Last night, The Heartland Institute’s second annual International Conference on Climate Change kicked off where more than 70 scientists from around the globe specializing in climate issues will confront the subject of global warming. Joining the scientists will be economists, journalists, legal experts, bloggers, policymakers, and policy analysts to discuss the severity of man-made global warming and analyzing the costs and benefits of implementing any policies to reduce carbon dioxide.
The keynote speakers included the Honorable Vaclav Klaus, President, of the Czech Republic and European Union and well published atmospheric scientist Richard Lindzen from MIT.
Klaus recently published his own book, Blue Planet in Green Shackles, What is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?
Klaus refers to himself as an economist who happens to be in a high political position, and he does a remarkable job of rationally questioning the costs and benefits of climate change legislation. He challenges the inconclusiveness of the science behind global warming, and ultimately concludes that if policies are implemented to combat climate change, it could be one of the most egregious acts that would threaten freedom and prosperity across the globe.
What is worse:
[…] poor countries face greater danger of being harmed by the dispute (which is, in fact, not theirs). Such countries have been taken hostage by environmentalists, who propose halting human progress at immense costs.”
His book is a quick yet informative read and does well to clearly address the science, the economics and the politics behind global warming. Also included are answers to questions President Klaus presented to the U.S. Congress for hearings with Al Gore. Every member of Congress should pick this up before even considering to implement any climate change policy.
His speech was impressive to say the least. Klaus asserted that environmental activists don’t necessarily care about temperature, or carbon dioxide, they care about rent seeking and earning political profit.
He emphasized, “It is evident they don’t want to change the climate. They want to change us and our behavior.”
Richard Lindzen reinforced this point by saying, “Global warming alarmism has always been a political movement…a highly organized one.”
Environmental activists will prod scientists to make wild guesses about the future and the thing about guesses, Lindzen remarked, is that they allow the possibility of anything to be projected. Scientists will make ambiguous or meaningless statements, which can be spun radically by alarmists and subsequently dropped on politicians’ plates.
Linsome concluded by saying we will win because we’re right. By fully understanding the science, logic will eventually trump alleged authority. Despite how impressive the organization of the alarmist movement has been and the amount of money they raised, skeptics have successfully been able to fight back. Encouraging words to commence what will be a great conference.
