Dear Attorneys General, You’re not stupid. Stupid people don’t graduate from law school. Neither are you generally ignorant. You know lots of law. But the day of the “Renaissance man,” vastly learned across all fields of knowledge, is long gone. All intelligent and learned people are ignorant about some things. So, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and members of Attorneys General United for Clean Power, take no offense when I tell you that your intent to investigate and … [Read more...]
How Theology Can, and Should, Contribute to Scientific and Public Discourse about Anthropogenic Global Warming
A paper presented to the Round Table on Theology, Climate Change, and Politics, University of Western Ontario, May 29, 2012 Paleoanthropologist and philosopher Loren Eiseley (1907–1977), who though religious in the tradition of American Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau was certainly no orthodox Christian theist, on reflecting on the kind of soil in which science could flourish, wrote, “In one of those strange permutations of which history yields … [Read more...]
Why Was March 2016 the Warmest March in the Satellite Record?
UAH Principal Research Scientist and Cornwall Alliance Senior Fellow Dr. Roy W. Spencer just posted the monthly UAH satellite temperature update on his blog, and on global average, last month was the warmest March since satellite monitoring began in 1979. Predictably, climate scaremongers are hailing this as proof positive that our evil emissions of evil carbon dioxide from evil fossil fuels are driving us inexorably (Slate says we've "just reached a terrifying milestone"!) toward the tipping … [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...]
No, 2015 Was NOT the Warmest Year on Record
Global warming alarmists the world over have been hailing 2015 as the warmest year on record. Reality check: The satellite data are in, and at 0.27 deg C above the 1981-2010 average) it's only the third warmest, behind 1998 (#1, 0.48 deg C above the 1981-2010 average) and 2010 (#2, 0.34 deg C above 1981-2010 average). Kudos to Cornwall Alliance Senior Fellow Dr. Roy Spencer, who collects the satellite data with U. of Alabama colleague Dr. John Christy, for providing this monthly update. As our … [Read more...]
Climate Skeptics: Bought By Fossil Fuel Companies?
The 30+ scholars---scientists, economists, theologians, and more, interviewed for Cornwall Alliance's Greener on the Other Side: Climate Alarmism---Facts, Not Fear video series---address in this latest video the charge that they're in the pocket of "Big Oil" or the fossil fuel industry in general. A few quotes: "The idea that I'm getting paid off by somebody else is amusing. My principal source of income is the Social Security Administration."---Thomas P. Sheahen, Ph.D., Physics, Director, … [Read more...]
I Love My Job, and Sometimes It’s Really, Really Fun!
Back in June I had the tremendous privilege of interviewing 32 scholars and leaders on camera for Cornwall Alliance's forthcoming documentary, Where the Grass is Greener: Biblical Stewardship vs. Climate Alarmism, and our already posting YouTube video series Greener on the Other Side: Climate Alarmism---Facts, Not Fear (subscribe to our YouTube channel and you'll be notified of new videos when they post). Many of these are giants in their fields. All are brilliant people and dedicated to the … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to Pope Francis on Climate Change
Your Holiness: April 27, 2015—As world leaders contemplate a climate agreement, many look to you for guidance. We commend you for your care for the earth and God’s children, especially the poor. With this letter we raise some matters of concern that we ask you to consider as you convey that guidance. Much of the debate over environmental stewardship is rooted in a clash of worldviews, with conflicting doctrines of God, creation, humanity, sin, and salvation. Unfortunately, that clash often … [Read more...]
Fossil Fuels, Enemy or Friend? Divine Design in the Carbon Cycle
Despite disagreements on some specific questions, I was glad to get acquainted with David Jenkins through his article Are Climate Skeptics Ignoring God's Design? It's always heartening to encounter another admirer of four of my favorite conservative thinkers, Edmund Burke (1729–1797), T.S. Eliot (1888–1965), Richard Weaver (1910–1963), and Russell Kirk (1918–1994)—the last of whom mentored me through my master's degree and introduced me to my wife. It's even more heartening when he shares both … [Read more...]