"A Blast of Winter," said the London tabloids of this past week's weather. It was so cold in London on Monday we stopped believing in Global Warming. But, now that it is warm again, why not?
Besides, now it's official US Government policy. America's president is on the front page of today's International Herald Tribune, saying he takes the issue very seriously and promises to cut America's carbon dioxide emissions.
We don't know much about global warming. Then again, if we only wrote about subjects we had thoroughly mastered, The Daily Reckoning would be mercifully short. But judging from the historical record, the earth tends to heat up from time to time. About the time of Christ, the Romans brought grape vines to Britain - and made wine. By the time the next invaders arrived, 1,000 years later, they were still at it (or at it again...we're not sure). The Domesday Book reports that there were 50 commercial vintners in Britain at the time of Norman Conquest. The Little Ice Age during the medieval era killed off the grapes and turned Britons into a nation of beer drinkers, claims Dennis Avery, as reported in Grant's Interest Rate Observer. But now, the earth seems to be warming, and British wines are making a comeback.
Is it because of human activity? Can human activity be altered to stop it? At what cost? Would it be worth doing? Thank god, George W. Bush knows the answers to these questions.
The U.S. president may not be an expert on climate change either, but he's cunning. By attaching his credibility to the Global Warming hypothesis yesterday, he probably aims to discredit the idea completely. Sly dog!
Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning Australia
Is George Bush right about climate change? Leave a message below.
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About the Author
Best-selling investment author Bill Bonner is the founder and president of Agora Publishing, one of the world's most successful consumer newsletter companies. Owner of both Fleet Street Publications and MoneyWeek magazine in the UK, he is also author of the free daily e-mail The Daily Reckoning.
Comment by Matthew Wright on 4 June 2007:
Grapes are currently grown in the UK, they have been for years. and using them as a guide to climate is ridiculous as varieties change and what was a wine at the time of christ could be considered to taste terrible now.
Comment by dlahey on 5 June 2007:
This type of article should no longer be given space by any reputable media service, or given credence by any informed individual. As of this year's latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), *thousands* of the world's top scientists have confirmed (WITHOUT any credible dissent) that climate change is occurring and is at least 90% likely to be caused by human actions. This reality is not only becoming increasingly clear in global weather trends, but is being recognized and supported by leading economists, big businesses, and a growing number of conscious cities, states, and federal governments.
The statements at the beginning of this article regarding changing weather are clearly ignorant. First, a distinction between "weather" and "climate" must be made, and individual, isolated weather events such as a cold spell in London do not necessarily have any relation to climatic shifts. Secondly, "global warming" as a climatic trend is occurring, but its effects will differ greatly region-to-region, with the overall result being more climate variability and more intense weather. Thus, the fact that it was unusually cold in London is not inherently evidence against the reality of "global warming", but, if anything, support of its existence.
Anyone still unsure about the issue of anthropogenic climate change should check out an excellent, clear and comprehensive overview and clarification of climate myths that was published in the latest of edition of the New Scientist, available for free online at http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn11462
Comment by Le Sigh on 5 June 2007:
LOL
Global Warming is a religion.
And now it has a convert in Bush.
LOLLERSKATES
Comment by Sean O on 6 June 2007:
I run a website that discusses global warming http://www.globalwarming-factorfiction.com so I feel that I have a handle on most of the pertinent issues.
In my opinion, Mr. Bush is simply giving into politics. This isn't surprising - he is a politician. With the elections coming up in about 18 months he needs to set up for a successor from the Republican party. He cannot allow the Democratic candidates to make global warming a huge issue so it only makes political sense to agree to some types of talks and discussions.
It is interesting though that when Mr. Bush acts as an administrator (the job he gets paid for) he has said that the science does not support dramatic changes in our economy - hence the US did not sign the Kyoto document.
Comment by Original Bushwhacker on 20 September 2007:
George Bush will claim and say anything to the media just to hear himself talk. He has proven time and again, that his promises are empty. It is like the old joke, "How do you know when a politician is lying? When his mouth moves."
Comment by Does George Bush care about global warming? on 14 December 2007:
I read that George Bush is indifferent to global warming; he just doesn't care. And apparently Bush is focused more on Cheney's interests in the energy industry. Probably both Bush and Cheney will ignore global warming... they don't want to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Environmentalists will be angry at them, but then again much of the American public doesn't care about climate change.
Myself, I can't decide... depends whether global warming disasters will happen soon, or in 20 years or 100 years... who knows...