Health Effects Of Global Warming

Global Warming Alarmists are Feeling the Heat

Should Republicans be paying More Attention to Their Candidates Positions on Global Warming?

In recent days and weeks, the climate change alarmists, the doomsayers and far left environmentalists have suffered a number of setbacks to their predictions of dire consequences from global warming. These groups have consistently attempted to influence climate legislation, the US government and the public at large, suggesting that our planet is under extreme stress and is rapidly warming from the use of fossil fuels. Until recently, most Americans were buying this nonsense, but some recent events may help to change public opinion and re-focus the debate to a more reasonable analysis of what’s really happening.

For those who may not follow this subject too closely, let me review some of the past events that have recently come to light:

In a June 20, 2011 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the state of Connecticut and some other litigants that the existence of the EPA’s regulatory authority over greenhouse-gas regulations pre-empted lawsuits against coal-burning utilities on the grounds that the emissions constitute a public nuisance. This was a very significant ruling, as it reversed the Supreme Court’s bias which had previously been favorable to environmentalist’s contention that global warming was a serious worldwide problem. This ruling showed a more balanced Supreme Court view as expressed by ultra-liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s comment that “The Court, we caution, endorses no particular view of the complicated issues related to carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.” This is a big change from previous rulings.

In a major scandal, the University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May 2011 to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming . "Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," . The gist of that article was that according to three studies released in the United States, experts believe the familiar sunspot cycle may be shutting down and heading toward a pattern of inactivity unseen since the 17th century. Why is this important? Because this could mean that the Earth – far from facing a global warming problem – is actually headed into a mini Ice Age. Early records of sunspots indicate that the Sun went through a similar period of inactivity in the late 17th century, often referred to as the Maunder Minimum. This period of solar inactivity also corresponds to a climatic period called the "Little Ice Age" when rivers that were normally ice-free froze and snow fields remained year-round at lower altitudes. This is hardly a scenario for a century of Global Warming.