Climate change? Bah. Humbug!

The 2008 International Conference On Climate Change (ICCC) that will convene in New York this weekend is definitely not what most of us have come to expect from a conference on this topic. Sponsored by The Heartland Institute, a national nonprofit research and education organization, it is a gathering of skeptics. The conference agenda makes it clear that organizers plan to attack the concept of climate change from every conceivable angle.

Heartland's mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. Such solutions include parental choice in education, choice and personal responsibility in health care, market-based approaches to environmental protection, privatization of public services, and deregulation in areas where property rights and markets do a better job than government bureaucracies. You can view the ICCC video promo on YouTube.

I know about this only because I came across a 3/4 page paid advertisement for the event in this Wednesday's New York Times. The ad included photographs of 23 of the 98 individuals scheduled to speak over the three days. I must admit I only recognized a few of them including Roy Innis, National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality and John Stossel, co-anchor on ABC-Tv's 20/20.

I guess there really are parallel universes. (GW)

Global Warming: Truth or Swindle?

International Conference On Climate Change
Sponsored by the Heartland Institute
Marriott New York Marquis Times Square Hotel
March 2-4

There is no consensus.

More than 400 scientists, economists, and experts will meet in New York on March 2-4 to challenge the claim that global warming is a "crisis." The include leading climatologists and experts from around the world. Fifty nonprofit organizations have come together to sponsor the event.

This event proves there is no scientific consensus on the causes or likely consequences of global warming.

Global Warming: Crisis or Scam?

The debate over whether human activity is responsible for some or all of the modern warming, and then what to do if our presence on Earth is indeed affecting the global climate, has enormous consequences for everyone in virtually all parts of the globe. Proposals to drive down human greenhouse gas emissions by raising energy costs or imposing draconian caps could dramatically affect the quality of life of people in developed countries, and, due to globalization, the lives of people in less-developed countries too.

The global warming debate that the public and policymakers usually see is one-sided, dominated by government scientists and government organizations agenda-driven to find data that suggest a human impact on climate and to call for immediate government action, if only to fund their own continued research, but often to achieve political agendas entirely unrelated to the science of climate change. There is another side, but in recent years it has been denied a platform from which to speak.

The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change promises to be an exciting event and the point of departure for future conferences, publications, and educational campaigns to present both sides of this important topic.

Conference Goals

The goals of the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change are:

• to bring together the world’s leading scientists, economists, and policy experts to explain the often-neglected “other side” of the climate change debate;

• to sponsor presentations and papers that make genuine contributions to the global debate over climate change;

• to share the results of the conference with policymakers, civic and business leaders, and the interested public as an antidote to the one-sided and alarmist bias that pervades much of the current public policy debate; and

• to set the groundwork for future conferences and publications that can turn the debate toward sound science and economics, and away from hype and political manipulation.

Attendance

Attendance is limited to 500 people. Registration will be closed when that total is reached. Approximately 100 scientists, economists, and policy experts will participate as speakers and panelists. Admission is open to the public, but the following people are specifically urged to attend:

• scientists, economists, and policy experts whose work has focused on some dimension of climate change, particularly challenging popular misconceptions about the causes, extent, and consequences of the modern warming

• elected officials from all countries and at all levels of government who are grappling with legislative proposals being put forward in the name of “stopping global warming”

• civic and business leaders, including the leaders of Chambers of Commerce, manufacturers associations, trade associations, foundations, and charities that have a voice or seek a voice in the current debate over climate change policies

• publishers, editors, journalists, and free-lance writers who set editorial policy or write regularly on the debate over climate change science, economics, or politics.

Discounts for registration are available for journalists and students to encourage their attendance. Free admission and travel and hotel scholarships are available to elected officials, scientists, economists, and policy experts who are recommended by sponsors and track chairmen.

Please direct inquiries to James M. Taylor at taylor@heartland.org. Elected officials interested in attending should contact Trevor Martin, director of government relations for The Heartland Institute, at tmartin@heartland.org.

After the Conference

The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change is the first major international conference questioning global warming alarmism, but it will not be the last one. This event is intended to be a catalyst for future meetings, collaboration among scientists, economists, and policy experts, new research, and new publications.

The proceedings will be transcribed, edited, and published as a major contribution to the debate over global warming. Other possible follow-up activities now being discussed include:

• an event in London in 2009;

• launch of a new journal devoted to climate change;

• launch of an association of philanthropists willing to support further research and public education opposing global warming alarmism;

• support for an International Climate Science Coalition that will act as an alternative voice to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and

• expanded cooperation among the scores of organizations currently sponsoring research, publications, and events on the dubious claims in support of the theory of man-made catastrophic global warming.