The Church of Climate Panic

Jewish World Review ^ | Feb. 9, 2007 | Rich Lowry

[Caleb1411]

Sophisticated people in Western societies don't stand in public and shout, "The end is near!" the way a nutty preacher does. They don't cut their scalps the way Shia Muslims do in a rite of self-flagellation to mark the Day of Ashura. They do none of these things, because they have the issue of global warming instead.

The planet is indeed getting warmer (by about .7 degrees Celsius during the 20th century), and carbon emissions are contributing to it. This is a problem that deserves study and debate about what realistically can be done about it. But it doesn't justify the bizarre panic that suggests the issue has become a trendy vehicle for traditional fears of the apocalypse and for rituals of guilt and expiation.

The latest assessment of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — the Vatican of the Church of Climate Panic — prompted apocalyptic headlines worldwide. The New York Times dubbed it "a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet." Actually, the summary report was less grim than prior reports, but grimness is the only acceptable mood when it comes to climate change.

Christopher Monckton, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, points to the neglected data in the IPCC summary. It "more than halved its high-end best estimate of the rise in sea level by (the year) 2100 from 3 feet to just 17 inches." In his scare-documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore posited a catastrophic sea-level rise of more than 20 feet (feet, not inches).

[msnimje]

Must sacrifice more babies at the altar of the angry mother earth...........

[fruitintheroom]

Yup, it's a religion....Gaiaism...or, something.

[xcamel]

FReepmail me to get on or off

-Mother Gaia and her minions-

[Caleb1411]

. . .Even the Kyoto Treaty, which would have only a slight effect on global climate even if fully implemented, is utterly unrealistic. Canada ratified the treaty in 2001, notionally committing itself to reducing its carbon emissions 6 percent from their 1990 level. But from 1991 to 2003, Canada's emissions increased 24 percent. That great climate scold, Europe, has been increasing its emissions at a rate faster than ours. China will soon pass the U.S. as the world's greatest polluter and is robustly unrepentant about it.

[Always Right]

It "more than halved its high-end best estimate of the rise in sea level by (the year) 2100 from 3 feet to just 17 inches." In his scare-documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore posited a catastrophic sea-level rise of more than 20 feet (feet, not inches).

The three feet rise is sea level claim was one of their more dubious predictions, along with their range of 2.5 to 10.4 degree Fahrenheit for warming. They have toned down these ridiculous predictions some, but their high end is still way over the top relying on preposterous worst-case analysis.

[keat]

...and carbon emissions are contributing to it.

Ahhh, no the aren't. As soon as I come to this sentence in an article about global warming written by a conservative, I stop reading.

Amazing how the debate has shifted.

[AmericaUnited]

The planet is indeed getting warmer (by about .7 degrees Celsius during the 20th century), and carbon emissions are contributing ARE THE RESULT OF THE SUN'S WARMING ACTION.

[narby]

"The U.N. has cut its estimate of our net effect on climate by more than a third," and, "It now thinks pollutant particles reflecting sunlight back to space have a very strong cooling effect."

IF carbon dioxide increases global temperatures, then the temps should have been going up, rather than down, between 1940 and 1970 while the CO2 levels were rising.

But if the paragraph above is true, then we could have had global cooling during those decades because particulates were rising as well.

What happened in 1970? Can you say "the environmental movement began"? We cleaned up particulates in coal plants, cars, diesels, etc. and guess what, the temps started up.

I think the environmental movement STARTED global warming. Or perhaps re-started what began during the industrial revolution.

Bozos.

[N. Theknow]

And China, exempt from Kyoto, will be putting 2200 brandspankingnew coal-fired utility plants on line in the next 20 years or so.

[Coldwater Creek]

Bring on global warming to the deep south.

I am sitting here freezing to death because, we have exceeded our heating budget for the month. We have had the longest below freezing temps at night in a lot of years. \

I don't care if the temperature rises one degree over the next 100 years, and no one else should either.

[narby]

[...and carbon emissions are contributing to it.] Ahhh, no the aren't.

Can't prove that negative. CO2 is likely "contributing" to GW, but to an unknown, perhaps small, degree.

[AlexW]

"...and carbon emissions are contributing to it."

Well, carbon emissions make up some part of our environment,
as they have since the earth was formed, but to what degree?
The Gorekooks have no idea as to what man has to do with
the percentage of CO2 or how it has influenced the climate.

Considering the medieval warm period, long before power plants and SUVs, I would agree with those who are most skeptical.

[pankot]

It's the "bandwagon effect"--nobody wants to be left behind the curve. Should be called the "Stupid effect".

[rawcatslyentist]

Doomsday cults come. Doomsday cults go.

A little light reading on the comparisons of cult practices.

Lifewave MLM or Religious Cult? A Cult Checklist

[The Great RJ]

The Global Warming Religion has dogma, saints (St. Algore the hysterical) and a powerful Inquisition.

[rfp1234]

Ah, the second pic is David Koresh. For a moment I thought it was RFK Jr. (who would fit right into this group anyway...)