Albany Democrat Herald
Because of politics in Salem, Oregon State University has been put in an embarrassing position. It has to create a new climate research center wanted by the legislature and hire someone to run it without appearing to muzzle George Taylor, the longtime state climatologist whose views on climate change are not exactly politically correct.
The university tried to wiggle out of the dilemma by praising Taylor’s work for Oregon farmers, ranchers and others but then declaring that he and the new director will “share the duties usually assumed by the state climatologist, although neither will formally hold that title. The institute director will lead the research function of a state climatologist and represent Oregon at relevant conferences; Taylor will provide the supporting mapping and data services.”
This might have been the best that OSU could do in the face of House Bill 3543, which establishes the climate research center. But it still sounds like an unkind and undeserved way to treat a man who has done outstanding and reliable work for Oregon for nearly two decades. As it turns out, the “title” of state climatologist may not be for the state to bestow or remove unilaterally. It was created in a memorandum of understanding between Oregon and the National Weather Service, and it devolves on whoever heads the Oregon Climate Service, which Taylor manages.
You can blame the legislature for this muddle. The governor and other Democrats wanted to sideline Taylor for not wholeheartedly going along with the prevailing theory of man-caused global warming, but evidently they didn’t want to be seen doing so. Their bill created a new research center on climate change, but it did not repeal or amend the 1991 law that put the Oregon Climate Center at OSU in state law and tasked it with essentially the same functions now also assigned to the new center. So our elected leaders stuck OSU with the job of hiring someone’s replacement without getting rid of the incumbent, an awkward job indeed. Read story and comments here.
By Richard Lindzen in Ecoworld
The notion of a static, unchanging climate is foreign to the history of the earth or any other planet with a fluid envelope. The fact that the developed world went into hysterics over changes in global mean temperature of a few tenths of a degree will astound future generations. Such hysteria simply represents the scientific illiteracy of much of the public, the susceptibility of the public to the Goebbelian substitution of repetition for truth, and the exploitation of these weaknesses by politicians, environmental promoters, and, after 20 years of media drum beating, many others as well.
Climate is always changing. We have had ice ages and warmer periods when alligators were found in Spitzbergen. Ice ages have occurred in a hundred thousand year cycle for the last 700 thousand years, and previous warm periods appear to have been warmer than the present despite CO2 levels being lower than they are now. More recently, we have had the medieval warm period and the little ice age. During the latter, alpine glaciers advanced to the chagrin of overrun villages. Since the beginning of the 19th Century these glaciers have been retreating. Frankly, we don’t fully understand either the advance or the retreat. For small changes in climate associated with tenths of a degree, there is no need for any external cause. The earth is never exactly in equilibrium. See full story here.
About the Author: Richard S. Lindzen is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(http://web.mit.edu).
PRNewswire-USNewswire
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission denied a bid by Lehman Brothers to block shareholders from voting on a global warming-related shareholder proposal from the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX). “Lehman Brothers says it wants to make money from global warming, but basic information on which the firm relies and presents to shareholders is clearly erroneous,” said Steve Milloy, portfolio manager of Action Fund Management (AFM), the FEAOX’s investment adviser. “When a $34 billion company is touting misinformation as a basis for its actions, it makes you wonder about the soundness of its business plan,”
Milloy added. Lehman Brothers’ management uses the so-called “hockey stick” chart, for example, to support the notion that “the Earth’s mean temperature has risen sharply in recent decades.” But the hockey stick graph was scientifically discredited long before Lehman issued its February 2007 report.
“We think that Lehman is in way over its head when it comes to global warming and that management is recklessly risking shareholder value,” said Milloy. “Shareholders will be looking for an explanation from CEO Richard Fuld at the annual shareholder meeting,” Milloy concluded. By investing in the FEAOX (http://www.FEAOX.com), individuals can participate in the global warming debate while having an opportunity to earn a financial return through ownership of a large-cap mutual fund. With a minimum investment of $2,500, individuals can join FEAOX’s effort to make CEOs justify their positions on global warming. FEAOX is available exclusively through Foreside Distribution Services L.P., (applications may be obtained at http://www.FEAOX.com/how.html), and through E*Trade Financial, Scottrade, TD Ameritrade and HSBC.
Read full release here.