General Science

Fairytales often contain significant element of danger, and with the label "Goldilocks zone", the danger is the concept can be dangerously misleading. Stars change from a faint young sun through their lifespan until they explode and die as a "nova", and this continual change means the temperature at any distance from a star will change dramatically over time, and it who or what it must be not too hot and not too cold for can also be very misleading.

While part of the problem is like with the boy who cried wolf people are not listening, the recent revelation that the planet will most likely reach +1.5°C by 2026-2027 makes it seem very likely climate scientists are also being very guarded with how much of the truth they are prepared to reveal. It is not that climate scientists are lying, but what is being said tends to be so heavily qualified that people are able to read whatever they want into what is being said. The lack of clarity allows "religious environmentalists" to hear that we must all suffer for the planet, the politicians to be able to say: "we are on-track with our climate commitments" and those reliant on profits and taxes from the oil and gas industry to believe "we have until 2050". What is needed to get a clear enough picture of where things stand for action to be appropriate to the risk?