Geoscientist Online

How to get expelled from school: A guide to climate change for pupils, parents and punters

This book is billed as a guide to kids and mentors; but there is perhaps a sub-text in the title, with Ian as the one who got ‘expelled’. Since writing Heaven and Earth (2009) Plimer and his supporters have suffered many attacks. This book finds him unrepentant and brings character references from former long-term Prime Minister (John Howard, Liberal Party) who launched the book in Sydney, and President Vaclav Klaus (Czech Republic) who writes the Foreword - telling indicators of content.

Two critical events have occurred since Plimer’s last book. First, only one Australian MP was elected in the last Federal election on a ‘carbon tax’ platform; Prime Minister Julia Gillard (Labor) famously stated that she would not introduce one. Nevertheless, Australia now has a punitive carbon tax. The Federal Government justifies the u-turn by appealing to science and a “consensus” that is not much in evidence when senior Australian scientists Bob Carter, Garth Paltridge and Ian Plimer question the integrity and quality of much climate science and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists pointedly refuses to have a climate-change policy. Then there was the weather. Despite predictions of “fry and die” drought, the Eastern States suffered months of flooding. So, in addition to a drought-justified carbon tax, Australians now have an income tax surcharge to pay for flood damage.

The ABC News website presents “Expelled” as an “anti-warmist manual”, but Plimer is very pro-warming. Citing the Roman era, the Middle Ages and the period to 1998, he argues cogently that civilisations flourish in warm periods, while cooling yields famine, disease and decline. In the final chapter, Plimer makes 101 points, all (except for four political points and two ‘science encyclopedia’ questions) being basic, logical science in a style familiar to any practising geologist.

“Why did the Medieval warming happen when there was no heavy industry?” “How do we check independently the computer models of anthropogenic warming when the raw data and code are not public?” I searched for answers but, with the notable exception of the Geological Society of London and its recent publications on volcanic CO₂, found few direct counter-arguments.

I believe this chasm is not just political; it is one of science method. Climate activists are impressed by computer output derived from datasets collected by others, and don’t want to hear pedantic questions about data validation. In contrast, Plimer’s science is “old fashioned” - based on logical questioning, hypothesis-testing and scientific principles.

Plimer has clearly learnt from his opponents: the book puts political implications first and has only a few references, hidden at the back. Occasionally, he plays the man rather than the ball and repeatedly points out that, while geologists in the resource industry report subject to legal codes, no similar code exists for ‘public policy’ science - despite the fact that public policy science has budgets of billions of dollars. I doubt if Plimer needs to be re-admitted to school; but science and politics need him for his tenacity, clarity and critical analysis.

Reviewed by Julian Vearncombe

HOW TO GET EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL: A GUIDE TO CLIMATE CHANGE FOR PUPILS, PARENTS AND PUNTERS by IAN PLIMER Published by: Connor Court. ISBN: 978-1-921421-80-8 (pbk). 250pp List Price A$29.95, www.connorcourt.com