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Is the world slowly getting warmer?
Did humanity cause an increase in temperature?
Do we need to act collectively to avoid world-wide catastrophe?
Last month, scientists and politicians from all over the world met in Kyoto, Japan to answer those questions and develop a treaty that would solve the perceived problem of global warming. The element missing from those sessions, however, was fair representation from the growing number of credible scientists who doubt there is a problem.
The same can be said of the news coverage of the conference. According to the Media Research Center, only two of 48 stories on American network news on the Kyoto sessions presented the arguments of dissenting scientists. Only nine stories mentioned that there was any disagreement at all.
Many scientists dispute the evidence for an increase in the world's temperature. Some remind us that global warming is part of the natural cycle of the planet. Other scientists point out that if any global warming did occur, it would have benefits as well as costs; warmer climates can potentially have beneficial health effects. Overall, the majority of these contrarian scientists are concerned about the amount of junk science being tossed around.
Many economic and policy analysts have problems with the Kyoto Protocol as well. While the benefits of it are unclear, the costs are not. For example, one idea that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed would increase taxes on fossil-based fuels by as much as $.50 (USD) per gallon. Higher energy costs raise product prices, drive companies out of business, and eliminate jobs.
In this Policy Spotlight, we have collected a large number of dissenting articles and reports on global warming and the Kyoto conference, including scientific evidence and political opinion. For more about the mass media treatment of this issue, see J.D. Tuccille's "A Lot of Hot Air."
If you would like a more general introduction to free-market environmentalism, see our May, 1997 Policy Spotlight. For in-depth coverage of free-market positions on environmental quality, see the July issue.
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Competitive Enterprise Institute
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is the leading proponent of free-market environmentalism. They are dedicated to reducing coercive regulation and reframing the debate on environmental issues.
CEI offered their daily analyses of the proceedings of the global warming conference in Kyoto.
This past summer, as a prelude, CEI sponsored a conference on the Costs of Kyoto. In addition to complete transcripts, the entire conference is available in RealAudio. The closing remarks from Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) are especially worth reading.
You can also listen to their latest radio ad on global warming (WAV file).
In two recent opinion pieces, White House Distorts Greenhouse Facts and Hurricane Hype, CEI shows that the government often overstates the effects of global warming.
More information can be found here:
Cato's Natural Resource Studies program is very active in the area of global warming. This year they will be releasing, "The Truth About Global Warming," a book written by Patrick Michaels and Robert Balling that critiques the politics and science of the debate.
Professor Michaels also recently testified before Congress on The Effects of Proposals for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction. Cato chairman William Niskanen testified before the Senate on the economic effects of a global warming treaty. Cato scholars have also recently published these op-eds:
Laissez Faire's Environmental Politics page offers a large variety of titles on the subject of free-market environmentalism.
Although not as up-to-date as other sources, recommended books for background information include:
Gregory Benford discusses some of the overlooked solutions to global warming in an article from the November issue of Reason entitled Climate Controls. Benford calls on us to recognize that human activity has an impact on the planet, and argues that we should actively participate in geoengineering.
The Reason Public Policy Institute recently released its Plain English Guide to the Science of Climate Change. The report attempts to cut through the political sloganeering and technical issues to provide an easy-to-understand explanation of climate change. (Only the executive summary is available online.)
Dr. Vincent Gray's Climate Change 95: An Appraisal is an analysis of the report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Dr. Gray argues that the report is intentionally confusing and distorts scientific evidence.
Heartland publishes a monthly newsletter called Environmental News which reports on efforts to use free-market principles and sound science to solve environmental problems.
Recent highlights include:
Many other groups have done research on this topic. Below are some highlights.
National Center for Policy Analysis
NCPA sponsored two recent briefings on the subject: Global Warming, the Other Side and Truths, Myths and Impacts of Global Warming.
The Myths of Global Warming are dispelled by H. Sterling Burnett is this policy brief. The fallacy that global warming will be responsible for increases in disease is discussed in Sick Argument: Global Warming and the Spread of Tropical Diseases.
Additional resources can be found here:
For a comprehensive look at the issue, CSE provided A Political, Economic and Scientific Backgrounder.
The effects of the EPA's recommended tax on CO2 production are exposed in Think Globally, Tax Locally.
CSE offers the complete results of a Survey of State and Regional Climatologists along with an analysis of the results.
CSE has also aired two radio spots on the issue, available here as WAV files:
Center for the Study of American Business
Based at Washington University in St. Louis, CSAB is dedicated to strengthening the link between private enterprise and public policy. A number of excellent reports can be found on their Global Climate Change page:
The October 9-15, 1997 issue of Intellectual Capital was dedicated to global warming. Be sure to check out Heartland's Joe Bast on junk science in Garbage In, Garbage Out.
Pete Dupont also weighs in on Kyoto's Scary Scenarios.
Heritage has a number of reports on the possible economic effects of the Kyoto treaty:
National Center for Public Policy Research
During the Kyoto Summit, the center provided daily commentary on the proceedings, as well as an Earth Summit Fact Sheet.
They have also recently published The Myth of Scientific Consensus on Global Warming and Ten Dumbest Things Environmental Extremists Said and Did in 1997.
Frontiers of Freedom Institute
The institute sponsored a warm-up conference this summer, prior to Kyoto. Chairman Malcolm Wallop delivered the keynote address on The Rio Treaty: Its Genesis and Ratification.
The collection of papers delivered at the conference is available on the Countdown to Kyoto page.
In November, Malcolm Wallop gave a speech at a conference on national security on the consequences of the Kyoto conference.
Myron Ebell warns us that A Global Warming Treaty Requires Global Government.
The Science and Environmental Policy Project
S. Fred Singer, the directory of SEPP, recently published a new book "Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming's Unfinished Debate" which discusses the science behind the predictions for global warming. He also analyzes the economic effects of the Kyoto treaty in a three-part op-ed.
This SEPP news release shows evidence that 1997 Registered on the Cool Side according to global climate data.
Hoover's resident scholar on global warming issues is Dr. Thomas Gale Moore. A number of his articles are linked from his bio page. Some of the highlights are listed below:
The institute has released several reports on global warming. Are Human Activities Causing Global Warming analyzes whether humans or nature caused the small increase in the average temperature observed in the 20th century.
Institute scholars answer a report released by the Office of the United States Global Change Research Program on The Truth about Ten Leading Myths and also provide Facts About Global Warming.
Consumer Alert/National Consumer Coalition
The Global Warming Information Page provided daily updates from Kyoto as well as the Final Agreement from the sessions. (Adobe Acrobat)
They also have an excellent Primer on Global Warming and summaries of Policy Proposals from around the world.
Miscellaneous Resources
James M. Sheehan warns us to Beware the Global Warming Treaty by showing its effects on our economy and standard of living in a Mackinac Center for Public Policy Viewpoint on Public Issues.
Jack Kemp of Empower America recently challenged Al Gore to a debate on environmental issues. He authored two op-eds on the global warming treaty, A Treaty Built on Hot Air and Global Warming Comes to Capitol Hill.
David A. Keene of the American Conservative Union makes his forecast for a hot winter in D.C. as Gore May Have to Face the Music on Global Warming.
In Science vs. Politics: Kyoto's Globaloney, Mackubin Thomas Owens explores the connection between politics and junk science.
The Brookings Institution recommends tradable pollution credits in A Better Way to Slow Global Climate Change.
Policy.Com offered a resource list and Global Warming discussion.
In November, Jeremy Rabkin of The American Enterprise Institute discussed how "the political problem of global warming intensify even as the climatic danger itself evanesces" in Greenhouse Politics.
An analysis of the Effects on National Security is available from the Center for Security Policy.
Steve Miller from the Nevada Policy Research Institute talked about Global Whining in the Nevada Journal.
The World Climate Report, funded mainly by the Western Fuels Association, is "the nation's leading publication covering the breaking news concerning the science and political science of global climate change." WCR offers a number of interesting pieces, including Damn the Economy! Full Speed Ahead.
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In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
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