The Conservative Edge

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you folks who regularly view this blog site. There have been some great comments left in response to certain topics. I recommend that you read one particular comment by Dave, in response to my post “A Letter to Kathleen Parker.”

I have written previously about my skepticism concerning the whole global warming theory (just look in the December archives link). Notice that I didn’t say “climate change theory.” What’s the difference? Well, our climate may indeed be changing, and may be part of a natural cycle. I’m sure that geologists can find historical evidence of repeated changes in the Earth’s climate. The History Channel recently revealed that some 5,000 years ago, there was melting of the polar ice, due to some climatic change.

But the global warming theory suggests that mankind is responsible for the current change(s) in climate. That is a much different view, and goes beyond any statistical processes used to track environmental patterns. Global warming proponents are using their theory to bring about social and economic changes. America will unfairly be held responsible for causing global warming, and to also reverse the effects. How many billions of dollars will it take to “undo” the damage? What will we have to give up in order to satisfy the alarmists? There is nothing wrong with eliminating sources of pollution, but it seems presumptuous to blame the average American, and American industry, for dumping CO2 in the air and creating a worldwide greenhouse.

Columnist George Will, who also questions the global warming theory, remembers the opinion held in the 1970s that we were headed for a new ice age. He reveals that The New York Times reported on May 21, 1975, that “a major cooling of the climate” was “widely considered inevitable” because it was certain that the Northern Hemisphere’s climate “has been getting cooler since about 1950.” Indeed, I remember seeing reruns of the show “In Search Of” hosted by Leonard Nimoy in the late 70s. One episode showed scientists examining ice core samples for proof that we were headed for a great global cooling. The harsh winters in states like New York and Ohio in 1977 and 1978 seemed to support that idea. But the fears of a new Ice Age were unfounded, and the global cooling never materialized.

George Will shares an interesting fact in his column. On February 18, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that from early January until the middle of February, there were operational problems with the satellites that measure sea ice. These problems caused an underestimation of the extent of Arctic sea ice by 193,000 square miles. That’s an area roughly equivalent to the size of California. In other words, we didn’t lose as much sea ice as the alarmists might want us to believe.

Funny how a little thing like a satellite malfunction can blow a big hole in the global warming theory.

The celebrations and festivities are kicking into high gear. Of course, I’m referring to the excitement of the impending inauguration of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. There was somewhere around 40,000 people in Baltimore, Maryland to see Obama on one of his train stops, as he traveled on to Washington, D.C. I have seen photos of people crying, as they stood rapturously attending to Obama’s every word. Thousands of citizens are pouring into our nation’s Capitol, eager to celebrate this historic moment, and celebrate this great time of “change”.

Everyone except me—and others who know, deep down inside, that our country is set for a socialist takeover. I’m not sour about the election, as though John McCain got cheated by a fraudulent election, or some other shenanigans. In fact, the American people made it clear that they wanted someone quite different to perform some miraculous revival of our country’s “greatness”.

It’s just the definition of “greatness” that troubles me. It should trouble most white Americans in particular, but also anyone who values personal liberty above an omnipresent, omniscient government. Americans have come to see our current crises as a unique time for government, with a knight in shining armor leading the way, to magically solve all of our problems.

And government will intervene, too. Americans have lost confidence in themselves, partly because of inaction by conservative leadership, but mostly because of the messages we have been receiving. We have been told that America has spoiled its reputation abroad with its “cowboy” attitude. We have been scolded for burning too much fossil fuel, causing dramatic changes in global climates, and that we must bear the burden for cleanup. Too many of us are stubbornly “clinging to our guns and religion”. Therefore, we must purchase our ammunition coded with ID numbers, so our misuse of lawful arms can be tracked and verified. We must tolerate the establishment of Islamic temples and organizations, some of whom funnel money into terrorist networks all over the world. All Big Businesses (especially oil companies) are evil, so they must be taxed and regulated, to the point that they move their workforces overseas. Individuals who are “rich” must give their wealth to the government, to be given then to the “less fortunate”.

Does this sound like the prescription needed to cure our economic and social sicknesses? Is this the “change” we should celebrate? I read an observation made by an author of one of my favorite books, which states, “…unused power passes imperceptibly from idle hands into more active ones.” This is precisely what is happening in America today. The more active hands belong to the Democratic (I call it the National Socialist) Party. They exert their power more as the power of the individual weakens. So, this is a perfect time for them to ride in as “saviors”, when they are actually consolidating power among themselves.

I’m reminded of a story in Biblical history. When the young nation of Israel tired of being ruled by a prophet or judge, they demanded a king be anointed over them, just as all the other nations had done. Samuel the prophet, the last judge of Israel, tried to warn the people what they would endure under a monarchy. He told them that they would be heavily taxed; that the best of their sons would be conscripted for the king’s guard and the national army; other things they would sacrifice to keep the monarchy fed and supplied. But the people told Samuel that they didn’t care. They demanded a king! So, Samuel anointed a man named Saul as King of Israel. He eventually descended into madness, and nearly destroyed the nation of Israel.

America has demanded its “king”. I certainly hope we don’t get the same results.

I thought I would add some data to go with the arguments I made in my previous post concerning the global warming theory. I personally feel that America will be held economically and socially responsible for cleaning up the environment, even while India, China, and other countries are still considered “developing nations”. Americans are upset at the prospect of bailing out banks and automakers, but we will be liable for trillions of dollars going towards environmental cleanup and “going green”, if Al Gore and others have their way.

Consider this: the Las Vegas Valley had over 11 inches of snowfall this past week. It added up to the most snow recorded for the area in December since they began keeping records 70 years ago! Even Malibu, California experienced some snowfall as well.

David Deming, a geology professor at the University of Oklahoma recently stated, “The mean global temperature, at least measured by satellite, is the same as it was in the year 1980. In the last couple of years, sea level has stopped rising, hurricane and cyclone activity in the Northern Hemisphere is at a 24-year low, and sea ice globally is also the same as it was in 1980.”

According to the IBD, global temperatures stopped rising after 1998, and have dropped in the past two years by more than 0.5 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the 2007-2008 temperature drop was NOT predicted by global climate models. The drop was, however, predictable by a decline in sunspot activity since the year 2000 and by a cyclical ocean-current phenomenon known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. That is just too logical—when the sun gets hotter, the earth heats up; when solar activity decreases, the earth cools off. Most Americans can comprehend that, but it seems Al Gore hasn’t gotten the message yet.

Also, we need to remember that James Hansen, Al Gore’s main scientific “advisor”, had been doctoring some of NASA’s data that was used to identify the warmest years on record. In fact, the 10 warmest years have NOT all been since 1996. The corrected numbers from NASA show the 10 warmest years as follows: 1934, 1998, 1921, 2006, 1931, 1999, 1953, 1990, 1938, and 1939.

Finally, consider a point made by Jay Lehr, a science director at the Heartland Institute. He stated that, “If we go back in really recorded human history, in the 13th century, we were probably seven degrees Fahrenheit warmer than we are right now.” He added, “If we go back to the Revolutionary War, it was very, very cold. We’ve been warming out of that cold spell from the Revolutionary War period. And now we’re back into a cooling cycle.”

I’m all for keeping pollution low, and the environment clean. I’m also glad to see figures that show Americans decreasing their demand for gasoline, even as oil prices continue to fall. It means that we’re understanding the need to adjust our lifestyles to become more energy-efficient. What we don’t need is a dictatorial government, influenced by a would-be messiah, making us shell out trillions of dollars to preprare for a crisis based on a flawed theory. We did it once for the Y2K fiasco—we shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

President-elect Barack Obama recently introduced his “science advisor”, Harvard University professor John Holdren. I don’t know if this man will be in the White House basement practicing alchemy, but it does appear that Mr. Holdren will be responsible for lending some scientific credibility to the whole global warming argument/theory. Obama’s future efforts to pass environmental legislation will depend on having ideas based on “scientific” authority and inspiration.

Here is a statement from Mr. Holden on the phrase “global warming”: “It is rapid compared to the capacity of ecosystems to adjust and, alas, rapid compared to our capacity as a society to adjust,” he said. “We should be calling it global climatic disruption.”

I seem to remember the last “global disruption” that mankind was doomed to experience. It wasn’t so long ago, and it was commonly referred to as the “Y2K crisis”.

Think back to the year 1999, and how the entire world feverishly worked to correct the computer bug that would cause computer systems to crash when the date turned to January 1, 2000. I distinctly remember the panic, and the scenarios that were sure to unfold—airplanes would fall from the sky, gas pumps would no longer work, water-treatment plants would dump sewage into our rivers, and banks would surely scramble everyone’s accounts. I also remember some people I worked with at the time, who were busy buying batteries, 55-gallon drums for water storage, food rations, flashlights; some folks were even stocking up on firearms and ammo, to be ready for the stealing and looting that would occur.

Many companies staffed extra computer system and network personnel in anticipation of trouble. Hundreds of computer technicians were denied holiday leave, because they would be needed for the expected computer crashes. And, remember the political figure who was prominent during this time? It was Al Gore himself, the man who once claimed that he practically invented the Internet. In fact, he still has a seat on Apple Computer’s board of directors. Now, Mr. Gore wants to be savior of the world in the next great global crisis.

The methodology is simple for the would-be messiah(s): first, you must create the crisis, then present the solution to the crisis. There must also be a manipulation of society, using guilt and blame. Indeed, I think that, instead of the Nobel Prize, Al Gore should have received a “Misanthropist of the Year” award. He, along with other authorities, seem to take pleasure in blaming America (and its people) for the state of the global environment. Apparently, it’s our fault for burning fossil fuels to power our cars and heat our homes, dumping all that CO2 into the air. The problem is, Gore & Co. wants America to pay for the global cleanup, too.

Never mind that the earth has cooled slightly over the last few years. Never mind that increased solar activity (verified by NASA) was the cause of global temperature rises. Never mind that water vapor, not CO2, results in the greenhouse effect. Never mind that there are numerous scientists who disagree with the global warming theory—they never get a chance to offer their views, and they are never allowed to question Mr. Gore at any of his public appearances. Al Gore wants to be some kind of messiah in the worst way. He didn’t get to save the world from Y2K, and he didn’t get to be President of the United States. “Global warming” is his way of getting even with America. I hope Mr. Obama doesn’t share that sentiment.