"We owe it to ourselves not to squander our lives on fairy tales"

George Monbiot

The words above are from yesterday's Guardian where George Monbiot, in his column,  announces his conversion from his previous anti-nuclear stance.  Here are some of his startling statements:

"The anti-nuclear movement to which I once belonged has misled the world about the impacts of radiation on human health. The claims we have made are ungrounded in science, unsupportable when challenged, and wildly wrong. We have done other people, and ourselves, a terrible disservice. . .

". . . Failing to provide sources, refuting data with anecdote, cherry-picking studies, scorning the scientific consensus, invoking a cover-up to explain it: all this is horribly familiar. These are the habits of climate-change deniers, against which the green movement has struggled valiantly, calling science to its aid. It is distressing to discover that when the facts don't suit them, members of this movement resort to the follies they have denounced.

"We have a duty to base our judgments on the best available information. This is not only because we owe it to other people to represent the issues fairly, but also because we owe it to ourselves not to squander our lives on fairytales. A great wrong has been done by this movement. We must put it right."

  Now for some speculation.  Notwithstanding Monbiot's unpleasant comments about 'climate change deniers' - not all who are climate change sceptics can be accused of the actions he alleges - one wonders if his instability of views might sooner or later extend to climate change science.

After all how does he now look back on his previous views about nuclear - which he now finds so abhorrent?  Might he be humble enough to admit that other cherished and much fought for certainties might equally be wrong?  Like IPCC assertions about the science of climate change.  As George would say: "We owe it to ourselves not to squander our lives on fairy tales."

An article in the Wall Street Journal  this week by Douglas J Keenan is another strong argument against the 'science' which underpins the scare about global warming.   Access it here.