No increase in global temperatures observed in the last 11 years:And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
No one seems to know.
(HT Russ Roberts)
3 comments:
Let's take 1 article and just discard the overwhelming body of scientific research and the overwhelming body of scientific opinion.
There have been several recent articles on how some scientists believe that climate change is actually worse than anticipated, so it's easy to cherry pick one's sources.
I'll say it again: if we move towards a cleaner planet, even if the most dire predictions turn out to be wrong, the worst is that we'll end up with a cleaner, more usable planet.
But if the global warming deniers are wrong and we follow them, then we encounter disaster.
To be truly conservative would mean to act in the prudent cautious way, respectful of our environment, and our dependency upon it. When did conservatism come to mean the opposite?
"...if we move towards a cleaner planet, even if the most dire predictions turn out to be wrong, the worst is that we'll end up with a cleaner, more usable planet."
Actually, depending on how we go about tackling this, the worst we end up with is limiting economic development (or making economic growth negative) in the poorest regions of the planet which could result in far greater needless loss of human life than what many global warming advocates fear.
The danger is in becoming so set on doing good that, convinced of the rightness of our motives, we fail to see the harm created by our actions. (See Thomas Sowell's The Vision of the Anointed for an excellent discussion on this.)
The problem with the global warming debate is that it has become dominated by moralizers rather than by the scientists and economists who are best equipped to analyze and discuss the likelihood and potential ramifications of global warming.
As with economic forecasts, making predictions about the future of climate change is fraught with uncertainty and difficulty. When it comes to global warming, cooler heads should prevail.
BTW, I think you're confusing the terms "conservative" and "conservationist". Conservatives tend to want to act in a prudent, cautious way with respect to our human institutions (traditions, laws, etc.). Conservationists want to act in a prudent, cautious way towards the environment. These two are not necessarily in conflict with one another, but are not synonymous either.
Thinking:
I wrote a large response to your criticism, but unfortunately it wouldn't fit here, so I stuck it here:
http://antistotle.blogspot.com/2009/10/4096-characters-isnt-enough.html
Mr. Hollar:
We do know what happened, at least a little:
1) The sun got quiet.
2) Pacific Decadal Oscilliation
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