Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to gastroenterologist and chief editor of the Australian Medical Journal Professor Talley, politicians of all sides should do what they are told on climate policy, just as they follow the advice of doctors when dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic. But Talley appears to shy away from offering specific policy advice, other than demanding the government set up a new committee.
Climate change demands same leadership as COVID-19, and Australia is failing
by Medical Journal of Australia
DECEMBER 23, 2020A leading Australian medical clinician and researcher has called on the Federal Government and the health sector to commit to showing the same leadership on climate change as was shown during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Neurogastroenterologist and Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia said in an editorial, published today, that Australia’s response to COVID-19 had been “strong and effective.”
“Key to this success was the valuing by governments of science and data to guide decision making.
“This bipartisan, science-based approach is a model for the future management of climate change, if implemented alongside an appropriate national plan.”
…
Professor Talley called on the Federal Government to establish a National Health and Climate Change Centre within the Australian Department of Health to develop a National Plan for Health and Climate Change with real-time monitoring.
…
Read more: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-climate-demands-leadership-covid-australia.html
Which scientists’ advice should politicians follow? Because there is significant disagreement in the scientific community about how we should respond to the alleged climate crisis.
Dr. Ken Caldeira, Dr. Kerry Emanuel, Dr. James Hansen and Dr. Tom Wigley, arguably the most senior climate scientists in the world, say we should go all out building nuclear power plants. Renewables alone they say are not enough to save the world from climate change.
Does Professor Talley mean we should follow their advice and build nuclear power plants?
Or should we follow the advice of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and treat nuclear power as a “false solution” to the climate crisis?
Consider the USGS (United States Geographical Survey) advice on climate models.
According to the USGS (h/t Dr. Willie Soon);
… A climate scenario describes a plausible future outcome associated with a specific set of societal actions that captures the relationships between human choices, greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and consequent climate change as simulated by global climate models. Because scenarios are developed n a risk-based framework with a high degree of uncertainty about future societal developments, the primary scenarios used in policymaking contexts are usually not assigned a formal likelihood of occurrence (that is, each scenario is considered to be a “plausible” outcome without assuming the “likelihood” of the outcome).
…
In the near term (years to one to two decades in the future), natural climate variability is the largest source of uncertainty in climate projections. For time periods approximately 30 to 50 years out, scientific uncertainty about the climate system is the largest source of uncertainty in climate projections. Beyond 50 years, human decisions that affect global greenhouse gas emissions are the largest source of uncertainty.
…
Read more: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1058/ofr20201058.pdf
So policy makers should treat any climate model as if it could happen, but bear in mind that poorly quantified sources of natural variability could overwhelm projected warming up to 50 years into the future, and cause something completely different to happen.
Yet these wild guesses which scientists are not prepared to own are supposed to be the basis of policy decisions which could affect the lives of billions.
It is easy to demand in general terms that politicians should follow the advice of climate scientists, if you hold back from providing specific suggestions about which group of climate scientists politicians should actually listen to.
Here in Victoria Australia 1000s more people die every winter than in summer.
Additionally, more Victorians retire to warmer Queensland than Queenslanders retire to colder Victoria.
Warmer is more healthy.
Some half a million Canadians head to Florida every winter. Hundreds of thousands more head to Texas, Arizona, and other southern states. Many retire in those locations. I’ve never heard of any Canadian retiring in a more northerly location due to a desire for colder weather.
Yes. We notice the registration plates, with “Victoria the place to be” on them. Except they aren’t.
At least Queensland got rid of the number plates that said “Queensland the Smart State” which was debatable. Apparently it was the idea of a former premier, Peter Beatty, so it might have said “Smart Arse State”. “Sunshine State” is ok.
more sunlight is healthier, especially on the skin
Nothing more pathetic than a medical professional thinking they should be obeyed.
On climate change, medical professionals have the rank of lawyers, bankers, accountants, teachers and farmers.
Generally educated non-specialists.
Talley’s Neurogastroenterology = “… subspeciality … disordered interaction takes place between the nervous system and the gastrointestinal….” [As per Neurology Medlink]
So it’s Talley’s gut feeling that the government was infallible locking down to prevent a viral spread irregardless of ensuing economic & social consequences. Subsequently, in order to combat clinate change Talley will need to henceforth practice his specialty by prescribing everyone in the country doses of carbon vegetal – whether clinically indicated or even an asymptomatic case.
Professor Talley should have done some research on climate change “science” before he removed any doubt that he is ignorant by opening his mouth on the subject. It is pathetic for people with advanced degrees pontificate on subjects they know nothing about. It is also rich that he feels the “medical expert” COVID-19 leadership was spot on, especially in the US. The WHO did a bang up job! HA! They were so right when they said it wasn’t transmissible. At least they did a better job than the public health & medical experts in the US.
The only sensible, and economical, response to climate change of any kind, is adaptation. Attempting to control climate and/or weather is worse than a fool’s errand. Especially when you don’t really know if your mitigation efforts will have the desired effect.
Perhaps the good doctor could detail his climate qualifications. Or perhaps told to stick to his tatting or knitting.
He should be told not to give up his day job of sniffing people’s farts to see if they smell “healthy”.
At least the Journal has “Feedback to Editors” so I for one will oblige.
Jeez, there are some dim Drs around.
There are a great many dim doctors around.
Remember: Half the doctors out there graduated in the bottom half of their class.
Gastroenterology is famous as a field where almost all of the experts got it wrong in regards to ulcers. The man who finally got it right was also an Australian. Perhaps the good doctor Professor Talley should look at the track record of his own field before recommending experts in another field which he knows less about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall
It is a shame that the gastroenterologist and chief editor of the Australian Medical Journal
professor Talley was not able to meet King Canute and pick up a few tips on the limitations on Climate Intervention by government.
‘Trust me I’m a Dr/climate scientist’…
Yeah right
The real problem is that there only a few real climate scientists and it is not them who governments listen too.
Gee, thanks for the advice……doctor
What makes this bloke any more worthy of an ear than any other bloke?
Many doctors suffer from a God delusion.
Good posting of the latest pseudo-scientific group clinging to bad science. But, it’s where the money is. I wonder what the medical comment about 5 times more persons dieing from drug overdoses now in San Francisco than from Covid-19 would be? By the way, it’s United Stated GEOLOGICAL Survey.
This doctor should know that before making the most important medical decision a good doctor is happy for his patient to seek a second opinion. This should also apply to “climate change” decisions. The problem is that these ideological people do not want people to seek a second opinion. To say that politicians of all sides should do what they are told on climate policy, just as they follow the advice of doctors when dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic, flies in the face of good science and good medicine and is certainly not good advice.
Maybe he’s taken a cue from Auntie Beeb – a series of programs called:
Trust Me I’m A Doctor
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j9gny/episodes/guide
He was/is quite an intrepid chap doing it so Big Respect for that
I don’t ‘do’ blood, guts and mess. sorry
It was a ‘Massive Online Open Course’ from an Australian Uni (Dorkin – is that familiar?) and this one’s very subject that got me permanently cancelled by Futurelearn.
A course on how food affects your mental health.
I suggested that drinking alcohol, as the course advocated via the Mediterranean Diet, was perhaps not The Very Best Way to improve one’s mental health and pointed to Mr Trump as a T – Total person we all know and some of us love(d)
Result – Instant Delete.
It was on the point of explaining the Gut Brain Axis about then.
Gutted I was. Gutted
btw: What is he planning to monitor ‘In Real Time’?
Mr Doctor, get real.
Australia raving & raging about climate is a case of The Mouse That Roared. It is a desert with the resultant Crazy Climate and nearly nobody lives there because of that.
But of course and we all share this sentiment:
When I Rule The World, things will be done a little differently round here
Onwards…
If you really are a nuro-trol-erollo-ollojolojist with gas, you should know a very basic and simple thing about how all of us humans works. Our Gut-Brain Axis at least
[Hark at me, soooo brainy. Big Words too]
It is that there are 2 very potent appetite suppressants out there. Very simple basic food items that trigger ‘something’ in our tummies to tell our brains:
“OK, you’ve had plenty, Stop Eating Now”
Those things are, in no particular order: Saturated Fat and Salt
It is THE simplest exepriment that anyone can conduct at any time – what are you waiting for Doctor.
Sorry, silly question: Money
Mmmm, now we’re making progress understanding you are we not? Doctor?
Cooked starch, refined sugar, fibre, vegetable material do not set off that signal so we eat and eat and eat until we feel sick.
Or in The Proper Medical Terminology: Full
Others may say “bloated” or “sick” or “nauseous”
Yet contemporary medicine says:
“Do Not Eat Fat and Salt – continue eating carbs & fibre until you “Feel full””
Even more horribly worse “Use alcohol to (effectively) reduce your inhibitions so you can eat even more“
Then they complain about Food Waste & Obesity -the latter being The Root Cause of ‘Co-Morbidities’
Complete madness
On diet, I just stopped eating industrial seed oils a couple of weeks ago. My personal experience is that cooking with tastier fats, and avoiding the majority of processed foods (only some of the all-butter versions exclude the oils) does indeed convey a better feeling of health, while also eliminating hunger. Basically reverse the advice of the professionals who would be out of a job if the problem was cured.
“Use alcohol to (effectively) reduce your inhibitions so you can eat even more“
They call that “drinking responsibly”. But, once you’ve had a certain amount to drink, responsibility goes out the window.
One side says climate change (global warming) is a hoax, the other side that it has already destroyed us. How can they find bipartisan common ground?
Actually one side says catastrophic climate change is a hoax.
I think we should just go for broke and base all our climate change policies on the teachings of Extinction Rebellion, including medical and economic ones too.
We already have Antifa and BLM for Law and Order and Wokeness so we’re on the right path.
The future looks bright.
NURSE!
I think Creepy Uncle Joe will be calling you with a cabinet position soon. Just remember to rub his hairy legs.
“Today it seems astonishing that for a good five months of the year – from May until the end of September – a fifth of the world’s population was ruled from this small hill station some 2,200m above sea level. Thousands of colonial Brits decamped here every summer to escape the heat of Calcutta (or Kolkata as it is now) and, latterly, Delhi.”
Indian Summers: Visiting the town made famous by the Channel 4 series | The Independent | The Independent
Doesn’t anyone catch the irony of a gastroenterologist being full of sh!t….
As well as piss and wind
Just like requesting a second opinion before embarking on a potentially life changing/saving course of action for medical treatment, we should always be looking for second, even 3rd and 4th opinions before embarking on lunacy like the GND.
“But Talley appears to shy away from offering specific policy advice, other than demanding the government set up a new committee.”
“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” T. Sowell
I don’t think that Dr Tally has the stomach for the actual science of climate.
Fight Climate Fear. Warmer is Better
Trying to ‘control’ the climate(singular) is the same as trying to ‘control’ the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the past we tried controlling the uncontrollable by sacrificing animals and in some cases sacrificing people as well.
Wasn’t that what Gov Cuomo was doing? Sacrificing people through intentionally bad policy?
I’m sure the Trump and Morrison Govts can show leadership and come to to some bipartisan agreement on climate change. Is there anything standing in the way at present?
Yes, the Media.
Policy makers ignore the data/science of C-19 same as they ignore the data/science of climate change.
85.6% of C-19 CASES are among those UNDER 65 years of age. (CDC)
80.7% of C-19 DEATHS are among those OVER 65 years of age. (16% of population)
24.8% of C-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes and hospice care.
Over half of the CASES never see a doctor, hospital or morgue.
Between 12/9/20 and 12/16/20 CDC logged 14,531 deaths attributed to C-19. There were 74,340 deaths due to all causes. The 65+ demographic was accountable for 85% of those C-19 deaths.
If you are 65+ w multiple health issues in a crowded nursing home and the staff brings in C-19 you are screwed, but then you were screwed anyway. In other words: If you are already seriously ill, C-19 will probably finish you off, i.e. no different from the seasonal flu or pneumonia
C-19 is not a problem for the young and healthy herd. Mother Nature and her buddy Grim Reaper are just doing their jobs, culling the herd of the too many, too old, too sick warehoused too close together as Medicare/Medicaid cash cows in poorly run contagious lethal elder care facilities.
Japan has the highest percentage of 65+, 27%, yet still under 3,000 deaths. (WHO)
What do they know/do the rest of the world does not?
If C-19 is mostly killing off old sick people why are our elected morons suspending civil liberties, due process, bankrupting the country with lockdowns, distancing and masked clown shows? Guess they can’t impose the NWO Grand Reset with actual facts. And the lying, fact free, fake news MSM left-wing propaganda coup machine has betrayed its responsibility to democracy and an informed public.
Here in the US, we’re not told any more by the media who is dying from this. All we hear is “There were X number of deaths yesterday…”.
I’m currently on the Atlantic coast in Florida and squadrons of pelicans are all flying south. I guess you’d have to have a brain smaller than one of these birds to attribute this to ‘climate change’.
About 5 weeks ago, a COVID-19 epidemology group at the University of Arizona strongly recommended to Arizona Governor Ducey to lock down the entire state again because of rising Covid cases. Doing so would once again destroy the fragile process of many retail businesses and restaurants trying to regain some financial footing. The group of Drs and PhDs didn’t care. Their paychecks wouldn’t be threatened by such a lockdown.
Arizona Governor Ducey ignored their bleating and whining IYI idiocy, to his credit.
This Aussie gastroenterologist is just another of many thousands of academic Intellectual Yet Idiots. (IYI’s). Best just to thank them for their opinion and then ignore them.
He may be academic but he is not intellectual, like too many of his kind.
Ironic that a gastroenterologist would be full of shit.
**Climate change demands same leadership as COVID-19, and Australia is failing**
And there lies the problem . If climate change gets the same leadership as Covid-19 in Canada we have a problem.
OOPS, I just remembered, we have the same inept leadership in Canada.
A gastroenterology who believes in readings from chicken entrails.
How quaint.
Some doctors are very ignorant and very stupid and very arrogant. The good doctor should stick to medicine but not expect me to accept a referral to him.
Medical doctors get justifiably snarky about laymen giving medical advice; Medical doctors should observe the same strictures about giving climate science advice.
A medical doctor may have a BS science degree somewhere on the path to his/hers MD degree, but that doesn’t qualify them as an atmospheric physicist.
Prof Talley displays signs of tunnel vision, common to gastros I bet.
paul courtney
He has hands-on experience with material roughly equal to climate data.