Congratulations to the Times newspaper for refusing to join the growing bandwagon of those streaming to attribute the recent spell of flooding in Britain to the effects of Global Warming. In a strongly critical editorial published on July 25th it points out that historically speaking Britain has a long and solid tradition of summer flooding. It comments: "All of this is worth remembering during the present deluge. If the torrent of water was not bad enough, the surge of ignorant speculation as to its causes has added to the misery of the season. Numerous commentators and supposed "experts" have asserted that the flooding is proof of global warming."
The Times adds: "One camp that has not joined in this ludicrous orgy of false prophesy is the category that should know most about the weather, the professional meteorologist. Our weather correspondent Paul Simons has pointed out that summer floods do occur in Britain rather often. There were, he outlines, dreadful runs of weather in the 1840s, 1910s, and 1950s before the advent of low-cost airlines and quantifiable carbon emissions. The claim that global warming is at work is no more plausible than more far-fetched suppositions. These include the idea that years ending in 7 are cursed." The column concludes: "Global warming has become an industry of its own, generating more heat than light (never mind the rain) as it wallows in breast beating hyperbole."
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