Geloof niet alles…

Criticism of climate science and policy often understandably comes from people who are independent, for example because they are already retired. This also applies to Jules de Waart (1942) and his recent book Don't believe everything...Climate change in the mirrors of science and politics.

Climate criticism from a PvdA member
It is remarkable that this critic comes from the PvdA, and that his book appears at a time when prominent party members such as Frans Timmermans and Diederik Samsom are going all out on the alleged climate catastrophe. De Waart was a Member of Parliament for the PvdA in the 1980s. He studied physical geography with climatology as a minor in the 1960s and obtained his PhD in 1971 with a physical geographical/geological thesis. He therefore has enough knowledge and experience to see many of the current developments in a somewhat broader context. De Waart mainly strives to broaden the climate discussion: “Between 'real' alarmists and 'real' skeptics there are people who do not feel comfortable with the current polarization. They believe that there is still a lot of uncertainty in climate science and that the truth is being handled carelessly.”

Murder on the Orient Express
A strong point of De Waart is his extensive historical description of the climate debate, the political context and the question of how the debate could derail so much. “The IPCC, scientific at its base but completely political at the top, will have to rediscover itself to remain credible.” In the second part of the book, De Waart discusses in detail the scientific issues in the climate debate. According to him, the ultimate conclusion is that global warming (he accepts that there has been approximately a one degree increase in temperature since 1850) cannot simply be attributed to one factor. De Waart draws a parallel with the book Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: there are several culprits.

Critical voices
The book is ideally suited for those who are not yet very familiar with the climate discussion and who are still open to critical voices. It summarizes all the objections that can be raised against the dominant climate narrative, and there are many, without going overboard to the other side.

Don't believe everything...Climate change in the mirrors of science and politics
Author: Jules de Waart
ISBN: 9789464435245
Type of book: Paperback / softback
Number of pages: 224