Now that the idea of a global warming Red Team approach to help determine what our energy policy should be is gaining traction, it is important that we understand what that means to some of us who have been advocating it for over 10 years — and also what it doesn’t mean. The Red Team approach has been used for many years in private industry, DoD, and the intelligence community to examine very costly decisions and programs in a purposely adversarial way…to ask, what if we are wrong about a … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2017
Do America’s Science Teachers and Students Need a Ministry of Truth?
Four liberal Democratic Senators---Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Brian Schatz (HI), and Edward Markey (MA)---are upset because Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement an "example of his commitment to rolling back the unrealistic and overreaching regulatory actions by the previous Administration." Thank heavens! These gallant Senators, painstakingly working to protect the American people, have taken … [Read more...]
What’s Wrong with the Claim that “97% of Climate Scientists Agree” about Global Warming?
A variety of studies have purported to find an overwhelming consensus among climate scientists on global warming. However, the studies rarely specify what it is to which the scientists agree. Usually it is nothing more than that the earth has warmed since 1800 and that human activity has contributed significantly to the warming—something almost no skeptics would deny. No study—whether a survey of published articles or a survey directly of scientists—has found anything remotely near a 97% … [Read more...]
“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”—Yogi Berra
In his 1968 book The Population Bomb Paul Ehrlich predicted mass famines in America and lots of other countries around the world before 1980, and that we would run out of lots of minerals by then, too. His predictions turned out false. He remains the idol of environmentalists worldwide. In 2007 Al Gore predicted, "“The North Polar ice cap ... could be completely gone in summer in as little as seven years. Seven years from now.” That would have been 2014. In 2011, he said, “the entire North … [Read more...]
Is Paris Agreement More Fundamental to Christian Faith than Christ’s Resurrection?
Three mainline Protestant clergy issued a statement condemning President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, saying it "violates the values and vision that are basic to Christian faith." As reported by Anglican.ink, "The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, and the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, who serves as missioner for creation care for the diocese and for the Massachusetts Conference, United … [Read more...]
Was Exiting Paris Wise or Unwise?
Was it wise for President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement? The President offered mostly economic reasons for his decision. Although they’re important, it’s also important to know whether there’s good scientific basis. As some critics reason, “So what if the economy booms? What if the earth dies?”So here’s a 15-point summary of relevant facts, mostly scientific but some economic: 1. Global average temperature has risen and fallen cyclically, driven by … [Read more...]
Mitch’s Pitch for Climate Alarm—Reason, or Unreason?
Recently Rev. Mitchell Hescox, CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network, wrote an email to a pastor, who forwarded it to us. It's a prime example of the fallacious (and worse) discourse climate alarmists often use. Here's what Hescox wrote: I pray you will reconsider your stance on climate change. It is apparent, you have been mislead by evil spirits. Climate change science was first published in 1892, the National Academy of Science first told President Johnson about the serious impacts … [Read more...]
Why Did Some U.S. Firms Support Paris Agreement?
Since well before former President Barack Obama signed onto it as an executive agreement (because he knew the Senate wouldn’t ratify it), a number of large American corporations have supported the Paris climate accord. As the time neared when President Donald Trump would announce whether he would keep his campaign promise to withdraw from it, some signed an open letter advising him not to. Many corporations are household names---Adobe, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Facebook, Gap, … [Read more...]
The Gory Facts about Solar vs. Coal Energy Employment
On Fox News Sunday with Mike Wallace June 4, former Vice President Al Gore said solar energy has created jobs 17 times faster than the U.S. economy as a whole. He also pointed out that solar now employs more people than coal. He saw those both as reasons to celebrate. The truth is the opposite. Why? Because solar jobs are a tragic waste of human labor. Gore's right that solar employs more than coal now---roughly twice as many. At the end of 2016, solar employed about 374,000, while … [Read more...]
The Musky smell of crony corporatism
So Elon Musk, gravely disappointed that President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the climate-irrelevant (full implementation throughout the century would reduce global temperature by only 0.17C) but outrageously expensive (full implementation would cost $70 to $140 trillion) Paris climate accord, has quit the President's business advisory council. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, of course had no special interest in whether the U.S. should stay in Paris. Of course not---not with his … [Read more...]