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The Current Crisis
Sanity From the Indian Subcontinent
WASHINGTON -- Did you see the look on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's face when during her visit to India she visited with that country's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh? It was that frozen smile we have seen from her before when the smiling lady is, as a matter of fact, mad as hell. You saw it during her husband's impeachment. Bill has seen it practically every day of their married life. Now we have seen it during her three-day visit to India, where, among other things, she hoped to have India at least show some respect for the Obama Administration's proposed carbon limits.
Instead of respect she got rebuff. As Minister Ramesh asseverated, "There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions." The pressure he alludes to has been coming from the United States to adopt some monstrous emissions regulation like our cap-and-trade bill now blessedly being euthanized in the Senate. "And as if this pressure was not enough," he went on, "we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours." So our cap-and-trade bill will not only impose economic costs (for Americans, $7.4 trillion in taxes, our largest tax increase ever) but it may start an international trade war by excluding imported goods from countries like India that reject our environmental diktats. China and Brazil do too.
Secretary Clinton ought not to be surprised by the Indians' recalcitrance. Ramesh has expressed doubt before that global warming is the grave problem that trendy liberal Democrats insist it is. Late last week he even expressed doubt that Himalayan glaciers have been damaged by climate change, despite environmentalists' insistence that the glaciers are melting. Frankly Ramesh sounded very much like what Al Gore calls a global-warming denier. Yet the Indian is in good company. There is a growing number of scientists and political leaders who doubt the significance of carbon in the atmosphere. In fact, they doubt the existence of global warming period, and with good reason. Contrary to the environmentalists' computer projections, there has been no global warming since 1998. Instead we now have global cooling. Actually, the last two years of global cooling have eliminated the last thirty years of global warming.
Possibly Ramesh has read the latest scientific debunking of the global-warming position supplied by an important book, Heaven and Earth, by Ian Plimer, Professor of Mining Geology as Adelaide University. In an interview with London's Spectator, the professor summed the book's findings thus: "The hypothesis that human activity can create global warming is extraordinary because it is contrary to validated knowledge from solar physics, astronomy, history, archaeology, and geology." Being a geologist, Professor Plimer has had to study climate conditions going back to the origins of the planet, over 4 billion years ago. He chides the global-warming hysterics for only studying the last 150 years. Other skeptics whom I have noted in this column are the scientist Bjorn Lomborg and former British Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Energy Nigel Lawson.
Nonetheless, hysterics rattle on, locked in to the view established by their guru, Secretary Clinton's friend Gore. "Global warming is real," he said in 2006. "We human beings are responsible for the vast majority of it. The results are bad, headed toward catastrophic." In July he attributed brush fires in Australia to global warming. "Cyclones are getting stronger," he added. "...the fires are getting bigger,…the sea level is rising…." Then he warned that "refugees are beginning to move from places they have long called home."
Well, the Indians are not alarmed, nor are the Chinese and the Brazilians. Professor Plimer explains: "When I try explaining 'global warming' to people in Iran or Turkey they have no idea what I'm talking about." The prof claims that alarmists like Gore and Clinton, and, for that mater, President Barack Obama, are a self-centered minority out of touch with human needs and with atmospheric conditions. "Eco-guilt is a first-world luxury," he told Spectator. "It's the new religion for urban populations which have lost their faith in Christianity."
A timely explanation for their self-centered hysteria now comes from an unlikely source, Cass Sunstein, a professor at Harvard Law School and recently appointed to be Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, by President Obama. In Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide, he deposits his finding that "like-minded people tend to move to a more extreme version of what they thought" the more they talk with each other. The liberal Democrats who now dominate the Obama Administration have pretty much sealed themselves off from criticism. They have been talking with each other for years, reaffirming their prejudices and getting ever more extreme. Now on the environment they would impose on the whole world taxes and regulations that will suppress economic growth and conduce to trade wars. Fortunately they are running up against the enlightened Indians and Chinese, ex-socialists who have learned the benefits of growth. The surprise is on us.
Bob Tyrrell is founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. His books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn't Work: Social Democracy's Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; and The Clinton Crack-Up.
He makes frequent appearance on national television and is a nationally syndicated columnist, whose articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Washington Times, National Review, Harper's, Commentary, The (London) Spectator, Le Figaro (Paris), and elsewhere.
Bob is also an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute and a contributing editor to the New York Sun.
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Michigan and Me| 7.30.09 @ 6:47AM
The historian Paul Johnson wrote "Intellectuals" two decades ago, and it needs an update. The Obama crowd in D.C. are the classic example of intellectual tyranny. Their ideas are more important than reality. The American voters made an horrendous mistake in putting a bunch of leftwing academic intellectuals in charge of a 15 trillion dollar free market economy. But they'll get it in the end. The Dems are going to be treated worse than the AIG execs when this is all done.
Dave Lincoln| 7.30.09 @ 7:12AM
Ramesh-crazy-for-the-cows say: I think Dances-with-Commies speak with forked tongue and loud belly about sacred glaciers. Tell her, take care of own teepee emissions before opening pie hole to other nations. We no trust treaty from lesbian white witch. My people only wish to make talk with the Sasquatch AlGore before scalping.
Dave Lincoln| 7.30.09 @ 7:14AM
Oh, man, I am such a dweeb. You meant "dot", not "feather" type Indian, right? I am so un-PC, today. I will correct this in my next post.
Dave Lincoln| 7.30.09 @ 7:21AM
Ramesh from old Bombay says: I do not wish to do business with you, crazy lesbian broad. You must put back that blueberry squishy and microwave burrito before you exceed our emissions quota. Please to leave the premises, and tell big Buddha Al to leave his big airplane behind; he is scaring the cows. My people confuse him with the Sasquatch or his North American cousin, the Yeti.
Tank you vedy much; don't come again.
Rocco| 7.30.09 @ 7:30AM
Dave Lincoln, good laugh first thing in the morning! Reading your last post, I had visions of Carlos Mencia's imitation of an Indian Seven Eleven owner skits.
Dave Lincoln| 7.30.09 @ 7:41AM
Thanks, Rocco, though I don't know if Komment Kontrol will leave my thoughts up for very long. I can't say as though I would really blame em though.
At least I am not selling Guicci handbags, although, if you really need one, I could dig one up for ya. Maybe I can write in Japanese and get my erudite opinion across that way. ;-)
Robert Rosencrans| 7.30.09 @ 7:45AM
Hillary would have had a better effect in the world packing groceries at the local food store. Ditto Al Gore.
herb| 7.30.09 @ 8:07AM
Dave, that was fun, but I think it's the Yeti who scares Indians and Sasquatch who scares National Enquirer readers in North America. Anyway, Hillary's frozen smile goes to absolute zero whenever she thinks of 2012.
WRTolkas| 7.30.09 @ 8:22AM
Dear David,
The men in my department are still laughing. Your post was definitely not "PC" however well done.
Regards,
WRTolkas
Howard| 7.30.09 @ 8:37AM
Obama keeps finding out his rhetoric only goes so far. The Community Organizer In Chief is finding out the flowery words keep bumping up against reality. Go India!
Aaron| 7.30.09 @ 9:05AM
Moving toward first world status, dealing with a potential nuke arms race with Pakistan, terrorism, etc... why would they be concerned with this foolishness? Placing this type of policy item against that type of backdrop only serves to magnify its stupidity. Keep doing what you do Hill! (P.S. Might want to get some Botox)
You know what India needs? A really top notch vacation resort... on second thought... a water front retirement community for us westerners.
MikeN| 7.30.09 @ 9:29AM
India already has huge tariffs, so I don't see how the US comes out worse in a trade war.
Franklin| 7.30.09 @ 10:00AM
Tyrrell article is so good and sensible and unflinchingly to the point that it bowls me over. The comments are pretty good too. Good for India. Why couldn't we be like that. It looks easier than tying our national body into environment Gordian knots.
Dtruly| 7.30.09 @ 10:02AM
If a handful of today's Eco-nuts landed in 1900 armed with laptops, they would soon project with their models that in 50 years every US city would be 20 feet deep on horse manure. The only hope for civilization would be a government requirement that everyone transition to the emerging technology of the steam powered carriage and adopt "crap-neutral" lifestyles.
Appleby| 7.30.09 @ 11:46AM
In the 1930s Toronto had a flourishing network of electric streetcars, which they destroyed to embrace the car. Today the greenie socialists are attempting to destroy the cars and spending $billions to replace them with electric streetcars, which they do not want to run by electricity because they don't have any electricity, having promised to close down all the power plants by 2010 and replace them with windmills, except nobody wants those either because they make noise and scare the birds.
P.S. As to those 1900s time travellers with the laptops, they would also be crusading against the telephone, which must be reserved for the Nomenklatura due to the shortage of women switchboard operators, and demanding that buildings be limited to five stories because that was as far up as anybody was capable of walking.
Where is Harry Turtledove when you need him?
Mattled| 7.30.09 @ 11:53AM
Why didn't Obama send Joe Biden?
Oh, I forgot....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll_goH-aivU
sirius| 7.30.09 @ 1:00PM
"The historian Paul Johnson wrote "Intellectuals" two decades ago, and it needs an update. The Obama crowd in D.C. are the classic example of intellectual tyranny. "
Intellectuals - people who have been educated beyond their intelligence.
JP| 7.30.09 @ 1:20PM
" The liberal Democrats who now dominate the Obama Administration have pretty much sealed themselves off from criticism. They have been talking with each other for years, reaffirming their prejudices and getting ever more extreme. "
I've followed the Global Warming debate for about 5 years. About 4 years ago I concluded that the entire AGW camp from the IPCC through RealClimate is nothing but one large echo chamber.
Roscoe| 7.30.09 @ 1:22PM
Aaron,
India already has a top-notch, water-front type place. Check it out at 21deg24min07sec N 72deg11min11sec E. After the current occupant of the white house would get done with bankrupting all of us, and ruining business & industry in this country with his cap and trade sham, we could all go there to look for work and business opportunity. I'm certain the Alang shipbreaking industry will still be running full steam, ahead, while the amateurs in our current administration wring their hands over "our" eco-guilt.
Nobama| 7.30.09 @ 7:13PM
Will someone please tell that dumb-azz, Bill O'Reilly that there's NO global warming? What a putz.
Cow Rie| 7.30.09 @ 11:09PM
Ahhh yes. One of the arguements for Barry Hussein Obama was no one liked us overseas.
Well it seems no one likes Barry, Hillary, Al, or the rest of them. And it seems we are beginning to
to explore another potential trade war.
Yes , everyone loves Barack and Hillary.
GG| 7.31.09 @ 3:12AM
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called before an inquiry into the country's role in the Iraq war, its chairman said during the opening Thursday.
John Chilcot told media he would not "offer a list of witnesses" but that "key decision-makers in the key phases of the Iraq affair" would be called.
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"You can work out for yourself who some of them will be, but apart from the former prime minister [Tony Blair] -- who it's obvious we must see -- I don't want to give a longer list today."
Blair's appearance before the inquiry, whenever it happens, will be of huge interest to the British public and media.
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Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, announced the inquiry last month, saying it would look in depth at the lead up to and conduct of the war. However, he also said it would not appropriate blame or have any mandate to consider civil or criminal charges.
Chilcot said the inquiry would examine the period starting from the summer of 2001 until the launch of the military operation in 2003, and up to the present day.
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He called the scope of the inquiry "considerable," given that most inquiries of this type would focus on a specific event in a limited period.
Cantact me:
E-mail:wuzhuhai@live.cn
RedNeck| 7.31.09 @ 11:13AM
The Indians and Chinese are doing there best to protect us from ourselves. The last thing they need American consumers doing is flittering away more money on energy taxes. It is not in their interest to see us fall. Standing against the idiocy of "Global Warming caused by Man" is in their and our best interests.
Ammo Guy| 7.31.09 @ 12:05PM
Dtruly, your comment reminds me of a classic Heinlein story about a massive computer that becomes sentient. Written before the invention of the transistor and microchip, Heinlein had this computer built into the Mammoth Cave complex in order to dissipate the heat that would be thrown off by the millions of vacuum tubes required to construct such a computer. If someone as prescient and imaginative as Bob Heinlein could not foresee the amazing shrinking computers that we now enjoy, how can we believe that any of these climate change knuckleheads will be even remotely reliable with their projections?
Aprup A| 8.1.09 @ 9:29AM
The surprise is on US ?? Urban Indians are already paying heavy tarrifs!!!
The Indians are not alarmed, nor are the Chinese and the Brazilians - is not a True Statement ......
Also Eco-guilt is a new religion for urban populations which have lost their faith in Christianity is a bold comment !
Carbonicus| 8.1.09 @ 10:20AM
Readers/commenters - PLEASE call, write, and/or email your US senator and admonish him/her NOT to vote for Wacky Marxism "American Carbon Elimination Serfdom Act". Continue to post comments on articles like the above, continue to try and talk senses into your co-workers, friends, and neighbors, but whatever you do, register your disdain for this economy-wrecking, environmentally-inconsequential legislation, and do it NOW!
Stand with Carbonicus and defeat what is the most dangerous, ill-advised legislation ever introduced into the halls of Congress.
Your economic future and that of your kids and grandkids depends on it.
The eco-socialists will continue to spin empirical data, deny it, default to their computer models which have already been proven wrong - over and over - and cover their ears and deny the facts. But there are enough sane voters who will fight against this nonsense if given the facts, and it is up to us to make sure they understand the scientific, economic, and political facts.
Bruce| 8.2.09 @ 11:59AM
"Intellectuals - people who have been educated beyond their intelligence."
That's a keeper, sirius - thanks:)
Dave ... they can take their PC and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. Good chuckly for the day.
Can I make a request for everyone to send an email avalanche to this nitwit "wuzhuhai@live.cn" to see if we can blow up his internet/email connection? Please? I fully intend to email the abuse line at his provider to report his constant and truly annoying spamming of this site. Anyone care to join me?
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Pingback| 8.4.09 @ 10:21AM
Cooler Heads Digest 31 July 2009 | GlobalWarming.org links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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