eruption might go on for days or even years, but so far there are no casualties on Iceland. According to friends there, the worst problem is that the evacuation from the area is getting disrupted by, particularly domestic, tourists, wanting to see it for real.

In 1783, another volcano erupted on Iceland. This led to bad harvests in large parts of Europe, and is generally believed to have been a major source behind the famine and subsequent turmoil in France in 1789. The world, and Iceland in particular, is just trying to recover from a major financial crisis. So far no one – in this part of the world – is talking about a revolution. Once again, draw your own conclusions!

I might get my asthma back, and I can’t fly for a while, but hey! There is a civil society out there, in case of emergency. People are now taking cab rides across half of Europe. You certainly could not do that before the car was invented, the taxi market privatized and the border controls were taken away.

On top, if the eruption continues, the average temperature will drop. Maybe as much as two degrees Celsius, It’s just a theory, but if I were the IPCC, I would at least take a little break.

Last day of the climate conference in Bonn, a most interesting city that we unfortunately never had the time to study more closely, due to the – as usual – busy program. Bonn, the city of Beethoven and a symbol both for peaceful German recovery after WWII and the European university traditions. Today, all but remnants of the hastily build government administration are gone, together with the embassies, though the sometimes magnificent residences still remain along the Rhine.

How lovely then to stumble across an invitation to come back! The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, sponsored by everything from the European and especially German taxpayers to DHL is inviting everyone to an international conference 21-23 June, here in Bonn, on “Climate change and the media”.

I humbly accept your invitation. The topic “How to make Oscar-winning movies on climate change”, interests me in particular. Let me also give you an offer in return! CFACT will gladly help with both material and lecturers, on all of the listed topics. I just spoke to one of our fabulous experts and lecturers, Lord Monckton, who readily accepted to address, for example, the seminar “How to professionally deal with climate scepticism”.

To reply to this offer, please leave a comment below, or use the contact information to CFACT listed on the site.

Looking forward to seeing you again in Bonn!

University of East Anglia

Exonerated, is a beautiful word. It means that all your trouble are gone and you can go back to sleep, with no accusations hanging over your head. Consequently, it is also frequently used in the comments after the UK parliamentary committee delivered its report on Professor Jones’ responsibility for the strange events at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at East Anglia University. The problems with Climategate are instead described as a lack of routines and a culture of secrecy, something the panel advises CRU to do something about. Note that this is only about the E-mails at East Anglia, not the peculiar coincidence that all the other mistakes made by IPCC  were only detected after the Copenhagen Climate Chaos.

However, the panel also voices understanding over Jones, most likely being frustrated about handing over data to climate sceptics who just want to undermine his research. Is this a university or a political youth organisation?

Don’t submit that dissertation! The opponents might attack you. Don’t publish your findings. Other researchers might quote your work, or even challenge it. Don’t discuss! The others might try to undermine your research.

If this is the guiding principle for East Anglia, or indeed for all universities in the UK, it’s quite remarkable. Stop researching ancient Greece! The Greeks might use your findings in their fight to remain in the EURO system. Stop teaching languages! Your students might use them for all sorts of purposes. 

Or might it be that climate research has really turned into ordinary brutal politics?

Two of the more intriguing accusations I got thrown at me in Copenhagen were: “Climate Hater” and “Weather Denier”.

Funny, but strange. I’m convinced that cursing along, hating the ever changing climate is about as constructive as trying to steer a sailing boat by shouting orders to the winds. Either one would just drive you mad (and possibly injured). Denying the weather seems more promising, but equally dangerous. Is that what you do when you take that boat out in spite of the approaching storm?

There’s no room to deny the record breaking cold winter right now. Yo might enjoy the complete silence from the alarmists in Copenhagen, who really picked the wrong year for the meeting, or you may rejoice over the increasing polar ice and the happy polar bears, but the problems are real.

More than 200 dead, just from the cold, in Poland alone. Numerous other victims all over Europe, and the US. Disrupted communications, often fatal traffic accidents, broken limbs on slippery sidewalks, power failures and skyrocketing electricity bills tell the story.

The lesson is to be prepared, and luckily, most people in the developed world are. We have different forms of heating, some in rural areas with two or more alternative sources. We have sound clothing, stocked up food supplies, winter adjusted tires, cell phones, heated cars, sometimes even functional emergency health care. At least most advanced hospitals have several back up systems in case of a black out.

That’s not because we decided to change our lifestyles in Copenhagen, stopped burning fossil fuels or discourage technological development. It’s thank’s to the fact that we never really did that. If you live in Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Austria and some other countries, you most likely also have the chance to hide yourself from the cold in a steaming sauna. That’s what I do, every day, and I’m not sitting there hating neither climate nor weather.  I celebrate that I have won the battle so far.

Acting EU President Reinfeld has been busy the past two weeks, partly as he has declared the Copenhagen summit in December the most important event during his six month stint. So far, my congratulations go both to him and to his spin doctors.

Last week, the EU leaders gathered to form a mandate before the summit. A mandate; not any obligations before Copenhagen. According to both the President’s staff and the media, the meeting was, in spite of immense difficulties, a success. Indeed it was. It was simply solved by giving the nine – out of 27 – dissenting countries – what they wanted. They now do not have to pledge to pay a euro cent in this billion euro project for the next ten years.

This week, the acting president visited another president, the one in the US. After presenting him with a basketball T-shirt as a friendly gift, he proudly announced that Obama had complimented him on his environmental work. He then added that regardless of good intentions, the White House had no chance of getting Senate approval in time anyhow and that Obama was not even sure he would turn up in Copenhagen.

On a side note, the American President also made clear that he would not make the customary detour to Stockholm, after recieving his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. A diplomatic faux pas, but maybe not as bad as the earlier winner Al Gore, who, while spilling tears over CO2 emissions, gladly had himself flown both to Stockholm and further on to Frankfurt on the Swedish governmental aircraft. Incidentally, a cabinet minster has to be on board that aircraft, by law. In other words, four trips. But I guess Air Force One now tries to avoid climate compensating.

And still no enthusiasm from China, where by the way, the acting European president made another faux pas some years ago by  arriving to the official reception clad in some sort of leisure garment. If this is success, I’m really looking forward to Copenhagen.