[Editor's note: This item is a little longer and more technical than most we carry, but reading it carefully can provide a good education in the science of the climate debate. --ECB] For more than 100 years, climate scientists have fully understood that if all else were held constant, an increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) would lead to an increase in the near-surface air temperatures. The problem becomes a lot more complicated in the real world when we consider … [Read more...]
Four Sources Say “Globally Cooler” in the Past Twelve Months
[Editor's note: Ask yourself why the mainstream media haven't blown the trumpet on this highly significant news. If the change in temperature had been of equal magnitude but upward, you can be certain it would have made headlines around the world, and people like James Hansen and Al Gore would be heralding it as a sure sign of impending disaster.--ECB] January 2008 was an exceptional month for our planet, with a significant cooling, especially since January 2007 started out well above … [Read more...]
Deep Ecology, Neo-Paganism, and the Irrationalism of Global Warming Hysteria
Delivered to the Christian Witness in a Pagan Planet CWIPPThink Conference, January 21-24, 2008 From the paper: . . . In April of last year I was among about eighty participants from around the world–scientists, politicians, economists, religious leaders–in a conference on climate change sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican. During the shuttle trip from our meeting place in Vatican City to our hotel the first evening, I sat beside a middle-aged woman, tall, … [Read more...]
Few French Fried in 2006
In the history of global warming scare stories, the 2003 European heat wave was a landmark event—it was the first time that a rash of human deaths were specifically linked to global warming. Many of you probably recall that a widespread exceptionally hot and dry spell hit Western Europe in August, 2003. Depending on how you count the bodies, up to 35,000 people suffered premature death during this heat wave with the lions-share occurring in France, which happened to be heat wave ground zero. … [Read more...]
If Global Warming Were Real, It Would Mean Fewer Deaths
A seriously hot summer between now and 2017 could claim more than 6,000 lives, the Department of Health report warns. But it also stresses that milder winters mean deaths during this time of year - which far outstrip heat-related mortality - will continue to decline. The report is to help health services prepare for climate change effects. A panel of scientific experts commissioned by the Department of Health and Health Protection Agency (HPA) has looked at the way the UK has responded to … [Read more...]
The Sun Also Sets
Back in 1991, before Al Gore first shouted that the Earth was in the balance, the Danish Meteorological Institute released a study using data that went back centuries that showed that global temperatures closely tracked solar cycles. To many, those data were convincing. Now, Canadian scientists are seeking additional funding for more and better "eyes" with which to observe our sun, which has a bigger impact on Earth's climate than all the tailpipes and smokestacks on our planet combined. And … [Read more...]
More Ice Than Ever
Despite a warming Southern Ocean, the amount of ice surrounding Antarctica is now at the highest level ever measured for this time of the year, since satellites first began to monitor it almost thirty years ago. This represents a continuation of the record set last winter (our summer). Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, we can also look at the departure from the average for ice mass in a given month. At present, the coverage of ice surrounding Antarctica is almost exactly two million … [Read more...]
Good Stewards, Good Samaritans
The environment is again an important election issue. Some candidates have claimed religious support for their views, but there is no single “Christian” perspective on the environment. It is a question of fact and prudence, not theology. We all have a stake in a healthy environment. God gave humanity dominion over the earth and called us to be good stewards of his creation. But he gave us no particular policy agenda. Rather, we must work together to balance environmental protection, economic … [Read more...]
Courts Should Confront Evidence on Global Warming
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled late last year that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must consider the "risks of global warming" when setting gas-mileage standards for light trucks, minivans and SUVs. Central to the court's ruling was the claim that the federal agency, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, had ignored the benefits of reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Whatever their legal acumen, Judge Betty … [Read more...]
The Authoritarianism of Experts: Promoting a Green Dictatorship?
Have you ever heard anyone make the argument that we must take a certain course of action because the experts tell us we must? The issue might be the threat of another country or an environmental risk, but increasingly we see appeals to authority used as the basis for arguing for this or that action. In a new book, David Shearman and Joseph Wayne Smith take the appeal to experts somewhat further and argue that in order to deal with climate change we need to replace liberal democracy with an … [Read more...]
