OPB News · Bark Beetles May Flourish As Earth Warms

A new Forest Service study concludes bark beetles may flourish in many Western forests as the Earth temperature gets warmer. But in some areas, beetle populations might actually go down.

How I Joined the Vast RINO Conspiracy | FrumForum

Here are a few positions I now hold that, insofar as I understand prevalent thinking on the right these days, put me into RINO territory:

I think global warming poses serious dangers and needs to be addressed. Much current thinking on the right is that global warming either isn’t real, isn’t anthropogenic or isn’t worth worrying about. I never was a full-on climate change skeptic, though I did long suspect the problem was overblown. In recent years, I’ve become increasingly convinced it’s not overblown.

Paradoxically, the “Climategate” matter helped convince me of this, as it was seized upon by many right wingers as demonstrating some kind of scientific scam when in fact nothing of the sort had been demonstrated.

I favor a carbon tax. I think such a tax is justified on environmental, fiscal and national-security grounds. While I’m not the only right-leaning type who’s said this, it’s a position that places me at odds with mainstream thinking on the current-day right, particularly if one gives any emphasis to climate change as a reason for such a measure. And while I would favor a more straightforward tax over a cap-and-trade plan, I would favor the latter over nothing. Republican willingness to take legislative action on this issue is close to nil, and Democrats in Congress have punted on the issue anyway.