"Global Warming" has as its award-winning chief proponent, the man who claimed to have invented the Internet and was introduced at a recent speaking engagement as "president of the planet." Global Warming alarmists have declared that scientific consensus has been reached and there is no reason to debate this issue. This sounds a lot like, "We've proved that the earth is flat Mr. Columbus, so don't sail too far west."
The theory of man-made global warming has become so difficult to defend intellectually that fanatical advocates have had to rename it "Global Climate Change." This way naturally occurring weather events can be blamed on mankind's so-called "destructive behavior."
This is not to say that climate change doesn't occur. Volcanoes, sun spots and other naturally occurring phenomena impact Earth's climate. The idea that the human contribution to climate change is the determining factor is as devoid of empirical evidence as it is arrogant. The late comedian George Carlin even concurred. The belief that in the vast timeline of Earth's history, mankind's infinitesimal time here has had apocalyptic environmental consequence is to ignore the rejuvenating properties of our planet's ecosystems.
There is no disagreement with most that we can do a better job with our energy resources. Unless the goal of the Climate Change Movement is the destruction of our way of life, releasing existing energy resources such as nuclear, off-shore gas and oil, and biomass should be the first step in any rational energy policy with energy conservation as the foundation.
Much has already been done in the development of alternative energy technologies, and more needs to be done. But the cap and trade policy being advanced in Washington is yet another example of bureaucrats wishing to redistribute wealth and seize even more control over the people.
Kenneth Hedges
Hudson