Professor Ian Plimer

Because it's costing the planet trillions.

There's a very large body of people out there who actually are using science to promote scams.

It's absolutely crippling Western countries who are going down this path because you cannot run an industrial economy on sea breezes and sunbeams.

Yes.

We've had times in the past when the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere was at least 10% and perhaps 20% compared with 0.04%.

And what did we have then?

We had the biggest ice age that this planet's ever enjoyed.

I was born and bred in Sydney.

I had a passionate interest in rocks as a child.

I used to take them into the Australian Museum and the curator was very kind with me.

He spent a lot of time with these dreadful rocks, explaining what they meant.

20 years later, I was publishing with him.

So that really made his life, but he made my life also.

And...

I followed my passion at school and at university.

I had to repeat a year at school because I was far too young.

These were the post-war days where kids just poured into school.

And because I could read and write, I got put into a higher class.

And because I still could read and write better than anyone else, up into a higher class.

So I finished school at 15.