For those who pay attention to the political “nabobs of negativism” and the mainstream media monolith, it’s easy to believe that mankind has, through industrialization, paved the road to the Apocalypse. That the Earth is “warming” at unsustainable rates. That the seas will boil over. That the atmosphere will be like Venus. And that when you turn on the tap, only soot and sand will pour forth.
That is, unless you kowtow to the mavens of man-made global warming and agree to reduce carbon emissions. Accordingly we would need to immediately ascribe to the Kyoto protocols. Or cap-and-trade would become the stock-in-trade. The emergency is so dire, the Greens say, that the Doomsday Clock is already running on overtime.
But what of the science behind man-made global warming? Thus far, the nation’s leaders have spoken as if with a voice to tell the people of the widespread “consensus” among scientists that by emitting carbon gases through the use of fossil fuels, humankind is causing the temperature of the Earth to artificially increase.
Now it appears that that very “consensus” is beginning to unravel under the weight of reliable scientific findings. The Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine has released a new study entitled, “Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide” where the myth of man-made global warming is unceremoniously put to bed. About 31,000 American scientists have signed a petition endorsing these findings.
The study cites scientific evidence revealing that there exists “no experimental data to support the hypothesis that increases in human hydrocarbon use or in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing or can be expected to cause unfavorable changes in global temperatures, weather, or landscape. There is no reason to limit human production of CO2, CH4, and other minor greenhouse gases as has been proposed.”
Importantly, the study finds that global warming and cooling trends are mostly caused by increases and decreases in solar activity. Here is the critical finding:
“Between 1900 and 2000, on absolute scales of solar irradiance and degrees Kelvin, solar activity increased 0.19%, while a 0.5 C temperature change is 0.21%.”
In other words, if the sun gets warmer, the solar system will get warmer, and if the sun gets cooler… Well, you get the idea.
There are other factors that impact upon those trends, but gases like CO2 or methane have little effect. The study notes that atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 22 percent in the past 50 years, but that this has not been accompanied by a concurrent increase in the Earth’s temperature. Rather, the number one greenhouse gas, which does contribute to warming, is water vapor. And nobody’s calling for a reduction of boiling water for pasta or tea.
To the extent that the American people are being asked to accept public policies which are based upon the science of man-made global warming, that very science’s accuracy is of critical importance. After all, the policies being proposed will change every aspect of mankind’s existence, from how the world’s economy works to how the developing world will be fed and how civilization will advance. Or not.
According to the study, the proposed policy of reducing the use of hydrocarbon energy will have a deleterious effect upon global prosperity – and basic survival – especially in the developing world:
“Our industrial and technological civilization depends upon abundant, low-cost energy. This civilization has already brought unprecedented prosperity to the people of the more developed nations. Billions of people in the less developed nations are now lifting themselves from poverty by adopting this technology.
“Hydrocarbons are essential sources of energy to sustain and extend prosperity. This is especially true of the developing nations, where available cap ital and technology are in sufficient to meet rapidly increasing energy needs without extensive use of hydrocarbonfuels. If, through misunderstanding of the underlying science and through misguided public fear and hysteria, mankind significantly rations and restricts the use of hydrocarbons, the worldwide increase in prosperity will stop. The result would be vast human suffering and the loss of hundreds of millions of human lives. Moreover, the prosperity of those in the developed countries would be greatly reduced.”
In other words, if the Greens have their way, carbon emissions may be reduced – but the impact upon the world’s poor will be devastating. And that is especially so among those who depend upon the use of energy at its current levels to barely survive as it is.
Moreover, there is no legitimate reason to reduce carbon emissions, since the science that propounds it is inherently flawed. One surprising aspect of the study had to do with carbon emissions. Conventional wisdom as propagated by the Greens holds that these emissions are deadly. But, according to the study, they are actually good for the environment:
“The temperature of the Earth is continuing its process of fluctuation in correlation with variations in natural phenomena. Mankind, meanwhile, is moving some of the carbon in coal, oil, and natural gas from below ground to the atmosphere and surface, where it is available for conversion into living things. We are living in an increasingly lush environment of plants and animals as a result. This is an unexpected and wonderful gift from the Industrial Revolution…
“Human use of coal, oil, and natural gas has not harmfully warmed the Earth, and the extrapolation of current trends shows that it will not do so in the foreseeable future. The CO2 produced does, however, accelerate the growth rates of plants and also permits plants to grow in drier regions. Animal life, which depends upon plants, also flourishes, and the diversity of plant and animal life is increased.”
In other words, carbon emissions do have an impact – but not upon the climate. Rather, based on the data, they are impacting positively upon plant and animal life, increasing the growth of plants by allowing them to grow with less water. That means more food for the animals, including humans, who as the population grows will certainly need more agriculture.
So, the world is not melting after all. The Apocalypse is not upon us. And the sky is not falling. Some 31,000 scientists have now gone on record striving diligently to get that word out before the politicians and their mainstream media handmaidens destroy the world economy, kill off the plant life, and starve the masses. Let’s see if anyone listens. And reports.
ALG Perspective: Since public policies aimed at curbing “man-made” global warming were based on “scientific analysis,” then so, too, must those policies be discarded once the science has been debunked. According to the study, the global warming hypothesis has depended heavily upon computer-generated models that are inherently flawed: “There are no empirical records that verify either these models or their flawed predictions… The ‘human-caused global warming’ hypothesis and the computer calculations that support it are in error. They have no empirical support and are invalidated by numerous observations.” ALG News wonders if the current trio of presidential aspirants are listening… Probably not.
Ultimately, of course, the issue of man-made climate change is not about science, it is about raw politics and power. If we follow the dictates of the Greens, our entire economy will be changed to a government-directed, authoritarian nightmare. Property rights, already under serious jeopardy, will be a thing of the past. Our standard of living and our future will be cut down. We will return to some Luddite vision of an agrarian ideal – one that never was and never can be. All the progress of the last 100 years will be stopped dead in its tracks and reversed. And all for what? The Greens want everyone to believe mankind will pay this un-payable price to “save the planet” when in truth we will be force-marched into this collectivist, authoritarian hell in order to achieve some lofty, Marxist dream. The value of the Oregon study is that folks are finally questioning the Cult of Global Warming’s dogma, and are looking behind the curtain to catch a view of the real reasons and goals behind all the hype.
