The other Y2K - Climate Change

FUTURE HISTORIANS will recall with amusement the millenarian panic of Y2K (year 2000). Remember, all the computer Geeks of the early computer revolution came out of retirement crying, "Woe! Woe! The world will come to an end at the stroke of midnight on December 2000." The idea was that all computers not adequately reprogrammed would crash, airplanes would fall out of the sky, bank balances would disappear into the void etc etc. Unless (and here the boondoggle) businesses immediately hired all the aforementioned Geeks. Only they had the knowledge to fix things. And so it came to pass that nothing whatever happened. Geeks got richer, of course, but that was about it. Now, the new boondoggle is Climate Change. Again the cries of "Woe!" are echoing in the rafters. Again, thousands have climbed on the bandwagon. Latest passengers are non other than Business Unity South Africa (BUSA). (If ever there was an oxymoron, this is it). BUSA has issued a circular calling desperately to its members for interest in the Government's National Committee on Climate Change (NCCC). Apparently, the terms of reference for the NCCC are under review and BUSA needs to comment. "It should be noted that BUSA is entitled to five representatives of which only one seems to be attending", the BUSA circular wails. What an opportunity! Visit the UN in New York -- all expenses paid! Come on chaps, why the lack of interest? Don't you know that humans are warming the planet by their selfish attempts to improve their lot? Don't you want to sit on the side of the angels? Come on now! What's this got to do with the oil industry? Well, who are the main targeted bad guys in all this human-induced climate change? Why, the oil industry, of course!