America and China face trade protection measures from Europe if they fail to join a global climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, EU leaders will caution at their summit in Brussels today.
Nations that refuse to curb greenhouse gases will be told that they face “appropriate measures” — code for trade sanctions — if they try to gain a competitive advantage by continuing to allow cheap, high-pollution production.
Will Wilkinson had a very nice comment on NPR's Marketplace Morning. I once had an economics professor who started off his course by explaining that economics is the science of happiness, how to maximize happiness, and this comment reminded me of this.
I also thought about the argument from Vaclav Klaus at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change where he said:
"I am afraid there are people who want to stop the economic growth, the rise in the standard of living (though not their own) and the ability of man to use the expanding wealth, science and technology for solving the actual pressing problems of mankind, especially of the developing countries. This ambition goes very much against the past human experience which has always been connected with a strong motivation to go ahead and to better human conditions."
But back to Wilkinson, here is an excerpt from his speech, but spend the five minutes to listen to his entire commentary. It will be a feel good moment worth 5 minutes of your day.
"Now, if you're forced to choose between a rewarding job and a lot of money, choose the rewarding job. Happiness research doesn't say you should aim to be wealthier. What it says is that, if you hold everything else constant — the richness of your relationships, the joy of your work — a little more money tends to makes us feel a little bit better.
But the corollary for politics is that economic growth and public happiness tend to move in the same direction. The political choice to put a brake on growth is not the social equivalent of choosing a lower-paying, but more meaningful job. It's the choice to make tens of millions of people slightly less happy than they otherwise might have been.
Maybe something is worth that cost. I just can't imagine what it might be."
The Danish Energy Department paid a researcher to promote their climate policy strategy in debates with Bjørn Lomborg. Peter Laut billed about 500 hours of work to the Energy Department a year during the previous administration in Denmark. The other member of the Energy Department's climate advisory group was sued for libel after he accused a documentary film maker of being "paid for by the oil industry."
It is not unusual for scientists to be paid advisors to the government, but Laut wrote commentaries for the Minister of the Environment and promoted the government's climate policy in the media and in public debates. After a debate in Aalborg in 1999, he wrote in his invoice for the 80 hours of preparation time, that "the project was a succes, for once Lomborg was the one that looked like a fool." He presented himself as an engineering professor from The Technical University in Denmark during the debate and did not disclose his ties to the Energy department.
The Wall Street Journal reports the following, which raises some interesting questions:
"For his part, Kreider said [former VP Al] Gore is traveling to Poland and India this week to meet with government officials to continue his efforts to achieve a global climate treaty."
Must be that granting Al Gore nation-state status was the next logical step, and about the only thing left. But, what if Tipper refuses to ratify the agreement?
A note from Richard Lindzen on statistically significant warming
11 03 2008
Yesterday, in response to the thread on “3 of 4 global metrics show nearly flat temperature anomaly in the last decade” I got a short note from MIT’s Richard Lindzen along with a graph. I asked if I could post it, and he graciously agreed:
Look at the attached. There has been no warming since 1997 and no
statistically significant warming since 1995. Why bother with the
arguments about an El Nino anomaly in 1998? (Incidentally, the red
fuzz represents the error ‘bars’.)Best wishes,
Dick
==================================================
Richard S. Lindzen
Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
MIT Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
The man has a point.
I appreciate the note, Dr. Lindzen.
Remember when more than 400 scientists were revealed as "skeptical" about global warming hype? The New York Times's Andrew Revkin blogged about it, saying the "perennial tug of war" was actually "a distraction from fundamentals that are clearly established."
Of course, 44 Southern Baptists who buy into the green agenda received a respectful print story in the March 10 Times, widely quoting the church leaders saying things like: "when we destroy God's creation, it's similar to ripping pages from the Bible."
Actually, the man behind that statement, Jonathan Merritt, isn't really a church leader, according to the article – he's a 25-year-old seminary student. But he's "the spokesman for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative." He used to be "an enemy of the environment," until he had the "epiphany" quoted above.
Such double-standard reporting on sides of the climate debate is standard for the networks, as the Business & Media Institute's new report shows. In "Global Warming Censored," BMI reveals how actors, musicians and just plain men on the street are used as voices in support of global warming hysteria.
400+ scientists or 44 Southern Baptists? Take your pick.
Two key U.S. representatives on Tuesday introduced a bill to prevent federal or state regulators from approving new coal power plants without greenhouse gas emission controls.
Around half of the country's power is generated from coal-fired stations. But investment in coal power plants is waning in the face of potential federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
In a report published today by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, researchers analysed flooding trends across England for the last four decades and found there appears to be a trend for less summer flooding, but more rainfall in winter. Last July's floods were highly unusual, the researchers said.
The European Union wants developing countries to make more effort to cut their ballooning greenhouse gas emissions rather than rely on carbon offset schemes, a European Commission official said on Tuesday.
The Kyoto Protocol on global warming allows rich countries to meet binding targets on greenhouse gas emissions by funding cuts in developing nations.
This month, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study that concludes that more than 200 deaths could have been prevented in rollovers in 2006 if just a few more SUVs had roofs as strong as the best one it tested.
The study was heavily reported in the news and now, a number of well-meaning non-profits have taken up the cause of roof safety.
Which begs the question: where were these people last December, when Congress passed and the President signed an increase in fuel efficiency standards that will cost thousands of lives each year?
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