First, let me say that much of the current global warming debate is little more than a colossal boondoggle.  Is global warming real?  It may surprise you to hear that my answer is yes, it probably is.  That’s not the right question, at least not by itself.  How can I sit here in the coldest January in a decade and talk about global warming?  Again, that’s the wrong question.   In the case of looking at your kitchen thermometer, and drawing conclusions about the global climate, well that’s a naive approach at best.  Climate and climate change (which yes it does change), are very complex subjects.  Here’s the thing though, you must ask the right questions.  There is not just one question which must be answered, there are at least five:

1. Is the global climate warming?
2. If the climate is warming, then is that a bad thing?
3. If the climate is warming, is this caused by mankind?
4. If the climate is warming, and it’s caused by mankind, then can it be fixed?
5. If it can be fixed, then will any of the current proposals do the job

Now maybe you can answer yes to the first four (but I’d argue that the matter is far from settled), but even so, the last question is the death-knell for the Climate Change movement (at least in its present form).  You see, there are no viable proposals on the table to deal with the “problem” of climate change.  There is no end of bad and ill-conceived ideas, but no viable solutions.  Now of course, in all of this, I haven’t given my own opinion on the subject.

So, is climate change (that’s the new PC name for global warming) real?  Yeah, I think so.  According to the scientific evidence, our global climate is very dynamic.  Is the climate today warmer than it was in the past?  Well, that depends upon how far back you want to look.  The climate today is significantly warmer than it was in the 1300’s, for example, but in the last decade, it’s virtually unchanged.  If we look at Arctic Ice Core data, then we find that in the far distant past (before the Ice Ages), the global climate was substantially warmer than it is today, and if we believe the Snowball Earth theory, then before that it was very substantially colder.  Now, the question you have to ask is this: How does the time since the Industrial Revolution compare to the geologic history of the planet?

Now, the next thing that must be taken into account is the fact that there was an Ice Age only about 11,000 years ago, and a “Little Ice Age” much more recently than that.  So in light of that, I would expect the global climate to be warming.  I also think that the human contribution to this warming is overstated at best.

So why all this fervor over climate change?  One word, money.  Follow the money, always follow the money.  I should say a lot more, but this post is already long enough.  I’ll save anything else for a future installment.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments(0)

So I have fans and detractors now (I just approved several hate comments).  Now here’s the rule, I reserve the right to approve or disapprove any comment I choose.  I really don’t care if you don’t agree with me, I just ask that you be respectful.  I love a good debate, I consider it a sport.  But please, if you want to debate me in your comments, at least read and understand my post first.  Then, come up with a reasoned argument, dogmatic assertions just make you look bad.  My blog is my opinion, on anything I choose to have an opinion about, anyone who wants to subscribe to my blog is welcome to do so, I don’t censor any comments, but if you can’t maintain a reasonably civil tone, I reserve the right to block your comment.  To my readers, fans, friends, and haters: I think 2010 is going to be a fun year, enjoy the ride.  Oh, and for those who get it, John 15:18.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments(0)

It’s 2010, a new decade, “The Year We Make Contact”, whatever.  I feel a sort of melancholy hopefulness mixed with dread.  2009 was the worst year of my life, yet in the midst of it all, some pretty cool things happened along the way.  So what do I want for 2010, well, I think the Goo Goo Dolls said it well a couple of years ago:

My New Year’s Resolution is to update this blog more often, let’s hope it lasts longer than all the diets.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments(2)