By James M. Taylor
The extremely cold and snowy conditions that have been afflicting Europe and North America during the UN climate talks in Cancun have alarmists wondering if there are any bounds to the Gore Effect. Every time Al Gore goes on a high-profile global warming crusade, the weather turns Antarctic. The same thing, people are beginning to notice, occurs every time the UN holds high-profile global warming talks.
Columnist George Monbiot, a prominent alarmist and columnist at the influential UK Guardian, writes, "Is the divine presence a Republican? Or is He/She/It running an inter-galactic fossil fuel conglomerate? As His name doesn't feature on the exxonsecrets site, the Congressional funding database or any of the other sponsored denier lists, we'll never know, but whatever the explanation may be, the Paraclete appears to be as determined as any terrestrial corporate frontman to prevent a successful conclusion to the climate talks."
"How do I know?" writes Monbiot. "Because every time anyone gets together to try to prevent global climate breakdown, He swaths the rich, densely habited parts of the world with snow and ice."
During last year's Copenhagen talks, the Gore Effect – er, the IPCC Effect – was on full display.
"During the climate talks in Copenhagen last December," writes Monbiot, "a band of hideous weather was aimed with surgical precision at Denmark, the UK, Germany, France, Russia and the US." After lamenting how the world is allegedly "cooking" when nobody is looking, Monbiot observes, "the cold weather in London, Washington, Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen was missed by no one."
"As if more proof of intent were needed, take a look at the Met Office data for the UK. Had the talks in Copenhagen taken place in September, October or November 2009 – all of which were anomalously warm – the people of this country would have needed little persuading that life was hotting up. But the moment December comes along, the map goes powder blue – meaning an anomaly of between -1.5 and - 2.5C," writes an exasperated Monbiot.
"Now He's at it again," Monbiot explains. "Last week, just before the resumption of last year's failed climate talks, the UK recorded its lowest temperature for 25 years, just down the road from where I live. No one missed the fact that Powys, Wales, was struck by an Arctic -17C."
"But, perhaps in the throes of one of His Old Testament rages, He would rather you didn't know. God, alongside half the corporate world and many of its most powerful legislators, has declared war on the climate talks," concedes Monbiot.
Perhaps He's trying to tell us something.