THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 256, November 22, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
CLIMATE CHANGE NO LONGER SCARY IN EUROPE:
It's Not the Climate, but the Tide of Opinion, that's
Changing in Europe & around the Globe
By Dr. Hans Labohm
PUBLIC OPINION & THE DELUSION OF DANGEROUS MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING: THE TIDE OF PUBLIC OPINION
REGARDING CATASTROPHIC CLIMATE CHANGE IS UNDERGOING CHANGE. WHY? THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE DOES NOT
SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTALIST CLAIMS ABOUT HUMAN-INDUCED GLOBAL CLIMATE DISRUPTION. MOREOVER, THE
OUTRAGEOUS COSTS OF SUPPOSED ALTERNATIVES TO HYDROCARBON-BASED ENERGY WILL KILL JOBS & FURTHER
IMPEDE ECONOMIC REVIVAL.
FULL STORY:
The upcoming climate change (and wealth redistribution) summit in Cancun, Mexico – coupled with Bjorn Lomborg’s
ongoing publicity campaign for his new film – makes one thing painfully obvious. The fight against the delusion of
dangerous man-made global warming remains an uphill struggle.
For decades, the climate debate has been obfuscated by cherry-picking, spin-doctoring and scare-mongering by the
UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other climate alarmists, including the environmentalist
movement and the mainstream media. Their massive effort to overstate the threat of man-made warming has left its
imprint on public opinion.
But the tide seems to be turning. The Climate Conference fiasco in Copenhagen, the Climategate scandal and
stabilization of worldwide temperatures since 1995 have given rise to growing doubts about the putative threat of
“dangerous global warming” or “global climate disruption.” Indeed, even Phil Jones, Director of the University of East
Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit and one of the main players in Climategate, now acknowledges that there has been no
measurable warming since 1995, despite steadily rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.
People are paying attention, and opinion polls in many countries show a dramatic fall in the ranking of climate change
among people’s major concerns. They are also beginning to understand that major rain and snow storms, hurricanes,
and other weather extremes are caused by solar-driven changes in global jet streams and warm-cold fronts, not by CO2,
and that claims about recent years being the “warmest ever” are based on false or falsified temperature data.
In various parts of the world, the climate debate displays different features. The U.S.A. and other parts of the
non-European Anglo-Saxon world feature highly polarized and politicized debates along the Left/Right political divide.
In Europe, all major political parties are still toeing the “official” IPCC line. In both arenas, with a few notable exceptions,
skeptical views – even from well-known scientists with impeccable credentials – tend to be ignored and/or actively
suppressed by governments, academia, and the media.
However, skepticism about man-made climate disasters is gradually gaining ground nevertheless.
In my own country, the Netherlands, for instance, it has even received some official recognition, thus dissolving the
information monopoly of climate alarmists. The Standing Committee on Environment of the lower chamber of the Dutch
legislature, the Second House of the States General, even organized a one-day hearing, where both climate chaos
adherents and disaster skeptics could freely discuss their different views before key parliamentarians who decide Dutch
climate policy.
This hearing was followed by a special seminar organized by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, using the
same format, but focusing on scientific topics. The Academy will soon publish a report about this seminar.
Europe often brags about its emission trading scheme (ETS), regarding itself as the vanguard of an international climate
policy. In the European view, the Copenhagen climate summit should have produced a worldwide extension and
sharpening of its ETS. But the vast majority of countries in the world refused to follow Europe’s example, so the meeting
turned into a fiasco. Its follow-up in Cancun at year’s end will surely produce a similar result. And for good reason.
Contrary to official claims, Europe’s experience with ETS is dismally bad. The system is expensive and prone to massive
fraud. More importantly, it serves no useful purpose.
The European Environmental Agency tracks Europe's performance regarding the reduction of CO2 emissions. Its latest
report states:
“The European Union's greenhouse gas inventory
report … shows that emissions have not only
continued their downward trend in 2008, but have
also picked up pace. The EU-27’s emissions stood
11.3% below their 1990 levels, while EU-15 achieved
a reduction of 6.9%, compared to Kyoto base-year
levels.”
On the face of it, the scheme seems to be pretty successful. However, much of the downward trend was due to the global
economic recession, not to the ETS. Moreover, both climate chaos proponents and climate disaster skeptics agree that
the scheme will have no detectable impact whatsoever on worldwide temperatures – perhaps 0.1 degrees – though this
crucial piece of information has been carefully and deliberately shielded from the public eye.
What about renewable energy as an alternative? Consider these EU costs for various sources of electricity in cents per
kilowatt-hour: nuclear 4, coal 4, natural gas 5, onshore wind 13, biomass 16 … solar 56!
Obviously, the price tag for renewables is extremely high, compared to hydrocarbons. The additional costs can be
justified either by imminent fossil fuel scarcity (the “oil peak”), which would send petroleum and coal prices through the
roof, or by the threat of man-made global warming. But, on closer inspection, neither argument is tenable.
The authoritative International Energy Agency does not foresee any substantial scarcity of oil and gas in the near to
medium future, and coal reserves remain sufficient for centuries to come. As to global warming, the absence of a
statistically significant increase in average worldwide temperatures since 1995 obliterates that assertion.
Meanwhile, recent peer-reviewed studies indicate that increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere (natural or man-made)
have minimal effects on climate change – while others demonstrate that, on balance, this plant-fertilizing gas is beneficial,
rather than harmful, for mankind and the biosphere.
All this argues for a closer look at the cost-benefit relationship of investing in renewable energy projects, to prevent a
massive waste of financial and natural resources on unreliable and thus uncompetitive forms of energy. Since every
cloud has a silver lining, the ongoing economic crisis might give extra impetus toward that end.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Europe, European States, Politics, & Public Policy
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Hans Labohm is a former professor at the Dutch Institute of International Relations and guest teacher at the Netherlands
Institute for Defense Studies. He has been an IPCC reviewer and has written extensively on global warming, petroleum
economics, and other topics.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume XII, 2010
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity