Report on Chris Horner/James White Debate

by Paul Chesser, Heartland Institute Correspondent
April 14, 2009 @ 11:39 am



John Andrews, director of The Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, has checked in with a report about the debate last week between “Red Hot Lies” author Chris Horner and climatologist James White. Andrews says that despite an audience that far exceeded the auditorium’s capacity of 300, the Denver-area media (not surprisingly) ignored the event:

For example, editors at Channel 7 for some reason didn’t feel this fit their upcoming series on green issues, while Denver Post environment reporter Mark Jaffe told me archly that Horner’s presence made this occasion “not a debate… not news.”

But CCU and the Centennial Institute shrugged off the snub. As I pointed out to Jaffe, our two nationally-known experts on climate science and climate policy seemed to think it was a debate. So did a century-old local university. So did our capacity crowd of several hundred open-minded Coloradans. If the MSM choose to be close-minded about this, it’s really their problem, not ours.

Didn’t a major newspaper just close in Denver?

Meanwhile, I hope these little events (like the recent one between John Christy and William Schlesinger) will continue and then the public will benefit from all perspectives on the issue.

From http://www.globalwarming.org/

One Down, Six to Go!

by Fred Smith
April 08, 2009 @ 9:39 am

Oh the Worries of Our Modern Malthusians! In Washington this week, the Anarctica and Arctic Councils met for the first time. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, used the occasion to discuss the problems that global warming was “causing” in these areas. Among the myriad disasters is the possibility that the region’s energy resources will become available and that an all-year passage around the pole might open.

As I recall my history, European explorers spent centuries searching for a Northwest Passage. Given the massive increases in global trade, the efficiencies that this would provide could give our flagging global economy a significant boost – and reduce energy use also. And increasing access to new secure energy reserves (especially given that Norwegian and Alaskan activities have already shown we can extract such resources safely) would do much to address energy security concerns. But to our Modern Malthusians, these are problems!
As I remember geography there were seven continents – North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, and Anarctica. Since humanity never reached the latter continent, it had no real defenders and, thus, in 1959, the global Antarctic Treaty, transformed it forever into a ward of the United Nations. The treaty suggests the global goals of our Modern Malthusians.

There is a total ban on economic activity, even though continental drift over the eons has meant that Anarctica might well have extensive fossil fuel reserves. The treaty forbids almost all economic activities but does authorize residency by “scientists.” This illustrates another bias of the left – “Research good, technology bad!” In her speech however, Hillary went further calling for tourist restrictions (so much for eco-tourism). One begins to understand – to protect the planet, we must wall it off from humanity!

An ambitious goal but one that shouldn’t be ignored. Malthusians have now captured one continent – only six to go!

From http://www.globalwarming.org/

DeSmogBlog: What About Me?

by William Yeatman
April 07, 2009 @ 12:52 pm

Yesterday DeSmogBlog added 7 more entries to its Global Warming Denier Database, which is touted as “an extensive database of individuals involved in the global warming denial industry.”

I took a look at the Database, and I am outraged. Why I am I not on the list!!??

Not only am I an unabashed global warming denier*, I personally contribute almost as much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as mega-emitter Al Gore, alarmist hypocrite.

I understand that I might be too small a fish to warrant entry onto the list. After all, I am a lowly policy analyst. That said, the author of the Global Warming Denier Database, Kevin Grandia, lists “event planning” as an area of expertise, and I’ve been a caterer, so perhaps I am suitably qualified.

In any case, if you are reading this, please contact DeSmogBlog (here) and demand that I, William Yeatman, join the list of global warming deniers.

* It hasn’t warmed in 7 years. Al Gore says that “there is one relationship that is more powerful than all the others and it is this: When there is more carbon dioxide, the temperature gets warmer.” Well, emissions keep going up, yet temperatures stay the same. Where’s the warming?

From http://www.globalwarming.org/

India calls carbon tariffs protectionist

by Fran Smith
April 07, 2009 @ 3:21 pm

At the Bonn, Germany, UN meetings on global warming issues, India urged rich countries not to use “green” protectionism by imposing carbon tariffs on carbon-intensive products from poor countries. India’s special envoy to the talks, Shyam Saran, was quoted as saying:

“That is simply not acceptable, that is protectionism.”

“We should be very careful that we don’t start going in that direction. We welcome any kind of arrangement … where there can be a sharing of experience or best practices for any of these energy-intensive sectors.”

Earlier, China’s top climate change official had warned about possible retaliation if carbon tariffs were assessed, as was suggested by the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Sounds like this issue is shaping up as the rich against the poor, i.e., already industrialized and developed countries attempting to penalize those emerging economies dependent on energy use for their continued economic growth.

From http://www.globalwarming.org/

LibertyWeek 37: Slicin’ and Dyson

by Richard Morrison
April 06, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

Your host Richard Morrison sits down this week with special guest co-hosts Michelle Minton and William Yeatman for LibertyWeek 37 (regular co-host Cord Blomquist is on the road). We start off with a profile of visionary physicist and global warming skeptic Freeman Dyson, then spend some time WILBing around to improve our productivity at the office, and move on to sixteen full ounces of barkeeper honesty. Finally we take a look at the Chicago factor in Olympic News.

From http://www.globalwarming.org/