A Basis for the Climate Debate

Most agree the subject of climate change deserves open and honest discussion in the public square; and equally important, the debate must be predicated on science, not ideology.  At the same time, highly complex scientific matters whether in quantum mechanics, astrophysics or climate, share a common scientific theme, i.e., ‘we don’t know what we don’t know.’  To illustrate ask yourself the two questions no climate scientist has ever been or ever will be able to answer, i.e. what is the ideal temperature of planet earth, and during which geological period did it occur?

Without answers to those two very simple questions there is no baseline for measurement, and without a baseline for measurement, all else is speculation and theory.   Nonetheless, this is one of the more critical topics of our time economically (yes, even more so than environmentally) and the following are a few of the many realities that must be considered if mankind is to reach a modicum of consensus on the matter.

• The earth’s climate has been alternately warming and cooling for four and half billion years, and it will continue to do so for another four and half billion years; what’s at issue are its causes and what man can and cannot realistically do about it.
• Our understanding of Earth’s climate is at best rudimentary.
• There is nothing more unscientific than the notion that science, any science, is ever settled, static or impervious to challenge because if it were impervious to challenges, it would cross over into religion.
• The ‘settled’ argument is dangerous because it precludes serious public policy debate.
• It has become politically expedient in certain precincts to automatically attribute any naturally occurring disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought and flood to climate change irrespective of supporting evidence.
• Climate activists damage their cause when predictions of catastrophe change with regularity or when they conflate climate change with unrelated social issues thus causing the debate to veer off into ideology.
• It’s preposterous to believe that man doesn’t contribute to a changing climate by burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas for electricity, heat, and transportation. Meanwhile, deforestation releases sequestered carbon into the air and activities such as fertilizer use, livestock production and industrial processes all create air pollution and release fluorinated
• But Nature also has a say in climate matters. Phenomenon such as planetary vorticity, ocean gyres, geostrophic wind, perturbations in earth’s orbit, El Niño, La Niña, solar activity, volcanic eruptions, changing ocean currents and factors too lengthy to list all affect climate – and they do so in ways we don’t yet fully understand.
• Man’s best effort yet, the well intentioned but poorly designed Paris Climate Agreement has not and will not reach its stated goals because there are no funding mechanisms nor means to verify, track, monitor or enforce its provisions.
• Science is about more than just experiments & test tubes; climate scientists have their own feelings and motivations, which mean human bias will always enter the climate change equation.
• The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was chartered by the United Nations to create accurate and comprehensive climate assessment reports for governmental policymakers.
• The culture of the IPCC is largely a result of the influence of its longest serving director, Rajendra Pachauri, a man with no climate credentials, which is arguably why the IPCC has repeatedly refused to entertain dissenting opinions about the causes of climate change and why it has been complicit in manipulating data that has rendered honest and reasoned discussion virtually impossible.

(Note for those needing verification regarding the dishonesty on the part of the IPCC, I’ve sourced my resources below)

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/climate-change-scare-tool-to-destroy-capitalism/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/05/09/global-warming-activist-david-roberts-slams-the-qualifications-of-ipccs-top-scientists/#44c0a9a0380a

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/02/climate-change-pachauri-un-glaciers

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/19/ipcc-chairman-climate-report

https://www.globalresearch.ca/more-than-1000-international-scientists-dissentover-man-made-global-warming-claims/5403284

• Human nature being what it is, world leaders will always place economic concerns ahead of climate concerns.
• Until China shuts down its existing coal-fired power plants and stops building new ones in Africa and at other locations around the world, the planet will continue to experience increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Climate research relies on government funding, and the ironclad rule in government & politics is to ‘follow the money,’ which means politics & ideology are inextricably linking together in all matters relating to climate.

In this commentary I’ve tried to lay out the facts as honestly and accurately as possible before getting more specific in future commentaries beginning tomorrow.

Quote of the day:  “Everything is funny as long as it’s happening to somebody else”—Will Rogers.