With all of the pending disasters blamed on global warming blasting their way through the media, I can understand why many might fear the future climate. We are told emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are destroying not only polar bears and petunias, but the planet as a whole. If we don’t “stop global warming,” The End will surely come. I am a climate scientist. My research and that of many others does not lead me to be afraid for the climate’s future. However, I am … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2008
Institute on Religion and Democracy Releases Major Paper
With the celebration of Earth Day on April 22, The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) releases the first in the Mt. Nebo Papers series, "What is the Most Important Environmental Task Facing American Christians Today?" by IRD Adjunct Fellow Dr. E. Calvin Beisner. Christians are called to wise stewardship of the Earth God created. However, a debate rages within the Christian community on what stewardship entails. Dr. Beisner's paper looks at not only what the Bible addresses as a good … [Read more...]
Our Climate Numbers Are a Big Old Mess
For years, records from surface thermometers showed a global warming trend beginning in the late 1970s. But temperatures sensed by satellites and weather balloons displayed no concurrent warming. These records have been revised a number of times, and I examined the two major revisions of these three records. They are the surface record from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the satellite-sensed temperatures originally published by University of Alabama's John … [Read more...]
Cornwall Alliance Releases Policy Agenda
Read the executive summary Download the full document (pdf) April 17, 2008 (Washington, D.C.) – The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation released its highly anticipated policy agenda on a special 45-minute press call this morning in which it highlighted such stewardship issues as “poverty and development” and “climate and energy.” Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, National Spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance and General Editor of the Agenda, Dr. Stephen Livesay, President of Bryan College and … [Read more...]
Researchers Reverse Stance on Link Between Global Warming and Hurricane Intensity
Author of the theory that global warming breeds stronger hurricanes recants his view Noted Hurricane Expert Kerry Emanuel has publicly reversed his stance on the impact of Global Warming on Hurricanes. Saying "The models are telling us something quite different from what nature seems to be telling us," Emanuel has released new research indicating that even in a rapidly warming world, hurricane frequency and intensity will not be substantially affected. "The results surprised me," says Emanuel, … [Read more...]
Why the UN’s ‘Developed Countries Should Pay’ Theory Is Flawed
[A]lthough greenhouse gas emissions can be blamed on nations based on the location of emission activities, these emissions are the effluvia of civilization and all its activities. In today's interconnected world, economic activity in one country helps provide livelihoods and incomes for many inhabitants elsewhere, and vice versa. A substantial portion of economic growth in developing countries is attributable to trade, remittances, tourism and direct investment from industrialized … [Read more...]
Norman Borlaug: Still Feeding the World
Norman Borlaug just turned 94 – and is still going strong. During the “Eat This” segment of their docu-comedy series BS, Penn Jillette beat Teller in a round of their “Greatest Person in History” card game. Penn needed just one card: Norman Borlaug. This Iowa farm boy and University of Minnesota agriculture graduate lived Thomas Edison’s maxim to the fullest. “Invention,” Edison once remarked, “is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Dr. Borlaug did most of his 99% in the sweltering fields of … [Read more...]