From your erstwhile editor: I have turned over the reins to Bill Whipple, your new editor.  I thank him for taking this responsibility, and thank him for the great job he does on our Website.

        Now, I'll concentrate on the activities of "Climate Change Common Sense," the descriptive name of a new organization.  In addition, I'll be actively promoting resurgence of nuclear power.

  Thanks for being a member of SAFE.  It's OK now to go get a new member.  Then you'll be a go-getter.

 

  From the new guy: Bill Morris has edited this newsletter since 1996.   He brought competence and purpose to the task, leavened with a deft touch and dry wit.  I will do my best to live up to the standard Bill has set, but am hoping that he will continue to contribute stories for the newsletter in addition to the other activities on his plate. 

       Now here’s a project that starts with a column by Bill, published in the 1/6/10 News Journal (Wilmington DE), which is reproduced on the next page.  We think the column makes a persuasive case that human activities are not the prime cause of global warming, and would love to see it published around the country.  To that end, out-of-state members are encouraged to send the column (revised as they see fit) to newspapers in their respective areas. 

 

  Please notify Bill that you have submitted the column, and again after it is published.  You can reach him at (302) 475-7060 or billemerym@aol.com.

Thankfully, Copenhagen failed

Many billions of dollars have been spent in a futile attempt to limit global warming.  We are fortunate that the Copenhagen meeting of the U.N. climate change organization did not result in firm commitments to accelerate an extremely expensive effort to affect the climate.  To justify further efforts to limit global warming by limiting emissions of carbon dioxide, two propositions should be proved: (1) global warming is bad; and (2) we are causing global warming by burning fossil fuels.

Despite extensive efforts of climate alarmists, neither proposition has been proved.

The Medieval Warm Period, about 1,000 years ago, was appreciably warmer than the present warm period.  The evidence of warmth includes the fact that grapes were grown in England and Europe at higher altitudes than they can be grown now.  There was farming in Greenland.  This concerns climate alarmists.

“We have to get rid of the Medieval Warm Period.” – Jonathan Overpeck, lead author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC].

The Medieval Warm Period was a good time for human beings, and we don’t have records of catastrophic climate effects.  London wasn’t flooded.  By contrast, the Little Ice Age caused crop failures, leading to the plague, and a third of Europeans died prematurely.  Even now, unusually hot weather causes fewer deaths than does unusually cold weather.  Death caused by hot weather is one of the many one-sided claims made by climate alarmists.

Perhaps the major claim is a large rise in sea level.  However, sea level continues to rise only about 7 inches per century.  Even the IPCC estimates about a foot rise by 2100.  This should be easy to adapt to over a period of three generations.  We can safely ignore exaggerated predictions.

“I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentation of how dangerous it is.” – Al Gore

“We [climate-related scientists] have a vested interest in creating panic because then money will flow to climate science.” – Dr. John Christy

So much for the claim that global warming is bad.

As carbon dioxide concentration increases, the greenhouse effect of additional carbon dioxide becomes less and less.  The dinosaurs thrived during the Jurassic period 150 million years ago when carbon dioxide was five times the present level.  They undoubtedly enjoyed very luxurious vegetation – plants love carbon dioxide.  In order to show a warming effect of carbon dioxide, computer models assume a positive feedback with water vapor, the major greenhouse gas.  The key word is “assume.”  However, real data show a negative feedback, wherein as the ocean warms, it sends more energy into space.

Our use of fossil fuels took off about 1950.  If that were a major factor affecting global warming, glaciers should be shrinking more rapidly.  However, average shrinkage of 169 glaciers started at the end of the Little Ice Age and continued at the same rate to the year 2000, not accelerating after 1950 when the use of fossil fuels took off.

There has been a warming trend as the Earth recovered from the Little Ice Age.  Within that trend, the Earth warmed until about 1940, cooled until about 1970, warmed until about 2000, and hasn’t warmed since then.  The activity of the sun has tracked those changes.

It is clear that we are not causing global warming by burning fossil fuels.  Nature, not human activity rules the climate.  For the future, the warming trend may resume, and eventually reach the benign climate our ancestors enjoyed during the Medieval Warm Period.  Or, there may be a very slow descent into another ice age.  In either case, there is no need to worry.  The human race is very adaptable, and there will be plenty of time to adapt.

William E. Morris lives in Wilmington and is president of the regional Climate Change Common Sense organization. [He is also the founder and a director of Secure America’s Future Economy.]

 

 

New name, still SAFE:  Formed as “Seniors Against Federal Extravagance,” we changed our name to “Secure America’s Future Economy” in 2006.  The idea was to project a more positive, forward-looking image.  As for the SAFE agenda, it has remained true to our principles over the years.  For example:

 

Organizational statement, 3/96:  As senior citizens, we are very concerned about the growth of the federal government, and the huge debt being left for our children and grandchildren to pay. We believe this country is risking a financial disaster which will hurt everyone, including senior citizens. It is as if we are floating down a river and can hear a waterfall ahead. It is time to pull for the shore now.  [Website/ Outreach/ Newsletters]

 

Blog entry, 9/10/07:  Eleven years later, the boat is still headed downstream, and the noise of the waterfall is louder. *** Why, then, has the sensible and well-informed advice of the Concord Coalition, SAFE, and other fiscal conservatives been ignored for so long?  Why do our political leaders give lip service to the problem, while allowing it to get steadily worse.  How can it be that, in the words of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the candidates aren’t even talking about possible solutions to the rapid growth of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security outlays? [Web-site/ Blog Archives]

 

Website , 2010: In general, SAFE advocates smaller, more focused, less costly government.  We believe that free markets make for the best economic decisions, and that the government should only intervene in the economic sphere when and to the extent that there is a clear need for it to do so. [Website/Homepage]

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Legislative contacts: Some people say corresponding with politicians is a waste of time, but we feel it is worth the effort. Here are some of SAFE’s recent letters to the members of Congress from Delaware (Website/Outreach/Contacts with Legislators):

 

2/3/09 - Opposed economic stimulus bill then making its way through Congress.

 

3/2/09 - Critiqued the president’s budget plan.

5/13/09 - Forwarded “In Search of Real Healthcare Reform” (SAFE recommendations) and requested personal meetings to discuss.

 

6/08/09 - Commented re EPA’s proposed finding that CO2, etc. are “pollutants” for purposes of the Clean Air Act.

 

9/2/09 - Participated in “listening session” on healthcare with Senator Tom Carper and his staff.

 

12/14/09 - Healthcare bill is seriously deficient, cap & trade bill has wisely been shelved, and more “economic stimulus” is not needed. 

 

1/20/10 - After the holidays reinforcement of points in 12/14/09 letter; cites David Walker’s new book & Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts.

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Letters: SAFE  members have a history of writing letters to the editor, and we have started posting them (Website /Outreach/Letters). Here’s one from Chuck Oertel (News Journal, 10/25/09):

 

A two-column article appearing on page one of the local Delaware section last Friday highlighted a group supporting a public health insurance option.  It was accompanied by a large photograph, above the fold, which showed supporters carrying signs promoting government healthcare.     

 

When one read the article, one learned that the demonstration involved about 12 people.  Last month over 1 million people, many of them from Delaware, demonstrated on the Washington Mall against government’s involvement in healthcare and the exorbitant costs associated with it.  The News-Journal belatedly covered this event with a small article buried in the newspaper.  This kind of bias does not go unnoticed and is contributing to the demise of many print newspapers.  News Journal take note.

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Videos: We recently made short videos on healthcare (Whipple) and global warming (Morris).  See Website/ Outreach/Videos. If anyone has ideas for more videos, please contact me (302-464-2688, ww3@atlanticbb.net).

Microblogs: Since early December, Bill Morris has been tracking News Journal stories re global warming and energy policy.  Here is a sample comment (Website/Outreach/Microblogs):

 

1/13/10 - No coverage re global warming or energy policy today, but we will point out that the News Journal did not have a reporter at last night's Wilmington public hearing re Delmarva Power's 10-year energy purchase plan. Too bad; they missed some citizen input (3-minute comments) that deviated from the standard and oft-repeated environmentalist talking points. 

Three members of "Climate Change Common Sense", a Delaware area organization, questioned the purported link between carbon dioxide and global warming.  We also opposed the present requirement to buy 20% of energy in 2019 from "green" sources (wind turbines, solar panels and biomass).  And to the extent that more “green” energy is purchased, we suggested expansion of nuclear power, which is dependable, economical, and safe. [The full statements may be found at Website/Outreach/Events.]

 

We the People: This is from the 9/12/09 March on Washington.  Enough said!

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