In 2008, I was in my early 20s and about to complete my undergraduate degree in engineering. Despite being in a remote part of Asia with no Internet facility—except for the Internet cafes—the news surrounding global warming still managed to reach most of us. Being an ardent lover of the environment and passionate about conservation, I decided to pursue a career in environmental sciences, especially given the “rising problem” of global warming. Al Gore’s 2006 climate documentary An … [Read more...]
Ross McKitrick: ‘Believing the science’ on climate change doesn’t mean any policy goes
Mainstream science and economics do not support much of the current climate policy agenda and certainly not the radical extremes demanded by activist groups There’s an assumption out there that if you “accept” the science of climate change, you are obliged to support drastic measures to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is not true. The one does not follow from the other. Mainstream science and economics do not support much of the current climate policy agenda and certainly not the … [Read more...]
“Social Cost of Carbon”—Going, Going, Gone?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency forecasts the "social cost of carbon" (SCC) in the year 2020 to run anywhere from $13 to $137 per metric ton. That's EPA's measure of the harm each ton of "carbon" (really carbon dioxide, but who cares with our ill-educated public that doesn't know the difference between an element and a compound---especially when the shorthand serves the purpose of scaring people needlessly?) emitted into the atmosphere. Its estimates are based on a … [Read more...]
The Theologization of Global Warming Among American Evangelicals: Who Says Religion and Science Can’t Mix?
[Note: This essay was written in the summer of 2010 at the request of Dr. Patrick Michaels, intended for a book he was editing. His publisher declined to include it in the book because of its religious content. It was never published elsewhere until now. We hope it remains a helpful survey of the history of the debate over global warming among evangelicals up to that time.—ECB, March 11, 2016] Introduction In the last half decade there has been a blossoming of public concern about global … [Read more...]
Curry Deals Another Blow to Climate Consensus
Georgia Tech climatologist Judith Curry dealt a serious blow to the appeal to consensus on climate change in her paper "Climate Change: No Consensus on Consensus," three years ago. She pointed out (among lots of other valuable things) that, whatever value consensus might have in science (as opposed to politics), consensus is significant only if it arises spontaneously, but the alleged consensus on climate change had been assiduously manufactured by the IPCC. She's followed the subject a good … [Read more...]
NOAA Study Takes World by Storm: No Global Warming Pause!
That's how most of the media are treating a new study, anyway. Even the Wall Street Journal ran a news piece titled "Study Finds No Pause in Global Warming." The source? "Possible artifacts of data bias in the recent global surface warming hiatus," published this week in Science, by long-time global warming alarmist Tom Karl et al. Abstract: Much study has been devoted to the possible causes of an apparent decrease in the upward trend of global surface temperatures since 1998, a phenomenon … [Read more...]
Testimony delivered before the U.S. Senate
Download the Annotated Testimony or the Short Version (pdf) Oral Testimony of Dr. E. Calvin Beisner to the Environment and Public Works Committee of the United States SenateWednesday, October 20, 2006 Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, and distinguished guests, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. Having never before this year been significantly involved in politics other than to vote in elections, it is strange to find myself here. But my moral convictions as a … [Read more...]
