From the Pew Research Center.
I wonder if Senator Kerry has seen this. Once again, climate change is dead last. Since energy comes in second, watch now as “climate change” gets morphed into “energy needs” as the new target of our climatic friends.
The public views tougher regulations on financial institutions as an important priority for Congress, but far more want Congress to take action on the job situation and energy policy. In thinking about financial regulation, as many say they worry that the government will go too far in regulating financial markets, making it harder for the economy to grow, as say they worry that the government will not go far enough, leaving the country at risk of another financial crisis.
Congress’s overall job ratings remain abysmal. More generally, most Americans express little or no confidence in Washington to make progress over the next year on the biggest issues facing the country.
…
These are the principal findings from a new weekly survey with a special focus on the themes and issues directly related to Congress. The Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, sponsored by SHRM, will complement the Pew Research Center’s ongoing comprehensive surveys on politics, the press, the economy and international affairs. The survey, conducted May 13-16 among 1,002 adults, also finds:
…
Only about a third (32%) says it is very important for Congress to address climate change in the coming months, including 47% of Democrats, 29% of independents and 17% of Republicans. This is consistent with earlier Pew Research surveys that show the public putting a relatively low priority on addressing climate change.
Full story here at the Pew Research Center
As interesting as this is, it also points out the fallacy of basing government priorities solely on polling. Just because 95% of the population thinks that “x is most important” or “y is going to kill us all”, doesn’t make it a fact. A politician who bases all of their decision-making on whatever the polls show may well win re-election, but will not (in my opinion) be particularly effective. Just my $0.02.
GCB:
True, in isolation. On any given topic the government should be guided by what is right (in their opinion) for the country. But when they choose to go against the will of the people for no particularly good reason, and consistently against the will of the majority of the people who put them there, they can expect only one result.
Well, remember the fraud on top of fraud that has always been going on here – the push for a “climate change” bill was NEVER about “climate change”, even before the Climategate Scandal broke. It was *always* about concocting some scheme to fool the American people into supporting a vast new Tax and Spend scheme.
On the governmental side, this was NEVER about Climate.
This was ALWAYS about Revenue!
That’s why they’re having such a hard time giving it up – they were absolutely sure they had found the perfect scam which was going to finance their fondest dreams for the rest of their lives.
And that’s why you skeptics are so hated – you haven’t just upset a scientific theory, you’ve upset 30 years of future money that the political establishment thought they already had in the bank.
You have turned out to be a very, very expensive problem.
Hi Anthony,
I have also some good news.
“OTTAWA – Canada brushed aside a direct public demand Wednesday by the visiting United Nations chief and reiterated that it will not make climate change a priority agenda item when it hosts the G20 summit next month.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stuck to his G20 plan to keep the summit’s focus squarely on the global economic recovery after he met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his Parliament Hill office.”
http://tinyurl.com/2g8y5gw
Maybe you know something more about it?
Cheers
Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window or it becomes irreversible.
Unsupported assertions are coming like a blizzard.
I refuse to argue with Robert Redford.
Geb: I agree with you. The #1 concern of Americans must be our lack of safety due to Obama’s flawed foreign policy, poor counter terrorism strategy, and his ongoing unilateral disarmament, etc.
The poll outcome makes one wonder if the form of the questions induced bias. If no choice was offered for any subject other than domestic issues, the pollsters are misrepresenting the concerns of Americans and their priorities.
Kerry will wrap the climate bill into an energy and green jobs bill.
That’s how they work these days.
I am hard-pressed to think of another institution whose existence is more at odds with the philosophy of its founders than the Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew Trusts have, by and large, been hijacked by their employees and now operate under the direction of those employees for the purpose of advancing a political agenda.
wws says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:00 am
Well, remember the fraud on top of fraud that has always been going on here – the push for a “climate change” bill was NEVER about “climate change”, even before the Climategate Scandal broke. It was *always* about concocting some scheme to fool the American people into supporting a vast new Tax and Spend scheme.
On the governmental side, this was NEVER about Climate.
This was ALWAYS about Revenue!
That’s why they’re having such a hard time giving it up – they were absolutely sure they had found the perfect scam which was going to finance their fondest dreams for the rest of their lives.
And that’s why you skeptics are so hated – you haven’t just upset a scientific theory, you’ve upset 30 years of future money that the political establishment thought they already had in the bank.
You have turned out to be a very, very expensive problem.
——————–
REPLY: VWS, you most certainly have hit the nail squarely on the head! Cap & Trade would have funded all sorts of utopian dreams, as well as pulling the rug out from under major constituencies (oil, gas) who are becoming adept at playing the “green” game.
I’m rather enjoying watching it all fly apart, actually!
One, not the only reason but an important reason, that I came south from Canada was that I felt I was being over taxed. Every year it seemed that my break even point was sliding further into July (August in Nfld).
Now it seems that the US is about ready to enter July. I’m not sure I want to move further south, but Costa Rica is looking like a good retirement option.
This won’t help American sentiments about climate change and ‘green’ economic transformation, either. Enjoy: Spanish Report Obama’s Model Green Economy a Disaster
Henry chance says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:17 am
“Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window or it becomes irreversible….”
______________________________________________________________________
GOOD, that means we have eight more years to see if we get a major downturn in the climate before Congress and other politicians act.
Did the poll include “get the hell out of our way” as a choice?
32%?
That many flaming tree-huggers out there?
Despite the opposition of Americans to any Cap & Trade bill, and despite the fact that in a very bad jobs recession the worst action the government can take is to raise taxes, and despite the fact that C&T will not only raise taxes, but will increase costs across the board, the Administration and Congress are clearly intent on ramming all that new spending, taxation, massive new debt, and higher costs down our throats, the same way they rammed the government takeover of healthcare through – without allowing Americans to see what was in the 2,000+ page bill until after it had been passed.
Why are they acting so mendaciously?
Because they are following the Cloward-Piven strategy exactly: overburden the country with such massive new spending, taxes and debt that the economy spirals downward, out of control, and the dollar tanks.
Then the government quickly steps in to “take control” of the situation, and you can guess the rest.
If it has feathers, quacks, and waddles like a duck… you can be pretty certain it’s a duck. The government should be reining in spending, cutting unnecessary programs, and easing the regulatory burden on businesses in order to promote job creation. It is doing exactly the opposite: in his first 3 months in office, Obama indebted the country for more than the entire cost of WWII [$4.1 Trilion]. The out of control spending continues unabated.
Cap & Trade is just part of his overall strategy, as Obama clearly stated four days before the election, to “fundamentally transform America.”
Henry Chance: “Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window or it becomes irreversible.”
Perhaps he and The Guardian should fight it out – they have been counting down from 100 months and I think we are down to 80 odd by now.
OT but except for his temp prediction (he may ultimately be right if full La nina starts soon) David Archibald’s sun prediction way more accurate than Chapman’s (NASA)
http://www.solarcycle24.com/
SSN max of 40?
Henry chance says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:17 am
“Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window”
Hmmm. Do everyone remember this;
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/gordon-brown-we-have-fewer-than-fifty-days-to-save-our-planet-from-catastrophe-1805648.html
That was 20 october 2009.
ITS TOO LATE!
And it makes Romm a denier. He is denying what Gordon Brown said.
Sorry Romm.
If Americans have little or no confidence in Congress, why do we keep on reelecting incumbents? I haven’t voted for an incumbent in 30 years, but the same incompetent boobs are still there. I don’t blame the boobs — I blame the morons who keep voting for them. We don’t need a Term Limit Amendment; we need voters who aren’t morons.
Not to worry. Another crisis emergency jobs stim bill for about $200 billion before the Indy 500 this year. With all the usual vote buying pork and unemployment extended to 99 weeks. Strange, isn’t it, that we’ll pay you not to work by borrowing from grandchildren that haven’t been born.
wws says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:00 am
………………….
And that’s why you skeptics are so hated – you haven’t just upset a scientific theory, you’ve upset 30 years of future money that the political establishment thought they already had in the bank.
You have turned out to be a very, very expensive problem.
Excellent! I sincerely hope it is also a very, very expensive political career problem for them also. It seems to be heading that way. 🙂
As I get older, I would prefer that Congress focuses on reducing gravity. A ten percent reduction in gravity would allow me to run as a fast as I did 15 years ago. They should also legislate water temperature along the California coast. It is usually too cold there for optimal swimming.
“If Americans have little or no confidence in Congress, why do we keep on reelecting incumbents?”
Everybody is making sh*t up these days with numbers. Why should election results be any different?
Andrew
Smokey is correct in his analysis. You’d think that those dealing with the news on a daily basis would be shouting it from the rooftops. Even Bill O’Reilly sees the contradictions, but he doesn’t understand what’s happening because he either cannot or will not “connect the dots”. However, Glenn Beck also sees the contradictions but he DOES connect the dots, much to the annoyance of the administration.
The Climate Change “American Power Act” (i.e. redistribution and suppression of wealth by those wishing to bring about their stated objective of transforming America) is just another front in that war.
I would love to see the polls if surveys asked for real life trade-off choices – i.e. the government has $100 to spend, where do you allocate it? And no, just like life, you can’t have everything – pick the most important.
Now we have all of 10 years before irreversible “climate change”? How interesting, since in 1988 we had only 7 years before global warming would “spin out of control if we don’t take serious action right now” according to James Hansen (as if humans ever did have “it” under control). Then, after the 7 years had passed, it seems that it would, after all, be another 7 years. Which took us up to 2002, and nothing that could be considered significant regarding climate change had happened. I have also, about a year or so ago heard it said by “scientists” that it would only be another 4 years.
The entire sackcloth, ashes and “repent, the end is near” routine has become tiresome. Methinks these particular little boys have “cried wolf” with no wolf within sight a bit too many times.
“Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window”
They said that ~5 years ago and have been saying it every year since.
“No credit today, wait till tomorrow.” :o)
And one of the reason for the public being put off by alarmist headlines is clearly illustrated below:
Food Poisoning May Rise With Global Warming
http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/2010/05/articles/food-poisoning-information/food-poisoning-may-rise-with-global-warming/
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2010/05/19/t3.html
WHO
I feel more than a little sympathy for the Citizens of the USA; we here in what was once known as Great Britain have suffered under a socialist Government for 13 long and freedom-sapping years. We are a bankrupt country and have very little in the way of what you in the USA would call Liberty. It would appear that you are about to step onto the slippery slope at the bottom of which we now find ourselves.
A ray of hope dawned when our General Election came along. It was soon dashed when it became apparent that we had a hung Parliament (Would that it had been a hanged Parliament!). What do we have now? Two demi-socialists who, having promised all in their pre-election sound bites, are now busily reneging on everything they said before assuming power. We are being promised now that we in the United Kingdom are going to have a “greener, low carbon economy” when we don’t have an economy worth mentioning. Despite the fact that this country is broke we are to press ahead with the construction of hundreds of useless windmills. The lessons taught by the economically fatal Spanish expariment have been ignored; that Germany is cutting its subsidies for the ‘Green Dream’ is something likewise pushed aside. As the Minister in charge of Energy we have an avowed green advocate who will not countenance the construction of a single nuclear power station and will only permit the construction of a coal-fired power station if the flawed and possibly highly dangerous carbon dioxide sequestration technique is employed to an impossible-to-achieve degree.
Someone. somewhere must be able to talk some sense into this collection of apparently brainwashed idiots who control the future of this once Scepter’d Isle
And one of the reasons for the public being put off by alarmist headlines is clearly illustrated below:
Food Poisoning May Rise With Global Warming
http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/2010/05/articles/food-poisoning-information/food-poisoning-may-rise-with-global-warming/
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2010/05/19/t3.html
WHO
Mike B “If Americans have little or no confidence in Congress, why do we keep on reelecting incumbents?
The incumbents have enacted legislation (over the years) which hand out scads of taxpayer money, and the same old story is that if newcomers are elected, those programs will be negated and those particular goodies will no longer be forthcoming.
Then too, oft times it is “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
stevengoddard says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:50 pm
As I get older, I would prefer that Congress focuses on reducing gravity. A ten percent reduction in gravity would allow me to run as a fast as I did 15 years ago. They should also legislate water temperature along the California coast. It is usually too cold there for optimal swimming.
———-
Indeed. Where are their priorities? And it all appears to stem from the core problem of global rotation and tilting. Seems to be caused by an uneven redistribution of wealth.
I am so glad we have a President who thinks about the future and knows how to lead. 😉
Thanks for the tip about selling the climate bill as an energy bill. I will pass on to my connections! But don’t tell anyone else. Shhhh!
Jimbo says: {May 21, 2010 at 1:08 pm): “Romm says “scientists claim we have 10 years” window”. They said that ~5 years ago and have been saying it every year since. ”
Kind of like Henny Youngman’s line, “My doctor gave me 6 months to live, I couldn’t pay the bill so he gave me another 6 months”
I am not real happy with the slant PEW puts on their science but at least they are not completely out in left field like some.
Slightly off topic.
Seems Iceland has had a bunch of mini quakes during the last 48 hrs. 3 under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier home of Katla and 30 or more at Eyjafjallajökull and between Katla and Eyjafjallajökull.
http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/myrdalsjokull/
From LarryOldtimer on May 21, 2010 at 1:22 pm:
Far too true. Look at the sterling example of “progressive government” that is Greece. Country is bankrupt, needing a bailout, on the verge of collapsing and taking the EU with it… So just about daily there are “workers strikes” demanding a stopping of spending cuts even though they’re needed to staunch the hemorrhaging of red ink and save the country. They don’t want to listen to reason, and to keep getting their “free stuff” they may very well end up destroying their country and losing everything.
The esteemed Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican I helped send to DC several times, switched parties and sided with liberals. I don’t know that old devil anymore. Now he’s going away. I’ll vote in a new devil come November.
Take heart, people. As Lord Monckton said, in his closing speech at ICCC4, (paraphrased) “There is a new consensus.”
Not that Congress gives a fig about the climate. They smell a further enlarged government fist over our lives and will pursue their aptly named “Power” bill at all cost.
The concept “… of, by, and for the people” is a distant memory.
wws says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:00 am
I see it as the glass half full on thier part:
They spent way too much money already on this. They are the ones to be held accountable, not us, and not since the general public has seen through thier veneer.
It is thier own words that turned people off, claiming ‘faster than previously imagined’ when everyone was shivering, then rolling out the ‘we must act quickly’ billboards.
And last, but not least, they are NOT doing what they were elected to do:
It’s the Economy, stupid, so please, let’s hear the pols explanation as to when & why they thought that shooting themselves in the foot was such a grand idea. Not all of them, mind you.
R. de Haan says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:28 am
Kerry will wrap the climate bill into an energy and green jobs bill.
That’s how they work these days.
Senator Kerry has done that already:
‘The American Power Act will transform our economy, set us on the path toward energy independence and improve the quality of the air we breathe. It will create millions of good jobs that cannot be shipped abroad and it will launch America into a position of leadership in the global clean energy economy.”
Some say the Kerry/Lieberman proposed legislation introduced in the Senate this week is based on Spain’s green technology model. If so, I hope Spain’s recent experience is closely examined.
Call me in the one of three. I think that preparing for climate change should be at least somewhat of a priority. Of course it is not the IPCC WWF version of climate change that concerns me. I am more worried about the just about due Bond Event, the solar minimum, and doing a ‘you are here’ on a plot of the Volstok ice cores. Looking at that and seeing the wild temperature variability of the Younger-Dryas Stadial is spooky stuff, ‘specially here north of the 45th..
John Q Public says:
May 21, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I would love to see the polls if surveys asked for real life trade-off choices – i.e. the government has $100 to spend, where do you allocate it? And no, just like life, you can’t have everything – pick the most important.
John Q- This is one place that I advocate a pure democracy. In my version, on April 15th you don’t get a tax bill, you get a catalog of govt programs (on a 700 DVD set?). You check off the programs that you like and fill in the blank how much of your money that you would like to spend on it. Total it up, add sales tax, and mail in a check. It would be a very different America.
Remember, do you, Old man Romm?
You know, he whose forecasts, T’were comedically Wrong!
He spat and he frothed his venomous wrath
but, my God, he was always good for a laugh!
Joe, respect,’cos you is a Hoot!
I think part of why the AGWers are always going apocalyptic in their language and tone is they recognize the basic difficulty of trying to get the public to put a 30-50-100 year problem at the top of the priority list. There will *always* be something else –or several something elses– that seem more urgent. And in fact they will be more “urgent”.
But that’s really no excuse for inaction, just as it is no excuse for using language more suitable to a zombie movie trailer in order to pump up the perceived urgency. Congress should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
It might be different except for the fact that government has had a huge hand in perpetrating the fraud, for their own greed.
Pay more in taxes to the government so scientists, on government grant money, can pretend to control the weather. What could be wrong with that?
Global Warming a fraud on a scale never before equaled.
Some quotes I found:
Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct. ~Thomas Jefferson
Take our politicians: they’re a bunch of yo-yos. The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of cliches the first prize. ~Saul Bellow
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – and both commonly succeed, and are right. ~H.L. Mencken, 1956
Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. ~Gore Vidal
===
Time to DRAFT some qualified people. Make them serve, like it or not.
Do they still teach what the words “scorched earth” mean; in social studies these days. Thast is exactly what the Obama Administration and his obedient Socialist Democrats are in the process of doing to the USA. They are beginning to wake up to the fact that they are all going to be handed their heads on a platetr come November; and for Obama in2012.
So the aim is to reduce everything to rubble before then; well isn’t that the Iranian radical moslem program; destroy everything, so that superman can finally crawl out of the well he stumbled into.
The Pres throws a State banquet for the corrupt leader of the oligarchy to our south; but has the Israeli Prime Minister eter by a side door, and then wait around for a while while the CIC goes off to dinner with his family.
And then this ‘guest’ in our country decides to bitch about our immigration law which has been in place since Rooselvelt signed it into law in 1940; simply because one State enacts a ghost clone law to let their folks cover for the lack of federal enforcement of the federal Law.
Well if you haven’t heard California Congressman Tom McKlintock’s response to this churl, and the democrats, who gave him a standing ovation for bashng our laws; you owe it to yourself to google up a copy from somewhere and read/listen to it.
We finally have at least one Republican with some integrity.
Mike D. says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:38 pm
….why do we keep on reelecting incumbents? …. I blame the morons who keep voting for them. We don’t need a Term Limit Amendment; we need voters who aren’t morons.
exactly.
As long as folks continue to vote for republicans and democrats there will be in this country only the continuing slide into totalitarianism
Smokey says: “…Because they are following the Cloward-Piven strategy exactly: overburden the country with such massive new spending, taxes and debt that the economy spirals downward, out of control, and the dollar tanks. Then the government quickly steps in to “take control” of the situation, and you can guess the rest.”
What is truly pathetic (and otherwise amusing) is that Obama thinks he will be at the helm of all this. His Marxist-Leninist friends will sacrifice him in a heartbeat if they feel it will hike their popularity even a notch or two.
Having been away a while it appears as though little of the “climate game” has changed. There is still wailing about deficits, down turned economy, cap n’ trade, and melting arctic ice. These stories have all lost their once-titillating allure. Now even the scandal sheets are hard pressed to come up with new fear/counter-fear content.
The big game is largely over. Climate fear will not produce its intended revenue and government will have to get it somewhere else. Media has lost its stranglehold on news and entertainment and the former third world is buying cars and tv sets. So how effin bad could things really be? You got a global standard of living on a steep rise – spreading new jobs, cash and markets all over the place. We’re gonna stay on the high road and enjoy life while we can. And check in to WUWT every so often for a smile and a brewsky.
Your future’s just as good as you make it.
If they stand for re-election they are toast this year. The mood I’m sensing is one of being totally po at the current crop of political hacks for a number of reasons.
That is why several have already decided to call it quits.
What the end result will be I don’t know, it will however be lots of fun watching the incumbents twist in the wind.
As soon as any one of the ones I’ve voted for didn’t deliver on their promises I stopped voting for them.
jorgekafkazar says:
May 21, 2010 at 4:36 pm
‘What is truly pathetic (and otherwise amusing) is that Obama thinks he will be at the helm of all this.’
I disagree with you. Obana knows he he just a mouthpiece for the Imperialsocialist “Puppet Masters”.
71% of Americans didn’t want Obamacare. But they got it anyway. Get ready for a mouthful of Cap N Trade America, either by laws passed or by regulation from the EPA. You’re getting it. There’s nothing you can do.
The only solution to this bad movie is to pay attention to who you vote for, like you haven’t been doing for decades, and elect people who will undo this bad dream.
Funny that terrorism is not on the list, like anthrax, bombs, shootings,etc. America is taking that for granted I guess.
Mike D. says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Douglas Adams worked it out:
Folks, its a major conspiracy, and believe it or not, the oil companies are in on it. There was a major meeting between Big Oil and an unidentified climatologist from the UN just a few weeks ago. The meeting was secretly taped, smuggled out, and I have been able to obtain a partial transcript. Read it, it is astounding what they are up to:
Tex; OK boys, settle down, I am calling this meetin’ of Big Oil together. Now we all know each other, but we got’s us a special guest, a climatologist from the IPCC. Now Mr. Climatologist, my name’s Tex and I reckon you can guess from that where I’m from. These here are some of my trusted colleagues. Over there is Fayad, buddy of mine from the middle east, and Sergei next to him is Russian. Next to him is Joe, he’s from Canada, and Jose here is from Mexico.
Climatologist; Pleased to meet all of you
Boys; Howdy/Salaam/Da!/How’s it going, eh?/Si, senor.
Tex; Now let me get right to the point here. We been hearing all about this carbon tax thing of yours, and we got to admit, we’re concerned. We got a way of life, and we kinda got accustomed to it. Like just this morning me and Sergei and Jose went car shopping. We each picked out a brand new Lambourghini and before me or Sergei could even blink, Fayad here paid for all of them.
Fayad; it was only fair Tex, you got breakfast.
Joe; Hey! Nobody invited me!?
Tex; No offense Joe, but you stick out something awful in that stupid hat of yours.
Joe; You guys all got stupid hats too….
Fayad; Infidel! You dare to insult the head dress of 200 generations?
Sergei; An insult! Vile capitalist dog, hat is made of mink. Yours is like sock puppet.
Tex; OK, OK everyone settle down. They got a point Joe. I’m wearing an $800 dollar Stetson, you got a knitted toque. Mr Climatologist, ya see what I got to put up with? Now point is, if you could explain to us how makin’ an honest living is messing with the climate, maybe we can work something out. Now our understanding is that this here planet we live on is up against a 3 degree rise in temperature because of CO2 doubling. Have I got it right so far?
Climatologist; That’s the estimate, yes.
Tex; OK, so how much more can she take?
Climatologist; huh?
Tex; How much more can she take before she comes apart? 5 degrees? 10?
Joe; I could live with another 10 I think. I’d even dump the toque.
Climatologist; It doesn’t work like that, we don’t know for sure.
Jose; Don’t listen to canuk dopey Joe. They so cold up there they think snow is normal. Look Mr Climatologist, I’m listening to you. But the first three degrees, wasn’t so bad, si? We can go maybe six?
Climatologist; Uhm… I’m thinking you’ve misunderstood. We’ve only gone up about a half a degree.
Sergei; No… I am reading report. Look here. It says CO2 double, tree degrees. Tree!
Climatologist; Yes, but that’s an estimate. CO2 hasn’t doubled yet, and we’ve only gone up a half a degree.
Sergei; Vatt? Right here in report…
Fayad; Infidel dog lied to whole world?
Tex; Whoa up everyone. Let’s not pull out the hangin’ rope just yet. Now Mr Climatologist, you can see we’re just a might confused. What you’re saying is that CO2 doubling and 3 degrees is just a prediction?
Climatologist; well… its a scientific prediction.
Tex; Well now then we got something to work with if it ain’t happened yet. So how much CO2 is we supposed to have on this planet anyway?
Climatologist; 280 parts per million.
Sergei; Vatt means million? Is that the one smaller than billion? I don’t tink vee use millions anymore in Russia oil field.
Tex; You got it Sergei, but this is climate not oil. Now if 280 is what we supposed to got, how much we got up to so far?
Climatologist; We’re at about 380 parts per million.
Tex; We didn’t even start drilling for oil in a big way before 1920 or so.
Fayad; I heard western world using “new math”, I thought it was infidel plot to short pay invoices. Climatologist, it will take another 180 years at current production rates to get to double.
Climatologist; Well true, but we’re basing our scientific prediction on continued acceleration of fossil fuel consumption.
Tex; OK, you got me jiggered there. What the sam heck is continued acceleration?
Climatologist; Well, if we look at oil consumption from 1920 to 1990, we see that it about doubled every 15 years or so. We just extrapolated from there. We’ll be at four times 1990 consumption by 2020, eight times by 2035. It won’t take 180 years, it will be less than 20.
Climatologist; What? What’s so funny?
Climatologist; WHAT?
Joe; Hate to break it to you buddy, but we can’t do it.
Jose; We want to….
Sergei; If vee could, vee vould. Trust me. Vit dat much money, vee buy you new planet.
Climatologist; Huh? What?
Tex; Pardner, I’m glad you explained, cuz I think we got your problem licked. You see, we ain’t got that much oil. If we put every cent we have into drilling from now on, and every hole we drill hits oil, we STILL couldn’t pump that much oil.
Climatologist; I don’t believe you.
Tex; Well I can see how you might not trust us, we got a bad reputation and Joe over there with his stupid toque-
Joe; Hey!
Tex; Makes him look pretty shady. Let me explain. You see, in 1920 oil was pretty easy to find. Well we done pumped out most of the easy stuff by the 1970’s. The stuff’s been getting harder to find, and what we do find is more expensive to get out. Joe here is getting it out of tar if you can believe it. Now we’ve been keeping up with demand, but just barely. The only reason we can keep up is because the prices have gone up. When the prices go up, it curbs demand because folks can’t afford like they used to and they cut back consumption. I can let you talk to my accountant, he calls it a negative market feedback.
Climatologist; We don’t believe in negative feedbacks.
Tex; Well this ain’t climatology son, this is the real world of business, and in the real world, when you are running out of stuff and what you got left is a lot more expensive to pump, you get a negative feedback.
Climatologist; Well it doesn’t matter, the science is settled. We’re going forward with the carbon tax. We need to save the planet. We’re going to tax you and use the money to reduce demand.
Sergei; Vait vun second capitalist pig-
Climatologist; I’m a socialist actually
Fayad; Actually you are an infidel dog, a thief, a liar-
Tex; Easy Fayad, you’ll spontaneously combust if you get any angrier. Now let me get this straight. You’re going to tax us to prevent us from doing something that we can’t do in the first place?
Climatologist; Have you seen the graphs? If we don’t do something the temperature will shoot up like a hockey stick-
Joe; I’ll show you what a hockey stick is good for-
Jose; Let’s call a press conference. Let’s expose lying thieving gringo-
Climatologist; Go ahead.
Tex; Go ahead?
Climatologist; Who is the world going to believe? A bunch of greedy, filthy rich, selfish oil tycoons? Or a bunch of poor, hard working, UN climatologists trying to save the planet?
Sergei; Vun Qvestion. Vatts in it for you?
Climatologist; Finally. I thought you would never ask. Let me bring my colleague in. You may already know him. Before he became a climatologist trying to save the world, he was a humanitarian saving children in Iraq while Sadam was still in power. You remember how the “oil for food” thing worked don’t you? I thought you might….
Just wait a for heat wave and massive coverage of it in all media outlets (ignoring all the chants of “weather is not climate” from the past winter) for the public opinion to shift.
Guys, I hate to concede that Romm is at least partially correct, Climate HAS been irreversible (by man) and changing since the dawn of time, as usual with warmists his time frame is adjusted to suit his agenda.
peterhodges says:
May 21, 2010 at 4:21 pm
As long as folks continue to vote for republicans and democrats there will be in this country only the continuing slide into totalitarianism
Is there tea in the water? 🙂
AGW proponents are the very kind of people you would not want to sit beside on a bus. Can you imagine sitting beside Romm?!…
In terms of politics, how on earth could they ever say, ‘not many hurricanes this year, relax’. Even if they had some half-reliable method of prediction, they could not say that for fear of what would happen if they were wrong. What a farce. Glad MY taxes don’t pay for it.
@stevengoddard says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:50 pm
As I get older, I would prefer that Congress focuses on reducing gravity. A ten percent reduction in gravity would allow me to run as a fast as I did 15 years ago. They should also legislate water temperature along the California coast. It is usually too cold there for optimal swimming.
– – – – – – –
In addition to reducing gravity, Congress could easily solve the (perceived) global warming problem by legislating the amount of sunlight that is allowed to reach the surface of the earth. This can be done easily by limiting (by law) the length of any given day (sunrise to sunset period) to not exceed 12 hours, which would be relevant from the vernal equinox until the autumnal equinox. With this law, there would be no need for cap and trade, and the middle class would thus be saved from impoverishment.
Don’t laugh this off just yet. Similar to the now-obsolete law that made it illegal to ride an ugly horse down main street (unknown locality), many years ago the state of Indiana came very close to legislating the value of pi to equal 3.0.
Did a state legislature once pass a law saying pi equals 3?
February 22, 1991
Dear Cecil:
In Science magazine a while back an article about the latest attempts to calculate pi to the umpteen zillionth decimal place made a passing reference to a curious Oklahoma law. It said Oklahoma legislators had passed a law making pi equal to 3.0. I also remember Robert Heinlein in one of his novels mentioning that Tennessee had passed a similar law. Did either of these states ever pass such a law? Are they still on the books? What are the penalties if I proclaim that pi equals 3.14159…?
— Wulf Losee, Andover, Connecticut
Dear Wulf:
Cecil had heard this story too, only the state in question was Kansas, leading him to believe the whole thing was made up by big-city sharpies having a little fun at the expense of the rustics. However, with the help of Joseph Madachy, editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics, I’ve learned the story does have a germ of truth to it.
It happened in Indiana. Although the attempt to legislate pi was ultimately unsuccessful, it did come pretty close. In 1897 Representative T.I. Record of Posen county introduced House Bill #246 in the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill, based on the work of a physician and amateur mathematician named Edward J. Goodwin (Edwin in some accounts), suggests not one but three numbers for pi, among them 3.2, as we shall see. The punishment for unbelievers I have not been able to learn, but I place no credence in the rumor that you had to spend the rest of your natural life in Indiana.
Read more: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/805/did-a-state-legislature-once-pass-a-law-saying-pi-equals-3
From the other side of the Pacific Ocean, as reported in the New Zealand Herald newspaper, which buys in it’s ‘environment’ content, the small Pacific Island nations have got together to insist that the UN Security Council ‘do something quick’ as those nations insist the rising seas caused by wicked industrialised nations pouring out CO2 are as big a threat as invading armies!
Joe Romm has a point, that we won’t be able to halt climate change, except that his ten-year estimate should be changed to ‘never could, never will’.
And David M Hoffer’s ‘leak’ from the UN is brilliant.
The new UK coalition government is idiotically Green, but I’ll be back in temperate (and more fiscally astute) New Zealand with its 70% reliance on hydro-elctric power before the UK runs out of electricity, petrol, diesel, fuel oil and tries to rely on wind power in a relatively windless environment.
I don’t know why you Yanks whinge so much.
Here in Australia, we have a Leadership team who have designed a brand new economic finance paradigm.
Business actually increases in market hardship. They have a brand new elegant econometric model model that says foreign investment is attracted to higher taxation.
There is a Noble in it for shure. So stop whinging about yer wonder brains in politics, we can trump you any day any way with political dumbos.
Same people said AGW was the greatest crisis in mankind’s history and then ran like shit when the polls turned.
Polls went south.
Well articulated wws!
The governmental drive for new revenue never sleeps. It presents itself through political party platforms only when expedient, and routinely goes into remission when elected officials fear election defeat. It is fueled by the ever present totality of individual bureaucratic careers (salaries, benefits, pensions & work), and the well known impending insolvency of the welfare state (social security & Medicare). Even for those in government who are skeptical of the AGW hypothesis, I suspect their acceptance of limiting CO2 emissions is purely a new revenue opportunity.
However, given the infancy of current climate science, I have a greater level of uncertainty regarding the core rationale for non-governmental types’ drive to limit CO2 emissions.
I for one would welcome response from the non-governmental, AGW-types, that visit this site, to honestly express their rationale for “hating AGW skeptics”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time I checked, climate scientists skeptical of the AGW-hypothesis were in the minority. If minority status is true, then why the vitriolic response from the majority? What are you afraid of?
Steve Allen says:
May 22, 2010 at 4:42 am
“Well articulated wws!
The governmental drive for new revenue never sleeps. It presents itself through political party platforms only when expedient, and routinely goes into remission when elected officials fear election defeat. It is fueled by the ever present totality of individual bureaucratic careers (salaries, benefits, pensions & work), and the well known impending insolvency of the welfare state (social security & Medicare)…..”
_______________________________________________________________________
You missed the vital unifying point. It is a Lose-Win-Win-Win situation.
1. We lose through higher taxes and salary devaluation.
2. The bureaucrats win by adding more bureaucracy (their pay levels rise as more people are added to their departments).
3. The Politicians win by giving away freebies to buy votes and government positions to political “friends”.
4. The biggest winners are the Banks and Corporations. The bankers win directly. According to a Grace Commission report, here in the USA, 100% of my tax dollar goes to pay interest on the bank loans to the government. That is the PRIVATE bankers get ALL my tax money, the newest twist on slavery. The Corporations win big because every time the money supply is increased, they are the first in line to get the newly minted fiat dollars. The corporations also win because of the Corporate/Bureaucracy revolving door that allows the big boys to be immune to the law while their smaller competitors are bankrupted or jailed. Joe wage slave loses because every time the money supply is increased his saving is devalued and so is his salary.
Unfortunately very few voters ever seem to realize the laws passed are designed to benefit the bankers and big corporations and fleece and control the little guy.
No I am not a socialist but a die hard capitalist who hates Corporatism, the unholy alliance of big gov’t and big business. Some call it fascism.
Steve,
No offence, but they can’t, the rules of the blog are specific. Put up or shut up.
No agit prop.
Blog rules are tight, no argument by obfuscation multi [snip]links.
Only one clown and that’s moi. (Frog for outstanding awesome sexual stud of a man).
They tried.
Ran home to echo chambers of comfort.
They had a problem with science. They thought it was politics.
As Newtron said.
Gravity is E=MC plus a banana, more or less.
KenB says:
“Guys, I hate to concede that Romm is at least partially correct, Climate HAS been irreversible (by man) and changing since the dawn of time, as usual with warmists his time frame is adjusted to suit his agenda.”
Yep and all perfectly natural I might add.
However, I haven’t found anything that the planet can’t totally mitigate given time.
davidmhoffer,
You forgot about coal.
Americans are disgusted by way our Congress behaves. But, we hate dictatorship even more. It’s all about trade offs.
Any poll that includes the delimiter “the job situation” is utterly useless and silly. Regrettably, when ignorant, self-serving politicians see the results of polls (and similar shallow-minded citizens), they infer they should do something about jobs, usually by spending billions creating them. Unfortunately, that’s asinine. The whole jobs situation moniker should be abolished. The government can’t make jobs by spending other peoples’ money, and the few jobs Obama’s crew has provided are in government, where no measurable product is created. The government can only provide an environment where national productivity increases. The current economic situation we face is the result of too much government, regardless of the political affiliation of those responsible (Mostly Clinton). Nafta should be rescinded. But the goal of our government is the elimination of the middle class, the most productive sector. Then add in the following;
gcb says:May 21, 2010 at 10:48 am
As interesting as this is, it also points out the fallacy of basing government priorities solely on polling. Just because 95% of the population thinks that “x is most important” or “y is going to kill us all”, doesn’t make it a fact. A politician who bases all of their decision-making on whatever the polls show may well win re-election, but will not (in my opinion) be particularly effective. Just my $0.02.
This attitude is what is leading the USA down the road to perdition. According to the Constitution, elected politicians are the voice of their constituents. We are in deep trouble because of idiotic politicians imposing their agenda. But the general underlying connotation that the general populace are fools is well taken. I’m stopping here as I’ve run out of synonyms for imbecilic behavior.
Don’t like the way the DNC or RNC or WHATEVER does things? Want to change the world? Join the local party organization. Spend a Saturday morning a month at some local get-together, meet the other attendees and chat (most are just like you), exchange low key views (at first, ask don’t tell), have a buffet breakfast and listen to someone talk for 20 minutes after you eat; and at other “events” add a “good deed” every so often “helping” do whatever. Gain some credibility with the local mucky-mucks that have been at it for years. See how the system works at the bottom of the totem pole. Curious? Sit in the back during “Committee” meetings and listen; find out who the “power brookers” are. Volunteer to help during campaigns. How much time you spend is up to you. You can make a difference. Opportunities will surface.
You say you’re an “Independent”, not one of those Party People? Be up front, tell them you’re curious, that you like so and so for a certain office and want to help them get elected.
If you want to change the world, you need to put a little of your time where your mouth is.
The poor Alarmists just need to try harder in getting their message out that the END OF THE WORLD is nigh. Maybe they could hire Goodyear Blimps and drop leaflets from them. They could even include free carbon credits with them. Or, they could have people in poley bear suits on wafer-thin “icebergs” at malls with signs saying “our world is disappearing; yours will be next”. Lots of ways they could go.
The MSM has to step up their game, too. I am sure there are more things that can be connected with CAGW/CC, with more alarming headlines. Come on, people! I know you can do it if you try! Sarc/off.
Of course.
“It’s the economy, stupid!”
I can`t wait for 9 out of 10 Americans think Congressional action on climate change is a priority, you know the cold kills.
toyotawhizguy says:
May 22, 2010 at 3:03 am
In Science magazine a while back an article about the latest attempts to calculate pi to the umpteen zillionth decimal place made a passing reference to a curious Oklahoma law. It said Oklahoma legislators had passed a law making pi equal to 3.0.
toyotawhizguy, not in Oklahoma! We cowpokes have more sense than that. Do some research and try one of those states up north. 😉
(Does give you an idea of Science magazine’s accuracy though!)
“Funny that terrorism is not on the list, like anthrax, bombs, shootings,etc. America is taking that for granted I guess.”
Any threat or risk, with long enough exposure, becomes commonplace because the person learns the parameters of the risk and develops a likelihood of it happening in their head. Once you can quantify the fear, you can manage it, and most people do.
Thus people fly in planes and drive in cars, even though gruesome death through crashes happens to a (relatively) small number of people each year. Young people take drugs even though there are well documented cases of how it can mess up your life and kill you in horrible ways.
The same with terrorism : years pass, bombings, attempted bombings, killings and threats continue, but people have accepted this as part of normal life and are no longer controlled by their fear. It’s just not as shocking as it once was.
The same goes for climate-related end-of-the-world stories. When they first were popularised, everyone was scared for the future. Now that years pass and things stay the same, the stories have lost their effect, and people are no longer scared by them. In fact, it’s become the norm to laugh at ridiculous fear stories about climate change, or at least to ignore them even if you are a true believer.
The correct response to terrorism is to increase regular police investigations and live life as normal. Security theatre at airports and post offices are only there so governments can be seen to be doing something, and help keep the ‘fear’ alive in the populations mind. Eventually terrorism stops working until they can come up with a new way of making a previously ‘safe’ activity scary.