Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere has risen from about 280 to about 417 parts per million. Most scientists studying the issue think most of the increase has come from burning fossil fuels. Some people, however, question that.For instance, one person wrote to us:From a basic calculation I have carried out, my estimate is that of the over 200 gigatons[gt]-C CO2 increase of CO2 in the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution … [Read more...]
Indiana Economists Endorse ‘Carbon Tax’ — But Should They?
Fifty Indiana economists advise bad science and bad economics.Recently, 50 Indiana economists issued a public letter to their state’s legislature endorsing a “carbon tax” as an economically wise way to curb global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.The fundamental premise of taxing CO2 emissions is that they cause more harm than good (and thus are what economists call a “negative externality” — a cost of doing business not borne by a firm but foisted off onto others … [Read more...]
The Forgotten Benefits of Global Warming
Most discussions of global warming, or “climate change,” proceed on the assumption that warming is bad, and only bad—for people, for animals, and for plants. That assumption is mistaken.While global warming will almost certainly bring some harms to some locations, it will also almost certainly bring some benefits to other locations. Indeed, in some places it will almost certainly bring both harms and benefits.Understanding a very basic element of “greenhouse” warming theory will help us grasp … [Read more...]
The ‘Carbon Emissions’ Deception: No, Carbon Dioxide Is Not a Pollutant
Falsehoods always go down more smoothly when mixed with truths. And they’re probably the most credible when told by people who don’t know they’re false—the sincerity factor, you know.Well, the lead paragraph of a recent New York Times article is a model of just that:“The Trump administration on [June 19] replaced former President Barack Obama’s effort to reduce planet-warming pollution from coal plants with a new rule that would keep plants open longer and undercut progress on reducing … [Read more...]
Does CO2 Control Temperature, or Vice Versa?
A Cornwall Alliance follower on Facebook wrote,I remember hearing someone reputable say once that the known historical record actually shows increases in CO2 after periods of warming, rather than before them. I believe might have been referencing ice core records among others. I found him persuasive, and if this is true, it seems it would be an important hurdle for climate change alarmists to get over. Agree/disagree, insight?Climatologist Dr. David Legates, a Cornwall Alliance Senior Fellow, … [Read more...]
Does Overproduction of CO2 Harm the Environment?
Recently someone wrote this to the Cornwall Alliance:I saw the following comment recently posted online in regard to a climate change column & I'd like to respond to him thoughtfully & intelligently: "CO2 when overproduced acts as a pollutant which our environment can not properly use to make oxygen. It acts as a thermal blanket which raises the temperature steadily. This also harms the oceanic life which plays a key role in converting the CO2." He mentions 3 'facts' here … [Read more...]
What’s Wrong with a Carbon Tax?
The old joke is that if you put all the world’s economists end to end they still wouldn’t reach a conclusion. That’s another way of saying that economists routinely disagree with each other—often completely.Nonetheless, much of the public and many journalists treat a recommendation from a group of economists like the word from Mt. Sinai—as long as they agree with it.That kind of response was widespread when, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported, a group of economists signed a … [Read more...]
CO2, Early Blossoms, the Sun, and Climate Change
Sometimes laymen find better ways to communicate things than experts. Example? Wilhelm Peterson and I first got acquainted when he wrote me a letter some years ago, enclosing a donation to the Cornwall Alliance, and I noticed under his signature that in World War II he had piloted P-51 fighter planes based on Iwo Jima, escorting B-29 bombers on raids. Nothing prominent there, just a quiet, simple fact. My heart pounded as I realized I had just read a letter from a hero, a man who had … [Read more...]
Emergence of the Coal Alliance
A year ago, no one could have predicted the emergence of a coal alliance. Not when the leader of the most powerful country—President Obama—was crusading against coal. One year later, the coal alliance has arrived! During his presidential run, Donald Trump pledged that the US would pull out of the Paris Agreement—the poster child agreement of the climate alarmists who advocate for the shutdown of coal plants. Trump also indicated that he would bring major reforms in national policies … [Read more...]
David Attenborough’s Epic Gaffe on Global Warming
Like my peers in the 1990s, I watched plenty of wildlife shows on TV. David Attenborough, the famous natural historian, was among the most powerful voices. Many nature lovers admire him. He helped kindle my passion for wildlife conservation. After university, I worked on many assignments to conserve species around the world. Never would I have guessed that Attenborough would undermine science. But he does. Attenborough is Wrong How? He says civilization is near collapse. And he wrongly … [Read more...]
