The Calgary Chamber of Commerce through Friends of Science and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, hosted a presentation by Lord Christopher Monckton titled “Apocalypse Cancelled; The Overheated Hype behind Global Warming”.
There were four members of the Alberta Provincial Legislature recognized by the host prior to the presentation. During his presentation, Monckton asked by a show of hands for those who did not support the concept of human caused global warming, and there was a unanimous response; when he asked for the supporters not a single hand went up.
The Alberta Government is spending $2billion in taxpayers’ money for CCS (carbon capture and sequestration). The rational given by the government for this ridiculous wastage is the IPCC, which they use as their sole basis for scientific support to the exclusion of all with contrary evidence. This means that members of the Alberta Legislature believe in human caused global warming, yet none of the four members in attendance raised their hands to show support for the government position.
This presentation puts the Members of the Legislature in the awkward position of being exposed to the hard physical facts that contradict their own government position. The simple question is what will they do when they get back to the Legislature? The government is already so committed to this endeavour with projects that are already underway, that it is a physical impossibility for the government to stop the process through political means without losing power.
Don't know if an ex Premier counts as a member of the Legislature in this context, but it turns out Mr. Ralph Klein was in the audience, and offered his own rather unique take on the science and politics:
Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein, on hand for the presentation, said he, too, is concerned about the science, generally.
I confess total ignorance as to what he could possibly be talking about.
During his presentation, Monckton asked by a show of hands for those who did not support the concept of human caused global warming, and there was a unanimous response; when he asked for the supporters not a single hand went up.
ReplyDeleteScience wins again!
Who the hell cares what the bibulous Ralph Klein has to say? He turned in a paper for a university course that would have gotten a "red frown" stamp in grade 3.
"I confess total ignorance as to what he could possibly be talking about."
ReplyDeleteNor would he have much of an answer himself. There is a new book on the Klein era by long-time political analyst, Rich Vivone [now retired to Ontario] Review & interview by daveberta --
SEE: What do you think are the key lessons that we can learn from the Klein years?
RV: Well, I think the very first lesson is that people should pay attention to politics, because Klein got away with an awful lot. Just the other day, I was looking at government spending numbers and the huge spending binge that these guys went on in 1998. I mean, they almost tripled spending over 10 years at the same time as they were talking about fiscal restraint and spending priorities. People believed them, and now we all of a sudden we’ve found out that they are running a deficit and that they’ve been spending like hell for a long time. Second, if people in Alberta cared at all about politics, they would demand a say in how government was run between elections. I’m not saying that MLAs should do polls all the time, but there should be mechanisms for people to have input on important bills between elections. Government is about people and they have a right to know what is going on in government. Government has got to be opened up.
http://daveberta.blogspot.com/2009/07/rich-vivone-is-putting-alberta-politics.html
If science is being used as a smokescreen for some kind of hidden agenda, it certainly is a very convincing smokescreen. I recently watched a National Geographic documentary called "Extreme Ice" and it was a humbling experience. Time lapse photography by James Balog showed how melting ice on the surface of the Greenland icesheet is acting as a lubricant to speed the melting of the ice which is retreating at double the rate of a decade ago. The estimate is that by the end of the century sealevels will rise at least 1m, affecting at least 100 million people on the planet.
ReplyDeleteTo understand Klein, you first have to subtract 6 beers and start over.
ReplyDelete