Why anyone would ‘panic’ because they are unable to buy iceberg lettuces is a mystery to me. They are tasteless, serve little purpose and are totally devoid of nutritional value.
One should however sympathise with southern European farmers and growers whose crops have been reduced by up to 60% due to bad weather. British farmers faced a similar poor harvest last year following the exceptionally wet weather which continued until June, which took its toll on our winter sown crops. However, I do not recall the misery faced by British farmers hitting the headlines, front pages or being discussed on the Today programme!
I am not sure shoppers will be too put out by the lack of lettuce, broccoli and courgettes, when there are ample supplies of British seasonal vegetables on the shelves, such as carrots, potatoes, swedes, leeks and cauliflowers. This is surely the time for the media to stop panicking, encourage us to buy British and support British farmers.
It seems it is the journalists who are getting over excited by the lack of lettuces, plus a few sandwich makers. Perhaps they should become more creative and produce ‘winter sandwiches’, until British salad crops become available in the spring.
If you can’t trust scientists who can you trust? It is reported that world leaders who attended the 2015 UN Paris Climate Change Conference, were badly misled by the data presented by American scientists.
The question which surely needs asking is: was it incompetence, arrogance or dishonesty? The result of the conference based on unreliable data published by America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which exaggerated global warming, drove world leaders, including David Cameron and Barack Obama, to agree that: $100bn be given every year in extra ‘climate-related’ aid, to the developing world by rich nations. To set a limit for a maximum temperature rise of 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial times, and that 40% of CO2 emissions would be cut across the EU by 2030. The result of which is costing the UK’s economy £320bn. (£80bn/year)
The report wrongly claimed that the ‘pause’ or ‘slowdown’ in global warming in the period since 1998 – revealed by the UN scientists in 2013 – never existed, and that world temperatures had been rising faster than scientists expected.
The report was neither verified nor subjected to usual rigorous internal evaluations processes. And the data upon which the report was based was never archived to allow other scientists the opportunity to validate it.
Now 18 months after this faulty report was rushed out in an attempt to discredit the notion of a ‘global warming pause’, and influence both national and international decisions on climate policy, revised data will show both lower temperatures and a slower rate in recent warming trends.
Following the exposure by Gold medal-winning scientist John Bates, as reported in the Mail on Sunday, who at the time objected to the publication of the faulty data, it is less surprising that President Trump intends to reverse his predecessor’s ‘green policies’, and withdraw from the Paris deal.
I wonder if the recently published Lady Bird Book in which Prince Charles, who was obviously misled by the inaccurate report, warned there was no ‘pause’ in global warming, will now be recalled. Simple messages definitely need to be 100% accurate!
I keep reading reports that those of us who voted to Leave in the Referendum, farmers in particular, now regret our decision, as we apparently knew not what we were doing. It is being put about that we only voted to Leave because we thought DEFRA was an EU department based in Brussels! Obviously those who think this have never spoken to a farmer. I can assure them that we are all very aware that DEFRA is British with headquarters in Westminster.
I know some people think that some of us who live in the countryside are a bunch of illiterate peasants, but I can assure those still unhappy with the outcome of the Referendum, that we knew exactly what we were doing and why.
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