When Vaclav Klaus, who has just won reelection as President
of the Czech Republic, states that he has comparative advantage
over other speakers on the issue of Climate Change, he is
trenchantly correct. Klaus lived under the last large central
planning scheme – communism. He rejects the offer to
live under the even more draconian central plan of our time
– climate alarmism and environmentalism.
Klaus explained his déjà vu vantage point to
over five hundred participants at the 2008 International Conference
on Climate Change assembled at Times Square New York City
on March 2–4. Stressing his personally acquired wisdom,
Klaus said, "Future dangers will not come from the same
source [communism]. The ideology will be different. Its essence
[environmentalism and climate alarmism] will, nevertheless,
be identical – the attractive, pathetic, at first sight
noble idea that transcends the individual in the name of common
good, and the enormous self-confidence on the side of its
proponents about their right to sacrifice the man and his
freedom in order to make this idea a reality."
"What I see in Europe and the U.S.," Klaus cautioned,
"is a powerful combination of irresponsibility, of wishful
thinking, of implicit believing in some form of Malthusianism,
of a cynical approach of those who are themselves sufficiently
well-off, together with the strong belief in the possibility
of changing the economic nature of things through a radical
political project."
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Klaus focused on facts that showed that decreases in CO2
emissions in the EU have come about because manufacturing
radically disappeared when the communist economy collapsed.
Future decreases appear to rely on miracles or the deliberate
pushing of the EU countries back into the Dark Ages. Carbon
dioxide decreases are not normal for growing and prospering
civilizations, given current technology. Most of those assembled
would not consider such decreases to be either needed or desirable.
Klaus brought to our attention that the thinking of the climate
alarmist is the same as Hayek’s portrayal of central
planners in The Fatal Conceit. He boldly challenged the large
assembly, "We have to restart the discussion about the
very nature of government and about the relationship between
the individual and society. [Freedom] should be the main message
of our conference."
The aim and objective of this stimulating gathering was to
collapse the fake "consensus" on human-induced catastrophic
global warming. Achieving this is a necessary step toward
turning climate alarmism into climate realism. The step was
taken. "Consensus" collapsed. Over one hundred scientists
were provocative proof of the absence of "consensus"
that has been touted by alarmists.
These scientists presented, exchanged and debated research
showing global warming to be mostly natural, definitely moderate
and realistically unstoppable. They held no consensus in their
approaches or their results. Enter the dawn of climate realism.
The New York Times on Tuesday, March 4, ran an article by
Andrew C. Revkin titled "Cool View of Science at Meeting
on Warming." Written as a criticism, Revkin wrote that
"the group…displayed a dizzying range of ideas
on what was, or was not, influencing climate." That was
the very point of the conference.
No "consensus" can be touted when, in fact, so
many scientists do indeed dispute what data are meaningful
and causative of the highly complex dynamics of climate change.
Several, like Dr. Willie Soon, astrophysicist and geoscientist,
displayed data showing the sun to be the more likely driver
of temperature variations, as compared to carbon dioxide radiative
forcings.
Howard Hayden, physics professor, concluded that astronomical
phenomena cause about seventy-five percent of the fluctuations
in Earth’s temperature. The combined effects of all
greenhouse gases, changes in surface reflectivity of the sun’s
radiation, and other Earthly changes account for no more than
about three degrees Celsius of the changes during transitions
between ice ages and interglacials. Hayden provided a repeatable
sound bite when asked about computer models that are the basis
for alarmist views. He simply said, "Garbage in; gospel
out."
Dr. William M. Gray, meteorological researcher for more than
forty years, contributed that the deep oceans, not carbon
dioxide, are driving climate. Rather than global warming,
Gray believes a recent up-tick in strong hurricanes is part
of a multi-decade trend of alternating busy and slow periods
related to ocean circulation patterns. Contrary to mainstream
thinking, Gray believes ocean temperatures are going to drop
in the next five to 10 years.
Dr. Vincent Gray, knows water vapor to be the principle greenhouse
gas as others do. However, Gray emphasizes that climate models
fail to reflect the fact that water vapor is extremely variable.
Gray’s work finds that the global warming claim fails
on two fundamental facts: 1.) No average temperature of any
part of the earth's surface, over any period, has ever been
made. 2.) The sample is grossly unrepresentative of the earth's
surface, mostly near to towns. No statistician could accept
an "average" based on such a poor sample. It cannot
possibly be "corrected." Dr. Vincent Gray, a member
of the UN IPCC Expert Reviewers Panel since its inception,
has written to Professor David Henderson, to support the latter’s
call for a review of the IPCC and its procedures. Gray’s
call for such a review ends with these harsh words, "The
disappearance of the IPCC in disgrace is not only desirable
but inevitable. The reason is that the world will slowly realize
that the "predictions" emanating from the IPCC will
not happen. The absence of any "global warming"
for the past eight years is just the beginning. Sooner or
later all of us will come to realize that this organization
and the thinking behind it is phony. Unfortunately severe
economic damage is likely to be done by its influence before
that happens."
Dr Roy Spencer, NASA senior scientist, produced recent evidence
for reduced climate sensitivity. Background "noise"
in climate systems creates temperature variations that are
not random. This "noise" exceeds all of the warming
that has been thought to have been made by humans. Climate
models don’t handle clouds and convection in the tropics
well. Precipitation systems interactively regulate the climate
system. Computer models predicting climate change are necessarily
flawed. Spencer releases his new book March 27, 2008: Climate
Confusion – How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad
Science, Pandering Politicians, and Misguided Policies That
Hurt the Poor.
Dr. Robert Balling, professor of climatology, questioned
what the increase in global temperature does and does not
tell us. Water vapor and non-solar control seem dominant.
The theory, measurements, and understanding of the greenhouse
effect are advancing rapidly, and drastically changing the
original predictions from only a few decades ago. Measured
warming has been nowhere near the earlier predictions, and
the mathematical models are being constantly revised. Both
Balling and Dr. Ross McKitrick highlighted failings in data
collection. Many temperature stations have been discontinued.
Technology for recording temperatures has changed. Urban heat-island
effects continue. Data adjustments made by alarmists appear
biased.
Dennis T. Avery, and co-author S. Fred Singer, wrote Unstoppable
Global Warming – Every 1,500 Years They presented their
findings and stressed, "Most of our modern warming occurred
before 1940, before much human-emitted CO2. The net warming
since 1940 is a minuscule 0.2 degree C – with no warming
at all in the last nine years. The Greenhouse Theory can’t
explain these realities, but the 1,500-year cycle does."
The cycle is solar induced. Ice cores show sun, not humans,
controlling Earth’s climate.
So, no consensuses surfaced.
None need exist when the subjects are scientific.
Hypotheses and theories should continue to be tested.
By different skeptical approaches each scientist at this
gathering proved he was courageous. Why courageous? Because,
to be a climate change skeptic is political-funding suicide.
Few feel they can step forward before they retire. Many, even
when gathered together and taking courage from the presence
of so many others, felt they had to step away from being in
group pictures. Those are choices. They are respected.
Debunking the false "consensus" position of climate
alarmists didn’t end with the mere conclusion of the
conference. Several synchronous efforts include: A Manhattan
Declaration on Climate Change. It was endorsed by scientists
and researchers. The document stated clearly that "Global
warming" is not a global crisis. This tangible product
with many signatories declared among other points: That attempts
by governments to inflict taxes and costly regulations on
industry and individual citizens with the aim of reducing
emissions of CO2 will pointlessly curtail the prosperity of
the West and progress of developing nations without affecting
climate; the furtherance of the nascent International Climate
Science Coalition (ICSC) publication of a current and future
Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change report
(NIPCC) a new journal on climate science; making video presentations
from the conference online; making audio CDs of either a session
or the complete conference available; enlistment of interested
parties into a speakers bureau; and a 2009 London conference
being planned.
This agenda is aggressive, necessary, and appreciated. Hopefully
there will be many others who step up, especially in response
to Vaclav Klaus’ plea that we recognize that the issue
has never been global climate cooling or global climate warming.
It has always and ever been about political power and control
of earth’s population.
For over seventeen years I have witnessed at United Nations
international gatherings so much ego, money and meeting time
being poured into this global central plan to ration energy
– to control carbon dioxide by controlling people. To
control people by controlling carbon dioxide. To brand the
stuff of life – carbon – a deadly pollutant. Political,
activist and business careers, especially legal careers, now
depend upon creating this new bureaucratic global layer of
rules and regulations. The new-age rulers want the wealth
and power that will accrue to them as they impose their centralized,
consummate plans upon us.
The Czech Republic’s President stands firm, honoring
the lives and liberties of his citizenry against this particular
brand of fresh oppression. Would that these United States
had such a courageous leader.