The Pat Kenny Fundamentalist Show

national | environment | opinion/analysis

Sunday January 31, 2010 10:23

by Dave Donnellan

Pat Kenny has lost the plot on Climate Change. As has been noted on previous Indymedia articles Pat Kenny's position on the coming climate catastrophe is “It's all been blown out of proportion.” But could he be right? Maybe the whole thing is a storm in a teacup. I certainly hope he's right. But let's take one example...

Gravity Satellite Ice Sheet Mass Measurements

On a piece this week Pat Kenny interviewed Ray Bates, adjunct professor of meteorology in UCD, on the issue of Climate Change. During the interview Kenny at one stage said all the predictions about climate change were based solely on climate modeling. (Untrue!) He then proceeded to discredit climate modeling and therefore QED climate predictions are nonsense. What he failed to inform listeners is that climate predictions are based on three sources: Paleoclimate studies, modeling and current measurements. Of the three modeling is the least reliable but paleoclimate studies and measurements of what is happening at the moment are also crucial. Paleoclimate studies using analysis of Siberian ice cores for example can give us a picture of the climate over hundreds of thousands of years giving an important chronological perspective within which to see what is going on today is so unusual. Current measurements are telling us, for example, that sea temperature is rising every year. This is one of the most accurate indicators of climate warming.

So on the Pat Kenny Show with professor Ray Bats Paleoclimate Studies and current measurements of climate disappear down fundamentalist climate-denying black hole.

Pat Kenny got his facts wrong too and it's a good example how climate-deniers twist information. At one stage Pat Kenny said “The Antarctic ice sheet is actually increasing.” to which professor Ray Bates replied “Yes, the Antarctic sea ice is actually increasing.” So what's the problem? The problem is illustrated by the Gravity Satellite Ice Sheet Mass Measurements (see above) which measures the amount of ice at the poles. It tells a very different story. I contacted Ray Bates and Pat Kenny to ask them what data they had based their assertions on. Neither replied. It's clear from the graph that over the period both the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are melting. In 2009 the ice sheet increased in mass slightly but seen in the context of the overall trend it's clearly an anomaly. Yet this anomaly is raised up on the Pat Kenny fundamentalist Show and presented as fact.

So what's at stake exactly? Well if the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melt sea-level will rise 6 metres. Yes, 6 metres. We don't have to go to some low-lying island in the Pacific to imagine what the effects will be. Imagine a 6 metres rise in Dublin! The city centre will disappear. It may take a few centuries but it's what we do in these decades that can make a difference. The tipping points are close (if not already past) beyond which it won't matter what we do as the climate changes will be out of control and it won't matter.

In the meantime Pat Kenny should be charged with crimes against humanity. What is happening on his show is nothing short of insane.