[ancient_geezer]

I think the whole thing, this global warming is starting to collapse under its own weight. That's why the push to change the debate to the more ambiguous climate change.

At the core of this debate is raw political power, derivable from treaty requirements which require a crisis rooted in an anthropogenic cause to move forward.

In this Ross McKitrick, a Canadian economist and global warming agenda critic, hits the nail on the proverbial head.

An Economist's Perspective on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol,
by Ross McKitrick. November 2003

The 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defined "climate change" as follows:

"Climate change" means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
( http://unfccc.int/index.html )

The recent Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defined it differently ( http://www.ipcc.ch/ ):

Climate change in IPCC usage refers to any change over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.

This is a very important difference: The IPCC is looking for signs of any change, whereas the policy instruments prescribed by the UNFCCC are not triggered unless it is a particular kind of change: that attributable to human activity. When IPCC officials declare that "climate change" is for real, this is about as informative as announcing that the passage of time is for real. Of course the climate changes: if it didn't Winnipeg would still be under a glacier. But the fact that the last ice age ended doesn't imply that the policy mechanisms of the UNFCCC should kick in. That's the problem with the ambiguity over the term "climate change"-and it seems to trip up a lot of people-accepting the reality of "climate change" does not mean accepting the need for policy interventions. And denying that global warming is a problem requiring costly policy measures is not the same as denying "climate change."

 

Thus it is prudent to be very skeptical and very discerning of all that is offered under the banner of Climate Change.

[Kenny Bunk]

Geezer, soon every man women and child on this planet will be dead. It's obviously because you and the VRWC do not believe in Global Warming. It is particularly hideous because this Republican-caused phenomenon will strike women, children, members of minority groups, and gays and lesbians hardest of all. Al Gore said so, and he won an Oscar.

I just hope it doesn't strike me before I figure out why they always say, "Gays and Lesbians." I mean aren't lesbians gay?