Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

Climate Change Apostates Rising

by AW

Kimberley Strassel of WSJ notes in her column Climate Change Climate Change

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers.

Wise Man: 1, Climate Journalist: 0

by AW

If you think that at age 85, Freeman Dyson is afraid to take on the scientific orthodoxy, think again: in his follow-up interview to his controversial New York Times Magazine article, Dyson still refuses to budge from his skepticism of global climate alarmists.  It is amusing to see how adroitly he handles the Climate Establishment journalist Michael Lemonick whose sole job is to communicate climate science to the public - breathlessly.

An Indomitable Spirit

by Reena Kapoor

I was pointed to this fascinating read A Civil Heretic by a friend about Freeman Dyson and why he's opposed to the alarmist and anthropogenic view of global warming.  His criticisms are worth noting - especially because he's a self-proclaimed "liberal" - but more interesting is his sheer genius and his uncompromising independent thinking. I could not help but wonder how much we owe to men like these to keep us honest.  An insightful read also on what makes a genius and a renaissance man.  Unbelievably refreshing for folks on all sides of the global warming debate!

We could all learn to think a little more independently.

The other circus continues: Global Warming alarmism

by Reena Kapoor

Only a couple of days ago I was thinking how far behind we've gotten in the battle for liberty given the shenanigans of US Congress, the bailouts and other madness our government keeps throwing at us. I was thinking about how we have not even begun to address perhaps a much larger threat the left has up its sleeve: the green movement! 

Climatic Surrealism

by Reena Kapoor

This article in the UK Telegraph was sent by a friend The world has never seen such freezing heat, and talks about the recent blunders in temperature reporting by the top proponents of global warming (NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies or GISS). No points for guessing which way the errors invariably go; but what's remarkable is that this is the data and scientists (such as Dr. Hansen) whose accuracy & judgement the IPCC relies upon!  Here is the crux of the matter but click on the link above to be truly horrified:

The Europeanization of America?

By Anisha Kahai

Insightful piece in the WSJ on what's ahead if (or should I say when?) Obama becomes president. Pete Du Pont predicts that "...Mr. Obama will most likely be our most liberal public policy president since Franklin D. Roosevelt." Here is an excerpt from his article:

Hypocrisy in Style

by Reena Kapoor

Steven Milloy in Junk Science writes about the new super-duper expensive expedition the World Wildlife Fund is offering on a private jet as a fundraiser (Five-Star Green Hypocrisy) to its wealthy donors.  He eloquently points out that: This is the very same WWF that says “the current growth in [carbon dioxide] emissions must be stopped as soon as possible” and that blames Americans for emitting 21 percent of global CO2 emissions even though the U.S. accounts for only 5 percent of the global population.

Rename it Surrealand?

by Reena Kapoor

This article (Switzerland's Green Power Revolution...) in the WSJ today talked about how Switzerland now has a constitutional amendment that mandates that geneticists conduct their research without trampling on a plant's dignity. So plant geneticists now have to first debate the finer points of plant dignity with ethicists before they can get permission to embark on any research.

One scientist correctly asked: "Where does it stop?" asks Yves Poirier, a molecular biologist at the laboratory of plant biotechnology at the University of Lausanne. "Should we now defend the dignity of microbes and viruses?" 

BUT that is when it got really bizzare...

Seeking clarity, Dr. Poirier recently invited the head of the Swiss ethics panel to his university. In their public discussion, Dr. Poirier said the new rules are flawed because decades of traditional plant breeding had led to widely available sterile fruit, such as seedless grapes. Things took a surreal turn when it was disclosed that some panel members believe plants have feelings, Dr. Poirier says.

Read on to discover there is indeed no limit to human lunacy!

'Tis Religion...

by Reena Kapoor

According to this article Kids Your time is Up, Australian Broadcasting company is promoting a Global Warming Game which allows kids to calculate by what age they should be dead in order to avoid leaving a carbon footprint.  Here is what the article says...

Watch out, Australians. According to the state-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), most of you have overstayed your welcome on this good earth.

The colorful flash site, called Planet Slayer starts with a cartoon called the "Adventures of Greena" and ends by suggesting to vulnerable children that they are pigs whose very existence has a horrible impact on the global environment.

Damned Lies & Statistics in Partisan Politics

by Anurag Wadehra

In a breathtaking NYT article"Is History Siding With Obama’s Economic Plan?, Alan Blinder, a Princeton economics professor, claims two bold theses:

Great Partisan Growth Divide. The United States economy has grown faster, on average, under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.

Great Partisan Inequality Divide. Over the entire 60-year period, income inequality trended substantially upward under Republican presidents but slightly downward under Democrats, thus accounting for the widening income gaps over all.

 

 

He concludes with this whopper: if history is a guide, an Obama victory in November would lead to faster economic growth with less inequality, while a McCain victory would lead to slower economic growth with more inequality.