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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, I know about Allen Consulting. They are
one of the best firms of their kind in Australia. They work to a contract,
however, and you won't always get a balanced view from their reports. But
that's a reflection on their brief, not on their own competence.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>They tend to receive briefs from the big end of
town (who have the money), but deliver reports that are not written wholly to
please their paymasters. If you get hold of their full report, I expect
you will find pointers to alternative views.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>One of the heads of Allen Consulting is Vince
FitzGerald, a Harvard PhD who headed up the Commonwealth Department DEET when it
was formed in 1987.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I thought the reaction of the Minister for the
Environment to the report, when he said 'There is no need for panic" was a lot
like that character in Dad's Army who, with quavering voice, cries "Don't panic,
Mr Mainwaring! Don't Panic!" The report predicted global temperatures up
by 6 degrees by 2100. The last Ice Age was, globally, only five or
six degrees lower than it is today.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>-----------------------------------------------------------------<BR>Keith
Thomas<BR>Nature and Society Forum<BR>(02) 6288 0760 (Weekday mornings);
0412 487 625
(Mobile)<BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>