Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry about Global Warming

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"History and research support the proposition that a warmer climate is beneficial," writes Thomas Gale Moore in this socioeconomic analysis of the potential effects of global warming. Moore--once a member of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers--is an economist, and thus wisely decides to focus on what might happen if global temperatures rise, rather than try to debunk the respected scientists who have concluded that they will. Using odd bits of historical and archaeological data (and the migration habits of modern retirees), Moore contends that warmer climates are good for humanity in terms of such things as technological advancement, life expectancy, and individual health. Moore's two meaningful points are that overall agricultural production is unlikely to suffer in a warmer world and that attempts to cut back on fossil fuel use now will be extremely, perhaps prohibitively, expensive. He says the best global-warming strategy is to maintain the status quo, continue research on climate, and help poor countries improve their economies. But his focus is extremely U.S.-centric, and his dismissal of the effects of even a few feet in sea level rise on, say, millions of Bangladeshis, is either purposefully naive or downright offensive. Climate of Fear isn't a rigorous examination of all sides of the global-warming controversy, but it provides an analysis of the potential economic consequences to the United States of implementing preventative measures.

Book Description

The book calls into question the entire campaign led by Vice President Al Gore and others to ratify the proposed treaty on global warming scheduled to be debated in the U.S. Senate early in 1998.

Customer Reviews:

Economics of Global Warming.......2007-09-24

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed.." HL Mencken. I purchased this as a group of books and sources to study differing perspectives and gain deeper information on global warming.

This book is written by an economist, who asks the questions of cost benefit of different courses of action. In chapter 1 he points out that there is not agreement on global warming. Claims regarding man made global warming often use poor science, weak theories, and forced models. But, if we accept global warming, what will be the cost benefits of various courses of action.

A major point is the economic costs to USA jobs to achieve the proposed actions to cut CO2. Kyoto does not include China, India, Brazil, Mexico..... As costs go up in the USA, companies will move production to China (not covered by Kyoto) for even lower costs. Net, there would be no global environmental benefit other than eliminating USA jobs. Kyoto is an excellent proposal for China, India, Brazil, Mexico........... Setting standards to 1990 would punish the USA for its stronger growth over that of Europe since 1990. Analysis has already been completed showing base USA manufacturing industries would be significantly disadvantaged and would need to move to China, India, Brazil: automotive, iron & steel, cement, petrochemical, chemical, paper, aluminum. The Department of Energy has already reported "imports from nonparticipating countries would displace a significant amount of US industrial output and employment". One can see why the labor unions have strongly opposed Kyoto.

Points brought into question:
* What about the other green house gases, foremost water vapor
* The models being used are forced to provide predetermined results to support a political position and do not replicate current global conditions
* Often the global warming alarmist use conflicting data to make different points. One example is rainfall in global warming. The same alarmist will in one area point out global warming will lead to less rainfall, and thus poor agriculture. Yet, the same person will later site more damage due to flooding due to increased rains?
* One third of the USA CO2 comes from transportation. Are Americans really willing to cut driving?

But if we accept that the earth is warming, what are the consequences?
* Historically, people have flourished in warming times; i.e. 800-1300; when temperatures cycle down, people suffer
* Due to the science and physics, the warming will occur more in colder climates, winter, and at night.
* People prefer warmer weather -
o Where do we vacation?
o In total, people prefer warm sports over cold sports
o USA business have already been moving South
o Large percentages of people move South when they retire
o People prefer to work in warmer weather
o Lower net heating costs
* People more readily adapt to warming than cooling weather
* Health
o More people die in the cold, more die in the winter
o Health problems are worse in the colder months
o Diseases follow sanitation and control, not temperature
* Traffic & transportation
o Cold results in more accidents
o Cold increases road costs
o Warm reduces airline costs and increases reliability of travel
* Agriculture - warmer weather increases agriculture
o Longer growing seasons in warmer climates
o More CO2 increases plant output
* Marine resources increase with increasing temperatures; i.e. fishing

Net, Moore raises some very interesting points for discussion. His core point is that we should also open the discussion to the economic cost and benefits of various courses.

what me worry?.......2001-07-04

from the recent report of the National Academy of Science Committee on Climate Change: "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability. Human-induced warming and associated sea level rises are expected to continue through the 21st century."

from the same report:

"Some models project an increased tendency toward drought over semi-arid regions, such as the U.S. Great Plains. Hydrologic impacts could be significant over the western United States,where much of the water supply is dependent on the amount of snow pack and the timing of the spring runoff."

but don't worry! be happy!

More contrarian (= cold) science on show here.......2001-03-16

I wrote a review for the Ronald Bailey et al. ignominious epic, "Earth Report 2000", which paints the same, optimistic, "leave the environment in the hands of multinational corporations and all will be fine with the world" picture as this tome. I am employed as a senior scientist in ecology in the Netherlands, and for the past year I have been exploring interactions between above- and below ground pathogens, herbivores, and their natural enemies. I have also been examining how processes, which are largely deterministic over large spatial and temporal scales, are mediated by largely stochastic (unpredictable) interactions amongst organisms occurring over much smaller scales. In other words, how is the processing of information, nutrients, and materials in ecosystems dependent upon the activities of individual organisms.

The essential truth is that, at present, our understanding of the link between micro-evolutionary characteristics of communities and larger scale ecosystem processes is rudimentary at best. How many species do we need to maintain the integrity of ecosystems? We don't know. Which species are the most important? We know this only completely. How much can systems be broken down in size and still function effectively? We don't know. These questions are at the heart of my profession, yet we live in very uncertain times when we - humanity - are conducting a huge, single experiment on our own life support systems. The importance of my research and that of my colleagues is that we have to put our findings within the context of global change: humanity is simplifying natural ecosystems worldwide with staggering and alarming efficiency, and yet it is these same systems which generate the conditions upon which we are utterly dependent for our existence. Emergent properties from ecosystems generate the services which nurture life and humanity: these include, purification of air and water, detoxification and decomposition of wastes, control of insect and other pests through predation, generation and preservation of soils and renewal of their fertility, pollination, dispersal of seeds, and partial control of climate. There is no technological substitute for these services - if they were to be traded on economic markets they would be literally worth trillions of dollars, but because they are "externalized" in cost-pricing scenarios, they are therefore underappreciated by society. Yet our existence hinges on the free-flow of these services.

Why do I say this here? Because Moore, someone who has utterly no understanding of these processes, has the audacity to write a book preaching the benefits of climate change without bothering to consider that they will also effect changes upon the systems which permit our survival. This is something at which many of the climate-change advocates are ignorant, while they focus on two-dimensional (linear) projections of climate change on society. Their simple answer is: "its going to be warmer, which will extend the growing season, reduce winter heating costs, and thus benefit human society". The reality is very, very different. Ecosystems and the speices within them are already facing innumerable human-induced stresses, over landscapes which have been plowed, paved, dredged, dammed, drained, slashed and burned, logged, fragmented, doused in toxic chemicals, and thus reduced greatly. Climate change is just another potential nail in the coffin. Given that the rate of climate change is far greater than in at least 160,000 years, and that organisms are having to adapt to already profoundly stressed conditions, many will not be able to adapt quickly enough and will perish. Since organisms do not exist in isolation in nature - they interact - the loss of many species dooms very many more. Peter Raven, at the Missouri Botanical Garden, estimates that for the loss of a single species of tropical plant, at least 30 (or more) species which depended on that plant species will also disappear. The main point is that the large scale biotic holocaust already underway will only be exacerbated by climate change.

So where is Moore's evidence that climate change will not effect natural communities? He provides none. There is plenty of empirical research suggesting that global warming, at current rates at least, is disrupting entire biological communities by de-synchronizing multiple-species interactions. In other words, some species respond better than others, but due to mutual dependencies the better-adapted species disappear anyway, because they may lose access to their prime resources or else phenological timing is disrupted. There is also more recent evidence suggesting that differences in climate change over variable geographical (and seasonal) scales is having a disruptive effect over the breeding success of tropical migrant birds. These studies are emerging from a relatively new area in science, but they paint a very worrying picture. And to reiterate - Moore, whose science is non-existent, neither understands nor cares to understand the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems.

Sadly, the libertarian think-tanks also continue to reel out this trash, simply as a means of confusing the public over a matter of considerable contemporary importance. In propounding this anti-scientific rhetoric, people like Moore really have no understanding of what is at stake.

As a Botanist, I'm disturbed.......2001-03-16

I must first apologize for not actually having read the book in question, but I must disagree with the reviewer from stanford. He or she states that rises in co2 concentrations will change internal concentrations of c:n:p ratios in plants, that's simply not true. algae maintain a ratio of 106:50:1 (the redfield ratio) in the ocean that has a 800:50:1 ratio...in all the studies with increased co2 content, no plants have increased c:n:p ratios. For a c:n:p ratio to be effected, there must be a change of n or p contents, neither of which are absorbed from the atmosphere for plant use (n only marginally). Of course plants will benefit from increased co2, co2 is the source of sugars, and the metabolism will be sped up, but that will not decrease a plant's lifecycle, a maximal photosynthetic level is controlled ultimately but rubisco, a protein, and photosynthetic rates cannot exceed that level, a plant's life cycle is not analogous to a candle, which will burn brighter and therefore shorter. if anything the maximal photosynthetic rate, a result of additional co2 will cause delayed blooming and a prolonged existence. As for your other statements, I cannot agree or disagree with them as i do not have enough information, but I cannot stand by and watch irresponsible or uninformed reporting of science. Physiologically what you described as a plant's reaction to increased co2 has never been validated in any tests in any journals and our knowledge of plant physiology simply does not allow your scenario to take place.

Ignore The Alarmists -- Find Out For Yourself.......2001-03-04

I have been following "global warming" for over 15 years and am dismayed by alarmists who have very little regard for real science. Most of them, like some previous reviewers of this book, are merely jumping on a (popular) bandwagon -- they have done very little research themselves.

The least accurate studies (ground-based and ocean-based) are showing mixed (!) results, with the majority supporting slight warming. By the way, have you noticed how they keep REDUCING their projections? Maybe in 20 years, they will have reduced their projections enough that they match reality.

The next most accurate are weather balloon studies, which do not show warming. This data is referred to less often than the other groups.

The most accurate are satellite studies which actually show cooling. Yes, COOLING. You'll notice that the alarmists ignore that data. They will say something like, well look at all this other data. So? Who cares how much data you have if all of it is junk?

Some say that resource-wasting corporations are behind the non-global-warming data. Not quite, but let's allow that for the moment. Who is behind the global-warming data? Government programs who want to stay alive (i.e., receive funding) and tell their researchers to find global warming (or they get shut down). Guess what. They "find" global warming. Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

This book provides a different perspective -- maybe global warming will be good for us. Some enticing theories, but I'm not sure I buy them (still doing more research). I gave the book 4 stars because of a lack of substantial data, but would give it 5 stars for presentation and concept.

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Aquatic Plants of Illinois
Glen S. Winterringer , and Alvin C. Lopinot
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Aquatic plants of Illinois;: An illustrated manual including species submersed, floating, and some of shallow water and muddy shores (Illinois State Museum popular science series)
Glen Spelman Winterringer
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Annotated bibliography of the aquatic macrophytes of the Upper Mississippi River covering the area from Cairo, Illinois to St. Paul, Minnesota
Robert H Mohlenbrock
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Aquatic plant survey of major lakes in the Fox River (Illinois) watershed, (Dept. of Natural Resources. Research report no. 39)
Brian J Belonger
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Aquatic Plants of Northeastern Illinois
Linda Curtis
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Atrazine removal using aquatic plants: A kinetic approach (RR Series)
Richard A Larson
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Effects of sediment resuspension and deposition on plant growth and reproduction (Interim report for the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study)
Robert D Doyle
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Herbarium circular
Richard Coon
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Laura Barghusen
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Submerged and floating aquatic plants of Illinois: A preliminary illustrated manual
Glen Spelman Winterringer
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Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007JN2OA

Book Description

This is a street-wise guide to setting up a home-based travel agency business without spending a fortune. It provides detailed guidance on how to set up your agency, select a travel agency partner, deal with suppliers, make bookings, find (and keep) customers, and maximize commission income.

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Cambridge Revision Guide: GCE O Level Biology is a fundamental revision tool for students of the 2000 Syllabus (Cambridge 5090 exam). Through a topic-by-topic structure, the book explains essential biological concepts using accessible language and clear illustrations. Students are encouraged to apply their knowledge through practical investigations and extensive structured and multiple choice questions. Key features include: a concise overview of each topic in the 2000 Syllabus; tips on effective subject revision; clear diagrams of biological structures; illustrations to explain biological concepts; practical exercises – many of which may be performed at home; definitions of essential terms; wide variety of questions, with answers; highlighting of important terms; extensive glossary and index Ian J. Burton is Head of Biology in a secondary school, and has wide experience as an examiner over many years.

Customer Reviews:

A Thoughtful Read..........2000-06-02

Almost anybody who has taken even a single course in Physics at High School level would have come across Neils Bohr name in what is known as Bohr's Model of the Atom. But that model hardly gives a clue to the genius of Bohr - what seems simple and evident to us now was a great leap of human understanding. And this book helps us appreciate that.

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Mathcad ist anerkanntermaßen eines der besten Softwaretools für technische Berechnungen und Dokumentation. Mathcad folgt dem Industriestandard und ist dabei so flexibel und leistungsfähig wie eine Programmiersprache. Das offizielle Benutzerhandbuch für Mathcad 12 beschreibt detailliert die Grundlagen der Nutzung von Mathcad 12, seine Arbeitsblätter und die Programmierung. Der zuverlässige Begleiter für alle, die mit Mathcad 12 arbeiten.

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Great Novel

Essential Reading

Clotel: or, The President's Daughter (Penguin Classics)
William Wells Brown , and M. Giulia Fabi
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Quicksand (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

ASIN: 0142437727
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Book Description

First published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. The story begins with the auction of his mistress, here called Currer, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. The Virginian who buys Clotel falls in love with her, gets her pregnant, seems to promise marriage—then sells her. Escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returns to Virginia disguised as a white man in order to rescue her daughter, Mary, a slave in her father's house. A fast-paced and harrowing tale of slavery and freedom, of the hypocrisies of a nation founded on democratic principles, Clotel is more than a sensationalist novel. It is a founding text of the African American novelistic tradition, a brilliantly composed and richly detailed exploration of human relations in a new world in which race is a cultural construct.

Customer Reviews:

Great Novel.......2005-10-27

This is an excellent novel and one that would sure to have your mind pondering about the basis of the book ..."Or the Presidents Daughter" a must read to everyone... Truth is crucial.

Essential Reading.......2004-04-06

This book is essential reading for any student of African American literature. The birth of real African American literary tradition dates from 1863 when Wm. Wells Brown wrote "Clotel," the story of the hardships of a mulatto family. The book is available free in e-text form from Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/2046

Clotel: or, The President's Daughter (Modern Library Classics)

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An exquisite piece of literature!
Louisiana

Clotel: or, The President's Daughter (Modern Library Classics)
William W. Brown , and Als Hilton
Manufacturer: Modern Library
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679783237
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Book Description

The first novel published by an African American, Clotel takes up the story, in circulation at the time, that Thomas Jefferson fathered an illegitimate mulatto daughter who was sold into slavery. Powerfully reimagining this story, and weaving together a variety of contemporary source materials, Brown fills the novel with daring escapes and encounters, as well as searing depictions of the American slave trade. An innovative and challenging work of literary invention, Clotel is receiving much renewed attention today.

William Wells Brown, though born into slavery, escaped to become one of the most prominent reformers of the nineteenth century and one of the earliest historians of the black experience. This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition reproduces the first, 1853, edition of Clotel and includes, as did that edition, his autobiographical narrative, "The Life and Escape of William Wells Brown," plus newly written notes.

Customer Reviews:

An exquisite piece of literature!.......2001-04-15

The genre of African-American fiction began in 1853 with the publication of this historical novel in England. Even though William Wells Brown, a fugitive slave from America, wrote four versions of this story, the first version was not published in the United States until 1969. The reason this novel was not introduced into American society until this time was because of its reference to the relationship Thomas Jefferson had with his slave, Sally Hemmings. The idea that Sally bore him children, which he sold as slaves, was enough to keep this novel out of the American public's eye forever! Still, this novel found its way here and in later versions, Jefferson's connection to Sally vanished all together. This novel centers on three main characters: Currer, a slave who was once Thomas Jefferson's housekeeper and mistress, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa.

The separation of Currer and her two daughters in the beginning of the story provides the actual framework of this novel. Through this separation, Brown is able to create three separate story lines united by the institution of slavery.

The first story line involves Currer's life as a concubine of Thomas Jefferson and later a slave to a Reverend John Peck. Through her life, Brown presents the hypocrisy of the slave owner owning another human being as well as some Christians' biblical approval of it. Brown uses the second story line of Clotel and her relationship with Horatio Green, to depict how vulnerable and hopeless life was for black women under slavery. Horatio adores Clotel so much that he provides her with a home of her own to raise their daughter, Mary. But Horatio desperately wants to further his political career and does so by marrying a white woman by the name of Gertrude. Feeling jealous and threatened by Clotel's presence, Gertrude sells Mary into slavery. The final story line involves the fate of Althesa. Like her sister, Althesa is a concubine to her master Henry Morton. But Morton later marries her and is a loving father to their two children. Even though Althesa experiences true love through marriage and was able to raise her children, the actual tragedy of her situation lies in what happens to her children. Through Althesa's story, Brown proves how her free rank in marriage did not grant freedom for her daughters, which continually shows slavery's disruption of the black family unit.

CLOTEL, though considered melodramatic by some, is an exquisite piece of literature. Its importance is not only tied to the fact that it is the first published work of its kind in this genre, but gives readers a glimpse into the English language used by black people at that time. I think this novel was an excellent start for the genre of African American literature.

Louisiana.......2001-01-19

This story is very interesting as we are descendants of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, whose relationship, the historians attempted to erase from history. The only problem with that is they left 1800+ descendants.

It is a good story that should not be discounted because it was not written about by the so call established historians.

Book Description

The first novel by an African-American, this dramatic tale describes the fate of a child fathered by Thomas Jefferson with one of his slaves. Although born into slavery, the author escaped bondage to become a prominent reformer and historian. An emotionally powerful depiction of slavery, racial conflict in the antebellum South.

Clotel or the President's [Jefferson] Daughter : A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States

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Clotel or the President's [Jefferson] Daughter : A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States

Manufacturer: Collier
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Clotel or the President's Daughter (American History Through Literature)

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Clotel or the President's Daughter (American History Through Literature)
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Manufacturer: M.E. Sharpe
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Clotel, or the President's Daughter
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Clotel, or the President's Daughter
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Clotel, or, the President's Daughter
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Clotel, or, The President's daughter: A narrative of slave life in the United States (African/American library)

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