Bring on the climate change sceptics! It certainly makes the debate more colourful and exciting. It certainly sells more newspapers, ups TV ratings and increases web site eyeballs.

Certainly, the climate change sceptics language, phrases and even their countenance are often quite extraordinary. 

But perhaps they have gone too far.

• We have had the Climategate response. 
• We have already had the death threats to the ANU Scientists and their response.
• We have had the Leader of the Opposition variously say that climate change is crap and then moderate his position.
• We have had the Carbon Cate controversy which has gone hand in hand with the ongoing debate over the great big carbon price (sorry tax).
• Finally, we have had an English Lord denigrate Ross Garnaut as a Nazi.

While these incidents are extraordinary, it does not address the real question at hand. It distracts from it.

So here is my question (I call it the child’s question).

How’s the weather lately? Is it the same? Is it getting better?

Even the anecdotal evidence is there. Every time there is a severe weather event, people affected by it describe it as the worst ever. Ignore the statistical evidence, but anecdotally people notice!

But statistically, why are weather records are tumbling like the Climate Olympics?

It might be just me but I don’t hear any facts from the sceptics. Which leads me to my real point. In the climate change debate, these sceptics in fact fail the basic rules of debate. Good debaters criticise the opposition and then present facts to support their case.

These people don’t. Perhaps they should. Perhaps then we can have a real debate.