Larry Bell has a great column at Forbes titled:
In Their Own Words: Climate Alarmists Debunk Their “Science”
Here’s a few gems from the first page:
Former U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth (D-CO), then representing the Clinton-Gore administration as U.S undersecretary of state for global issues, addressing the same Rio Climate Summit audience, agreed: “We have got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.” (Wirth now heads the U.N. Foundation which lobbies for hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to help underdeveloped countries fight climate change.)
Also speaking at the Rio conference, Deputy Assistant of State Richard Benedick, who then headed the policy divisions of the U.S. State Department said: “A global warming treaty [Kyoto] must be implemented even if there is no scientific evidence to back the [enhanced] greenhouse effect.”
In 1988, former Canadian Minister of the Environment, told editors and reporters of the Calgary Herald: “No matter if the science of global warming is all phony…climate change [provides] the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world.”
I highly recommend this article, read it in full here, and bookmark it for future reference:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/02/05/in-their-own-words-climate-alarmists-debunk-their-science/
h/t to Leif Svalgaard
That “former Canadian Environment Minister” was
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Stewart
(IMO, typical canadian (lower case ‘c’) liberal (lower case ‘l’) from ontario)
There are two well known quotes attributed to her, during the kyoto debacle, BOTH were 1998, not 1988 (I realize Forbes got the date wrong and even merged the two quotes).
“No matter if the science is all phoney, there are collateral environmental benefits”
and
“Climate change (provides) the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world”
I remember this woman well. I was in direct opposition to her ignorance, her party, her belief system, and pretty much everything about her. Her degree is in nursing, which apparently qualifies her to be an environmental expert and push to commit an entire country to a near-suicidal pact that wasted much money and accomplished nothing. Way to go, liberals. Way to go.
In the end, the idiot prime minister “Jean Chretien” simply ignored what everyone else was telling him and signed Canada up to Kyoto. Apparently he thought it had something to do with cleaning up smokestack emissions from US factories and would bring more trucks over the border (I’m not even being sarcastic!). I suppose by liberal party standards he was brilliant, his IQ was way, way higher than 40. Maybe as high as 50.
Last election the liberal party was completely and totally decimated. For those who don’t follow Canadian politics, they are currently fighting to see who will lead the carcass of the party, since Canada is being run better now by the Conservatives than it has been in many decades. The candidate getting the most headlines is Justin
BeiberTrudeau, the son of one of the most destructive and toxic leaders the free world ever saw, Pierre Trudeau.AndyL says:
February 6, 2013 at 4:24 am
For once, I’m going to defend Tony Blair
He is saying that even if certainty is only 80% compared to 95% (or whatever the real numbers are) we should still act. That is a perfectly defensible position even though you or I may disagree.
Not only is it not defensible, it is idiotic to base energy policy on the Precautionary Principle. Besides, the chance that CAGW is true is precisely 0%.
I went off on Henry Waxman this morning. Thank you Anthonoy for most of my points. First call around the seven minute mark:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310837-5
A favor: I commented at Forbes on that Larry Bell post as a reply to fredlinn (the 7th comment)…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/02/05/in-their-own-words-climate-alarmists-debunk-their-science/#comment-3365
..but my comment does not show up as a reply on either of my computers.
Can anyone else see it?
http://theatheistconservative.com/tag/ecology/
@ur momisugly Eric Simpson
“Entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.” -Noel Brown, ex UNEP Director, 1989
Perhaps this is not one to include as it could be interpreted as:
“Entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth [in a century or so] by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.” -Noel Brown, ex UNEP Director, 1989
Elizabeth says:
February 6, 2013 at 3:59 am
“This article should be posted up on all church doors like Luthers edict . should be distributed to politicians etc everywhere.”
I have sent the info to 4 Canadian Members of Parliament, and 1 Senator.
[along with Luther Wu’s list]
I’ve posted this before. It’s pertinent again:
The Man-Made Global Warming scam becomes evident when one looks at the narrative that spews from the alarmists: Only evil and suffering can come from a warmer Earth. Fossil fueled, Western style prosperity must stop. This is the real agenda. Saving the Earth has little to do with it. Even if all the “CO2 causes warming” theory were true, It still does not absolutely dictate doom.
I say, why can’t it be? : “Congratulations children, The Energy sources that fuel our economies and our prosperity, give us long life and comfort, these fossil fuels will also cause our planet to warm gently, about 2C degrees over the next century. What luck!
With the warmth and extra CO2 for plant life, millions of acres of tundra will become forests. Millions of acres of frozen steppe will become arable. Starvation will end. Prosperity will reach even the poorest people. We must keep searching for and burning oil and coal so we can improve our climate and prosper. Humanity will become wealthy. With this wealth we can preserve habitat for animals, protect the rain forest. We will clean the oceans and the land. Our future is bright. We are entering the age of abundance. “
The Earth is not warming of late though. Too bad.
@ur momisugly Bob Tisdale
It’s not showing up for me.
Not to make more work for our host, but this is an excellent idea! This thread could be a starting point.
/Mr Lynn
Is there such a thing as a reverse genius? basically they are saying; to increase prosperity and equal opportunity, we need to reduce prosperity and equal opportunity.
@Bob
Something strange happened with PostModernism in that it deconstructed all values and meanings to thoroughly, that it left an empty flat nihilistic view. With that background nihilism, a lot of ideas in the environmental movement become “appealing” – we are just one species, of no importance, and we are only a small part of the biosphere, the biosphere is the “whole” and it takes priority. It is called a “flatland” view because it ignores the depths inside human culture. As the article says, only humans have a consciousness that seem able to care enough to wonder about a healthier environment, whilst a lion is only interested in lunch. But the nihilism is pretty widespread now. But how to fix that? It seems people are trying.
Howard Bloom’s book “The Genius of the Beast” seems to look into our own biology, our own DNA, for the creative driving passion which eventually became Capitalism (The Beast) and which in its healthy forms, continues to lift human consciousness to new levels.
@techgm et al; DDT still (2013) hasn’t been shown to be harmful but DDE, it’s main degradation product, MAY be. At the time of Ruckelshaus’ decision to ban DDT, it had been off patent for years, no one was making a profit on it, and newer, on patent, pesticides like Malathion, Parathion, and the like were being sold w/ huge margins. No matter that millions in third world (at the time) countries would die of malaria et al.
At the time we had ecoloons like Carson and the Ehrlichs screaming doom and gloom and politiciansk, like Ruckelshaus, do what politicians do “best”, they make political decisions. These political decisions are overwhelmingly harmful because they are backed by the “feelings” of the voters and greed of the politicians and their hangers on, not evidence.
Follow the money. Nothing has changed.
Sparks says:
February 6, 2013 at 7:36 am
Is there such a thing as a reverse genius? basically they are saying; to increase prosperity and equal opportunity, we need to reduce prosperity and equal opportunity.
In the UK, there is a substantial body of opinion which states that the way to reduce our current level of debt is to borrow more money so, even if it isn’t called reverse genius, there’s a lot of it about.
FZ got it about right I think.
“Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.”
He also said “There is no hell. There is only France”, but I digress.
@Mr. Green Genes – Re: “In the UK, there is a substantial body of opinion which states that the way to reduce our current level of debt is to borrow more money”
The same philosophy is prevalent in the US as well.
Something not private but in an interview.
Something he wished we did not see. Is Phil Jones now worried?
It’s funny how all these moaning fools are well off by global standards, yet want the rest of the world to reduce its consumption and population. Maurice Strong, Prince Charles et al.
I just watched as much Henry Waxman as I could stomach on C-span, referenced by James Ard at 6:25 pacific time. James, your comment was very well presented. Nice job. If there is among elected officials in Washington a truly subversive presence, it is Henry Waxman.
theduke.
A perfect complement to this piece by Larry Bell is Eisenhower’s much-quoted and prophetic farewell address to the nation in 1960. The political left has always focused on the section referring to the military-industrial complex, but there is the far more relevant section on the scientific/technological elite which he claims is “Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture. . . ” I know it’s been quoted ad nauseam, but it always astonishes me how prescient that speech was. He understood the dangers of a marriage of convenience between government and the /scientific/techno-elites inside and outside the universities. We are seeing the horrible offspring of that marriage today. They are bleeding us dry and planning on submerging our liberties in flood of prohibitions, regulations, and directives.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/dwightdeisenhowerfarewell.html
[snip – off topic -mod]
Pottereaton, thanks. The funny thing is the phone I made that call on lost its dialtone a little while later. Surely a coincidence.
“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”
Mr. President, I will consider reducing my CO2 footprint when you make a little log cabin in the woods your official residence instead of the White House and start getting around with a horse and buggy instead of a big, gas-guzzling limo and Air Force One. Lead by example, Mr. President. Until then, spare me your hypocrisy.
A Reference Page of quotes would be nice, but a Quote tag for quote rich pages would do just as well. Would it not be easy to implement? Could the tag be easily applied to prior pages?
Mr Lynn says:
February 6, 2013 at 7:27 am
Rick K says:
February 6, 2013 at 5:41 am
Perhaps a WUWT “Reference Page” collecting and sourcing these and similar quotes would be in order…
Not to make more work for our host, but this is an excellent idea! This thread could be a starting point.
/Mr Lynn
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The quotes are being gathered here so a prominent link would be a better idea.
(Maybe have a way to send C3 headlines new ones)
Out of their own mouths, they are condemned.
I’m actually having a bit of fun in that comment section… maybe a few more jumping in will be a plus?