Dear Editor,
It is with concern that I send you this email. It concerns the fact that the December 2019 issue of The Canadian Veterinary Journal is bookended by 2 articles about climate change. I agree that climate change is happening, but it has been happening since the Big Bang and will keep happening long after our species have left this planet.
After reading the 2 articles I went to the Government of Canada website and read their statement. There is a lot of conjecture about what climate change holds for us and though it is something we must be aware of, I do not think that the current hysteria is helping the population at large or young colleagues that are already reporting more stress and anxiety than a 62-year-old like me.
With warming we will see more vector-borne diseases, but with less cold respiratory diseases brought on by stress and exposure will get less. We must also be cognizant that there are interest groups, like wind turbine and solar panel producers, that fund and support climatologists. When I go to a veterinary lecture the lecturer must acknowledge conflict of interest if the company whose product is being discussed is financing their research or tenure. I would like to see the same with climatologists.
We must also remember that in Canada and most countries climatologists work for the Government. During the First World War a “personal tax” was implemented as a temporary measure and is still with us. A “carbon tax” is just what governments and bureaucrats want.
Sorry about the rant, but as a scientist who believes in double-blind studies, it irks me that conjecture by a body that cannot predict our weather 2 weeks ahead keeps beating the scientific drum.
PS: The activists want to get rid of all herbivores in the North American landscape. When I look at a sick animal, I don’t just take its temperature, but also listen to its lungs, etc.
Footnotes
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