DESPITE a heated worldwide debate, scientist Tim Gibson has no doubt the evidence is mounting that climate change is a result of human activity.
Next week, Dr Gibson, a trained Al Gore “climate ambassador”, will present a public talk Whither the Weather: a Climate Change Update on climate change and its potential impact.
A retired atmospheric physicist and climatologist at the University of Melbourne, Dr Gibson said his research in the 1980s and ’90s found significant climate shifts.
“I saw that the subtropical jet stream was moving closer to the poles, and people from the bureaus of meteorology were laughing at me. They’re not now.”
Dr Gibson said the clincher supporting climate change theory was the strong links between carbon dioxide levels found in polar ice cores and Earth temperature levels during the past million years.
“I find it hard to understand [climate sceptics]. They say climate is always changing and this is some sort of natural change that’s linked with changes in the Sun.
“[But] the output of radiation from the Sun has declined slightly.”
He said it was not too late to take action, though rising sea levels were already imperilling low-lying nations and Pacific islands.
Dr Gibson praised Ross Garnaut’s Climate Change Review recommending a carbon emissions trading scheme.
“I’d give Professor Garnaut’s report a B-plus or A-minus if I was marking it as an essay. It was very good.”
Dr Gibson will speak at St Mark’s Community Church, corner of Burton and Edward streets, Chadstone, at 8pm on July
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Hot topic: Retired climatologist Tim Gibson will share his views on climate change.
