Few public policy debates have become as heated and emotional as climate change.  Sadly, many intelligent and credible individuals and organizations are drowned out if they have a point of view that runs contrary to the proverbial “consensus.”

 
The Chilling Effect, a project of the Institute for Liberty, brings balance back to the debate, providing a forum for experts from academia, climatology, economics, social science, government, the media and other arenas to discuss the issues related to climate change without the political drama that silences opinions outside of current elitist environmental dogma.

 

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Aussies are growing “bored” with climate change, according to The Age. “Only 46 per cent of Australians said they would take action on climate change if they were in charge of making decisions for Australia, a dip from 55 per cent last year…K’s new secretary of state for energy and climate change has first day on job…China close to saying “no deal” on global pact to cut greenhouse gases…NY Times and Washington Post talk about viability of carbon offsets in the financial downturn…“People still come to the site, but where you used to get people signing up [for offsets] every day, now you’d be lucky to get a few people a week,” said Fred Weiss, a small-time offset seller based in Ann Arbor, Mich., who sends customers stickers that say, “Carbon Neutral Vehicle.” Apparently that isn’t as important now. “Who cares about the environment? Am I going to have a house next week?” he imagined would-be customers saying.

 

 

How do you get a story written about how green and great you are? You either slash your trash output, or you keep it at home. That was the plan for Dave Chameides, a Los Angeles cameraman (we assume he also has a script he’s about finished with) who gets a profile by stowing nine months worth of his trash in his basement.

 

 

 

Cool it with the apocalyptic scenarios, say scientists:

 

“In research conducted at the U of C, Keith and a team of researchers showed it is possible to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) – the main greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming – using a relatively simple machine that can capture the trace amount of CO2 present in the air at any place on the planet.

 

“…Keith and his team showed they could capture CO2 directly from the air with less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per tonne of carbon dioxide. Their custom-built tower was able to capture the equivalent of about 20 tonnes per year of CO2 on a single square metre of scrubbing material – the average amount of emissions that one person produces each year in the North American-wide economy.”

 

Thanks to FuturePundit via Instapundit for this…

 

 

Carbon offsets are all the rage for some. They’re like papal dispensation for the environmentally concerned who just have to get to Vail right away in their G5. Here’s Bloomberg’s recent summary of a new GAO report:

 

“Buyers of U.S. carbon offsets, credits that represent greenhouse gas reductions, need greater assurance that their purchase will lead to actual cuts in global warming gases, according to a government report.

 

“The supply of offsets from projects that produce clean energy or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reached 10.2 million tons in 2007, 65 percent more than 2004, according to a report today from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. There is no broad federal oversight of the offset market and limited protection for consumers, the report said.”