Saturday, January 23, 2010

This is what we're up against

I'm currently on a list-serve for the topic of Ohio Watersheds. I originally got on the list when serving on the Coastal Resource Advisory Council for the ODNR and stayed on the list after leaving CRAC because of my interest in Lake Erie.

This is an extremely diverse group of people and every now and then, individuals on the list forward something they've received. Such is the case with this email:


>>> "FairClimateProject" 1/21/2010 9:31 PM >>>
** High Priority **

Fellow leaders,

We recently sent you a note telling you about another fly-in that we're hosting in early February. Like the one we hosted last year, we are bringing together leaders from underserved communities to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to forge ahead with passing a clean energy and climate bill.

This fly-in is extremely important and we hope you will have the time to come to Washington, DC, during this last major push to get the bill moving in the Senate. Every week over the next two months, different constituents are coming to Washington, DC, all sending a consistent message to the U.S. Senate that we can't delay action.

We can't ease up on our pressure now, and so we need your help.

We're trying to collect registrations by Monday, January 25th.

Remember, all expenses are paid. The fly-in starts mid-day on the 8th of February and goes through the afternoon of the 9th.

If you're from one of the following states, your participation is even more urgent: AK, AR, FL, IN, LA, ME, MI, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, OH, SC, VA, WV.

Let us know ASAP if you're able to join us by emailing fairclimateproject@nwf.org, calling me directly at the number below, or registering for the event at www.liaisonsreg.com/nwffeb8

Very best for all the work you do,

Felice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Felice Stadler
Associate Director, Global Warming Solutions Program
National Wildlife Federation

I have to tell you - it's very rare that any center-right group sends out an offer to fly people to D.C. just to lobby congress. Most of the center-right groups send out emails and urge people to call, write or email, but they don't offer to pay all expenses so you can meet with your congressional reps in person....in D.C.

And did you note that this is a coordinated effort? "Every week over the next two months, different constituents are coming to Washington, DC, all sending a consistent message ..."

And to make matters worse, this is all about 'climate change' which is facing regular revelations that the data indicating man is responsible for global warming is manipulated and, therefore, highly suspect - perhaps completely false.

Just this week the UN climate change panel admitted to more "errors" in their report after having to retract a prediction that certain glaciers would be gone in 25 years.

The IPCC’s 2007 report, which won it the Nobel Peace Prize, said that the probability of Himalayan glaciers “disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high”.

But it emerged last week that the forecast was based not on a consensus among climate change experts, but on a media interview with a single Indian glaciologist in 1999.

The IPCC admitted on Thursday that the prediction was “poorly substantiated” in the latest of a series of blows to the panel’s credibility.

It's no wonder 'believers' are ramping up their efforts. Growing skepticism and climategate investigations may end what many thought would be lucrative paths to pursue.

At stake here is millions, or even billions, of dollars in government contracts, handouts and scams - most of which would end up going to the exact same organizations pushing for the legislation.

What's also at stake is higher energy prices for everyone up to and including taxes on the carbon dioxide, CO2, that you exhale.

But this is a sobering look at what common sense people, center-right groups and everyday Americans are up against. How are we supposed to compete with coordinated, all-expense-paid trips to DC to lobby congress for something we know to be completely beyond our control - power over he earth's climate?

Absent the huge amounts of funds being spent by those who stand to benefit financially, we have only our personal communications and our votes on election day.

And sometimes that's just not enough.

7 comments:

James said...

The GW activists are forging ahead as if none of the "climategate" memos detailing the GW hoax and subesequent actions to gin up the numbers to support their cause ever existed.

TheGreenMiles said...

James, I know they exist -- it's just that the illegally hacked emails are incredibly boring. If you actually read them (I did - yawn) they just reveal scientists trying to make sure they get it right.

Why didn't you link to the new data that the 2000s were the warmest decade on record and 2009 was the 2nd-warmest year on record? I know it's much more fun to imagine the world as filled with shadowy conspiracies. But games can't solve the very real economic, energy & climate crises we face.

Maggie said...

Miles - the earth warms and cools. That's a geological fact. The role that man plays in that process is extremely minimal. The earth was much warmer than now back in the Middle Ages (Little Climatic Optimum) and there weren't SUVs, factories, etc...contributing to the atmosphere.

Sun spots have more to do with the temperature of the earth than man ever will.

So it's not a question of the geological fact of a warming and cooling earth. It's a question of how much the fanatics are going to insist individuals pay to achieve what they *hope* will be a miniscule impact on the global temperature of the planet.

Do we wreck our entire economic system to maybe change the temperature a fraction of a degree?

I mean, really! Some fanatics believe carbon dioxide - what we exhale and what our plants need in order to be able to survive - is a pollutant. If we eliminated CO2, no plant would live ... followed closely by humans.

The earth is NOT facing a climate crises. Now, if a huge volcano erupts and blankets the planet with ash, then maybe...but even that isn't 'man-made' and there's little we can do to prevent it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a conservative and believe in conservation. But I also believe that a balance based upon sound data (not manipulated or cherry-picked) will help get us effectively utilize the resources we've been given.

James said...

Miles, please. Don't take me for a fool. The evidence of manipulating the statistics for the advancement of the global warming agenda is a fact.

TheGreenMiles said...

James - Yup, always easier to shut your eyes in the face of crisis & try to wish it away. Much easier.

Maggie said...

Miles - what crises? The earth warms and cools regardless of what man does. It's been both warmer and colder prior to man's industrialization.

Our impact on the temperatures is miniscule and, in a geogological sense, irrelevant.

Why must new laws be passed and billions be spent to address what people 'hope' (because there is no proof of impact) will be a fractional reduction in the global temp of the earth?

In fact, if the earth were a bit warmer, some areas would be able to grow crops they cannot grow now. Those individuals might actually see a slight warming as a good thing.

Who are you and your fellow 'believers' that YOU get to determine what the 'proper' temperature of the earth should be? What evidence exists that says the 'best' temperature of the earth is what it is today? Because that's what everyone on your side is trying to maintain.

There is no crises and those who believe such without the 'proof' of unbiased scientific study are treating environmentalism as a religion - which means there is no 'argument' that can be presented to shake your faith.

James said...

Maggie's right, Miles. The earth warms and cools on its own. That fact has been out there for a long time. Global warming isn't man-made. You sound like Rahm Emanuel on the crisis point.

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