Die Geological Society of Australia (GSA) hat nach langem Anlauf den Versuch abgebrochen, ein gemeinschaftliches Klimagrundsatzpapier zum Klimawandel zu erstellen. Die Präsidentin der Vereingigung erklärte, der Konsensversuch würde in der GSA zu viel Uneinigkeit stiften und die gute Zusammenarbeit in der Geologischen Vereinigung bedrohen. The Australian berichtete am 4. Juni 2014:
After more than five years of debate and two false starts, Geological Society of Australia president Laurie Hutton said a statement on climate change was too difficult to achieve. Mr Hutton said the issue “had the potential to be too divisive and would not serve the best interests of the society as a whole.” The backdown, published in the GSA quarterly newsletter, is the culmination of two rejected position statements and years of furious correspondence among members. Some members believe the failure to make a strong statement on climate change is an embarrassment that puts Australian earth scientists at odds with their international peers. It undermines the often cited stance that there is near unanimity among climate scientists on the issue.
Den vielbeschworenen angeblichen Konsens unter Geowissenschaftlern zum Klimawandel gibt es nicht, wie dieser Vorfall erneut eindrucksvoll unter Beweis stellt.
————————-
Am 28. Mai 2014 gab die dänische Universität Aarhus eine interessante Pressemitteilung heraus: Die großen Säugetiere sind in der letzten Eiszeit nicht etwa wegen des Klimawandels, sondern durch die menschliche Jagd ausgestorben:
Climate not to blame for the disappearance of large mammals
A new study unequivocally points to humans as the cause of the mass extinction of large animals all over the world during the course of the last 100,000 years.
Was it mankind or climate change that caused the extinction of a considerable number of large mammals about the time of the last Ice Age? Researchers at Aarhus University have carried out the first global analysis of the extinction of the large animals, and the conclusion is clear – humans are to blame.
“Our results strongly underline the fact that human expansion throughout the world has meant an enormous loss of large animals,” says Postdoctoral Fellow Søren Faurby, Aarhus University.
Was it due to climate change?