Compensation culture chapter 2

I suppose it had to happen. Lawyers in America are cranking themselves up to fight lawsuits for damage caused by man-made global warming. You can read about it here, where there is incidentally a picture of one of the arch movers in the business, a Texan lawyer called Steve Susman (who incidentally and very far from hilariously 'teaches a climate-change litigation course at the University of Houston Law School').

Infinitely more encouraging is a blog I have only lately discovered, Climate Skeptic. It is run by an American, Warren Meyer.

Among much else that is hugely impressive on his site is a video, just released by him. It is clearly a home-made production, put together for almost no money. But it is compellingly well done: clear, coherent and, to this resolute non-scientist, entirely believeable.

Just one other thought. It may well be wishful thinking but I offer it up anyway. There is enormous pressure on us all to accept the catastrophic consequences of man-made global warming. Politicians love it because it gives them the opportunity to look grave and statesmanlike while doing what they love best: bossing us about and putting up taxes ('essential to guarantee our survival, etc, etc, etc, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks'). Al Gore is merely the most shameless example, though Stern and the UN run him close. Scientists, or at least the government-funded variety, love it because their dire warnings guarantee lots and lots of funding while making them feel very important about themselves and pandering to their own political prejudices.

It strikes me that the blogosphere, at least for now unregulated and free from political pressures, offers exactly the opportunity for a genuine expression of dissenting views. In which case, the likes of Meyer, industrious where I am indolent, informed where I am ignorant, should be applauded and then applauded again.

I leave you with this quote from the admirable Meyer:

Gosh, it's an amazing coincidence that the steps proposed to curb CO2 (reduce oil use, demonize oil companies, limit growth, increase government interventions in free economies, limit global trade) exactly match the political goals held by many leading climate catastrophists long before greenhouse gas theory was even born..

He is the first recipient of the brand-new Daily Brute HERO OF THE WEEK AWARD.