Hi,

It is very sad to see that a request of Weather Watch to post ‘straight to the point’ questions about climate change turns into another debate where people give their opinions instead of taking this opportunity to get more information about this topic.

What I would like to ask Dr James Renwick is whether he can give us very straight forward answers about:

Is their any influence from the sun?
How scientists do actually “read” e.g. ice- and seafloor-cores to make statements about the Earth’s past climate changes?
How the current climate change is different from the past ones and why this one is (or is not) so dangerous for us?
What is the difference between ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’?
Explain why ‘climate change’ is not something that you ‘believe in’ but you except as a fact, based on robust, peer reviewed scientific data, or do not except based on other robust, peer reviewed scientific data.

Thanks, KaVe

I have just finished reading the book “Storms of My Grandchildren” by James Hansen. (ISBN 978-1-60819-200-7). James is an authority on climate change and paleoclimatology and has earnt his reputation as a pioneer of climate research. Ha had recently visited New Zealand and delivered speeches in several venues.

I have read much on both sides of the climate divide having a neighbour who is an arch contrarian and often directs me to sources of contrarian opinion that he cites as being so sound that I will change my judgement as to where the reality lies.

I always check out his references and although some opinions stick for a while (I read most of a contrarian book at one point) the logic and arguments do always crumble.
James Hansen is a soft mannered writer whose opinion I trust. After having read his book I think I finally understand climate change as best as it can be understood by a lay person. The book gives a facsninating insight into how special interest groups have infiltrated politics and gained the oxygen of the mass media to give the impression that we do not have a job to do here.

We seem to have a BIG job to do.

For anyone open minded enough to read this book it is a must.
Of course it is true that most contrarians hate Hansen with a vengeance.
Malcolm Lyons July 6th 2011

We now have an ETS in New Zealand. Now that it has been instigated , how can we dismantle it and let all the people that have had to “buy” into it be let down? The ETS was established with NO mandate from New Zealanders. Who was asked?
I think it is a lie and ETS schemes will do nothing but deal out hardship to all involved.

of course the climate changes – that is a given for the planet. There are screeds of info telling us how different the climate has been over millenia – ice, tropical, ice etc etc etc.
With only a hundred years or so of climate measuring data, how can “science” possibly state with any validity that this current cycle of change has anything to do with humanity. The Earth has cycles far longer than our puny lifespans.