SUSTAINED STRATHSPEY: Don’t shoot the messenger
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Trigger warning – contains mention of Greta Thunberg! I begin with this caution since some folk seem to be unrelentingly hostile to Greta and her efforts to shame governments into serious action to reduce carbon emissions.
They say she is too young, - she was only 15 when she first hit the headlines; too uneducated – she lost much schooling due to her climate activism; and too naive – being criticised for this by Scott Morrison (Australia), Angela Merkel (Germany), Vladimir Putin (Russia), and Donald Trump (United States).
Some less civilised critics have sent death threats, and even shit through her letterbox.
But there's an old bit of advice to the effect that shooting the messenger doesn't change the message – or it's truth.
Again and again folk attack Greta Thunberg as if that would change the facts around climate change - but Greta is only the messenger: she repeatedly urges people not to listen to her but to the scientists.
In recent weeks the letters columns of the Strathy have contained many – some would say too many – letters about climate change, and the degree to which it is worth making an effort to reduce our CO2 emissions.
Anyone who wishes can read the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change online: this is the biggest scientific collaboration of our times.
Their overall message is clear, and the recent report that the average global temperature in 2023 had reached 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels confirmed the worst fears of scientists.
They have been predicting this for decades now, and indeed have frequently been underestimating the probable changes for fear of being thought alarmist.
It's not only scientists but the everyday lives of real people which witness the changes.
There are folk in Brechin who had seen many floods over the years, and 'knew' that their houses were safe – until recent floods overwhelmed them.
And we have family and friends in Australia, where the Rural Fire Service, which responds to bush fires, has had to extend by several weeks the fire season, when they increase their readiness.
As someone interested in this, I was delighted to be offered a copy of The Climate Book, and found it fascinating.
It was 'created' by Greta Thunberg, and contains many short pieces by her which introduce sections with numerous (84!) articles by experts in a huge variety of climate change related topics.
They range from how climate works, through how our planet is changing, and how that affects us, to what we've done about it, and what needs to be done now.
If you have the patience, it makes a riveting read, or if your time is limited it's a great reference book.
At £25 hardback (£22 pb) it's not cheap, but that is for well over 400 pages in hardback, and it can also be borrowed from the library.
Read it – not just to be appalled, but to be inspired to action.
• James MacEwan is a member of Grantown-based Sustainable Strathspey. Find out more about the group on their Facebook page.
