Bush Administration to Study Global Warming

Cato Daily Dispatch ^ | July 24, 2003

[berserker]

Who needs a study to see if global warming really exists?

A tourist observes the patchy snow of the world's highest ski slope, located on the flanks of Chacaltaya in the Bolivian Andes at nearly 5,400 meters above sea level, just 15 kilometers from La Paz in this photo taken July 12, 2003. According to scientists studying the receding glaciers in the Andean Cordillera, the ice cap that attracts hundreds of tourists each year from all over the world to ski on will disappear in less than five years, probably due to global warming and as a consequence of the El Nino phenomenon. REUTERS/David Mercado TO MATCH FEATURE BOLIVIA-CHACALTAYA

[brewcrew]

On global warming, Dennis Miller said:

“There's a lot of differing data, but as far as I can gather, over the last hundred years the temperature on this planet has gone up 1.8 degrees. Am I the only one who finds that amazingly stable? I could go back to my hotel room tonight and futz with the thermostat for three to four hours. I could not detect that difference.”

[bruinbirdman]

"This effectively stalls the argument for 10 years "

Kinda like the tax cut policy. Get the tax cuts agreed to but spread out over 10 years, then bring up every year that you want to escalate the time frame. If the dems say no, they are for increasing taxes.

GW seems to have a way with dealing with liberals.

Well, no wonder. Mr. MBA did defeat a divinity school flunk out.

yitbos

[fractal38]

I think you're on to somthing. This is the third event in the past week to focus on natural causes of global temperature change. First was an hour long program on the Science Channel which explained Svensmark's theory that the combined effects of cosmic rays and variations in the the Sun's magnetic field govern the Earth's climate.The program had proponents of the greenhouse effect on to defend their theory and then ridiculed them.

Second was an article in the Geophysical Society of America's GSAToday showing that these two factors account for the major climate swings that have occued over many millions of years.

Third is this anouncement. This appears to be the start of a major PR campaign to challenge the environmental wackos.

[Prodigal Son]

I would rather have a Bush administration study than a UN study, which has been the case up to this point.

Exactly. If we get a US study that comes to a totally different conclusion than Kyoto, no democrat in the future would have a prayer of resurrecting it plus it would serve as ammunition to those in other countries who wish to fight the protocol as well.

[Reeses]

I'd rather not let government get into the business of trying to control the weather once it has the technological capability.

They already control the world's rivers and lakes. Without that technology about 5 billion of us would die from starvation. I have no problem adjusting the weather if it becomes needed to sustain life. No one is studying the right question though. We're too busy wondering if humans alter the earth. Yes we do, and what of it? We should focus on what we want to alter it to. A new Ice Age may not be such a good idea. We're better off in the other direction. The real question is: what temperture do we want and how do we get and stay there? A Luddite approach isn't useful.

[farmfriend]

There is warming on several other planets do to sun activity. The problem is not whether there is warming or not but whether it is human caused, whether it is bad or not, and whether we should damage our economy to try to change something we more than likely have no control over.

[RightWhale]

I don't know anything about meteorology

Know this, then: there are countless master's and doctoral theses to be written, and they will be funded by this research. Grants, assistantships, and scholarships will be easier to get. No doubt politicians and the sub-educated activists will grab what they can from the work of these honest and bright graduate students, physicists mostly, but that should not reflect on the reputations of the scientists. Money should be spent on outer space research and development instead, but these are climate days not space days. Take what you can get.

[Judith Anne]

Also, a 10 year study makes it completely unavailable as an election-year issue. If the green wienies object, ask them if they want to control the agenda or wair for hard facts. They won't dare answer truthfully. ;-D

[bruinbirdman]

"Grants, assistantships, and scholarships will be easier to get."

Aaaah, and dare I say, it will be the GW administration handing them out and which direction the grantees will be pointed.

yitbos

[RightWhale]

it will be the GW administration handing them out and which direction the grantees will be pointed.

Yes and no. The machinery of gov't will hand them out and Congress will determine the dollar amount of the programs. The grad students, as usual, will have little say and the grant writers at university affiliated research institutes will have all the say. The studies will be the usual scientific mumbo-jumbo, assuming this and constraining that, so if anything practical emerges that would be unexpected. Some of the usual popular articles will be written to completely misrepresent results and politicians will seize on these articles as opportunities to wheel and deal in the halls of Congress, the Hague, the UN, and wherever else the true Masters assemble.

[meyer]

I don't know anything about meteorology, but does it really take ten years to study it? Don't we have sophisticated computers these days to simulate most of the scenarios.

That's been done - the problem is that the simulation can take on the preconceived notion of what the operator wants the scenarios to be. I think that some actual data would help. Besides, the earth's been around a while. 10 years is nothing.

[bruinbirdman]

" The machinery of gov't will hand them out "

I give The President a little more credit than that.

yitbos

[RightWhale]

give The President a little more credit

99% is not up to him. He can influence to a small degree, nothing more.

[ntnychik]

I think we have it figured out. Our Texan friends say never underestimate President Bush!