I’ve watched incredulously as the world prepares for a swine flu “pandemic”. The press, the debate, the money – all to fight a vague threat.
Yet, as we count down the days to Copenhagen and the Climate Conference that might well determine this planet’s – and our children’s future – I’m met with a deafening silence.
Thanks to the best science available and a now global acknowledgement by leaders that the data is valid, we know that climate change will alter the geographical landscape, rendering some places uninhabitable. We are aware that thousands if not millions will be displaced, environmental refugees in numbers we’ve never seen.
We have been warned of the increase in disease.
We understand the impact – thank-you Nicholas Stern – climate change will have on economies worldwide.
Sure climate deniers still exist. But, as evidence of human-caused global warming piles up and even the naysayers are being forced to admit that global cooling theories are not backed by science, what – exactly – are we waiting for?

We know that our planet’s atmosphere must stay below 350 ppm greenhouse gases if we wish to avert catastrophic climate change. Yet instead we’re lining up to be vaccinated for H1N1, which, incidentally, I had last week. Yes, I felt lousy. No, it wasn’t as bad as watching glaciers melt and hurricanes wreak havoc.

I’m left with this one thought: If only climate change could be pinned on a pig. Then maybe the world would rally its forces to keep it at bay.