A Cool Look At Global Warming

Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, has published a nice manifesto:

• Small climate changes do not demand far-reaching restrictive measures
• Any suppression of freedom and democracy should be avoided
• Instead of organising people from above, let us allow everyone to live as he wants
• Let us resist the politicisation of science and oppose the term “scientific consensus“, which is always achieved only by a loud minority, never by a silent majority
• Instead of speaking about “the environment“, let us be attentive to it in our personal behaviour
• Let us be humble but confident in the spontaneous evolution of human society. Let us trust its rationality and not try to slow it down or divert it in any direction
• Let us not scare ourselves with catastrophic forecasts, or use them to defend and promote irrational interventions in human lives.

From an article published June 13 2007 Freedom, not climate, is at risk

This cartoon is published by kind permission of Cox & Forkum

The third volume of Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons “Black & White World III” covering November 2004 to October 2006, is available from Amazon

“I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with.

To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth’s climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn’t change.

I guess I would ask which human beings – where and when – are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that’s a rather arrogant position for people to take.” Michael Griffin

These comments are from a taped interview that was broadcast in the U.S. on Thursday May 31st 2007 on National Public Radio as reported here. A transcript is available here for $3.95.

Michael Griffin is the head of NASA

There’s a fun, 10 question test on global warming at the web site of Monte Hieb and Harrison Hieb:

http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/GlobWarmTest/start.html

The test comes with a health and safety warning:

“This section contains sound science, not media hype, and may therefore contain material not suitable for young people trying to get a good grade in political correctness”

Monte Hieb is chief engineer at the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. Unfortunately this association with the coal industry will doubtless encourage the dismissal of his test out of hand by those with ad hominem tendencies!

There is a highly amusing post by Mark Steyn about the “Rev. Al Gore” in the Chigago Sun-Times March 4, 2007

I Particularly liked this:

“…George W. Bush’s ranch in Texas is more environmentally friendly than the Gore mansion in Tennessee. According to the Nashville Electric Service, the Eco-Messiah’s house uses 20 times more electricity than the average American home. The average household consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours. In 2006, the Gores wolfed down nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours”

And this on the concept of conscience-salving by “carbon offsets“:

“How do “carbon offsets” work? Well, let’s say you’re a former vice president and you want to reduce your “carbon footprint,” but the gorgeous go-go Gore gals are using the hair dryer every night. So you go to a carbon-credits firm and pay some money and they’ll find a way of getting somebody on the other side of the planet to reduce his emissions and the net result will be “carbon neutral.” It’s like in Henry VIII’s day. He’d be planning a big ox roast and piling on the calories but he’d give a groat to a starving peasant to carry on starving for another day and the result would be calorie-neutral“

More of this excellent knockabout stuff here