Today on the BBC I heard a man say that the Earth is doomed. Moreover it is doomed because of us and there is nothing we can do about it. The man in question is Professor James Lovelock, the reason for his grim prediction: the impacts of climate change. You can see some clips of the interview here.

Lovelock found fame as the creator of the so-called Gaia Hypothesis in the 1960’s. This hypothesis views the world as being like a single organism. In 1979 he wrote Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. He has claimed that by the end of the century most of the Earth will be uninhabitable due to climate change. Which is cheerful of him.

It is also Lovelock’s contention that it is impossible to do anything about it. This may be the case but I think that it is important that we try to prepare for the consequences of global climate change, whatever these may be. It could be very easy to view Professor Lovelock’s opinions as a council of despair, giving weight to the opinions of those who want to do nothing in order to suit their short-term interests.

Some of what the aging scientist says is demonstrably untrue. The outspoken proponent of nuclear power slams renewable energy in the interview. Apparently technology such as solar, wind, hydroelectric , geothermal and tidal energy – “does not really work”. Well, actually, it does not matter what form of energy you convert to electricity it can keep the lights on.

One thing the Professor says however does have the ring of truth about it. That thing is that scientists cannot accurately predict what the climate will do. This gives me hope. For all anyone knows, the effect of climate changes could be really nice clement weather, and an end to droughts and world hunger. Probably not, but it is a nicer thought than the death of our planet.