Skepticism is bastardry, says head of ACF

Australian
29 April 2011, Page: 6

THE president of the Australian Conservation Foundation has attacked the "scientific bastardry" of climate change skeptics amid weakening public consensus that humans are to blame. Ian Lowe, who is also professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University, lamented the narrowing of the carbon tax debate. He said it was "naive" to believe putting a price on carbon was the solution to the problem, arguing the carbon price would have to rise to "politically unrealistic" levels if it was to drive the transition away from coal fired power. He said other complementary measures would be needed to encourage renewable energy.

Addressing a conference in Melbourne organised by the academics' union, the National Tertiary Education Union, Professor Lowe called on scientists to become more active in promoting the scientific evidence of human induced climate change. "As a profession who are paid from the public purse, it is a fundamental part of our responsibility to the community to be engaged in the public debate about these issues", he said. He said the evidence for human induced climate change was backed by virtually all scientists. He described the views of climate change skeptics as "illegitimate arguments that you could call scientific bastardly".