Saturday, October 27, 2007

Powerline reports on a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House for a remarkable SEAL who is survived by remarkable parents and a comrade in arms turned publicist for his memory.

Lt. Murphy's story is amazing, but in a way, typically American. We are all called upon to be worthy of his sacrifice in the defense of our nation, and our way of life.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Democrat party pols and environmental politics are discussed in this post in The Corner on National Review Online. Would they embrace an Al Gore presidential candidacy? Would they really take up and pass the Kyoto treaty? It's not Gore Agonistes; he'd have to give up his "Father Theresa" demigod status with the gaia movement to descend to the level of a mere President of the United States.

Not to mention having to move to poorer living quarters than this.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

In Chill Out, Bjorn Lomborg repeats his eminently logical argument that the prudent course to take in addressing global warming is not to attempt to reverse a process that may or may not be the cause of climate change. Instead, he writes
"We must accept that climate change is real and that we've helped cause it. There is no hoax. But neither is there a looming apocalypse.
To some people, cutting carbon emissions has become the answer, regardless of the question. Cutting emissions is said to be our "generational mission." But don't we want to implement the most efficient policies first?
Combating the real climate challenges facing the planet -- malaria, more heat deaths, declining polar bear populations -- often requires simpler, less glamorous policies than carbon cuts. We also need to remember that the 21st century will hold many other challenges, for which we need low-cost, durable solutions.
I formed the Copenhagen Consensus in 2004 so that some of the world's top economists could come together to ask not only where we can do good, but at what cost, and to rank the best things for the world to do first. The top priorities they've come up with are dealing with infectious diseases, malnutrition, agricultural research and first-world access to third-world agriculture. For less than a fifth of Kyoto's price tag, we could tackle all these issues.
Obviously we should also work on a long-term solution to climate change. Solving it will take the better part of a century and will require a political will spanning political parties, continents and generations. If we invest in research and development, we'll do some real good in the long run, rather than just making ourselves feel good today.
But embracing the best response to global warming is difficult in the midst of bitter fighting that shuts out sensible dialogue. So first, we really need to cool our debate."

Well said.
I love this. It describes so many activities in life that involves groups that aren't naturally...grouped.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

The Belmont Club discusses signs that the environmental movement is becoming more and more of a religion in Terraforming on Terra.
Wizbang points to a rare admission by scientists that climate change isn't only about global warming and cooling, but large scale effects of wind and current are at work as well.
An Overdue Dose of Humility in the Global Warming Debate?