Author Archives: John Gibbons
If we tolerate this, then our children will be next
I’ve spent more than a decade first researching and then writing almost exclusively on a range of ‘environmental’ topics, with a special focus on climate change. I joined Twitter in 2010 using the @think_or_swim moniker, determined to use it as … Continue reading
Posted in Irish Focus, Media
3 Comments
‘We asked for signs. The signs were sent’
We are the children of the Enlightenment. Our ancestors lived for countless centuries with only the vaguest idea of the world around or beyond them. Education and literacy was the preserve of tiny elites, usually in the service of religious … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Psychology, Sustainability
Tagged Carl Sagan, neoliberalism, Oreskes
13 Comments
A monkey trap of our own construction
In parts of Asia, indigenous populations have developed an extremely simple yet ingenious way of catching the otherwise elusive wild monkeys. The trap involves a hollow object such as a gourd, which is securely staked to the ground, with a … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Psychology
5 Comments
The meteorologist and the scourge of climate ‘over-alarmism’
Back in March, there was quite a kerfuffle when RTE PrimeTime tried to set up a ‘debate’ about the reality of climate change by initially loading a panel 3:1 in favour of the 3% ‘skeptical’ position that rejects or downplays … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
Tagged agriculture, alarmism, climate denial, Harvest 2020, IPCC
11 Comments
When will accuracy trump ‘balance’ in media climate coverage?
Is the media now the largest remaining impediment rather than aid to an effective public and political response to climate change? If so, how exactly did this come about, and is there anything that can be done to reverse this? … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
43 Comments
Mann on a mission – Hockey Stick scientist interviewed
Michael Mann is one of the world’s leading climate scientists. He is director of the Earth Systems Science Centre in Penn State University and has been a lead IPCC author since 2001. His ‘Hockey Stick graph’ became the defining symbol … Continue reading
Posted in Arctic, Global Warming, Media, Psychology, Sceptics
Tagged denial, fossil fuel, hockey stick, Michael Mann
2 Comments
A Prime lesson in how not to cover climate change
On Tuesday of last week, PrimeTime did something extremely unusual – at least for RTE. It had a programme on climate change. Well, ok, that’s not strictly true; the one-hour show actually carried three items, so climate change was wedged … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
Tagged GWPF, Media, Primetime, RTE
21 Comments
It’s not fair! I can prove I’m better than BOD…
In a recent newspaper article, I wondered aloud if maybe, just maybe, the tide was finally beginning to turn regarding Ireland getting real about climate change. As if to answer the question, the producer of Today FM’s The Last Word … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics
48 Comments
Gravity of climate crisis has yet to sink in nationally
Below, my article more or less as it appeared in the Irish Times last Friday. The day it appeared, rain bucketed down across the country, and maybe this is why the article struck a chord – it was the ‘Most … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media
1 Comment
A welcome Eye on the climate crisis
Last Tuesday evening, Duncan Stewart’s excellent Eco Eye series turned its focus on climate change, and specifically, the impacts already manifesting themselves on Ireland’s weather. You can watch the full show below: Among the experts directly interviewed for the show … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
3 Comments
Climate change fuelling our weather extremes
Below, my article as it appeared in the Irish Times this week: IN THE FIRST week of January last year, I placed an 80 euro bet that 2013 would be among the top ten hottest years since global instrumental records … Continue reading
Posted in Arctic, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
4 Comments
Time to sign up for the climate change war
Below, my article, as it appears in today’s Irish Times. There has been a pretty strong reaction thus far on Twitter (not that much uptake on Facebook) and quite a useful online discussion accompanying the piece on the Irish Times … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Economics, Global Warming, Psychology, Sceptics
Tagged Arctic 30, Brad Werner, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gus Speth, Lonnie Thompson, Pope Francis, World Bank
Leave a comment
Billionaire baddies bringing us to the brink
Below is my article, as it appears in the current edition of Village magazine. I’ve long been fascinated by denial and our seemingly limitless power to delude ourselves about unpleasant or unpalatable realities. This was brought home to me yet again … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Sceptics
1 Comment
The oceans: cradle and graveyard of life on Earth
My first newspaper environmental column appeared in mid-March 2008, headlined: ‘Out of our depth in tackling overfishing disaster’. In researching the piece, I was staggered to read a quote from a senior UNEP official to the effect that even if … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability
3 Comments
IPCC AR5 set to reiterate bleakest of messages
Below, my article as it appeared in yesterday’s Irish Times. I had a bit of a swipe at Fine Gael’s former Environment spokesman, Simon Coveney, having sat down recently to re-watch a clip I recorded for Climatechange.ie back in January … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Psychology
Leave a comment
