Philip Stott

Philip Stott (born England, 1945) is a professor emeritus of biogeography at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a former editor (1987–2004) of the Journal of Biogeography.[1]

This article is about the British biogeographer. For the British architect, engineer and surveyor, see Philip Sidney Stott.

Background

In the early 1970s, Stott and his wife, a historian and biographer, lived in Thailand and he was carrying out field research at Kalasin. He has two daughters.[2]

He has written academic papers and books on chalk grassland, on the vegetation and archaeology of Thailand (and on the rest of southeast Asia), on ecology and biogeography (e.g. his textbook 'Historical Plant Geography'), on fire ecology[3] on lichens and mosses, on tropical rain forest[4][5] and on the construction of environmental knowledge.

He was chairman of The Anglo-Thai Society (2003–2007),[6] UK. He is no longer a member of the Scientific Alliance because he deems it important to be academically independent of all organisations, industry, and green groups.

Media

He writes for the press, especially for The Times, and broadcasts regularly on BBC radio and television on subjects including biogeography, extinction, climatology, and ecology.

He hosted a number of websites including pro-biotech supporting genetically modified foods,[7] another countering 'ecohype[8] and later 'envirospin',[9] and one based on Bruno Latour's 'A Parliament of Things'.[10]

Stott was often on Talksport with James Whale talking about Global Warming in his regular evening show. He appeared on "The Great Global Warming Swindle" on Channel 4 and presented several issues of 'Home Planet' on BBC Radio 4 (2009-2011).[11]

In June 2008 he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.[12]

Published works
  • Royal Siamese Maps: War and Trade in Nineteenth Century Thailand (River Books and Thames & Hudson: 2005), for H.R.H. Princess Sirindhorn (with Santanee Phasuk)
  • Global environmental change (Blackwell Science: largely on climate change) (with Dr. Peter Moore and Professor Bill Chaloner)
  • Political ecology: science, myth and power (Edward Arnold; Oxford USA) (edited with Dr. Sian Sullivan).[13]

He has also published four books of recorder music for children and recorder consorts,[14] and he used to conduct an Early Music Consort called 'Pifaresca'. His Sinfonia Concertante for Clarinet in B flat is available for download, along with other compositions, and the full orchestral score from Finale Showcase.[15]

Views

Global warming

Stott regards himself as a Humeian 'mitigated sceptic' [16] on the subject of global warming. He has not published scholarly articles in the field of climate change, although he has published books on the subject.

Stott has been critical of terms like 'climate sceptic' and 'climate change denier'; he believes in a distinction between the science of climate change and what he asserts is the Barthesian myth [17] of global warming,[18]

Stott is also critical of organizations like the IPCC. In a letter published in The Daily Telegraph (June 10, 2005), he claimed that climate is not changing, that humans are not influencing climate change, and that humans cannot manipulate climate predictably, contradicting the scientific consensus on climate change on all of these issues.[19]

Energy policy

Stott's "alternative Charter for a sound energy policy" begins with (what) we need are strong economies that can adapt to climate change and he proposes that the Kyoto Protocol be dropped because of "[I]ts ‘command-and-control’ economics which have no chance of working in the face of world economic growth, especially in the developing world.".[20] He believes that the Kyoto Protocol is moribund politically . Stott is concerned that the UK is failing to address its core energy needs, which must involve a mix of clean coal, gas, and probably nuclear power.[21] Stott also encourages development of energy infrastructure in the developing world. He sees the alleviation of energy poverty, along with the need for clean water, as two of the most urgent world issues [22] He regards most renewables as helpful (although he is critical of wind power), but only marginal to the core requirements of an advanced society.[23]

Deforestation in the Amazon

Stott contested the research of a report in 2001 that predicted that by 2020 the forest would be 42% deforested.

"New research in Brazil suggests that around 87.5% of the previously mapped area of the Amazon remains largely intact and, of the 12.5% that has been deforested, one-third to one-half is fallow or in the process of regeneration," he said.[24]
"This lungs of the earth business is nonsense; the daftest of all theories"

As of 2022, research showed around 13.2% of the original forest lost, but 31% in the Eastern Amazon.[25]

Stott teamed up with Patrick Moore in 2000 and made several appearances deposing deforestation research.

"One of the simple, but very important, facts is that the rainforests have only been around for between 12,000 and 16,000 years. That sounds like a very long time but, in terms of the history of the earth, it's hardly a pinprick. Before then, there were hardly any rainforests. They are very young. It is just a big mistake that people are making."[26]

This is in opposition to the accepted view that e.g. the Amazon rain forest has been in existence for at least 55 million years.[27][28]

References
  1. "Charming complexity". Journal of Biogeography. 31 (12): 1881–1882. 2004. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01227.x.
  2. Tropical Rain Forest: A Political Ecology of Hegemonic myth making Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "IngentaConnect Content Not Found". Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2005.
  4. "History Today: The educational archive of articles, news and study aids for teachers, students and enthusiasts - Jungles of the Mind: the Invention of the 'Tropical Rain Forest' - Jungles of the Mind: the Invention of the 'Tropical Rain Forest'". Archived from the original on 15 March 2007.
  5. "'AntiEcohype': A Brief History of Savanna Studies". Archived from the original on 17 February 2003.
  6. "Welcome to the Anglo Thai Society".
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20010419070210/http://www.probiotech.fsnet.co.uk/ | archive copy
  8. "'AntiEcohype': Critical Comment by Philip Stott". Archived from the original on 31 August 2004.
  9. "EnviroSpin Watch". Archived from the original on 16 December 2003.
  10. "A Parliament of Things provided by Bravenet.com". parliamentofthings.info. Archived from the original on 20 April 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. "BBC Radio 4 - Home Planet". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022.
  12. BBC Radio 3
  13. "Oxford University Press: Political Ecology: Philip Stott". Archived from the original on 21 November 2005. Retrieved 12 October 2005.
  14. "A 210th GARLAND OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COMPOSERS9".
  15. "Finale Showcase Home". Archived from the original on 26 May 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2006.
  16. "David Hume". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2021.
  17. "Myth Today by Roland Barthes". Archived from the original on 5 November 2005. Retrieved 13 October 2005.
  18. "spiked-science | Article | Worlds apart". Archived from the original on 22 August 2004.
  19. "Telegraph | Opinion | Daily Telegraph letters". Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  20. "Scientific Alliance - Challenging and Informed Scientific Debate". Archived from the original on 7 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2005.
  21. "The Times & The Sunday Times".
  22. "Scientific Alliance - Challenging and Informed Scientific Debate". Archived from the original on 7 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2005.
  23. "Archived copy". parliamentofthings.info. Archived from the original on 23 April 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "Amazon report is 'flawed futurology'". 23 January 2001.
  25. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-close-is-the-amazon-tipping-point-forest-loss-in-the-east-changes-the-equation/#:~:text=Map%20showing%20total%20forest%20loss,to%20deforestation%20and%20other%20causes
  26. "Greenspirit Strategies - Eco-Scientists Deny Amazon's in Danger - May 30, 2000". Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
  27. Morley, Robert J. (2000). Origin and Evolution of Tropical Rain Forests. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-98326-8.
  28. Burnham, Robyn J.; Johnson, Kirk R. (2004). "South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 359 (1450): 1595–1610. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1531
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