Energy and Environmental Editor, The Economist
Energy and Environmental Editor for The Economist
PROFILE
Oliver Morton
Guest
FROM Oliver Morton
Which Way, L.A.?
Views on Global Warming Change with the Weather Surveys show that public opinion on climate change quite literally shifts with the weather. Now there's a more persuasive kind of evidence. The recent spate of extreme weather -- flooding in Pakistan, Fires in Russia, landslides in China and unprecedented extremes in the US -- appears to confirm predictions made by earlier models of global warming, according to the World Meteorological Organization . Dmitry Medvedev says it's " a wake-up call to all… heads of state." But, when it comes to tough decisions about industrial policy, skeptics are ahead of the game. The political will to take action is as variable as the weather. The world is getting warmer, whether industrial greenhouse emissions are the cause or not. Is there need for some action before it's too late?
To the Point
Views on Global Warming Change with the Weather Surveys show that public opinion on climate change quite literally shifts with the weather. Now there's a more persuasive kind of evidence. The recent spate of extreme weather -- flooding in Pakistan, Fires in Russia, landslides in China and unprecedented extremes in the US -- appears to confirm predictions made by earlier models of global warming, according to the World Meteorological Organization . Dmitry Medvedev says it's " a wake-up call to all… heads of state." But, when it comes to tough decisions about industrial policy, skeptics are ahead of the game. The political will to take action is as variable as the weather. The world is getting warmer, whether industrial greenhouse emissions are the cause or not. Is there need for some action before it's too late?
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