いよいよ明日(2/16)京都議定書が発効しますが、そもそも本当に地球温暖化が問題なのか、その原因は何なのか、京都議定書のアプローチは間違っているのではないか、というような批判的論調が欧米では最近盛り上がっているようです。今朝配信された"New Scientist" の最新号(No. 2486)は、「気候変動：脅威か神話か？」と題する記事の中で、温暖化問題は「世界規模のペテン」で、「左翼的、反米的、反西欧的」である、英国政府の科学顧問のDavid King博士が「温暖化はテロより大問題だ」と言っているのは迷惑千万、人気作家のMichael Crichtonの最近作"State of Fear"はデマゴーグだ、などとある英国の大衆紙は論じている由。これに似た論議が日本国内にもあるのかどうか、どなたかご存知の方はご教示願います。ご参考まで。--KK

Global warming is a fantasy dreamed up by climate scientists, say the sceptics. Could they possibly be right, asks Fred Pearce.
ON 16 FEBRUARY, the Kyoto protocol comes into force. Whether you see this as a triumph of international cooperation or a case of too little, too late, there is no doubt that it was only made possible by decades of dedicated work by climate scientists. Yet as these same researchers celebrate their most notable achievement, their work is being denigrated as never before.
The hostile criticism is coming from sceptics who question the reality of climate change. Critics have always been around, but in recent months their voices have become increasingly prominent and influential. One British newspaper called climate change a "global fraud" based on "left-wing, anti-American, anti-west ideology". A London-based think tank described the UK's chief scientific adviser, David King, as "an embarrassment" for believing that climate change is a bigger threat than terrorism. And the bestselling author Michael Crichton, in his much publicised new novel State of Fear, ...