Skip to main content

Now Global Warming is Like Driving Off a Cliff!!

At the recent convention of the Western Governors' Association, Nick Bridge, British counselor for global issues, stated that the earnestness of global warming is like "driving towards a cliff at high speed and [you] have a 30 percent chance of brake failure. Would you get in the car? Nobody would get in the car."

Well, no, actually, I'd do a computer model simulation to ensure that the 30% chance of failure is a correct estimate.

;-)

Share/Save/Bookmark

Mr. Bridge's verbal faux pas indicates the inanity of the claims of those involved in crying global warming wolf. He can't even think through the process of evaluating risk. If I had a car whose brakes had a 30% chance of failure, I would test them thoroughly--under actual conditions--to find out what percentage of the time they actually did fail. If they actually failed at all, I'd get them fixed.

Global warming criers, however, think that delving in theory, simulating risk, and crying wolf is all that is needed in order to make a determination to mortgage the comforts of life of everyone on earth. I'd rather be 70 percentage points surer about something like that than 30%.

At least, with Jon Huntsman moving off to "greener" pastures, not as many at the WGA are on the wolf-crying bandwagon. I am pleased with Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert's response to the WGA convention's discussion about global warming.
Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert challenged the reality of climate change during a Western Governors' Association panel discussion Monday on combatting global warming.

Herbert, who sat quietly through most of the discussions during the past two days, spoke up after presentations that included the statement that the debate on climate change was over.

"I've heard people argue on both sides of the issue, people I have a high regard for," Herbert said. "People say man's impact is minimal, if at all, so it appears to me the science is not necessarily conclusive."

This is a much more intelligent approach than that of Utah's former governor, Jon Huntsman, whose ability to think for himself on such issues seems to have been affected by his affinity for various elite friends he has in various high places, who stand to benefit from participating in the top-down control that will accrue if we believe in computer model simulations that refuse to take the historical reality of climate variability into account.

Bon voyage, Mr. Huntsman, the environmental cosmopolite. Welcome, Governor Herbert. We finally have found ourselves with a governor who has some environmental common sense.



Comments

  1. In this morning's paper, there's a lot bunch of people distancing themselves from Governor-in-Waiting Herbert's climate change denialism. They all know it's real, in policy terms. Whatever politicians say.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting. If you have a Google/Blogger account, to be apprised of ongoing comment activity on this article, please click the "Subscribe" link below.

Popular posts from this blog

Red Clothing and Resurrection: Jesus Christ's Second Coming

The scriptures teach that when Christ comes again to the earth, that he will be wearing red apparel. Why red ? They also teach that at Christ's coming, many of the dead will become resurrected. Will this only include members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Not by a long shot, no matter what some Mormon might tell you.

School Vouchers: "The Bramble Memo"

$429 million? What? Where? The legislative fiscal analyst for the State of Utah calculated the costs to the public schools over the next 13 years if school vouchers are implemented. It said the costs would be $5.5M in the first year, and $71M in the 13th year. Suddenly, the number I have started seeing thrown around was $429 million, the total costs for vouchers over 13 years. Where did that number come from? Enter the mysterious "Bramble Memo". In the past few days several of us (Jeremy, Utah Taxpayer, Craig, Sara, Urban Koda, Jesse, and me) have (sometimes?) enjoyed a lively discussion about school vouchers in Utah . Jeremy clarified to me the costs of the venture by linking to a copy of the Utah Legislative Fiscal Analyst's Impartial Analysis (LFA) of the costs of Vouchers , found on "The Senate Site". In my previous voucher article, I quoted some of Lavar Webb's article from last Sunday's Deseret News, wherein he stated that those total costs ...

What's Your Reaction to California's Decision on Same-Sex Marriage?

Yesterday a "Republican-dominated" California Supreme Court struck down state laws against same-sex marriages. The LDS Church issued a press release, calling the decision "unfortunate". I agree, but not for reasons you might think. Did the California Court make the right decision? Update 5/17/2008 : California decision does not affect prohibitions against polygamy and marriage of close relatives. Why not? Government should not sanction same-sex marriages for the same reason that it should not sanction heterosexual adultery--such activities tend to be destructive to the family as the fundamental unit of society. Before you get too far into reading into my words, let me echo and agree with something that Madeleine Albright wrote in her recent book, The Mighty & The Almighty (one of the better books that I have read in a long time): I oppose discrimination against gays and lesbians and am convinced that heterosexual adultery is a greater danger to the institu...