Well, after a morning spent shoveling our "10 year drought," I really enjoyed yet another fine article by James Glassman at TechCentralStation.com. TCS is a great site for business, politics and tech with a proclivity toward the debunking of junk science and bringing true scientific rigor to climate change and environmentalism. Glassman sees a change in the debate:
"Until very recently, the global-warming debate was dominated by the views of radical environmentalists, politicized scientists and global bureaucrats seeking new mega-projects - all, for reasons both sincere and cynical, falling on the naturalist side of the argument. But since last summer's Earth Summit in Johannesburg, there's been a pronounced change in the air."
Yes, since Johannesburg there has been a change in the air but the change was building far earlier. Global warming "science" continues to be debunked. Many of the collectivists who supported the idea of enslaving western nations to the underdeveloped nations we've supposedly been "exploiting" the resources of recognize the fact that the global warming approach to this goal is in its death throes. They need to find another angle to perpetuate their neo-Marxist doctrines.
In this story, Dyson praises Smil's "humanist" conclusion that "an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [is not] evil, if the increase is associated with worldwide economic prosperity, and if the poor half of humanity gets its fair share of the benefits." This end result is no different than the one envisioned through Kyoto.
It's not enough to reject global warming "science," we must reject the social "science" of collectivism as well. Capitalism and individual liberty are the proper ideals of a truly "progressive" humanism.
Posted by: johngalt at May 13, 2003 08:06 AMOne sad thing is that I believe a "cap and trade" environmental plan could work in the states -- let the clean folks sell their right to pollute, a la Kyoto.
A market approach to emissions would be a viable solution if applied to a non-imaginary problem.
Posted by: jk at May 13, 2003 03:13 PM