From the Chicago Tribune, August 3, 2008
PERSON OF INTEREST RAJENDRA PACHAURI
By Michael Hawthorne
Story link: Blunt answers about risks of global warming
Note: Photo changed to this one at 4:40PM PST 8/3/08 due to previous one inviting negative comments about Pachauri’s personal appearance. – Anthony
Rajendra Pachauri isn’t nearly as famous as Al Gore, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with an international panel on climate change that Pachauri, an Indian scientist and economist, has led since 2002. But as chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Pachauri has an urgent message for world leaders about the perils of global warming. He talked to the Tribune recently while he was in town to meet with Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago civic leaders. An edited transcript follows.
Excerpts:
Q: What do you think about the small but vocal group of doubters still out there
Pachauri Answer: There is, even today, a Flat Earth Society that meets every year to say the Earth is flat. The science about climate change is very clear. There really is no room for doubt at this point.
Q: What have you done personally to shrink your carbon footprint?
A: I’ve become a vegetarian. I try to minimize the use of cars. Where I’ve failed is my impact with regard to air travel. I tell people I was born a Hindu who believes in reincarnation. It will take me the next six lives to neutralize my carbon footprint. There’s no way I can do it in one lifetime
Why does he need a plane anyway? He could always travel astrally. Who’d want to look on that face? It’s enough to turn one to stone.
Most of us find it very frustrating to wait for good science to percolate up through the pseudo-scientific political morass anchored by Gore, Hansen, and the IPCC. I know I do. Fortunately, in addition to the breakthrough of good science there are a number of show stoppers that help fend off wasting money on faux AGW relief. Perhaps the most significant is that India and China have no real intentions of participating in this silly game.
AGW is looking more and more like a blessing in disguise. All the loonies are gathering under one tent. When it collapses, they will be discredited and maybe we’ll have 30 years of peace and prosperity till the next crop of loonies matures. There is a theory that history has 30 and 60 year cycles. According to the theory, it takes that long to forget lessons learned from the past.
I just received 10.000,000 carbon credits. My question is… can I roll over any unused credits to my next life? Maybe I should ask Shirley MacLaine…
We’re only a “small” group of deniers. (according to the questioner), nevermind that scientists are leaving the IPCC almost weekly, and coming to the side of denying man made global warming.
Mike Bryant (13:05:09) :
Off Topic:
Anyone seen Mauna Loa? Mauna Loa takes BIG stumble…
Nice one Mike – (also nothing is off topic on this topic methinks) I had not looked until you pointed it out. Greater minds than mine will dissect but my two-penneths-worth; it is quite a big drop but this year’s trend (that “nice sinusoidal” I have been having my nose rubbed in since I first realised that AGW was political not scientific) was skewed in April already (for Mauna Loa) Globally this ” The last year of data are still preliminary, pending recalibrations of reference gases and other quality control checks. ” is still possible. But yes, it is “veeery eeenteresting”
“Aw, nuts!”
Patrick that is a good point. Surely al can relieve pachauri of some of his money and all of his guilt. If pachauri does not purchase carbon credits he truly is hypocritical. I would like to be a fly on the wall during the negotiations between al and pachauri.
“AGW is looking more and more like a blessing in disguise. All the loonies are gathering under one tent. When it collapses, they will be discredited and maybe we’ll have 30 years of peace and prosperity till the next crop of loonies matures.”
I wonder if that will be the case or it will be like this:
In Seattle Komrade Premier (mayor) Greg Nickels is making “car free sundays” every week of August and September. When the climate starts cooling to the point where it’s undeniable (apparently the surface temperature of the US went up last year, contradicting the global drop in temperature….) they will take credit for it.
The question is, at what point of the cooling will they start telling us to drive more to effect warming? My guess is, like the 70’s they blame the cooling on some sort of unscientific method as well.
Pachauri needs seven lifetimes, Gore says WE need only ten years.
All the warmers are hyprocrites.
We are supposed to be at the proverbial “tipping point” for the climate right now.
And this guy wants to take SIX lifetimes to solve his personal part of it. (6 X 72 years = 432 years)
Perhaps not that long (432 years), Bill.
After all, if they are successful in rolling back everybody’s carbon footprint, the average lifespan should shorten accordingly.
My goodness, Charles, my reference was to a well-known TV character who is on a very popular show, that runs all the time and has been running for 15 years!
In any case, said reference was obliquely to the good doctor’s nationality, which is mentioned in the article above, and not to his race, which is what?
Note that the first commenter also made reference to a TV personality (albeit an ad character) that was far more derogatory than mine.
Tut tut, Charles. Your Political Correctness is showing.
Reply: Be that as it may, I’m allowing a little over the top derogatory from most posters, including you, but drawing the line at overt, even if unintentional, racism~charles the moderator.
Dear Dr. Pachauri,
I am not a flat-earther, nor am I a hypocrite.
I am a climate criminal, thank you very much. Just ask npower!
The picture isn’t from Planet of the apes… it’s the Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi…
That is really scary, man.
Suzanne
Mr. Pachauri’s remarks are quite incredible considering the scientists and leader of his country led by Prime Minister Singh have published a governmental position paper that examined the “problem” intensively and concluded that while there was weather change it was not likely to be catastrophic and the contribution from fossil fuels was mininal. They deided to “prioritize economic development and poverty eradication over some nebulous climate change action plans. ” His belief in reincarnation has nothing to do with with his climate alarmism. I suspect someone to him to the same woodshed for instruction in political correctness as Michael Griffeth of NASA.
ave discounted these claims as exaggerated. They also lack supporting evidence.
Hey,
First of all this was a cr*p Q&A in a newspaper.
Second, ad hom attacks on people’s hairstyle and more importantly on their religious beliefs have no place in our arguments about AGW. Guys this isn’t RC or Open Mind so lets not sink to theuir levels.
statePoet1775 (09:37:45) :
“It will take me the next six lives to neutralize my carbon footprint.”
No disrespect intended, but wouldn’t he have to come back as a plant to neutralize his carbon footprint?
Truly beautiful.
Perhaps Pachauri will give Steve McIntyre his email address so Steve can provide Pachauri with a list of missing data and emails. Certainly Pachauri is the man to provide the missing links. (in case anyone wonders this is my lame attempt at sarcasm)
why is there still no prove than when it is so clear? Believing in a religion is not speaking in his favour for any scientist. Climat always changes, and there are always peolple looking for power and money. What is ne, is that they are stealing it in a ligitimate way by taxes. It time for a war against these criminlas.
If everyone who is spreading the new climate communisme would kill himself earth would be heaven.
I would prefer and I’m sure Anthony would as well, that posters refrain from commenting on Pachauri’s appearance, and limit themselves to the content of his interviews, other statements, and actions~charles the moderator
REPLY: Ditto that. I was in a hurry this AM to leave for a day out with the kids (now that the smoke has cleared) and that was the first picture that came up in Google image search. I’ll see if I can find a better one. – Anthony
“I tell people I was born a Hindu who believes in reincarnation. It will take me the next six lives to neutralize my carbon footprint.”
…and I was born a Catholic, so I will have all eternity to sort out mine!
Sorry, but I can’t take this guy seriously; that has to be a joke.
“ It will take me the next six lives to neutralize my carbon footprint. There’s no way I can do it in one lifetime!”
Well I guess I’ll do the same. At 80 years per lifetime, I’ll get my carbon footprint under control in about 480 years, just like him.
I’m not exactly the most superficial person in the world, but that picture is downright scary! If I didn’t know better, I would swear that was the man that begged change from me the last time I was stopped in traffic downtown.
Superficial? Maybe… but it will be a below-freezing day in Hawaii before I let someone who looks and acts like this guy tell me how I should live my life. I guarantee that this man can NOT relate to my life, my lifestyle, my business, my society, or even the civilization I am a part of.
Personally, I’m proud of my job, which has me flying a few times per week. I fly commercial (737s), and lately my company has me flying in and out the same day. My current record is six flights in one day.
I do everything I can to increase my “carbon footprint”, thank you. And from 39,000 feet it is very clear that the Earth is not flat… then again, it’s also very clear that our little portion of the atmosphere is miniscule.