2009 International Conference on Climate Change

At a time when fear of global warming prompts most of the media, and the majority of politicians (led by our president) to promote actions that will strangle the economy as well as erode our economic and civil liberties, a group of scientists and intellectuals are gathering in New York City to share research and information which contradicts the predictions of catastrophe.

Here's part of what Joseph Bast had to say in his opening remarks:

Approximately 700 people have registered for this event, nearly twice as many as attended last year’s conference. We are delighted to demonstrate once again the breadth and high quality of support that the “skeptical” perspective on climate change enjoys.

Speakers at this conference will address questions that go to the very heart of the global warming debate:

• Does the plateau in global temperatures during the past eight years contradict computer model predictions?

• Do proxy records of ancient climates contradict how computer models characterize the role of carbon dioxide in climate change?

• Does the modern warming have the “fingerprint” of having been caused by greenhouse gases?

• Is there a case for governments to legislate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions?

The 80 scientists, economists, and policy experts speaking at this conference have no shared agenda and no institutional interest in inflating the risks of climate change, and they bow to no government over-seers. They come from 14 countries and 28 universities. They speak out against what the IPCC and many in government and the media claim to be a consensus because their own independent research suggests otherwise.

Many of the speakers' talks will eventually be posted on the web. So far all that's up are Bast's opening words and the keynote speech by Dr. Richard Lindzen, Professor of Meteorology at M.I.T.

Also, portions of the conference will be broadcast live today (Monday) and tomorrow by Swedish blogger Maggie Thauerskold at her Web site, The Climate Scam.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend the three-day conference. I had a hard time choosing which talks I wanted to hear most (there were three separate tracks running at any one time!) The speakers were proficient in many different disciplines including climatology, paleoclimatology, physics, politics, economics and policy analysis---all of which have important contributions to make in understanding the challenges we face. Fortunately, many of the talks from last year can still be accessed here. It is encouraging to listen to so many well-informed speakers, to learn more about their research, and to hear of the many efforts being made to bring more rationality into the debate over climate change.

Here are a few of the talks I would recommend:

• William M. Gray, Ph.D. - Oceans, Not Carbon Dioxide, Are Driving Climate
• Vaclav Klaus, Ph.D. - We Should Not Make Big Mistakes over Climate Change
• Roy W. Spencer, Ph.D. - Recent Evidence for Reduced Climate Sensitivity
• Patrick J. Michaels, Ph.D - Global Warming: Some Convenient Facts
• Ross McKitrick, Ph.D. - Quantifying the Influence of Anthropogenic Surface Processes on Gridded Global Climate Data

Many others were interesting and informative, but these are the ones I remember best.

This year, I was unable to justify spending the money to go again, especially after almost half of our savings disappeared in the recent stock market fall. My biggest hope is that by next year the conference won't be necessary--people will finally understand that the alarmist concerns are not scientifically justified (or that restrictive political action is not morally defensible.) But since I can't count on either of those happening, I'll try to set aside enough money for next year's conference.