The Certainty of Uncertainty

Over the last few days, I have been reading various web articles on climate change.

The variety of views about it was , to say the least, somewhat bizarre, in my eyes. As someone who has been following the unfolding facts about climate change over the last couple of decades, including reading a fascinating book recently about the very worrying changing patterns down in the Antarctic, I was amazed to read that in a recent poll, the number of people in the UK who feel the climate issue is being exaggerated has increased, and that only 41% accept that it is largely man made. Even more astonishing, only 31% believe it to be a definite reality.

Then there is the government producing ads to try and increase public awareness....... now a couple of their ads have been banned as not being based on facts but on projections ....one of those ads showed the 'three men in a tub' ( as in rub a dub dub!)to illustrate rising water levels and danger of flooding.... Again I just thought it so odd, that while the government ( and all of us) are being faced with the most serious of crises...that firstly they have to hire advertising people to publicise it, and then secondly they are banned from putting it out, as it would be scare mongering, and too distressing and misleading......

How are the general public to know what 'on earth' to think about it all?


Then there was the BBC 'Earthwatch' reporting that from their World Service Trust survey, that although many Africans are noticing progressive change in their climate, the tendency is to ascribe it to a 'higher authority' One fisherman from Ghana was quoted as saying " When it comes to rainfall, God has changed his calender" MMMM.....That's another way of thinking about it!

Reading the three articles one after the other, made me pause and ponder .....


The one thing all seemed to agree on is that things are changing, we don't know quite how or why, and that the future is full of uncertainty -- is this the only thing that is certain !!??