The climate alarmists would like you to believe that Planet Earth is in danger of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming (CAGW). Their “evidence” are sophisticated global climate models that they claim can predict future temperatures. The models, of course, are built by the alarmists and, of course, yield the results they desire. They are basically worthless because they are trying to model a coupled non-linear chaotic system (climate) which cannot be usefully modeled over even moderate periods of time. The only real risk is that modern Western countries will damage their economies and the welfare of their citizens by altering their energy generation and distribution systems in the ways advocated by the alarmists, and if successful, will starve plants of the carbon dioxide they need during the next ice age and stunt their potential growth in the meantime. The adverse effects of climate alarmist policies are already evident in many developed nations, particularly in Western Europe, Australia, and Canada. Fortunately, climate alarmist policies are not well advanced in the US, with some exceptions such as California.

Earth already has a very complicated but natural system of climate temperature control, technically referred to as emergent climate phenomena, which have the result that catastrophic global warming cannot occur. These mechanisms largely involve the interactions of the water in Earth’s very large oceans and lakes with the atmosphere. And there do not appear to be as comprehensive a set of similar phenomena that work in the opposite direction–to limit temperature decreases. The less comprehensive set of emergent climate phenomena that limit decreases in temperatures is the major longer term climate problem–not significant increases. The result is that over recent geologic history the Earth has normally been much colder than it now is. These periods are called Ice Ages, and are not favorable to humans, animals, or plants. It is not accidental that human development has occurred primarily during the current (warmer) interglacial period.

So It Is the Climate Alarmists that Are Creating the Real Climate Problem

The primary current problem is that the climate alarmists are creating enormous problems in the generation and use of reliable energy necessary for the development and even the continuation of modern civilization, with adverse effects on the economy, human welfare, and even the environment, all for no significant benefits to anyone except vendors of renewable energy facilities. The primary culprits are those who promote these mistaken ideas–the components of the Climate-Industrial Complex (CIC). These include the mis-named “environmental” organizations, the academics that promote damaging energy policies, the United Nations that supports bad science, the politicians that support climate alarmism (often to promote new sources of taxes that will finance an expansion of government), providers of “renewable” sources of energy that are anxious to improve their profits, and their many news media supporters.

If successful, the CIC’s efforts will make the next ice age worse than it otherwise would be, the economies of countries they influence much weaker, the citizens of such countries much poorer, and the poor everywhere much poorer than they otherwise would have been. It is the CIC that is creating the real climate problem, not those who generate carbon dioxide by using fossil fuel energy.