The collapse of the warmist position on climate change has not impinged on politicians in Britain or Brussels, says Christopher Booker.
Nothing more poignantly reflects the collapse of the great global warming scare than the decision of the Chicago Carbon Exchange, the largest in the world, to stop trading in “carbon” – buying and selling the right of businesses to continue emitting CO2.
A few years back, when the climate scare was still at its height, and it seemed the world might agree the Copenhagen Treaty and the US Congress might pass a “cap and trade” bill, it was claimed that the Chicago Exchange would be at the centre of a global market worth $10 trillion a year, and that “carbon” would be among the most valuable commodities on earth, worth more per ton than most metals. Today, after the collapse of Copenhagen and the cap and trade bill, the carbon price, at five cents a ton, is as low as it can get without being worthless.
Here in Britain, as the first snows fall, heralding what may be our fourth cold winter in a row, it is time we addressed one of the most glaring political “disconnects” in our sadly misgoverned country.
Complete article at the Telegraph, here
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What? And break free from Europe. What chance of that? Slim to none anytime soon I would be thinkin.
realityreturns new leaders are on the horizon.
Christopher Booker commands great support. Go read the comments on his article. Along with James Delingpole, he is doing a great job uncovering the scams.
The walk back will be slow. Too many egos and too much money.
Ha! You dont need to break free from Europe, you are doing great on your own, out-greening Europe at every corner. That, together with the UK’s major role in starting and maintaing the CAGW scare should give the Brits pauze before criticizing ANYBODY else, sorry.
Apologies, I might have misunderstood Rob R’s comment. Did I?
To Doug in Seattle, you can also add:
“It will be difficult for people to face the truth when their reputations, careers, government grants or hopes for social change depend on global warming”
Dr. Philip K. Chapman, Australian NASA Astronautical Engineer, Apollo 14 Mission Scientist and Geophysicist.
Also,
“The ‘global warming scare’ is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making.”
Dr. Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt, NASA Astronaut-Moonwalker and Geologist.
I live in Scotland and have allocated space and money for an emergency electricity generator to keep lights on and heating going when the lights go out. The Scottish Government is if anything even worse than those down in London. At least the UK government has sanctioned eight nuclear powered power stations in England and Wales as long as they are financed with private capital. The Scottish national government will not build coal, gas, oil or nuclear power stations but will rely on wind, waves and currents. May be a small change at elections next May but I am not expecting much.
Big money is behind the carbon scare, so a lot of people will defend it teeth and claws.
The once proud Britain, goes the way of the once proud Rome: Broken, defeated, and overrun, by the once proud, defeated and broken Hun.
What the Huns could not achieve in war, they now achieve in peace, and without lifting a finger: The Brits defeat themselves almost as if on command …
All of which proves my saying: What you go out-of-your-way to fight, you will eventually become.
Not just that Doug, but you have to consider that politicians feel very uncomfortable questioning the scientists. It isn’t like the drugs issue, where you can easily argue that societal mores trump empirical truth. Any politician who puts his head above the parapet and declares against is going to be roasted alive by Fenton Communications and their cretinous minions.
However there is hope. The media are slowly turning. Once they are on side, it will be easier for the politicians to dissemble a change in policy.
The chickens of truth will be coming home to roost very soon. All ready British Gas has announced a 7% hike in it’s tariff at a time when we have a glut of gas on the market. Fuel bills are set to rocket in order to fund even more wind turbines and the abysmal stupidity that will hand over £50,000 a year to farmers for coverning arable land with useless PV junk. PV tech in a country that gets little sun. What the heck are these people smoking?
In the german speaking areas MSM continue to preach AGW and there are hardly any independent opinions to be heard. This may change, when the Cancun summit fails again. Maybe then some journalists begin to wonder and start doing their work.
The ever brilliant John Brignell has coined a couple of descriptions on his excellent Numberwatch – October number of the month. “Ogippes” and “Carbophobia”.
Read about them here: http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2010%20October.htm
Here’s a couple of examples:- “Milliband chose for his Shadow Chancellor not, as expected, one of the Balls family but an amiable ex-postman who is not very good at sums”
Or this They make this transition from cocoon to cocoon uncontaminated by contact with the defilements of work, survival, industry, science, technology and all the other distractions that plague the toilers in the field of a modern society and economy. Their heads are packed with theories that are untested and untestable. Evidently their syllabus did not include the British tradition of sceptical philosophy stretching from the Bacons to Popper, for they retain a capacity for belief, even in the presence of overwhelming contrary evidence, that transcends all reason.
Enjoy, then weep.
May be not everyone will dread another cold winter, after less than 21 weeks they are skiing in the Scottish Highlands again. So what exactly was that about not seeing snow in the UK?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11751104
Who can find the stake to drive through the heart of CAGW.
A brilliant article Mr. Booker full of facts that even the most dedicated global warming supporters cannot argue with. Surely someone in this very supine British government of ours will have to put their head above the parapet soon. But how about a response to the article first from our Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Mr Chris Hurne. I’m sure he must be a reguar reader of WUWT if he wishes to keep and open mind for all sides of the argument. Come on Mr Hurne, if you disagree with what Mr Booker has written then enlighten us with your arguments in support of your case for loading us all with such huge taxes to fund your massive programme for wind farms, solar panels etc. which Mr. Booker argues are useless. And please tell us how our future demand for power is going to be met in the short term.
I think we have to accept that politics lags the real or perceived reality of public opinion by some time. Based on my observations, I think it is in the order of 2 to 3 years. In the same way as political will peaked in 2009 … some 2-3 years after Al Gores movie and the Bali conference, I think, if we assume Copenhagen marked the tipping point the other way, it will be 2011-2012 before we see leading politicians really taking a stand.
If I was Obama, I would worry about the timing of those video repeats of “…. the spectre of a warming world …”. Its difficult to get out of being so utterly wrong.
It was an attempt by leftist euro and liberal USA, mainly 68’s, with the UNFCCC to radicalize the Western world back to the 50’s or 60’s?
A Filipino geologist friend of mine, now working in UK, displeased further his former colleagues at the Univ. of the Philippines, Geology Department, when he attacked the AGW scam,
http://funwithgovernment.blogspot.com/2010/11/al-protacio-on-agw-scam.html
I’ll declare success when the essence of AB32 is trashed in California and the green initiative agenda it is supposed to glorify becomes so, um, yesterday. When that happens I’ll declare California’s population has regained their senses and perhaps some measure of sanity. Right now they are like a child’s cartoon character having foolishly chased a quarry and mistakenly rushed off a cliff- and is not yet falling, because they are unaware they are in such a state. It’s going to be wake-up time soon I think when the realities of the law begin to take a bite.
Right now my electric company just introduced a new line for “administrative” fees on my bill to pay for the extra people just required to keep track of what AB32 is going to impact. AFAIK, nothing has been actually been set in place with regard to actual hardware yet. These folks have nothing really to do yet except to hold endless internal meetings to decide how much this is eventually going to cost. Wait for the other shoe to drop when they start actual groundbreaking in the desert for PV farms and dismantling the fossil fueled steam plants to reach the goal mandated by AB32.
Doug in Seattle says:
“The walk back will be slow. Too many egos and too much money.”
I agree. When was the last time you heard a politician say “oops, sorry I was wrong”? Then consider how many politicians have to say that in order for policy to change. It’ll happen around the same time that an entire squadron of pigs glides over the frozen wastes of hell.
Telegraph picture oddly underscoring Booker. The picture of the happy “dairy” farmer with his big, new solar system in Somerset.
Reaping a plentiful harvest of subsidies, no doubt.
the australian govt is still in top gear to bring a carbon tax in the blind leading the blind god save australia because the govt will not
The politicians are still going full steam ahead. Skeptics can score hit after hit on the warmists but at the end of the day the important thing is to stop the bad policy, and that doesn’t really seem to be happening.