Global Warming Hysteria, Part 2,346

Recent work on antarctic ice cores has now given us a good record of atmospheric composition over the last 650,00 years. The work shows that CO2 and other “greenhouse” gasses are now at their highest levels ever over that period. All the news stories are quoting scientists saying that this new information proves that human-emitted gasses are causing global warming.

They’re wrong. In fact, the core samples might just show the opposite.

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Unintended Secondary Effects Revisited

A little less than a week ago, the Boston Globe featured a rather naive article entitled In Praise of High Gas Prices. The author argued that ultimately higher energy costs were a good thing, since they would drive consumers to more frugal habits (a Prius rather than an Escalade, for example) and spur investment in “alternative” sources of energy. He is conflating several issues. First, there is a straightforward assertion of the law of substitute goods, which states, in effect, that an increase in the price of Coca Cola will lead to an increase in demand for Pepsi. That’s fine, as far as it goes, but he also assumes that an increase in the price of the cost of production is a good and beneficial thing, if it in fact causes the subsitution. This is a political value judgment having nothing to do with economics. He makes this assumption because the alternatives are thought to be more desirable than the original. Wind power and shale oil are mentioned (more on these later).

Today, without reference to the earlier article, the Globe notices that at least one of the substitutes is maybe not such a good thing. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, it looks like the substitution of firewood for heating oil and natural gas will cause the region to fail its air pollution remediation plan. While unintended, this outcome is by no means unexpected. The same thing happened during the Carter administration, when parts of the Northeast were enveloped by a thick haze of smog from wood-burning stoves. The article doesn’t even touch on the worst aspect of the substitution, which is the loss of life from fires.

On the other hand, higher fuel prices seem to have led to innovation, in some cases representing a definite improvement over some of the previous technology.

Frivolity and Frivolous Lawsuits

The European Court of Human Rights. The noble syllables just roll off the tongue, and visions of brave people standing against genocide and oppression spring to mind. The title alone infuses the body with gravitas and dignity.

Dignity will be in short supply for a little while, though. It seems that a Russian lawyer is suing to his country’s TV networks over The Simpsons, an animated comedy show from the United States. He claims that the show caused “moral harm” to his family. He hopes that the court will force the networks to only air the program during time slots where children are less likely to see it, and he wants some money for damages. (The damage may be done, but it looks like some cash will help heal his family’s morals.)

Every court occasionally has to hear idiotic cases, and my position is not that this is an illustration of the futility of ECHR. Instead I think that this news is a very heartening sign. Some people have claimed that it is only a matter of time before Communism is reinstated in the former USSR, but this is proof that at least one Russian lawyer gets the Capitalistic concept that it’s okay to be seen as a fool as long as there’s some money it for you.

The Importance of Being Miserable

Right, that’s enough thankfulness for this year. UofC College and B-school alum Bill Roule sends this story and comments:

This younger generation certainly lacks the guts we had. When we went to Chicago, we knew we were going to be miserable. We wanted to be miserable. We were proud we were miserable. Where is the sense of accomplishment if the task is easy? Seeing how the family can raise $1M in bond, I have my doubts that anyone there can explain this to her.

They’re wimps, all right. Notice this paragraph in the story:

None of the fires did serious damage. But after a fire was set in Swift Hall on Monday morning, and in three adjacent buildings on the following day, a number of the 12,000 students on campus had felt unsettled, said university spokesman Larry Arbeiter.

“Unsettled”? Unsettled?! They should have felt: 1) mildly interested in her technique; 2) amused by the prospect of retelling the story back home to horrified family and friends; 3) numb from finishing two papers and a physics problem set the previous night; or perhaps 4) nothing at all due to having seen no direct sunlight in several weeks. Not “unsettled.”
Pussies. ;^)