Readers of this blog know that I have a large degree of skepticism for much of the global warming rhetoric going around political circles nowadays. It's not so much that I doubt that the earth may in fact be getting warmer as much as I think the science is poorly understood by most people offering "solutions" and the potential impact of most of the "solutions" are poorly understood by those who do understand the science. I also believe there is far more disagreement among scientists about the cause of global warming than is realized by most of the public.
In trying to keep myself and others well-informed about this issue, here is a roundup of various thoughts and opinions on global warming from around the blogosphere:
Greg Mankiw:
Economists Joe Stiglitz, Nicholas Stern, and Martin Weitzman have new pieces on global warming. The most interesting (as well as the most technically demanding) is the one by Weitzman. His conclusion: "The Stern Review may well be right for the wrong reasons."
Glenn Reynolds:
Do I "believe in " global warming? In the sense that the world seems to be warmer now than in recent history, yes. The more apocalyptic scenarios seem to me to remain unproven, but certainly cause for concern.
Do I believe that global warming is anthropogenic? Not so clear. Plausible, but still far from certain.
Does this matter? Probably not. Regardless of what you think of the above, burning carbon is a lousy idea. Coal and oil are, over the long term, far more valuable as chemical feedstocks than as fuels anyway, and burning them is unacceptably filthy regardless of greenhouse issues.
Burning less carbon is good planetary hygiene, and good practice generally, regardless of what you think of global warming. So, I suppose, in a way we should be pursuing global warming remedies regardless of what you think about global warming.
Cosmic Rays Blamed for Global Warming:
Man-made climate change may be happening at a far slower rate than has been claimed, according to controversial new research.
Scientists say that cosmic rays from outer space play a far greater role in changing the Earth's climate than global warming experts previously thought.
Senators Boxer & Inhofe Discuss Climate Change On Larry King
Sens. Barbara Boxer and James Inhofe, chairwoman and ranking minority member of the Environment & Public Works Committee respectively, discuss climate change on Larry King Live.
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