This a hot time for media coverage on the climate change topic and it is meeting a lot of attention in this pre-Copenhagen period. However, whilst the mass media reports on the subject, what is the truth? Is global warming happening or not?

On one hand the Wall Street Journal states that “climate change remains uncertain” (1) after the emails stolen from the Climate Research Unit’s University of East Anglia in UK showing that important data behind the climate change debate has been manipulated (BBC News (2)). This article raised quite a few reactions worldwide as in the U.S. where Examiner claims “global warning hoax” (3).

On the another hand, an Indian news website argues that the “World on course for 6 degree rise in temp by end of century” (4) and some 26 researchers, most of whom are authors of published IPCC reports, realised a report named “Copenhagen Diagnosis Predicts 7 Degree Rise” (5).

Agreed! It is confusing!

The freedom of information is a great thing; nevertheless we should keep in mind that the individual still needs to analyse what she/he reads and build up her/his own opinion. Anyway, whatever we read or listen in the newspaper, web or television, the main challenge nowadays is to go in the right direction for the future. Whatever the climate is doing, we must make a change in our lifestyle! We don’t have to wait for climate change impacts and all primary rainforest cut off, scarcity of clean water, depletion of raw materials, possible wars to come due to all these issues!

Absolutely everything is available: green energies, green technologies, green transport, green innovations and so on. Giving a clean world to the coming generations, it is what should be the number one priority from now.

Even the Chinese Government is setting up an ambitious target to curb its country’s carbon footprint (6)! So heads of government, are you going to be responsible and make a concrete and ambitious deal at Copenhagen in December? Don’t just wet your shirt (7)!

Adeline de Lamar

26 November 2009