About This Thursday’s Climate Change Event Sponsored by CATER….

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An example of scientific study of global warming. What should we make of it?

“Then I say the earth belongs to each generation during its own course, fully and in its own right, but no generation can contract debts greater than can be paid during the course of its own existence.”

Thomas Jefferson

As our friend Ricardo Toro has mentioned, Dr. Patrick Michaels of the CATO Institute will be speaking on the science behind Climate Change, in a presentation on Thursday August 20 at 7 pm, at the Servite High School Auditorium in Anaheim. The local non-profit CATER will benefit from the net proceeds of the event (and is now its sponsor, for legal reasons), to support its work as a watchdog of Anaheim’s not-so-transparent government.

Preferred seating can be purchased for $20 per seat, $10 for seniors and students by ordering online. You still have time to sign up for the VIP reception prior to the event: it’s $150 per couple, but we do feed you.

If you think you know all there is to climate change and this sounds like a snoozer, read it again. While we will certainly discuss climate change, the focus of Thursday’s discussion is the SCIENCE of Climate Change.

Dr. Michaels specializes in examining the scientific evidence behind the claims of climatologists and their theories of climate change. Few would dispute that SOMETHING is happening to the planet. The extent to which the changes are man-made is still very much up for debate, and whether we can truly reverse that direction is even more controversial.

In the pursuit of “saving the planet,” which coincidentally provides a wonderfully subsidized livelihood for any number of well-connected manufacturers of everything from solar panels to “shade balls,” there is no longer a single aspect of our lives that is not regulated to the eyeballs by government. Whether it is local zoning laws, regional quasi-governmental planning orgs (SCAG) State or Federal laws – you name it, we have tinkered with it, and driven up the price on it, in the name of stopping the rising sea levels.

If the changes that we see (which few on even the most far right dispute) are caused by man, and are reversible, then let’s have that discussion and make those resistant to those invasive regulations more willing to go along with the program. Any of us who grew up with “smog alerts” that kept us from outdoor PE or recess, while our fathers whined about the new “unleaded” gas, can attest to the change that can happen when we regulate behavior.

However, TRUE change must go beyond legislation to become systemic. Those whose behavior is changed by force will resist systemic change. Unless science can prove without question that the changes to our planet are man-caused, rather than a cyclical shift that would take place whether humanity had invented the internal combustion engine or not, we will not get far. This is where the discussion with Dr. Michaels comes in.

Michaels is far from alone. Here is part of a message I received this morning.

“Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne , professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide , and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies. He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.

Born – 12 Feb. 1946 (Age 67)

Residence / Nationality – Australia
Fields – Earth Science, Geology, Mining Engineering
Institutions – Univ. of New England, Univ. of Newcastle, Univ. of Melbourne, Univ. of Adelaide
Alma Mater(s) – Univ. of New South Wales, Macquarie Univ.
Thesis – The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in Eastern Australia
Notable Awards – Eureka Prize (1995), Centenary Medal (2003), Clarke Medal (2004)

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?

Okay, here’s the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland. Since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet – all of you.

Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress – it’s that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life.

I know..it’s very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids “The Green Revolution” science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad, nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs…well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days.

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere in just four days -yes, FOUR DAYS – by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon.

And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time – EVERY DAY.”

No, I don’t think this is an excuse to run out and burn your trash in the back yard – but I do believe we need to discuss the extent to which stewardship of the planet, based solely on the fact that as a species we should not be butt-heads to the next generation, transmogrifies into religious belief subjecting others to Jihad for failing to bow to Mother Earth. Don’t believe me? We were threatened with picketers at this event!

Climatologists have been widely reported “cooking the books” to get their predetermined outcomes; this has also been widely denied. If true, this is just the sort of practice that CATER has fought against on the local level since our most humble beginnings. The entire premise of CATER is to present credible information, based on verifiable facts, and let the public determine the fate of their own community.

• When Anaheim’s Public Works Director Natalie Meeks falsified her claims for the ARTIC sort-of train station and ARC streetcar by adding in a 20-year High Speed Rail projection as “first year” ridership numbers, CATER objected.

• When Convention, Sports and Leisure Int’l presented a 14 page coloring book on the benefits of Angels Baseball in place of the Economic Impact Report we expected – a report that Staff kept anyone from reviewing in advance of a vote) CATER objected.

• When staff presented hokum in place of genuine accounting, claiming “savings from ATID collection” in payment of bonds for the Convention Center, to mask that the “revenue stream” to pay for the bond issue actually came from the General Fund, CATER objected.

More recently, City Staff presented a falsified pack of horse manure as reasoning for the Disney tax exemption for decades into the future. I expect that CATER will end up objecting to that as well.

Mind you we did not object to the Convention Center expansion, or a new deal with Arte Moreno for the Stadium, etc. Our objection has always been to the way staff and their enablers on the City Council create their predetermined outcome by presenting ONLY documentation supporting their side of the argument – with the effect that the City leadership’s cronies, patrons, and big donors profit.

I see climate change, its potential disastrous impacts on the world I am leaving my grandchild-on-the-way, and the invasive policies created by government at every level today, as far more critical than any of the local issues CATER has engaged in so far. So why would we NOT demand fully vetted, peer reviewed critique of the science behind the claims? Whether we are discussing ARTIC or East Anglia, CATER’s interest has always been in putting credible information out there for the public to review.

That is why Dr. Michaels is here. That is why we worked very hard to find someone who would debate Michaels, which was the format he requested from the beginning of the planning stages. That nobody would initially debate him doesn’t show the sky-is-falling side to be taking higher ground (with or without avoidance of rising sea levels) it just made them look like chickenshits.

I applaud Mark Tabbert of the locally based national group “Climate Leaders” (CitizensClimateLobby.org) for joining us to present the evidence for the counter-case that the warming of the planet is both caused by and reversible by humans. Dr. Michaels will have a chance to rebut those offerings. Dr. John Hoaglund, a local Ph.D. Geologist interested in water and climate change issues, will rebut Dr. Michaels’s own presentation. We will end with an audience submitted Q&A.

Before the Q&A, we plan to have an informal (and probably less contentious) on-stage discussion between Dr. Michaels and CATER’s own General Counsel, Dr. Greg Diamond, who was a practicing scientist focusing on the individual and collective responses to just these sorts of issues long before he became an attorney. This, we expect, will be able to reach in depth into some issues rarely touched in the climate change debate.

One such issue is how we as a society should deal with ambiguous data (if that’s what we have) about a threat – a problem that we also face right now regarding, for example, the proposed nuclear deal with Iran. Another is: how do we as a nation and part of a larger planet address the prediction some have made that the climate change that scientists predict might be very bad for many people world-wide, but actually quite good for much of the U.S. and Canada – or at least for those who have the resources to accommodate to it? If our richest citizens (and permanent residents) will do just fine in a significantly warming world, are we satisfied with that “solution” to the problem? Are we worried about how other countries would react to that stance?

We will present to the public a balanced program reviewing the scientific theories behind the policies we must live with every day. I hope that many Orange County residents will join us. We especially would like to see our local decision makers show up. (If someone happens to lead a governmental entity CATER has litigated against, we can arrange to work around the conflict-producing donation to CATER in order to gain entrance to this public information event. We have friends who help to feed and shelter the homeless, after all.)

Dr. Michaels position doesn’t always please the more politically correct [Ed. Note: *HEAVY SIGH*] among us. He certainly is not popular with those who have turned “man made climate change” into a religion, with the mandate to “Believe,” or be ostracized by “the mainstream scientific community.” But Michaels’ challenge of the status quo is good for the debate that we must have in order to ensure that the policies that regulate literally every aspect of our lives today in an effort to “save the planet,” are based on sound scientific principles. For those who object to Dr. Michaels, please bring your concerns to the event, we will have 3×5 cards to pose your questions to him, questions he invited.

Certainly raising funds for CATER is important, we don’t operate on fairy dust, and we have critical work ahead of us in defense of the entire community’s long term interests. But of far more importance than fund raising is raising the level of credible information that is out there in our community. So for those who want to attend the event, but object to funding CATER for whatever reason, please note that a ticket purchased through the website gains one preferred seating.

We intend to open a section of the enormous auditorium to those who for whatever reason do not have a paid ticket. If $20 for General Admission ($10 for students and seniors) is too steep — or if you support the Kleptocracy and the idea of writing a check to CATER gives you hives — contact me in advance or take a chance to show up at the event; we will make sure you get in (space permitting.) Seating will be a bit further back, but we will make sure you gain entry. And we will make sure the 3×5 cards go out to all areas of the audience so your questions for Dr. Michaels and others will be considered.

A Public Discussion on Climate Change

August 20, 2015, from 7 pm to 9 pm

Servite High School auditorium
1952 W. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim

PRESENTATIONS BY:

Dr. Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute

Mark Tabbert of “Climate Leaders” / CitizensClimateLobby.org

REBUTTALS BY:

Dr. Patrick Michaels

Dr. John Hoaglund, Geologist

“CHARLIE-ROSE-STYLE” INTERVIEW/CONVERSATION WITH:

Dr. Patrick Michaels

Dr. Gregory Diamond, Ph.D. Social Psychology, U. Michigan

BUY TICKETS THROUGH THIS LINK!