Pedlars of doom and gloom leave me with a headache

WHEN several years ago much of the conversation revolved around the imminent threat of climate change we were told that its warming would result in Britain having hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters.

Indeed, the Mediterranean type of climate could result in vastly different food crops being grown in contrast to our usual produce.

But, this hasn’t occurred, has it? Quite the opposite has been experienced. When this anomaly is raised, however, we are slapped down and told this is “weather” and not “climate”, and made to feel very ignorant for being so silly for not understanding.

The ignorance seems to continue, for the very heavy rainfall of the last year, which has inevitably resulted in appalling flooding, well, that must be weather also, mustn’t it? No? This is global warming through climate change. When does weather morph into climate change and vice-versa?

Expert opinion alters so frequently, not just on climate change but on many other subjects also, that its value must be apparently taken with a pinch of salt. The description of a person as an expert has been seriously devalued.

One moment aspirin is described as a wonder drug, then we are told it does more harm than good, then this latter view is altered and aspirin becomes a wonder drug again.

Two glasses of red wine a day, equally, is good, then bad, then good, then...

Now, the bone disease of rickets is becoming more prevalent again. Many young people have probably never even heard of the disease as it was, rightly believed, to have been eradicated.

Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D, and where do our bodies obtain this vital vitamin from? Why from sunshine. Sunshine acts on ergosterol under our skin to produce it. 
But, we have been told that going out into the sun should be avoided as the sun damages our skin, but the pedlars of doom and gloom must have forgotten to mention its benefits, hence rickets returns.

The situation does not improve as I’ve just returned home to find a leaflet through my letterbox telling me the end of the world is imminent, so all these problems seem to be immaterial.

Experts? Just how does anyone justify this title for today the world seems to be full of them? Do they ever publish cheerful news or are they programmed just to be pessimistic?

Why are their claims so frequently changing, and when this happens why are they surprised so many of us do not take them seriously?

Listening to all their forecasts of doom and gloom and the way their findings often are contradictory, has given me a headache and this means I will have to take an aspirin, but I must make sure that when I take aspirin, this drug is in its wonder drug cycle, just to be safe, you understand.