Dear Editor,
Last Sunday I read the following definition of the term "Green hush" (in The Observer Magazine): "A growing political silence around the environment, from the jettisoning of green policies to the watering-down of climate targets." and certainly agree that this is a clear trend.
Today (again in The Observer) I read Mark Townsend's report on the unusually low temperatures in the USA and the storms in the UK with Emma Compton of the Met Office making the following statement: "although the force was impressive there was nothing particularly unusual in the current pattern, which was all to be expected as part of a longer-term 'natural variability' in our weather."
So are extreme events such as strings of storms and flooding in the UK, big freezes in the USA, typhoons in the Philippines and record high temperatures and bush-fires in Australia all due to "Natural Variability"? I doubt it. The fact that there was no mention of climate change or of global warming makes me thing that either Mr. Townsend's article or Ms. Compton's statement are being affected by the phenomena of "Green Hush".
This is maybe even more frightening than the extreme weather itself.
Regards
