Global Warming - Brought to you by The Climate-Industrial Complex

If you've talked to me or read this blog at all in the past you are probably already aware of my stance on Anthropogenic Global Warming -- I think it's basically an overblown farce designed and presented by rich scare-mongers (like Al Gore) to give people something abstract to worry about and line their pockets with cash in the process.

Now the U.S. House and Senate are debating a European style "Climate Change" bill, complete with handouts to the worst carbon-emitters, coal companies, and this weekend the Copenhagen Climate Council is hosting the World Business Summit on Climate Change hoping, as Bjorn Lomborg writes in today's Wall Street Journal "to push political leaders into more drastic promises when they negotiate the Kyoto Protocol's replacement in December."

Lomborg continues:

Naturally, many CEOs are genuinely concerned about global warming. But many of the most vocal stand to profit from carbon regulations. The term used by economists for their behavior is "rent-seeking."

The world's largest wind-turbine manufacturer, Copenhagen Climate Council member Vestas, urges governments to invest heavily in the wind market. It sponsors CNN's "Climate in Peril" segment, increasing support for policies that would increase Vestas's earnings. A fellow council member, Mr. Gore's green investment firm Generation Investment Management, warns of a significant risk to the U.S. economy unless a price is quickly placed on carbon.

So really, these businesses stand to gain significantly from radical (and radically expensive) climate change legislation being pushed on countries rich and stupid enough to sign their citizens up.

And don't believe for a second that these "green jobs" being "created" by the clean energy companies are free:

Spain has been proclaimed a global example in providing financial aid to renewable energy companies to create green jobs. But research shows that each new job cost Spain 571,138 euros, with subsidies of more than one million euros required to create each new job in the uncompetitive wind industry. Moreover, the programs resulted in the destruction of nearly 110,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy, or 2.2 jobs for every job created. [My emphasis added.]

So with the global economy in the state that it is in (not so good), do we really need to be costing tax payers billions of dollars in additional taxes while at the same time ensuring that many more will join me in the ranks of the unemployed? That doesn't sound like good policy to me, it sounds like pandering to some self-serving interest groups.

President Dwight D Eisenhower famously worried about the Cold-War era Military-Industrial Complex that "there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties." The same can now be said about the unholy alliance of self-interested businesses, grandstanding politicians and alarmist campaigners making up the new Climate-Industrial Complex.

*****
Also, I highly recommend Mr Lomborg's 2007 book, "Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming." Among other things, it is an eye opening look at how much good we could be doing with all the money we are throwing at global warming -- like eradicating malaria, providing everyone in the world with clean drinking water, or controlling AIDS.

Wacky weather, Bill like's Bush's carpet, Obama's "tax cuts"

So, today, January 8th, the high temperature was 60 degrees here in Northern Colorado and the low temperature was -60 in Fairbanks, Alaska. I know, Alaska is supposed to be cold, but their normal January lows are closer to -30 and our normal highs are closer to 30. What's up with that? Good luck telling Alaskans that its global warming.

By now you've probably heard or seen former President Bill Clinton at the White House today expressing his love for the rug in the Oval Office. But what you probably didn't know is that that rug was custom designed by Laura Bush and is heading back to Texas with the Bushes very soon. It really is an impressive rug.

You've probably also heard about President-Elect Obama's "$300 Billion Tax Cuts" that he wants congress to pass ASAP. Investor's Business Daily has a good piece examining why these so-called "tax cuts" are nothing more than plain, old income redistribution: taking money from the successful and giving it to the unsuccessful. Rewarding failure does not promote success, it reinforces failure.

This week on the web

Here's a mish-mash of stuff that I accumulated over the past week that I mean to blog about, but never got the chance. I may have to start doing this every week, or at least when I think about it. It's kinda like James Taranto's Best of the Web Today on WSJ.com, but not daily, and quite a bit less clever. I may have to start doing this every week, or at least when I think about it.

Still uncomfortable with Obama and his elitist arrogance? You're probably just subtly racist. (link)

Steve Tobak explores the alternative-energy bubble on CNet news. "What, you don't believe that there's an alternative-energy bubble? Then you're just not paying attention." (link)

"With [Moqtada al] Sadr's 'retirement,' we've taken another long stride" towards a irreversable victory in Iraq. (link)

"Coffee Served Right" (wing) at the Conservative Café in Crown Point, Indiana. "Latte-swilling liberals welcome, too." (link) & (link)

"China breaks Olympic promises on rights, media, pollution" -- Are we supprised by this? (link)

Busweiser (Anheuser-Busch)'s takeover by Belgian InBev may have been motivated by European corporate taxes that are nearly half of what Anheuser-Busch payed in America. How does that happen?! (link)

"Suddenly being green is not cool any more" in Britian. (link)

Well, there ya have it. I read and posted those articles, so I think they're probably worth a little bit of your time to read. If you have some time, that is.

I wonder if Carbon Credits

...are printed on unbleached, 100% recycled paper using only soy based inks on printers that are Energy Star certified and run on solar power?

Doubt it.

Psychologically Manipulating the Beeb

Wow, if I knew it was this easy to manipulate a major news organization into changing a story to better fit your agenda, I would have started doing this years ago! (Read the linked article at American Thinker.)

If it only takes a few well placed forum postings, idle threats, and insults of intelligence to change this:

Global temperatures this year will be lower than in 2007... This would mean global temperatures have not risen since 1998, prompting some to question climate change theory. But experts have also forecast a record high temperature within five years, probably associated with another episode of El Nino.

into this:

Global temperatures for 2008 will be slightly cooler than last year as a result of the cold La Nina current in the Pacific... But this year's temperatures would still be way above the average - and we would soon exceed the record year of 1998 because of global warming induced by greenhouse gases.

then I've been going about things all wrong! Who needs logic, critical thinking, and evidence?!

And really, is "way above average" even good writing for a "journalist"?

Tag Outlawed and Ethanol's Effect on the Brown Cloud

Here are two articles that I do not have time to elaborate on right now, but still want to share:

First, a little blurb about a Colorado Springs school banning tag because it's too competitive. What kind of kids are we raising these days?

And second, an article about how the environmentally sensitive, no make that crappy, "E10" ethanolated gasoline may actually be hurting the atmosphere more than it is helping. Sounds like another case of the environmental wackos imposing their "solutions" on everyone without really knowing what it will effect.

I'll try to expand on these later.

At least they believe in something.

When a Man stops believing in God he doesn't then believe in nothing, he believes anything.

--G.K. Chesterton (or maybe Emile Cammaerts?)

Be sure to read the OpinionJournal's Best of the Web Today column, especially headlines four, six, and seven. Thanks, Al Ron Gore.

Environmentalist Jim

Thank goodness you're here!

I wonder if they realized how close to the ridiculous antics these people resort to? This video is from about 1992! The scare mongers were just getting over global cooling then! LOL

It's Not Easy Pleasing Greens

Do environmentalists oppose pollution or capitalism?

NPR: NASA Chief Questions Urgency of Global Warming

Yesterday (31 May) on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, NASA administrator Michael Griffin defended his agency's programs and said that while NASA studies climate change, the agency has no authorization to "battle climate change."

I, for one, think that Mr Griffin brings up a really good point that no one in the traditional media is covering:

To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change. First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown. And second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take.

You can read excerpts from and listen to the NPR interview here.

Hurricanes: One More Thing You Probably Cannot Blame On Global Warming

Soil samples from the Grande Playa lagoon in Puerto Rico have given US scientists insight into the last 5,000 years of Atlantic hurricanes. The samples suggest that recent devastating storms may not necessarily be linked to global warming.

Hurricanes... regularly struck the lagoon between 5,450 and 3,650 years ago. This period of intense hurricane activity was interrupted only briefly by a 150 year respite. After that period, there were only few hurricanes -- until about 2,550 years ago, when an interval characterized by a relatively high number of strong hurricanes began, continuing until the next quite phase, which began about 1,050 years ago. But during the last 300 years, the lagoon has once more been exposed to a higher number of violent hurricanes -- just as the unpleasant storms have been multiplying elsewhere as well.

Haha! Take that hippies.

Just one more example of the lunacy and premature jumping-to-conclusions that the wacko-environmental leftists are capable of, slapped around a bit by actual science.

Read Franziska Badenschier's whole article from Spiegel Online here.

Btw... it is raining like a sonofabitch here. Sheesh!

Obama's got a Hemi!

After Barack "the Magic Negro" Obama berates Detroit auto makers for not keeping up in the fuel efficient tic-tac economy car race, the truth comes out: Obama's got a Hemi!

Thanks Detroit Free Press for reporting this story and Jalopnik for picking up this story.

Greed is still better than 'green'

The first few paragraphs of this MSN Money story by Jon Markman are seriously high quality. Definitely worth clicking over there for a quick read.

The rest of the article gets into good investments for an electricity dependent world, such as the one that we live in. It's also an interesting read, but it's a little more nerdy. And by that I mean investor / day trader nerdy. But still good.

Alternative Energy Sources — A Quick Look

Here is a really good (and only slightly outdated) overview of many of the mainstream alternative energy sources being researched today, complete with both pros and cons, written from an engineer's perspective.