On Climate Change: President Obama goes one way, the world goes another
Flying under the media radar largely due to the ongoing Syrian crisis, President Obama has in the past two weeks signed on to three multinational climate agreements. Grist, the popular online environmental newsite and blog, reports that two agreements would further limit powerful greenhouse gasses under the 1987 Montreal Protocol for the phase out of CFC’s and other greenhouse gasses that also affect the Ozone layer. A third, Pacific regional agreement would set concrete goals and offer $24 million to help poor coastal communities vulnerable to sea level rise.
Meanwhile, elsewhere around the world, other countries are backing off their climate commitments. Europe seems disposed to dumping or modifying their airline tax. The Australian people elected a Conservative government, in part, based on its promise to dump its carbon tax among other costly, ineffective measures targeting climate change. Europe is slashing its green energy subsidies. Finally, the Kyoto climate change treaty’s time has passed with no back up plan to replace it.
And the world goes on its merry way continuing to confound the climate sages and their models. Despite predictions of the total loss of ice in the arctic by 2013, the arctic ice cap grew by 60 percent over the summer of 2013. And rather than increasing in frequency or power, the Atlantic Hurricane season is experiencing one of its quietest years. None of the climate models predicted either of these trends.
What to think? If you’d like to learn more about what’s going on see our new, updated version of The Global Warming Primer. It is an easy to read booklet that highlights the what is known and unknown about earth’s climate and lets the reader decide what to think. I believe anyone who reads it will find it worthwhile. In addition, we have a short video that condenses the primer to a few key points. Fun educational viewing for the entire family.
“‘The IPCC claims its models show a pause of 15 years can be expected. But that means that after only a very few years more, they will have to admit they are wrong.’”
The IPCC won’t declare they are wrong until we have entered a new ice age.
The good news from Australia, of course, is that conservative Tony Abbot, the new prime minister, has pledged to repeal the carbon tax, and it looks like he will have the votes in both the House and Senate to do so. “… A very early item of business is scrapping the carbon tax,” he said Sunday. Good for him!
One of my favorite parts of the primer: “Meeting the Waxman-Markey bill’s target would mean reducing per capita CO2 emissions to levels not seen since the 1860s, when people had no electricity, cars or planes, phones, televisions, radios, computers or other electronics.”
“Despite predictions of the total loss of ice in the arctic by 2013, the arctic ice cap grew by 60 percent over the summer of 2013. And rather than increasing in frequency or power, the Atlantic Hurricane season is experiencing one of its quietest years. None of the climate models predicted either of these trends.”
This kind of news should give us all pause.
It is one thing if we truly are catapulting toward disaster, but there just enough evidence to warrant the destruction of human progress.
Exactly, JD. How about we focus our efforts in areas that are currently catapulting toward disaster. Healthcare, polarized govt, etc..
My big picture opinion–
Sure, humans have an influence on the climate. To what degree? Very miniscule.
Now that the early reactions around the world show the fallacy of the claims of proposed approaches to control global temperatures, why do certain governments and organizations continue to pursue the issue?
Could it be for politcal and financial gain (how do you spell Al Gore?) ? Surely our politicians would not be so money grubbing and stupid as to do things that actually waste our tax dollars and hurt the economy.