Acton Institute PowerBlog - Entries from Monday, April 23, 2007

Global Warming Consensus Watch, Volume I

Monday, April 23, 2007

Welcome to the first edition of the PowerBlog’s new GLOBAL WARMING CONSENSUS WATCH, where we keep you up-to-date on the latest news about the ever-strengthening, nearly invincible consensus that climate change is 1) unnatural and 2) a massive catastrophe waiting to happen.

Another scientist off the reservation: Somebody has to start doing something about all these “scientists” who openly question the unshakable, indisputable consensus on global warming. Like this guy, for instance. What in the world could he be talking about here?
Spencer contends there is not yet enough known about the Earth’s atmosphere to understand exactly what occurs naturally to stabilize the earth’s climate. “I don’t think we understand what happens. We can watch it happen on the (climate) models, we know it happens, but we don’t know for sure how it happens...”
Nonsense. Didn’t he see Al Gore’s movie?
Thank you sir, may I have another? Why certainly. Here’s Dr. Timothy Ball, a retired Canadian climatologist, on those climate models we hear so much about:
As I have said for years, climate models are a useful but severely limited tool in the laboratory that must meet scientific responsibilities. Unfortunately, they are clearly not doing this, which is why we need an independent audit. When you go public and allow the output of the models to become the basis of global, national and regional policy there is a different set of responsibilities and these are definitely not being met. Worse, they are deliberately being manipulated and misused.
Balance = Bias: The potential catastrophe of global warming is too important to allow dissent on the issue in the media, according to Al Gore. And the major media seems to agree:
Al Gore has complained that the media are biased against the inconvenient truth of global warming. “I believe that is one of the principal reasons why political leaders around the world have not yet taken action,” Gore told a “Media Ethics Summit” at Middle Tennessee State University back in February. Gore lectured journalists that any coverage of views opposed to his own was irresponsible, calling it “balance as bias.” It’s impossible to imagine the big TV networks actually accepting an edict from a conservative politician to report only their side of a major public policy issue, but a new Media Research Center study of ABC, CBS and NBC’s global warming coverage finds the networks are giving Gore practically everything he demanded. Not only does nearly every global warming story exclude any contrary voices, but the coverage of Al Gore personally has been exceptionally positive as well.
It’s amusing to think that Gore could claim that his position on global warming hasn’t gotten a fair shake in the big media without being laughed out of the room. I think it’s much more in line with reality to say that the reason Al Gore even has a career these days is because the media has long ignored his calls to rid the world of the internal combustion engine or the fact that one can barely tell the difference between Gore’s environmentalism and the Unabomber’s (I scored a 25% on that quiz, by the way - you’re invited to drop your score into the comments).
The First Cut Is the Deepest: Noted environmental expert Sheryl Crow (who has a career as a recording artist on the side) used to like to soak up the sun. But she’s changed her ways, and what she sees now is not a pretty picture. The consensus on global warming is strong enough that she’s ready to advise us all to make some cuts - and it’s true when they say that the first cut is the deepest:
Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment. Crow has suggested using “only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required”... ...“I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming,” Crow wrote. "Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating. “I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting.”
Now come on - this has to be a joke, right? No serious person would propose restrictions on how much toilet paper a person can use, right? It would be an understatement to say that this idea is “in the earliest stage of development.” For one thing, has she come up with a workable enforcement mechanism? The mind boggles. But this is a BBC article, not The Onion, so it at least has the faint odor of plausibility (no pun intended). On the other hand, the article also includes this tidbit:
Crow has also commented on her website about how she thinks paper napkins “represent the height of wastefulness”. She has designed a clothing line with what she calls a “dining sleeve”. The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another “dining sleeve” after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth.
OK, there’s no way this is real. Unless somebody can point out to me evidence that Crow (or any other Hollywood celebrity) is actually using the “dining sleeve,” I’m just going to write this whole article off as a parody. After all, even climate change is trumped by vanity and hypocrisy in Tinseltown.

Sheryl Crow highlights the nightmare scenario that threatens us all

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in Environmental Stewardship at 15:24 | Comments (5) | Trackback

Defined tags for this entry:
cheryl crow, climate change, climate change skepticism, global warming, global warming consensus watch, ipcc, toilet paper

Is Your School on the List? Nominate it for 2007 Catholic High School Honor Roll

Monday, April 23, 2007

Applications and nominations are now being accepted for the 2007 Catholic High School Honor Roll, a program of the Acton Institute. The extended application deadline is May 31, and it is free for schools to participate. The purpose of the Honor Roll is to recognize and encourage excellence in Catholic education. The Honor Roll is an annual list of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States, where schools are examined on the criteria of academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education. It is viewed nationwide by parents, clergy, the media, donors, and educators. All applicant schools receive detailed evaluations and are eligible for a $1,500 scholarship.

Learn More:

The Honor Roll is published and publicized nationally, and has come to serve as a resource for parents, schools, and donors. A school’s placement on the Honor Roll, or on one of the honorable mention lists, will distinguish it as one of the finest schools in the nation. The purpose of the Honor Roll is to recognize and encourage excellence in Catholic education. As such, no applicant school will receive negative mention.

Since the Honor Roll’s inception in 2004, schools have found that placing on the Top 50 list is powerful publicity. Whether it is with media coverage, institutional recognition, or praise from the local community, schools are seeing increased enrollment, energized staffs, proud donors, and a tremendous marketing opportunity. More than 200 media stories have helped highlight the good work Catholic high schools do.

The application extended deadline is May 31, and it is again free for schools to participate. All of the nearly 1,400 Catholic secondary schools in the United States are eligible to apply. Schools can apply by returning the three surveys that were recently sent to schools in an application packet, or schools may apply online at www.chshonor.org. If a school completes each of the three surveys online, it will be entered in a drawing for $1,500 in scholarships. Last year’s winner was Marian High School in Mishawaka, IN.

A new feature in 2007 is the ability for anyone to nominate a school. If you think a certain school deserves to be recognized, nominating them will ensure they know about the Honor Roll and are given the chance to participate.

There is one additional opportunity for schools this year. Every school that completes each survey will receive a detailed, comprehensive evaluation that gives feedback, offers tips for improvement, shows where it stands amongst its peers, and details its strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation alone will be worth the time it takes to apply.

The primary goal of the Honor Roll is to encourage schools to educate students as effectively as possible, in a way that integrates Catholic faith and prepares students for active engagement with the world. By supporting this constructive competition, the Honor Roll provides insight into the character of Catholic secondary education and calls everyone to improve the academic and spiritual formation given to America’s youth. In promoting rigorous education, the Honor Roll desires to better prepare students for fruitful vocations in politics, business, and the Church.

Posted by Anthony Pienta in Programs at 12:07 | Leave a comment | Trackback

Economy and Energy Consumption

Monday, April 23, 2007

John Stossel must have been on vacation last week.

I caught part of the 20/20 special offering for Earth Day on Friday night. Among the reports was one by Jay Schadler focusing on solar power as an alternative source of energy.

Schadler pointed out that even though the United States has only 5% of the world’s population, we consume 25% of the world’s energy. It’s a typical canard trotted out by those who want to depict us ugly Americans as “energy hogs.”

But instead of taking a deeper look at these kinds of statistics, the stats usually appear at the intro of a news piece as a hook leading into some other point about alternative energy.

But let’s take a brief look at the implications of such statistics. Let’s even accept them at face value. What such conclusions about the wastefulness per capita of American energy consumption overlook is the inherent connection between economic productivity and energy usage.

Yes, let’s say America’s share of worldwide energy usage is 25%.

But what is America’s share of the global economy? Somewhere between one-fifth and one-third of gross world product. So just maybe there is in fact a link between economic output and energy consumption.

Another aspect of this relationship appears when you run a historical series comparing per capita CO2 emissions and income growth on Google’s Gapminder software.