Forty years ago, on this day, June 12, 1986, Conservative MP David Heathcoat-Amory had this to say in his regular column in the Mid-Somerset Series…
“Pumping carbon dioxide into the air also produces a “greenhouse” effect in which the atmosphere gradually heats up (hardly noticeable this spring!) This in turn causes the ice caps to melt and the sea level to rise.
Since 1850 the level of CO2 in the air has gone up by about a quarter. Not disastrous, but certainly a worry.”
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 347ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 432ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context for this was that the question of carbon dioxide build-up had been spoken of in mainstream media (BBC, newspapers, the Economist etc etc) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There had been an effort to get the UK Government concerned and paying close attention in the late 1970s, but this had come up against Thatcher’s indifference/hostility.
The specific context was that by 1986, things were moving. The Villach meeting had happened, and questions around the dangers of energy production were super-live because of the then-recent Chernobyl explosion.
What I think we can learn is this: plenty of (Conservative) MPs were aware of the problem. It wasn’t yet part of a culture war.
What happened next: In September 1988 Margaret Thatcher gave a speech to the Royal Society about science funding and… the Greenhouse Effect. The issue has waxed and waned, but never gone away because (checks notes)… we are tipping billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, and that is starting to have some of the predicted effects.
On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays
July 21, 1970 – Conservative MP talks about #climate
March 12, 1984 – A Conservative MP worries about carbon dioxide build-up
You can see the chronological list of All Our Yesterdays “on this day” posts here.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
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Also on this day:
June 12, 1920 – “The Mad Planet” published
June 12, 1972 – At Stockholm “development” is challenged
June 12, 1996 – scumbag denialists smear a scientist – All Our Yesterdays