I don't generally respond to people who have previously set out to shit me. I am not into antogonising people. I write down my thoughts and readers can take them or leave them.

However, at this point I will take a moment to clarify briefly some of my thoughts on "global warming". Please don't take this as a start to some debate. Life's too short. My ideas perculate over weeks, months and years. Often they change or shift and sometimes they just stay put.

* I don't personally know if global warming is true or not and to what degree if it is true. I have no qualifications to judge the so-called scientific "evidence" either way. I do know that if you care to name me a topic I could write you a convincing scientific-based arguement backing it or disproving it. I learnt at uni that there is no such thing as empirical, hundred per cent, cast in stone information. Everything is subjective, including scientific evidence. So the arguments that "renowned" scientists believe global warming is true holds no direct sway with me, there are plenty of scientists who believe the opposite and various shades in between.

* Even if global warming or some form of it is true it doesn't mean that humans are responsible. I think if global warming is "true" than it is much more likely to be a normal part of the Earth's climate cycle. After all there have been various such cycles throughout history. What caused the previous Ice Age and the subsequent warming of the planet? Certainly not humans driving cars or not turning off their microwave while they go to work.

* This is probably what is annoying me the most. If global warming is true than we really are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with all this "environmentally friendly" shit. Sensible people are spending SO much energy on "eco friendly" light bulbs (which may or may not be better environmentally for various reasons and certainly not better in every scenario), short showers/not flushing toilets, recycling, turning off appliances, etc. I'm not saying some of these things haven't got some merit (we have some long life light bulbs because they last a long time and save us time and money - I don't believe they'll save the planet) but most have really more warm and fuzzy value than real benefit.

* I believe that Western middle class people need to feel they are doing somethng useful because quite frankly all our needs and a great deal of our wants are met because we are affluent (this affluence also brings about a level of guilt for which we need to self-flagelate ourselves - e.g. we are destroying our planet, bad bad humans!). I don't believe the people in Guatemala (where my darling son was born) who are burning cow poo to stay warm care a great deal about such issues. They would be unbelievably happy to have some electric or gas heating, a proper stove, some running water. When you're talking personal survival global survival is probably fairly low on your priority list. We have the luxury of looking at the "bigger picture" because we don't have real problems to worry about. There is half the world's population who are struggling to achieve part of the lifestyle we take for granted and I can't see why they shouldn't have that. If anything scientists, engineers, etc (and I'm sure they are doing so as we speak) should be working on ways energy can be used and harnassed to benefit all of the world's population and if that means improving nuclear energy (which appears to me the best bet we have at the moment) than that's the way we have to go. I just don't think solar panels and wind farms are going to do it, as much as we may want them to.

* What's happening today is not so much a discussion or a debate, it's a bit of mass hysteria. It's irresponsible to show our children the Opera House being submerged by water. Children see this crap and think it's going to happen tomorrow and they are genuinely scared, they don't have the critical analysis skills to see it for what it is - a media-led beat up which will (one can only hope) be laid aside next week or next month when more interesting Britney Spears stories take front page.

Look, I'm not burying my head in the sand. I read and watch what I can but I do have a fairly solidly built opinion which will only be swayed by some pretty strong evidence to the contrary (say the end of the world). If people choose to believe I take this opinion at the peril of my children's future, so be it. I don't believe my light bulb usage habits will have one iota of influence on my children's future.