Debate Will the sky fall in? Global warming – an alternative view Michael J. Rowland * Introduction Peter Mitchell (2008) has recently suggested in this journal that the world is facing a ‘catastrophe’ due to anthropogenic climate warming. Mitchell divides his commentary into two parts, and asks two key questions: what is the role of the archaeological community and individual archaeologists in this impending catastrophe and, how will this affect our day-to-day practice? I support most points in the second part (see Rowland 2008) but offer some alternative perspectives to issues raised in the first section of Mitchell’s paper. There is a multiplicity of dimensions to the debate about ‘global warming’ (also referred to as ‘enhanced greenhouse warming’, ‘human-induced climate change’ or ‘anthropogenic warming’), including the socio-political milieu, the climate science itself and resulting government policies and guidelines. Archaeologists/anthropologists have a role to play in each of these areas; in particular the longue dur´ ee of the archaeological record can provide some fresh insights, a point on which both Mitchell and I agree. Where I differ from Mitchell is that I see a need to refocus the debate toward issues of sustainability and away from the current over-emphasis on global warming. The socio-political milieu In the fable ‘The Sky is Falling’, an acorn falls on Chicken Little’s head, who decides to tell the king, also persuading others along the way of a looming disaster (Thornhill 2002). The generation of fear has been used by many societies to promote political, religious and environmental causes. In recent forms it has transformed into a sometimes near-hysterical belief that some sort of disaster is almost always imminent (Bourke 2005; Booker & North 2007; Gardner 2008) coupled to a view that nearly everything turns out better than anticipated (Wilkinson 2007). Recent fears included those of nuclear obliteration or communist domination and the Y2K bug, but a more likely scenario is that a density dependent disease might kill millions worldwide (Roberts 2008). Booker and North (2007) demonstrate that most ‘scares’ follow a predictable pattern. A threat to human welfare is exaggerated beyond uncertain scientific evidence in collaboration with the media. A tipping point then occurs when politicians marshal the machinery of government in a disproportionate regulatory response which is difficult to alter until * Department of Environment and Resource Management, G.P.O. Box 2454, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia (Email: mike.rowland@derm.qld.gov.au) Received: 3 March 2010; Accepted: 13 March 2010; Revised: 23 April 2010 ANTIQUITY 84 (2010): 1163–1171 http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/084/ant0841163.htm 1163