 October 22, 2008
Dear Friend, As you read this week's WeGetIt.org Wednesday Bulletin, please be thinking of friends who would benefit from it, and then forward it to them. Thanks for your support! Take a deep breath and hold it—forever!
Plants depend on it for survival; the more they get, the more they grow. Animals not only depend for their survival on the plants that depend on it, but also exhale it with every breath. That goes for people, too. Any substance (even water) can become lethal at a high enough dose. But the safe working level for carbon dioxide is 5000 parts per million, or about 13 times the present roughly 380 ppm. At its current rate of increase (about 1% to 2% per year), it would take about 130 to 260 years to exceed the safe working level, and it is impossible to project current trends that far into the future. To do so would require assuming no change in energy technology for the next one or two centuries. (By way of perspective, consider that 200 years ago President Thomas Jefferson would have still been using oil lamps for indoor lighting.) But a key policy aide says Barack Obama, if elected president, will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to declare carbon dioxide a "dangerous pollutant," thus empowering the EPA to regulate its emission. As the Wall Street Journal points out, doing so would involve the EPA in centrally planning "the whole U.S. economy under the 1970 Clean Air Act." It "would monitor and regulate the carbon emissions of 'lawn and garden equipment' as well as everything with an engine, like cars, planes and boats. Eco-bureaucrats envision thousands of other emissions limits on all types of energy. Coal-fired power and other fossil fuels would be ruled out of existence, while all other prices would rise as the huge economic costs of the new regime were passed down the energy chain to consumers." Like every policy that raises the cost of living, such a policy would hurt the poor worst of all, the very people Christians are bound to remember (Galatians 2:10). Unfortunately, John McCain also believes in manmade global warming and wants legislation to curb carbon dioxide emissions.Arctic sea ice: shrinking or growing? A year ago global warming alarmists were all atwitter about shrinking arctic sea ice. It was at record lows, and its shrinkage would increase global warming by diminishing the reflection of solar energy back into space as dark water replaced bright white ice. It was part of the irreversible march toward eco-disaster. Lately those claims seem to have disappeared. Why? Because arctic sea ice has grown to nearly a third more than it was last year—and is still expanding, as the figure shows.
The differently colored lines represent different years, the red 2008 and the orange 2007. Note that the red is higher than the orange through almost the entire year, and by October 17 is 31.3% higher than the orange. That fits with falling global temperatures shown here:
P.S.: Recent claims of record high arctic temperatures are also bogus. Will America rush in where Europe fears to tread? While America gets set to elect a president—of either party—eager to push ahead with plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions, European countries are backing away from their prior commitments. Benny Peiser reports that seven European countries were ready to scuttle the EU's climate pact, claiming "that the originally agreed goal of cutting the EU’s CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 was too expensive; economic turmoil and rising unemployment meant that implementing the CO2 goal was no longer affordable." Any future climate bill must now be “cost-effective to all sectors of the European economy and for all member states, respecting each member state’s specific situation.” The new agreement denotes that any binding climate law will now have to be delayed until the completion of a comprehensive cost-effectiveness analysis. In any event, this new hurdle has been raised to such heights that the EU’s original targets are unlikely to survive. Hmm. Comparing costs and benefits. What a novel idea! Why didn't anyone else ever think of that? Oh, yes. The Copenhagen Consensus did—and judged fighting climate change among the worst ways to waste money.Now, please forward this message to your pastor, other Christian leaders, and friends and urge them to sign the WeGetIt.org Declaration, too! The more people sign, the stronger the message our leaders will hear that Biblical principles and factual evidence, not media hype about speculative fears like global warming, should guide our care for the environment and the poor.Gratefully, We value your privacy. If you received this from a friend, you can join the campaign at www.WeGetIt.org. This message was originally sent to [email address suppressed] because someone signed the WeGetIt.org Declaration as "fullname." Edit your name | Bulletin Archives | Unsubscribe | Inquiries |
