The climate

I apologise if this letter seems selfserving towards my somewhat philosophical view on how little mankind actually ‘‘controls’’ his environment, or is, in fact, the principal reason for the existence of this planet, Earth, let alone the multitude of dimensions which we label as the cosmos. In pointing out that humanity with all of its theosophical and scientific machinations exerts only a microscopic influence on our planet, an infinitesimal influence on the solar system, and practically none at all on even our ‘‘own’’ dimension of existence, I am aware that many will pretend they cannot understand what I am saying, and will accuse me of using ‘‘nutter-speak’’. I do, however, appreciate Gwynne Dyer’s article, ‘‘All’s quiet on the climate front’’, for revealing factors such as the unexplained rise in methane emissions in the tropics not attributable to burning fossil fuels. Other factors such as the coal deposits in Antarctica which must have once sported great forests, to produce the coal, speak of extreme climate changes and continental shift, on an evolving planet, long before viral mankind arrived on the scene. Mr Dyer speculates, ‘‘ . . . could there be some unknown trigger in the system that would set off runaway warming at a significantly lower average global temperature . . . a non linear process?’’ I say no. What we are seeing . . . or refusing to see, is cosmic evolution from a bigger perspective, with mankind simply being carried along for the ride.

Dennis Pennefather

Te Awamutu

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