Sunspots spell end of climate myth - Bryan Leyland

It is disturbing that many recent statements on climate change by influential people are not supported by hard evidence.

For instance, Professor Ralph Chapman's statement that the globe risks a tipping point if emissions are not reduced by 2015 is unsupported by hard evidence, as is David Parker's claim that if we do nothing to reduce emissions, New Zealand could be up to $500 million worse off by 2012.

This is not true because, if we adopt the Emissions Trading Scheme, electricity bills alone will increase by more than $500 million each year.

On Kyoto, lawyer Alistair Hercus recently claimed that "as a country we have to pay". In fact, the Kyoto protocol says nothing about enforcement and as yet there are no international emissions enforcers to act as judge, jury and executioner.

We can opt out of Kyoto whenever we like or, like most other countries, pretend to support the protocol and, at the same time, do little or nothing. [Via CO2 Sceptics]

Serious or spoof? - Converting Gitmo into a Front Line Post in the War Against Global Warming

Mutual agreement is exactly what should happen now. The U.S. should close down the military base. Then, as a first step in thawing relations between Washington and Havana, a jointly governed scientific station should be installed to monitor and study climate change. The port at Gitmo is perfect for scientific research vessels and the airfield could be used for weather planes.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the authoritative scientific body that tracks global warming, but it conducts no research. The IPCC is based in Switzerland and has working groups scattered in the Netherlands, Japan, Britain, and the U.S. Synthesizing fragmentary research from governments and universities is how the IPCC fashions its reports on the climate. A newly focused effort located in the tropics at Gitmo, generously funded with windfall taxes on the oil giants and subsidies strong-armed from OPEC, could attract the best climate scientists to generate the most comprehensive research on global warming for the IPCC.

Not only would the negative stigma attached to Gitmo fade away, the new facility would become a front line to combat climate change. A side benefit would be the beginning of talks between Cuba and the U.S. – frozen since 1959. Where that would lead is anyone’s guess, but it certainly would be better than the frozen relationship that currently exists. Perhaps even the embargo could be lifted? The Bush Administration would have loved to send Al Gore down to Gitmo. Now is the time for the Obama Administration to do just that.

Michael J. Kelly is Professor of Law at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska...