Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

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Carbon Rationing or Freedom

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Australia has now ratified the Kyoto Protocol and when George Bush’s Presidency expires the United States is also likely to join up. Indeed all counties in the developed world will probably soon become parts of a carbon emissions trading scheme. But the gap between what is agreed and what is achieved in terms of reducing emissions is likely to be significant.

Speaking at the ‘2008 International Climate Change Conference’ in New York last week, the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, described the “robust relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth”. He went on to suggest there are three types of countries in Europe based on their emissions profile and level of economic growth. He talks about his speech in an article in The Australian (March 12, 2008).

He described the less developed countries of the European Union (EU), including Greece, as trying to catch-up economically and in the process, since the signing of Kyoto, increasing their level of carbon emissions by 53 per cent. The post communist countries are seeing their heavy industry disappear and are experiencing a decline in GDP and a drop in emissions of on average 33 per cent. Highly established countries like France and Germany have seen their emissions increase by about 4 per cent since Kyoto was signed.

President Klaus said “the dream” to reduce emissions in the EU by 70 per cent in the next 30 years could only be achieved if there was a dramatic de-industrialisation of Europe – likely associated with a dramatic drop in GDP, a significant drop in population, or a technological revolution.

Klaus questioned the extent to which carbon dioxide, as opposed to natural variability, has driven global warming over the last 100 years. He sees the imposition of carbon rationing through emissions trading as reminiscent of communist era European politics where radical economic change was imposed from above.

These sorts of views are often labelled as climate change scepticism – but it is more climate change realism.

Of course there are those who argue that given the imminent catastrophe of global warming we all need to make some sacrifices and if this requires some draconian top down social engineering, so be it.

Also at the conference in New York was Roy Spencer who leads a team analysing temperature and cloud data from NASA’s Aqua satellite which was launched in 2002. This satellite has, for the first time, enabled the collection of detailed data on cloud formation and evolution, and temperature anomalies in the tropics.

Much of the scientific uncertainty about the size of manmade global warming is related to how the climate system responds to some warming. The climate models suggest a strong positive feedback: that the warming effects of additional carbon dioxide will be amplified by increasing water vapour. But data from NASA’s Aqua Satellite indicates just the opposite – that warming has the effect of slightly reducing the total greenhouse effect by adjusting water vapour and cloud amounts, to keep it in proportion to the amount of available sunlight.

These findings published late last year are still being digested by the meteorological community: if correct it will mean that all current climate models used by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) will require an overhaul.

Dr Spencer’s work supports President Klaus’ hunch that climate systems are more robust than the models suggest and that natural climate variability has been neglected in much of the research and discussion to date. The policy implications are considerable if, as Dr Spencer‘s work seems to indicate, the overhauled climate models eventually show greatly reduced future warming projections.

The conference in New York was attended by 500 so-called climate change sceptics, including meteorologists, geologists, astrophysicists, social anthropologists (studying group dynamics in the climate change community), polar bear specialists and of course lobbyists.

There was diversity of opinion among delegates at the conference as to the causes of global warming in the last 100 years, and also little consensus regarding the future of fossil fuels.

Benny Peiser from Liverpool University in the UK, acknowledged that governments worldwide had no real solutions to rising emission levels but that solutions would come through geo-engineering and the development of solar energy.

In contrast, Michael Economides from the University of Houston in the US suggested this was a pie in the sky fantasy. Professor Economides said the world was likely to continue to source most of its energy from fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps it all depends on the extent to which governments in developed countries, including Australia, are prepared to risk a fall in their GDP by insisting on a real reduction in carbon emissions before new low emissions technologies are in place.

Such social engineering, President Klaus warned, would be disastrous.

Instead, we perhaps have to restart the discussion about the very nature of government and about the relationship between the individual and society. Should governments let climate alarmists impose policies designed to limit an individual’s access to energy?

We do need to relearn the lessons from the collapse of communism nearly 20 years ago. It is not just about climatology; it is also about freedom.

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This article has been republished from On Line Opinion: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7124&page=0

I was a delegate at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, March 2-4, 2008, New York City.
You can read some of my blog posts on the conference at the following links:

February 25, 2008
The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change: I’m off to New York
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002787.html

March 03, 2008
Climate Change Conference, New York – Day 1, In Review
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002809.html

March 04, 2008
Climate Change Conference, New York – Day 2, In Review
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002813.html

March 06, 2008
Climate Change Conference, New York – Day 3, In Review
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002820.html

Jim Turnour on Political Leadership and Much More

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I have just returned from the national capital, Canberra, where my brother Jim Turnour gave his maiden speech to the Australian federal parliament.

While Jim and I don’t agree on climate change – his views are more like those of David Jones, occasional commentator at this blog and Head of Climate Analysis Section, Australian Bureau of Meteorology – we do agree on many other issues. Last night in parliament Jim said:

“Political leaders and governments impact the daily lives of the citizens they represent. The good ones provide leadership and vision that can inspire great endeavour and achievement and that can heal historical pain and suffering.

Through legislation, they shape the foundations of the country and the society they envision. So the decisions we make in this parliament can improve the lives of every Australian, whether they know it or not. And I can think of no more important or rewarding work than to be part of a government ready to provide that leadership, to be part of a government ready to shape the foundations for a fairer and more prosperous society that ensures that every Australian—no matter their economic, social or cultural background—has the opportunity to participate fully and reach their potential.

This is the Labor ideal, and I am proud to be part of a Labor government. I therefore come to this parliament recognising the power that we as a government possess and determined not to waste the opportunity that I have been given to help shape a fairer and more prosperous Australia.

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Jim Turnour delivering his maiden speech to parliament

As the member for Leichhardt, I represent a large and diverse electorate, stretching from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait bordering Papua New Guinea, through Cape York Peninsula to and including the great city of Cairns. Leichhardt, more than any other seat in our federation, is a microcosm of Australia. It contains remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, small rural towns built on mining and agriculture, and popular tourist destinations like Cairns and Port Douglas.

Cairns is a rapidly growing regional city, with sprawling outer suburbs and inner city communities where old Queenslanders are making way for new unit developments. The population is expected to grow from 125,000 to 180,000 over the next 10 years. We have mortgage-belt aspirationals, bluecollar battlers, sea changers, tree changers, farmers, graziers, miners, Islanders, Aboriginals and, of course, strong migrant communities. The economy founded on agriculture and mining continues to diversify, with tourism, construction, marine, aviation, defence, film and education playing important roles in our developing regional economy.

It is no wonder that the many challenges confronting Australia in the 21st century are being experienced by communities in my electorate of Leichhardt. Businesses are crying out for skilled labour, and there is an urgent need for investment in roads and community infrastructure like sporting facilities and childcare centres. Our major hospital, the Cairns Base, experiences chronic bed shortages, and patients have to travel away to receive many specialist services, including oncology and cardiac procedures. Working families are struggling under rising interest rates, petrol and grocery prices. Many young people are, for the first time, starting to question whether they will ever be able to afford to buy their own home, while many Indigenous people are welfare dependent, have limited opportunities for full-time employment and suffer poor health and educational outcomes.

Climate change is also placing at risk our World Heritage Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics rainforest, our
agricultural industries and low lying coastal communities.

These are major challenges requiring long-term planning and investment, while for working families they are practical problems they face every day. I am proud to be part of a government that brings new leadership— that understands and responds to everyday problems but remains focused on ideas to build a modern Australia equipped for the 21st century. I am working hard to lend a helping hand on the everyday problems being faced by my constituents while building a long-term plan to tackle the challenges facing my communities. I am proud of the many local commitments I secured during the recent election campaign, including increased road funding for the Bruce Highway and Peninsula Development Road, and new health services through a GP superclinic, an MRI for Cairns Base Hospital and funding to improve oncology services.

In the tropical north our natural assets, our close proximity to Asia and the Pacific region and our tropical expertise provide us with unique opportunities to grow and strengthen our local economy. To take advantage of these opportunities and to prosper into the future Australia must remain a technologically advanced country. That is why the Rudd Labor government is investing in nation building infrastructure and an education revolution. Our high-speed fibre-to-the-node communications network will go beyond the capital cities and will connect our rural and regional communities to the global economy. If we unlock the creative potential of our population through education and training and have world-class infrastructure then we will be able to compete and do business anywhere in the world.

Our human creativity and access to world-class infrastructure is also key to our fight against climate change. Leichhardt is home to some of the world’s great natural wonders in the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree rainforest, which are both at risk from climate change. Island communities in the Torres Strait like Saibai and Boigu are also under threat from rising sea levels. The problem of climate change has arisen because of a failure of our market based economy to cost in pollution in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. This classic example of market failure has produced climate change that now poses a real threat to our environment, our local economy and our way of life. This problem requires practical local action and a global solution. An enormous challenge for our government will be how we intervene in the market to ensure that the real cost of greenhouse gas emissions is reflected in the market for fossil fuels. Getting this right will be critical not only to tackling climate change but to ensuring that our quality of life does not decline as we develop and adopt new renewable fuels and technologies to replace old ones.

The market based economy that, although not perfect, has allowed for the creation of so much of our wealth is also under threat from uncertainty in financial markets and the increasing power of global corporations. The uncertainty in financial markets generated through the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis is a factor in Australia’s rising interest rates. Financial markets have failed halfway around the world, yet the impacts are being felt by families with mortgages in Leichhardt and all across Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in a report into petrol prices released in December last year, found no evidence of price fixing by major oil companies but found that they were operating in a comfortable oligopoly. Labor has since announced a petrol commissioner to monitor prices and improve transparency in the fuel industry. Legislation to protect consumers from monopolistic market power and unethical behaviour in the marketplace is critical to our long-term economic and social prosperity.

Climate change, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the domination of large corporations in the supply chain for basic goods and services like food and fuel underline the important role that governments must play in regulating markets so they create prosperity not only today but into the future for the broader community. Increasingly, though, regulating these markets requires agreements that cross national borders. We need leadership and a new effort to develop global solutions to the problem of market failure. Australia is well placed to play a leadership role in developing these solutions. To do this we must participate fully in the global community, and that is why it was so important for Australia to have signed the Kyoto protocol and joined the global effort to tackle climate change.

Critical to our long-term future is also our agenda for reform through the Council of Australian Governments. The fact that the federal and every state government is Labor provides us with a unique opportunity to put aside the blame game that we must not squander. In a report for the Business Council of Australia, Access Economics estimated that cost shifting, duplication and other inefficiencies in Commonwealth-state funding arrangements cost some $9 billion per year. Of this, $5 billion is related to spending inefficiencies, including around $1 billion in health related inefficiencies.
In areas like health, where there will always be more demand than funding, it is imperative that we make the best use of available resources. When we squander precious resources we make those who may be waiting for treatment suffer longer and we have fewer resources available to take much needed action to prevent people getting sick. New medical technologies have improved the quality of life of many people suffering debilitating illnesses and ensured that we all live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. The spiralling cost of these technologies, however, creates huge challenges for governments who want to ensure that it is not only the better off within the community who have access to these new treatments. Preventable diseases like diabetes and heart disease that develop over a person’s lifetime are also increasingly threatening the sustainability of our public healthcare system.

Reform is required to reduce waste and duplication and improve service delivery across government. This is not only an economic but a moral imperative in areas like health and Indigenous affairs.

Leichhardt is home to wonderful Indigenous cultures and the historic Mabo and Wik native title decisions. I would like to pay a special tribute to the numerous Indigenous traditional owners and elders from my electorate who have fought to maintain not only their culture and rights but those of other Indigenous Australians. In Leichhardt, like in other parts of Australia, Indigenous people statistically have poorer health and lower levels of education and are more likely to be on welfare or in jail than non-Indigenous Australians. It is no wonder that Indigenous life expectancy is 17 years less.
We need practical action by government in partnership with Indigenous communities to close this gap. We need an evidence based approach that holds people accountable and delivers action and real improvements in health and education and creates economic opportunities while tackling the debilitating impacts of welfare dependency and substance abuse.

We also need leadership that inspires and heals, and I am proud to be part of a government that has shown that leadership by apologising to the stolen generations as its first order of business during the opening of this parliament. It is this combination of leadership that touches a deep emotional chord and uplifts the human spirit and that, when combined with real and substantial practical action, starts us down the road to closing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As Paul Keating put it in his famous Redfern speech, how we respond to Indigenous Australia:
… is a fundamental test of our social goals and our national will: our ability to say to ourselves and the rest of the
world that Australia is a first rate social democracy, that we are what we should be … the land of the fair go and
the better chance.

I believe Australians believe in equality of opportunity, enshrined in what we term the ‘fair go’. We believe in a fair go that embodies rights and responsibilities. Australians expect everyone to get a fair go when it comes to the basics, including health, education and a job, but we also expect everyone to have a go and contribute depending on their ability and circumstances. We are practical people, common-sense people, who look for straight answers to the challenges we face in everyday life. ‘Does it work?’ and ‘is it fair?’ are simple but powerful values that Australians understand and that I learnt growing up.

I was born the third of four children. My parents, John and Joan Turnour, who are in the gallery today, grew small crops and ran cattle at Coomalie Creek, near Batchelor, 56 miles south of Darwin, in the Northern Territory during the 1950s and sixties. They established the block from scratch, building their house from home-made bricks, and experienced the hardships of bush life. My parents would make a career of pioneering, setting up properties firstly in Australia and then overseas in Indonesia and the Philippines. Dad is a do-it-yourself man who can fix pretty much anything with whatever is at hand; even the kitchen cupboards were fastened to the wall in one of our homes with eight-gauge wire. My Mum is an only child who came to Australia as a ten-pound Pom in 1952, aged 21. She never seems fazed by anything and has always been active in the local community, whether it is at the Country Women’s Association, the parents and friends association or the local church. I proudly carry her maiden name, Pearce, as my middle name. My parents were determined that all of us kids would get a good education.

I boarded at Brisbane Grammar School and subsequently went to the University of Queensland, where I graduated with degrees in agriculture and, later, economics. So I grew up with strong role models, surrounded by different cultures, learning to use what resources I had to find practical solutions to the challenges of everyday life. I was taught to treat people fairly, even if the world is not always fair. So thank you, Mum and Dad and my sisters Jennifer and Caroline, who are in the gallery today, and my brother, Matthew, for your love and support and the lessons learnt. The support of my family, my education and the practical skills I learnt growing up have held me in good stead throughout my working life.

For almost 20 years I built a career working with farmers and graziers for the Department of Primary Industries and as an agricultural consultant in Australia and overseas. Most recently I managed Operation Farm Clear, a large project that employed more than 200 people and assisted more than 1,000 farmers to recover following the devastation of severe Tropical Cyclone Larry.

Politics, though, has always interested me. At home we always talked about politics and I was at university at the end of the Bjelke-Petersen era and experienced the great mood for change that elected the Goss Labor government in Queensland. My younger sister, Caroline Turnour, has had the greatest influence over my political career. She told me to stop whingeing about John Howard back in 1998 and join the Labor Party. In 2001 she suggested I contact Senator Jan McLucas, who is in the chamber today, and work for a politician and see what it was really like. I was so glad my sister was there last year when I finally won after the disappointment of the 2004 campaign, so thank you, Caroline, for always being there and for your advice and support.

I want to pay tribute to my wife, Tiffany, who is in the gallery today. Politics is tough on families but she knows I love this job and how hard we have both worked to get here. I thank you, Tiffany, for the love and support you have given me and for the sacrifices you have made and the many more ahead.

To my beautiful daughter, Zoe Joan: the size of my electorate and its distance from Canberra means that I am going to miss some of your growing up. I am going to work hard not to miss too much and I hope that you appreciate and enjoy some of the unique experiences you will have as the daughter of a parliamentarian.

In Leichhardt we achieved a massive swing approaching 15 per cent and I want to thank my campaign and the Your Rights at Work campaign for the effort they put in. The timing was right and the national swing was on, but you do not achieve 15 per cent without a great local campaign. I was endorsed in April 2006 and we ran a mini-campaign later that year, thanks to the efforts of my campaign director, Mike Bailey, and Toni Fulton and the financial backing of the Cairns branch. This campaign leveraged off the national Your Rights at Work campaign and the local Where’s Warren? campaign, driven by Stuart Trail and the Electrical Trades Union. Stuart Trail would go on to become the ACTU Your Rights at Work coordinator in Leichhardt and there is no doubt that the community activism the entire union movement created on the ground in Leichhardt galvanised opposition to the Work Choices laws and drew people back to the Labor Party. Thank you, Stuart Trail and Kevin O’Sullivan, for leading the campaign and all the unionists who worked so hard to get rid of the Howard government. We could not have done it without you.

Leichhardt is an electorate of more than 150,000 square kilometres with diverse communities and it requires great logistical planning to run a good campaign. Lesley Clark, the former member for Barron River, came on board to coordinate the overall campaign in the last few months, enabling me to focus fully on my job as the candidate. Her knowledge and experience of marginal seat campaigning is only exceeded by her generosity of spirit when it comes to supporting the Labor Party. I could not have had anyone better running the local Labor campaign. She and Mike Bailey were ably supported by so many fantastic people, but I need to name a few who have supported me over many years or have given up so much of their time during the recent campaign. Thank you, Hazel Lees, for so professionally managing the finances.

Thank you, Cathy Lovern, my campaign director from 2004, who I have so often turned to and who has never let me down. Thankyous go to Jan Lahney, who is also in the gallery today, John Pratt, John Tuite, Sue Tom, John Thompson, Dorothy Grauer, Cam Muir, Jackie Clarkson, Alison Alloway, Andrew Lucas, Les Francis and all the others who have worked so hard on the campaign. A thankyou goes to Allen Ringland, who ran the best corflute campaign ever. John Adams did a great job organising the Cape and Torres Strait while Martin Hurst similarly did a great job organising the polling booths.

I want to pay tribute to my Senate colleague Jan McLucas, who is in the chamber today, for her support over many years. I learnt a great deal about politics while working for Jan—so thank you very much. I also want to thank my Senate colleague Claire Moore for her support during the recent campaign. State members Jason O’Brien, Steven Wettenhall, Warren Pitt and Desley Boyle have all supported me wherever they could. I look forward to working with them to improve the lives of the communities we represent. I also want to thank the Queensland and national ALP campaigns, who so ably supported our local effort.

Finally I want to pay tribute to the candidates and members who went before me. To Chris Lewis and Matt Trezise, who ran for Labor in 1998 and 2001: the time just wasn’t right. To John Gayler, Peter Dodd and Warren Entsch: I hope you are enjoying your retirement from parliament and thank you, John, for your support and advice.

I hope to have a long career in this place achieving good things for my communities and my country. Everything we achieve in life we achieve through the support of others and that is particularly the case when it comes to politics. I am so lucky to have had a supportive family growing up and now such a wonderful partner in Tiffany. I have great staff and a strong base of support in Leichhardt and I am now looking forward to working with members of this House and of the Senate and their staff over the years ahead because political leaders and governments really can make a difference!”

End of speech
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You can read more about Jim Turnour here:
http://www.jimturnour.com.au/
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?id=HVV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Turnour

Billy Goes Hunting: A Book by Matt Butler

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“The children of avid hunters routinely face questions and criticism about the hunting lifestyle they cherish. Billy Goes Hunting is the story of a young boy whose hunting beliefs have been challenged by his peers. In response to those challenges, on a trip to visit Grandfather’s farm, Billy asks the question – “Why do we hunt?” – and his Grandfather explains the many reasons behind the heritage, sport and tradition of the hunting lifestyle. Reading this book to your children will allow you as a parent to explain all of these reasons in detail and provide a great platform to discuss any other questions your children might have…

Read more about this book here: http://www.billygoeshunting.com/index.html

Read about the author Matt Butler here: http://www.billygoeshunting.com/author.html

I Heard the Bomb that Rocked Times Square, New York

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A bomb exploded at the military recruiting centre in Times Square, New York, early this morning. I am staying at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square and heard the explosion. It was just before 4am and I was working at my laptop. I wondered what the very loud explosive noise was. My window on the 34th floor looks north, the bomb went off just to the south east of the hotel. I didn’t see any smoke or flames so kept working on my last blog post on the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.

Just after 5am I dressed to go walking, it is my last day in New York and I planned to visit the site of the World Trade Centre bombing. When I exited the hotel I found myself in the middle of a crime scene.

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Times Square, about 6am Thursday March 6, 2008

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Times Square, about 6am Thursday March 6, 2008

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View from 6th Avenue towards 7th Avenue, about 6am Thursday March 6, 2008

A camera man told me someone had bombed the recruitment centre. I had planned to walk down 7th Avenue but I was directed north and so I walked across to 6th Avenue then headed south for the Financial District.

Once past the crime scene no-one seemed to know that there had just been a bombing.

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Early morning of Thursday March 6, 2008, New York

I decided to detour through the West Village and wharf area and then enjoyed the view of the Hudson River.

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The Hudson River, New York, Thursday March 6, 2008

By the time I made it to the corner of Chambers and Church Street decided I didn’t want to visit the site of a previous terrorist attack anymore. So I ducked into a diner for breakfast and then caught a cab back to the Theatre District – corner of 6th Avenue and 36th Street – where I had seen a sign in the window of a hairdressing salon saying they opened at 8am and no appointment was necessary. I knew I needed a hair cut but hadn’t had time to get one before the conference. I was at the Jean Pierre Hair Salon by 8.30am and had my hair cut and blow drier by Gilbert. As I walked back to the hotel a kind New Yorker took my photograph in front of the bomb site.

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Military Recruiting Centre, Times Square, Thursday morning, March 6, 2008

Luckily no one appears to have been hurt in the explosion.

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Read about another important event in Times Square this last week but that has not attracted much media attention:
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002809.html
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002813.html
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002820.html

Climate Change Conference, New York – Day 3, In Review

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I’ve already reported on the standing ovation given to Vaclav Klaus following his speech at breakfast on day 3 of the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in New York.

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President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus addressing delegates at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change

There were two keynote speakers at each meal.

William Gray spoke after President Klaus and to the title ‘Oceans, Not Carbon Dioxide are Driving Climate’ and in particular about the circulation of water from the North Pole by way of the “Great Ocean Conveyor Belt” – Thermohaline Circulation (THC) – and the importance of the highly saline Atlantic Ocean.

Dr Gray has worked in the observational and theoretical aspects of tropical meteorological research for more than 40 years including studies of broad-scale cumulus interactions, processes associated with tropical cyclone structure, development and movement. And I will admit to not understanding all of his presentation, so I am going to say no more than that while acknowledging that carbon dioxide, the sun, land use change and water vapour all impact climate, Dr Gray went on to explain that it is the oceans that really drive climate and that the associated changes in energy fields and atmospheric moisture are too complex and chaotic to integrate into climate models.

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A key slide from Dr Gray’s presentation.

After breakfast I headed to what is known at the Marriott Marquis as the Skylobby on the 16th floor to hear Marc Morano, Marlo Lewis and Michael Fox. The session on science and politics was introduced with reference to the so called scientific consensus and the suggestion was made that it is really a political consensus, not a scientific consensus.

Michael Fox is a nuclear specialist and he drew similarities in his speech between the current campaign against fossil fuels and the long standing campaign against nuclear energy. He suggested both reflected ‘illiteracy’ in the general public when it comes to science, maths and energy and spoke at length about environmental activists being against nuclear and hydro – yet these are the only real alternative to fossil fuels. His comments about activists being well organised and using regulation, litigation and/or taxation to attack the nuclear industry were interesting.

He finished with a quote from a Washington Congressman that “in my district it is political suicide to be rational on nuclear issues.”

I am familiar with the work of second speaker Marlo Lewis and in particular his comprehensive critique of Al Gore’s book ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ which you can find here: http://www.cei.org/pages/ait_response-book.cfm . But I had trouble following much of his speech at the conference because it was about the complexity and history of US environmental legislation the implications of which he was hopefully exaggerating because is it really possible that litigation could close down the US economy. Dr Marlo spoke about ‘ethanolism’ as an addiction which has swept over Washington and went into great detail about National Ambient Air Quality Standards and how government legislators could set the standard for carbon dioxide lower than current levels!

Marc Morano followed Marlo Lewis and I have already posted on his presentation here: https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002818.html . I will just add that Mr Morano also said polar bear numbers are at historical highs yet it is likely they will be listed as endangered.

I only caught part of the last session in the Skylobby which included some discussion on the Christian lobby and their links with the AGW lobby. The size of this constituency in the US runs into the tens of millions.

Instead of hearing more speakers I ended up joining UK resident and social anthropologist Benny Peiser and famous economist David Henderson for a pot of tea and some discussion on Level 8. Of course the pot was just hot water but we put the teabags into the pot rather than our cups – as the Americans get this so wrong.

Lunch was delicious; a delicate green rocket salad followed by a large piece of salmon on a wholesome risotto. The speakers were also great. Dr Roy Spencer is a principle research scientists for the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the US Science Team leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on NASA’s Aqua satellite and his presentation was entitled ‘Recent Evidence for Reduced Climate Sensitivity’. While at the morning session William Gray suggested oceans drive climate, Dr Spencer’s key point was that “if there is one organising principle it is precipitation systems” (rainfall). He explained his interest in temperature anomalies since the launch of the NASA Aqua satellite in 2002 and the detailed data this satellite collects including on intraseasonal oscillations in troposhere temperatures. I was fascinated to hear how the satellite data has helped understanding of how clouds change as they evolve and the strong negative cloud feedback during troposphere warming. This is not how the climate models behave – they suggest a strong positive feedback. Dr Spencer also explained how when his findings were published last August there was no media interest to his astonishment given then importance of the findings.

In an attempt to move with the opinion within his discipline that if you can’t “put it in numbers in a climate model all you are doing is hand waving”, Dr Spencer developed his own climate model, what he described as the ‘world’s smallest climate model’.

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Slide from Roy Spencer’s presentation.

What the model showed was that the real climate system (as opposed to the virtual modelled system) is much less sensitive than most modellers assume.

Dr Spencer’s talk was perhaps the most important at the conference and his conclusions including:
1. Recent research supports reduced climate sensitivity including that tropical intra-seasonal osciallations show strong negative feedback and observational estimates of feedback are likely bias due to neglect of natural variability, and
2. The accommodation of these results by climate modellers in their cloud parameterization could greatly reduce climate model projections of future warming.

The last speaker for the conference was ABC News correspondent John Stossel. He gave an interesting talk on ‘scares’ and how and why the media reports them.

In his closing remarks for the conference Heartland Institute President and CEO Joseph Blast drew parallels between our conference and the small group of economists who gathered at Mont Pelerin, near Montreux, Switzerland, to discuss the state and the possible fate of classic liberalism in 1947. Mr Blast suggested that our gathering in New York will hopefully mark the beginnings of an intellectual movement that will help turn-around the politics of climate change.

I walked and napped in the afternoon before meeting some conference delegates – Bob Ferguson and Carol Ferguson, Bob Carter and Ann Carter, blogger Joe De’Aleo and Astrophysicist Willie Soon – for a light dinner and a glass of wine (or two) in the hotel.

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Conference delegates Bob Carter, Joe De Áleo and Willie Soon not in a spaceship, but rather in a lounge at the New York Marriott Marquis.

I would like to again thank conference organisers and sponsors The Heartland Institute and also the people of New York who have helped make my short say here truly memorable.

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You can read my perspective on Day 1 of the conference here: https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002809.html and Day 2 here: https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002813.html

Some media from the conference is here:

Bob Carter on the Global Warming Conference
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/6724/

Inconvenient Thermometers
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/6727/?ck=1

Glenn talks with Lord Monckton
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/6783/?ck=1

Meeting Marc Morano

By

A highlight of The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change for me was meeting Marc Morano.

He is a former journalist with CNS, reporter and producer for the Rush Limbaugh Television Show and also American Investigator. Now communications director for the Republicans on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in Washinton amongst his many activities and responsibilities he also finds time to run an award winning blog.

Mr Morano gave two papers at the conference. I sat in on Wednesday morning’s session on politics and science which also included presentations from Marlo Lewis and Michael Fox.

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Marc Morano chatting with a delegate before the session.

Mr Morano began with an overview of the history of the politics of climate change including a quote from Newsweek magazine of April 28, 1975, ““The longer the planners delay the more difficult they will find it to deal with climate change once the results become grim reality.”

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Marc Morano speaking at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change

He went on to talk about carbon based economies as the greatest liberators of mankind in the history of the planet facilitating the “20th Century Miracle” including the lowering of infant mortality and increasingly life expectancy.

Following the presentations Mr Morano answered a question about the value of focus groups in understanding public opinion on global warming and helping to formulate appropriate public responses. He said that what was most needed from politicians was simply “political courage” including the courage to tell it as it is.

After the session I was privileged to meet not only Marc but also his mother and nephew who were also at the conference.

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Marc Morano with his mother at The Marriott Marquis, New York.

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You can read my perspective on day 1 of the conference here https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002809.html , day 2 here https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002813.html and breakfast with Hon Vaclav Klaus on day 3 here https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002816.html.

Thanks again to conference sponsor’s The Heartland Institute